## The UWC Mission in printed in front of the reception obviously we don't just put a random sentence up there that sentence must have special meaning to us and to this organization We assume that - every one agrees with this mission - this mission is worth going for - we are going toward that mission every day ## Classrooms are locked after school hour Studenst are not to be trusted and will steal things and dostroy the classrooms if not locked. Film room has a "priviledge" that can be taken away any time. ## Facilities in the classroom ### chairs - you are supposed to sit rather than stand in class - if just stand there you guys would look at me in a weird way - most of the times you have to sit in groups and face other people - group work is necessary & helpful for learning ### the big screen at the front - every one should stare at the same whiteboard instead of looking at their own screen - every one should work on the same thing at the same time - Good students wait a teacher to tell them what to do. You can't just directly dive into what you want to do in your laptop. You have to first listen for the instructions. Intellectual dependency. > We’ve built a way of life that depends on people doing what they are told because they don’t know how to tell themselves what to do. > -- [[Dumbing Us Down]] ## Bells at the start and end of classes - learning doesn't matter - You must be in the classroom before the first bell rings, you have to sit through, notify the teacher to fullfill basic biological needs like using the bathrrom or getting water to drink - No matter how passionate you are about the project your are currently working, once the bell rang, you must leave. Extended focus and deep committment is discouraged. > Indeed, the lesson of bells is that no work is worth finishing, so why care too deeply about anything? Years of bells will condition all but the strongest to a world that can no longer offer important work to do. > -- [[Dumbing Us Down]] ## Timetable - you are supposed to stay in where you belong -- you don't go to other classes - temporal & physical restriction of one's freedom 1. **Fixed Schedules**: Students must follow a rigid sequence of periods—e.g., Math from 8:00–8:50, then English, and so on. This limits their ability to manage their own time or spend longer on subjects they find engaging or difficult. 2. **Short Attention Windows**: Learning is chopped into small blocks (usually 40–60 minutes), which can interrupt deep focus and prevent students from entering “flow” states or pursuing inquiry-based learning. 3. **Externally Controlled Pacing**: Students can’t decide when to take breaks, reflect, or shift focus. Time is controlled externally, which can create stress or disengagement. ## Letter of Recommendation - assumption = emotional dependency - you are supposed to develop a good relationship with your teacher, say good things that they want to hear, and not get into troubles ## The dividing of knowledge into subjects assumption = dividing into subjects help us better learn > What big ideas are important to little kids? Well, the biggest idea I think they need is that what they are learning isn’t idiosyncratic—that there is some system to it all and it’s not just raining down on them as they helplessly absorb. That’s the task, to understand, to make coherent. > -- [[Dumbing Us Down]] > The logic of the school-mind is that it is better to leave school with a tool kit of superficial jargon derived from economics, sociology, natural science, and so on than with one genuine enthusiasm. > -- [[Dumbing Us Down]] > Confusion is thrust upon kids by too many strange adults, each working alone with only the thinnest relationship with each other, pretending, for the most part, to an expertise they do not possess. > -- [[Dumbing Us Down]] Schools teach the un-relating of everything, an infinite fragmentation the opposite of cohesion System thinking is the foundatin of system change -- TOK, ESS is a great effort