Abraham S. Fischler: Time is a variable, The Student is the Class, Science is a Verb: The first principal to use the phrases "Time is a variable" and "the student is the class" in a speech to parents, August 2013

Here is the link to the speech by Alfred de la Rosa, principal of Miami Arts Charter

33 Minutes TINYURL.com/delarosa33

10 minutes TINYURL.com/delarosa10
Here are screenshots from the speech that is located on Youtube.

You can see the text of the speech in a blog HERE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKMW3xvtTrQ&t=3s

TINYURL.com/delarosaSpeech is the blog where you can find the speech.

The text of the speech

Principal Alfred De La Rosa say, "We are looking to introduce a blend of the Fontán Method from Colombia, where Time is a variable and the arts." On 14 August

2013 De La Rosa announced a new theme at MAC school: "The student is the class." You can learn more about his speech to parents by visiting the blog post that gives the entire speech, but here is an excerpt:

Now, here's what we're going to do.

if you are a school like us, we're going to implement a time-variable model. Students will be able to work at their own pace.

It doesn't mean that they are going to have an unlimited amount of time. They will be able to manipulate the time in cooperation with the teacher to serve their needs.

An Example

Picture yourself going from one city to another in a car. You are told that you have to go 50 mph to get there and you can never slow down and you can never speed up. When you reach a sharp curve, you have to take that curve at 50 mph. When you are on a straightaway, where you could make up some time, you can't go any faster.

When students are put in a strict timeline, those that can go faster tend not to be able to do so. The teacher has to wait for certain people in the class to catch up. A good teacher is going to try to keep as many kids on board as possible. We call that "the proximity" or the "herd."

If a student is a struggling student in that class, it doesn't help because the class is going to go too fast for that student no matter what. The only students who benefit from this approach are the ones in the middle.

Because time is constant and the learning is variable, we have mixed results as we move from year to year. As the material gets more difficult, the kids who do well usually continue doing well and the students who do

How can we fix this? What can we change? The class moves forward when there is overall success.

Now we have the student is the class and the only way we can make this work is if we work individually with each student.