Yesterday I had the pleasure of seeing a lesson demonstrated by 2 very talented social studies teachers at Springville-Griffith Institute. These teachers were doing exactly what I want to see teachers do.......engaging students in their learning. They chose to demonstrate 2 lessons. The first was using students to address the concerns of Hurricane Katrina. "Students" sat on a panel....the president's cabinet. One student represented the Department of the Interior, another Homeland Security, another the Department of Education and of course there was The President Of the United States. The President had 3 Billion Dollars to give out. Each department head had to make a case for why their department deserved the money in an effort to rebuild New Orleans. What a fabulous way for children to learn. They were actually "learning" about government but a current issue was used. Students created multi-media presentations used to make their case.
Another lesson was related to World War II and the holocaust. The students were able to learn about the war and the holocaust in many ways. Reading, interviewing World War II Veterans (at times their own grandparents or great-grandparents) and recording those interviews to be copied onto DVD for each veteran's family to receive. They also made a connection to current events which their school has focused on: the continuing genocide that occurs everyday in Dafur. Students then drew upon their knowledge of the holocaust and were able to make a parallel between the horrible genocide in concentration camps and those that go on in Dafur. The students in this school then created a Club for Dafur and held a variety of fund raisers. They were learning every step of the way and their learning was active, engaging and no textbook was seen.
I believe that this is exactly the kind of learning we want our children engaged in. Kudo's to the principal, assistant principal and superintendent Dr. Peters for creating the atmosphere where teachers can be excited about engaging students and making little use of textbooks and only as a reference when needed.
