“Only the educated are free”
Epictetus
Considerable attention has been focused on the failures of our educational system. Unfortunately, most of this criticism is valid. Despite endless speeches by “experts” and the expenditure of billions of taxpayer dollars, a large percentage of America’s high school graduates can not coherently articulate their thoughts and remain illiterate in such basic disciplines as math, science, social studies and the humanities.
But, the news is not all bleak! A few venturesome educators and school systems continue to develop and evolve a variety of creative programs which ask what cognitive tools students should have when they graduate and then focus on developing those skills. Souhegan High School’s ” Senior Project” is one such program!
Senior Projects are neither new nor are they widespread. Moreover, there is no common model for such enterprises. In some schools, they are merely an extension of the English curriculum, requiring little more than a lengthy research report. In other locales, exhibits and/or demonstrations are the prime requisites.
Souhegan’s faculty and administration have developed their own hybrid type of Senior Project. Its goal is to “engage every senior in a personalized learning experience”, allowing each student to utilize and demonstrate a variety if skills and knowledge while investigating a specialized area of personal interest. Further, successful completion is a requisite for graduation.
Seniors begin with the selection of a faculty mentor. They then submits a “letter of intent” to the Senior Project Committee outlining their subject and the question(s) they hope to explore and answer. The Committee either approves a request or suggests the student refocus the scope of their project and/or perhaps tighten up on the major question they are seeking to answer.
Students next begin the “active research” phase of their project. While some school time is provided, most students, particularly those involved in various types of community or business internships, spend many hours outside the school day working on their projects. Students are expected to maintain a “learning log”, a journal of each day’s
experiences, accomplishments, discoveries and frustrations. These diaries are periodically monitored throughout months they are working on their Projects.
The culmination of this work is a “product” which may be a paper, demonstration or other form of output. Each such project must be accompanied by thorough documentation of the research conducted, methodology used or work performed.
During late May, students must demonstrates “effective communication” skills through an oral comprehensive on their project. During this presentation before panel of faculty members, his/her mentor and two or three friends or parents whom the student wishes to invite, they are expected to exhibit knowledge and mastery of the subject matter
researched and the questions asked and answered during the development of their project.
Several of this year’s students were shocked to discover a poorly prepared, cursory presentation was not enough to ensure a “passing” grade. Those students were requested to do additional work and return for a reappearance before the panel. They as well as the Souhegan community which was watching, got the message … with responsibility
to choose their subject matter and manage their time came a substantial measure of personal accountability and an expectation that excellence was being sought.
A sampling of this year’s projects include; a search for the culture lost when one student moved from his native Cambodia to America; a study of racism in American sports; the design and construction of a full-sized billiard table; a computer simulation designed to teach someone how to juggle; a 60-Minutes-style expose on homelessness in New Hampshire, including a video interview with a homeless woman; a study of Hitler’s personal art and how his failure as a artist affected the destiny of the world; a study of the history of African- American dance by a fairly timid student who took lessons for the project and ultimately choreographed and performed a her own dance; and a photo-essay on the day in the life of a first grader, completed during an internship at a local elementary school.
Perhaps the most telling aspect of Souhegan’s Senior Project is discovered in its final phase … the “reflections” each student records on their experience in doing their project. For some, the amount of time demanded by the project was surprising … for others, the impact of having the panel send them away to do more work was initially devastating. Souhegan’s seniors, through these contemplative reports demonstrated articulate and often emotional insights into themselves and their learning experiences.
Meantime, the school’s staff is already assessing lessons from this year’s Senior Project. Based on those experiences, they have already identified several areas where the program can be improved for next year. Their collective lack of pride-in-authorship, together with their eagerness to do what right to improve the program bodes well for the evolution of its Senior Project concept.
Souhegan’s Senior Project is a bold and creative approach to prepare its students for the demands and responsibilities of college, the workplace or even the military once graduation exercises are over. It is a program deserving of support and emulation!
