I am an eighth grader at MUMS. While I love MUMS, middle school classes can be hard because of the limited freedom. Additionally, aside from art, design tech and sometimes English, I very rarely have the opportunity to be creative. It is uncommon for me to have to think outside the box so I am sometimes not challenged. All but one of the classes I take confine me to the classroom. The only one that is different is What’s the Story?.
What’s the Story? gives very few boundaries. We are forced to be creative, even when we don’t want to be; and the teachers are not hovering over our shoulder, but rather guiding us from a distance. We are not told to do a documentary that includes this, this, and this about this specific issue while we look at a list of websites that are “good resources”. Instead, we are are told to create a documentary about a social issue in Vermont. We are leading this project, not the teachers. If we ask for help, we get advice, but that’s it; this is our project.
Overall, the looser reins, demand for creativeness, and serious need to take control and do it ourselves is what makes this course so special and different.
The benefits of this unusual course are the fact that we have so much free rein. We can do so much more than we usually can in a classroom. This course also helps us think creatively and go out into the real world.
Despite the fact that this course has a lot of benefits, it also has some drawbacks. First off, all of the benefits could be drawbacks to some people because some people are not ready for the responsibility that this course requires. Additionally, this course is a lot of work. Some people don’t even do homework because they have so little that they can finish it in study halls. What’s the Story?, however, primarily consists of work done outside of the times we meet.
Overall, What’s the Story? requires a lot of responsibility and dedication, but if you can handle it, the course can be quite beneficial.
By taking this course, I have realized that I am more than capable of thinking in a more abstract way and being quite creative. Before What’s the Story? everything was much simpler: do this and you’ll be right/get a good grade. However, during the first What’s the Story?, I was thrown into this less clear cut way of doing things and I was very overwhelmed; I thought I wasn’t cut out to do this and I considered quitting. However, I now know that I am actually very good at this unconventional way of learning, and I really like it.
After learning what I have about myself, I plan on taking that knowledge and using it to really push myself, way past what I have ever done before in order to do the best work I can do.
For the remainder of the year, I plan to keep asking questions. I am a huge question-asker, and I always have been, that’s just who I am. If I am confused I like to ask questions, so I want to keep doing that.
However, instead of just asking simple questions, I really want to ask deep questions, and I want to keep digging to find answers by asking complicated and important questions with complicated and important answers, instead of simple questions with simple answers.
Emily, I couldn't have hoped for a better response: "What’s the Story? gives very few boundaries. We are forced to be creative, even when we don’t want to be; and the teachers are not hovering over our shoulder, but rather guiding us from a distance. We are not told to do a documentary that includes this, this, and this about this specific issue while we look at a list of websites that are “good resources”. Instead, we are are told to create a documentary about a social issue in Vermont. We are leading this project, not the teachers. If we ask for help, we get advice, but that’s it; this is our project."
ReplyDeleteWow, so cool!
Thank you!
DeleteHi Emily,
ReplyDeleteIn general, high school classes put more initiative on the students, not the teachers, so you will have to be more responsible. Since you have taken "What's the Story?" you will be well prepared for high school because "What's the Story?" places even more responsibility on the students than an average high school class. When I was a student in "What's the Story?" last year I felt similarly to you about how the class provides a great deal of freedom for the students to study something they are interested in.
Keep up the good work!
-Henry
Henry,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the little glimpse of high school life. I have always been a little nervous about the responsibility requirement that will come next year, but I am glad to hear that this course is good preparation.
Thanks!
Emily
Emily,
ReplyDeleteYour post reminds me of a blogpost I just read by an educator who makes the case for teaching students how to ask good questions. In many classrooms, well-intended teachers do their best to cover the curriculum, which leads to students passively accepting what is doled out (with predictable results). In this blog, the educator makes the case for making more space in the classroom for students to make sense of things together, with the teachers as a helpful guide. In most classrooms, this writer argues, teaching / learning is like ping pong; the teacher throws stuff at students, and they throw it back. Back and forth it goes, from teacher to student and back again. What if teaching / learning worked more like volleyball, with all students taking part in keeping the ball going back and forth, and the teacher coached from the side? If you're interested, here's the blog: https://medium.com/education-reform/the-art-of-questioning-4617f3cd4a82#.k1d1d9h8o
John Dewey, one of the world's greatest educators (who lived in Burlington), wrote that "Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself." The best way to learn and become more skilled at making sense of the world and ourselves is to get out there and pursue our questions in the world. Separating learning from the world cuts learning off from its source.
So glad you continue to persist through the ambiguity / anxiety that that comes along with actively owning your learning. And most importantly, so glad you've had a taste of the excitement and satisfaction that comes from this approach to learning. We live in a fast-changing world that requires us all to be life-long learners, so the sooner we get the hang of how to learn, the more prepared we'll be for the world that awaits us.
Hope you had a great holiday, and wishing you an inspiring 2016!
Bill Rich