Thursday, September 08, 2005
CAS(L)
I was just leafing through the (overly thick) CASL booklet today and thought I might as well air my views on the whole thing.
Something had always struck me as slightly dodgy with the whole idea of having a CAS(L) program. Something I was never able to pinpoint exactly. Maybe it was just that I didn't like the whole idea, or the fact that I'm not a people person, or just the fact that I'm lazy.
CASL is a compulsory part of the IB diploma program. The 4 elements of creativity, action, service and leadership are what make up this component of the dimploma course. Anyway, I always thought it was highly ridiculous to force students to participate in insanely high amounts of hours for the C, S and L bits. Also the fact that there are extremely unreasonable and narrow requirements for their completion. I am sure many of us can remmeber how many of our proposals and suggestions were rejected for not fulfilling whatever criteria.
Students should never be forced to be creative, serve others, or lead. (The action element is not so bad because most of us already have our various CCAs to cover for whatever hours we need in that area - fortunately enough.)
Creativity is defined as "the experience of thinking, reacting, and working in an imaginative and idiosyncratic way which is characterized by a high degree of innovation and originality, divergent thinking, and risk taking" (www.usm.maine.edu/~trudy/frame/fgloss.htm) Now, if everyone expresses creativity as defined above, then is creativity no longer 'imaginative, innovative and original'. Is it not then too much to ask creativiy from everyone? Such things can not be forced upon students.
Likewise, it is not the fact that leadership is being promoted. It is the fact that it is being forced upon us that is disturbing. Well, not exactly forced, but the book says we need to complete CAS "to be eligible" for the diploma, (i.e. we are forced to complete it or else). Did not James command us to "be not many masters, for we shall receive the greater condemnation"? Why then does the school want everyone to be a leader? Leadership should be promoted, but never forced.
For service, the natural connotation of 'service' suggests voluntary work. And it is not hard to see that when service is forced upon us, it no longer becomes voluntary in any sense.
In conclusion, while I feel that CAS(L) has several noble aims and objectives, the methods of implementation are seriously flawed and need to be reworked if they are to produce its desired outcomes.
For reference, here is the abovementioned verse:
"1 ΒΆ My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.
2 For in many things we offend all." - Jas. 3:1-2a
Something had always struck me as slightly dodgy with the whole idea of having a CAS(L) program. Something I was never able to pinpoint exactly. Maybe it was just that I didn't like the whole idea, or the fact that I'm not a people person, or just the fact that I'm lazy.
CASL is a compulsory part of the IB diploma program. The 4 elements of creativity, action, service and leadership are what make up this component of the dimploma course. Anyway, I always thought it was highly ridiculous to force students to participate in insanely high amounts of hours for the C, S and L bits. Also the fact that there are extremely unreasonable and narrow requirements for their completion. I am sure many of us can remmeber how many of our proposals and suggestions were rejected for not fulfilling whatever criteria.
Students should never be forced to be creative, serve others, or lead. (The action element is not so bad because most of us already have our various CCAs to cover for whatever hours we need in that area - fortunately enough.)
Creativity is defined as "the experience of thinking, reacting, and working in an imaginative and idiosyncratic way which is characterized by a high degree of innovation and originality, divergent thinking, and risk taking" (www.usm.maine.edu/~trudy/frame/fgloss.htm) Now, if everyone expresses creativity as defined above, then is creativity no longer 'imaginative, innovative and original'. Is it not then too much to ask creativiy from everyone? Such things can not be forced upon students.
Likewise, it is not the fact that leadership is being promoted. It is the fact that it is being forced upon us that is disturbing. Well, not exactly forced, but the book says we need to complete CAS "to be eligible" for the diploma, (i.e. we are forced to complete it or else). Did not James command us to "be not many masters, for we shall receive the greater condemnation"? Why then does the school want everyone to be a leader? Leadership should be promoted, but never forced.
For service, the natural connotation of 'service' suggests voluntary work. And it is not hard to see that when service is forced upon us, it no longer becomes voluntary in any sense.
In conclusion, while I feel that CAS(L) has several noble aims and objectives, the methods of implementation are seriously flawed and need to be reworked if they are to produce its desired outcomes.
For reference, here is the abovementioned verse:
"1 ΒΆ My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.
2 For in many things we offend all." - Jas. 3:1-2a
