Speak. Think. Act
How do you speak, think and act for the improvement of the community around you?
Our Community Core lesson plans not only encourages students (and teachers and administrators!) to speak, think and act for the improvement of the community, but also gives them the venue and tools to do so. Over the course of a four-year education, students will be immersed in issues of self-esteem, as they are immersed in social studies. They will think as critically about leadership, as they think critically about literature. They will familiarize themselves with the elements of community building, as they familiarize themselves with the elements of trigonometry.
Speak
Through teacher-led discussions, students will have the opportunity to share their views with their peers. They will hear their peers speak on the issues that have the tendency to wreak havoc in silence. Teens are a wealth of insight in regards to inclusiveness vs. exclusiveness, cliques, self-esteem and leadership. This is not to say that they do not need guidance. They do. However, if there is one thing we have learned, it is that they must be an active part of that conversation if we are to ask them to step up and build the community around them.
Think
Through written reflections, students will be asked to gather and express their ideas in a personal and confidential manner. These reflections will be the ink and paper record of a student’s journey to social and emotional literacy. The primary rubric for evaluation is genuine effort. That said, they are also a great opportunity for students to improve their writing skills.
Act
A series of projects throughout the school year will put the theory into practice. The discussion unit that covers genuine volunteerism will be followed by community service projects. The discussion unit that deals with building community will be followed by a project that creates visual representation of community. The school year will end with a student produced and published Annual Report that documents the state of the community. This will test their ability to utilize their classmates’ talents, work together effectively, and candidly assess their progress.
Speak. Think. Act.
There is no better time than now to take purposed steps towards raising and educating complete people. What is a great writer who cannot speak clearly about their self-esteem? What is a great mathematician who cannot calculate their effect on their peers? What better setting to accomplish such lofty goals than in our schools? The infrastructure is there. The dedicated and skilled educators are there. We have worked hard to produce the curriculum, the final piece.