VHS 2009 Scholarship WinnerVikcha Phiri
American journalist, Sydney J. Harris, said, "The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows." My experience as a Virtual High School student has broadened my views on education that were limited to the reflections of my traditional schooling. VHS has offered me new challenges, that have prepared me to be successful as I transition to university study in the fall. Mirrors offer reflections, but the view is limited by its frame. I have always loved school, and worked hard to do my best. In some ways, my schooling has been quite traditional. Up at six, school by seven or eight in the morning, drag on through the afternoon, sports and clubs, then home to read and complete assignments in the evenings. School has been routine. In other ways, my schooling has been non-routine; I have been lucky to have experienced different educational systems in three countries. I spent a year at a local, public school in Denmark, where the central drive of education focused on communication and respect for others. In Belgium, at an international school I attended for four years, I enjoyed the amazing opportunity to develop friendships with classmates from all over the world and to learn from caring teachers from many countries. In the United States, I have attended local, public schools in New Jersey and Massachusetts. In New Jersey, many students were recent immigrants, while in Massachusetts, most classmates are multi-generational Cape Codders. My Virtual High School experience has added a new dimension to my view on school cultures--the culture of the online community My VHS teachers have worked hard to build a strong, collaborative spirit. I have become acquainted with students who attend many different types of schools, from technical schools, specialized science-math schools, to international schools. VHS has affirmed my perspective on education that diversity is the greatest component of education. Diversity is the reality we face in the global environment in which we live today, and in which we’ll work in the future. Virtual High School has been the answer to personal challenges that I have faced this year. Earlier in the fall semester, I fell ill and began to have progressively worsening sleep disturbances that disrupted my ability to get to school every day. I was diagnosed with a sleep disorder. I'm not the kind of student who misses school. This was a trying period for me; it was difficult for me to keep up with school work, complete assignments, and feel satisfied with my academic achievement. My guidance counselor recommended that I take my spring semester courses via VHS. My entire course load this spring comprise VHS courses: psychology, statistics, health, and 20th century women authors. The most immediate impact that VHS had on my outlook on education is the realization that I might not have been able to graduate on time without VHS. This made me think about how VHS might be the key to successfully completing high school for many students, especially in today's educational climate in the United States, where a twenty to fifty per cent of high school students do not graduate in some districts. VHS has also offered me new academic challenges. The program has opened windows in my perspectives on the role of technology in education. In an article on the future of education, David D. Thornburg, remarked that "Education must focus on new competencies." He called these the "three C's: Communication, Collaboration, and Creative Problem Solving." The Virtual High School courses excel at all three of these competencies. Although one might expect communication to be important in courses such as psychology, health and literature, communication is a key skill I practice in my statistics course as well. I never took a math course before that required much communication. In statistics, we discuss the results of our own data, as well as comment on other students' work. In all my VHS courses, we collaborate in a variety of ways. In psychology, I have worked with a team of students over the last two weeks on a patient analysis project. By the end of the project, we were proud of our work, because we learned that, through collaboration, the depth and quality of our analysis was greater than any of us could have achieved alone. The lessons differ greatly from the redundancy of a common day-to-day classroom structure of lectures and homework from pages of a textbook. The American philosopher John Dewey said, "Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself." Creative problem solving exercises are at the heart of VHS lessons. Finally, VHS has changed my views on education, as I have practiced greater responsibility for my own education. Often, students look to their teachers simply to pass on knowledge. Students typically do not demand enough of themselves in learning. Through the reading, analysis, technical and project skills that I have learned through my VHS courses, I feel that I am more ready for the college coursework. I came across the following quote while preparing this essay, which, I think, points to the essential quality of Virtual High School teachers. "A good teacher knows when to act as Sage on the Stage and when to act as a Guide on the Side." A special 'thank you' to my VHS teachers who focus on me as a student, just like any other they might meet in the halls of their own schools. Gone is the mirror! The window of my perspective on education is open wide, and the view is fantastic! Vikacha Phiri |