Is School Enough? Of Course Not, But Its Role Is Important
I recently attended a screening of a documentary titled Is School Enough? that’s scheduled to air on local PBS stations in early September. The film profiled four project based learning activities that took students outside the classroom to identify real life challenges, propose solutions, and work together as a team under the guidance of their teacher to solve the problem and learn while doing. (View a preview)The projects were exciting and impressive, and the students involved were either economically disadvantaged or in an alternative education program. In one program a group of students became “citizen scientists,” using their smart phones to photograph plants and trees in an area that was to house a couple of elephants who were retiring from a circus. These students gathered data on the plants, shared the information with a scientist at Cornell University, and then convened with the scientist using Skype so he could answer their questions and provide suggestions for removing or replacing those plants that could prove toxic to the soon to arrive elephants.
Another project involved inner city students whose class had been given a vacant lot between two warring churches. The students had to evaluate what was needed in the neighborhood where the lot was located; gather information from the community on suggested uses for the space; and plan, design, and build the space into something that would contribute a positive resource to a blighted spot in the city. The students named their space “Switzerland” to indicate it was neutral ground that was open to all input and points of view.
A third project showcased the “Harry Potter Alliance” that drew fans of the Potter series