Most Likely to Succeed.

Hello again diary, hope you are doing well. Today I will be sharing my thoughts on the film, Most Likely to Succeed. The film is focused on High Tech High, a school based in the states which has integrated a completely alternative and somewhat controversial model for teaching and learning compared to the traditional method.

First of all, this school and film are surrounded with controversy. The film does a good job of showing this through parent teacher interviews and the doubt that comes from the parents who have gone through the traditional teaching model and believe that is it required for a successful life. This is a cord that stuck with me because I think it is a very valid point. I think that it is controversial because High Tech High has completely jumped straight into the deep end, while the vast majority of every other learning facility is using the traditional model. Some interesting points on this were brought up in our discussion in class today. For example, what happens to students who are in a program such as High Tech High, and who are forced to relocate half way through high school due to powers out of their control? When they have begun to to feel comfortable in a setting that is moving away from standardized tests and that learning model, only to be throw straight back in, while missing those few years of experience. I believe that there needs to be a happy medium and a range of motion rather than polarized options.

Another thing that cannot be ignored is the visible personal growth in High Tech High. I think obviously they focused on a select few through the film to emphasize the point of potential in students, while adding a few unknown students at the end interviews just to show it is a common outcome. My interest goes immediately to the kids that it didn’t work out as well for. The film states that the school has a 98% college acceptance rate. I am curious about what that last 2% is doing, if they were rejected from colleges, or simply decided to not pursue further education.

As a student pursuing a career as a teacher, I am also very interested in the teachers at High Tech High. I would love to sit down with them and ask them questions on how their experiences were when they first started at High Tech, did have they taught in traditional learning schools? Did they hate/disagree with it?

One thing that is undeniable is that our learning model was designed in a society that has long since passed and needs updating, and we are the teachers of the future who are going to make those changes.

Thanks for listening!

Cheers, Brian