We’ve started this project. We began with a trip to the National Constitution Center. I really like the photo below but it also inspired a plan for next week: as we begin reading the Constitution, I’ll have them generate topics based on each of the clauses in the preamble. I’d like to make my short film about this notion of “promote the general welfare” because that term resonates so differently and because it would allow me to wax philosophical about how and why a government should ensure that all people have access to a good life.

One of my goals for second quarter was to help students develop the habit of working on projects at home. Actually, trying to get students regularly doing work at home in a way that it becomes automatic and then easy. There’s a portion who do work when stuff is due and there’s a smaller portion who regularly do stuff.

I didn’t want to read anything too deep so read the press release from Duke based on the work of Harris Cooper. Before we looked at it, I had the students write down how much time they think an eleventh or twelfth grader ought to spend each night.

I think the students felt as though I was trying to get them or convince them to own the homework, or claim it. And I get it — I was — but what matters more is that they understand the need for it. You can do it or not do it, but the only impact will be on the quality of your final project. I know this is an annoying adult thing and they probably didn’t believe me, but it was what I was trying to do.

Crap day: first day of second quarter when it’s a three day week (no school Tuesday, no school Friday). I wanted to start thinking about what it means to do an individual project, mostly because I want to make sure these projects are viable.

I was thrilled because several key things I learned from last year came up:

One, there has to be an external mentor who they are regularly working with to ensure that there’s something real there. As a teacher, the work of the student in building and maintaining this relationship is not only necessary for the project’s success, it’s one of the more valuable things they’ll do.

Two, “impact” shows up on three of the posters and it allowed us to talk about how one measures a project, both while it’s going and once it’s complete.

These are lines directly from JYs presentation. One of the top-five presentations I’ve seen.

You won’t always get justice but at least you’ll be heard.
Making honest money.
I don’t only have to help the place I come from, I can help people everywhere.
I gotta work extra hard to get these things down pat, things I shoulda got in middle school.
Building ideas on a prototype will get my brain working.
Making a model will help me actually engage, make my brain more engaged.
I try my best, my best, my best, to be apart of the community.
This was me motivating them.
Work ethic of an African.
He died this summer.

Man, six in a row is hard, especially when a big visitor arrives midway through.

Some deep thoughts from today, phrased in the form of agree-disagree statements:

LM: To make the community stronger, it needs to start with advisory, not with the individual.

DW: It’s better to be talked to instead of talked at.

SJ: Most of us are creative and we want to test out our creativity.

KN: We each have our own worlds that we live in…
So John — when he talks, everytime he talks, he give a motivational speech.

MW: (If I had would have had more time to do it, it would have been perfect.
I can help anyone but people don’t ask.

When is it my responsibility and when is is theirs?

If I give out the assignment, explain it, define it, spend at least fifteen minutes (and sometimes more) talking about what makes it outstanding, how often do I have to remind you to do it? If I make a checklist on October 9th and give it to you, then send on-line reminders on the 16th, the 25th, and the 29th, what more do I need to do?

How do I provide reset buttons for kids? In other words, how do I make sure that when a project deliverable slips off their radar they can start thinking about it again without panic?

How do I make sure that the intention behind every activity we do is understood and that all students are clear about how the activity and the time supports the completion of the deliverable?

How do I make clear what college actually means? What do people think about when they think about college? What do they expect?

KH makes a lovely distinction between being goofy and being an intellectual.

Best thing anyone said: “everyone has a role in this community.”

Second best thing anyone said: “in this group, there’s a lot of freedom, responsibility and work.”

Tomorrow’s the big night when our escape room goes live. We have five interlocking puzzles. We have lots of fun clues. We’ve rehearsed three times and have a pretty good sense where things go wrong.

As a wrap-up on Wednesday reading circle, we looked at excerpts from this Atlantic article on escape rooms. As we looked at the article, we talked about how our own room reflected these ideals.

“We’re passionate about our school and our escape room will reflect that.”
“There are serious mental rewards as we’ve been doing this.”
“Without reflection you don’t learn nothing.”
“The escape room gave a different way of learning.”

A good circle and a good day.

We also came up with a title; CS suggested Raiders of the Lost Classroom, which got shortened to “The Lost Classroom.”

Monday’s circle began, as it always does, with a weekend update — what did you get up to this weekend — and a second question: what did you do to compete with the best and brightest? I prefaced this by talking about the potential I see in all of them and how I want them to someday be their best selves.

I wanted to highlight the fact that they are competing against children who spend far more time reading, writing, and thinking about their schoolwork. This is a hard one to do in circle: I didn’t want to produce automatic adolescent us vs. them stuff but I also didn’t want anyone believing that they’ve made it already. The intense, relationship based culture of our school allows us to see the immense potential of all students. Potential is just potential, though, and nothing’s sadder than when it goes unrealized.

It’s about creating the situation where you realize you need to work harder.

(Also, I’ve not forgotten how the so-called best and the brightest made a hash out of a war. )