Senior Learner Class Notes
The kids completed their Senior Learner essays and will receive their feedback from Sonia Aroas shortly. They approached their essay questions with conviction, and the level of thought they gave to leadership, rebuilding the world, and opening up after quarantine is laudable.
After immersing ourselves in the work of psychologist Angela Duckworth on grit, we developed a grit questionnaire for Hayground students. According to Duckworth, grit (passion and persistence for long-term goals) is a significant predictor of success in school. The kids took Duckworth's grit test and developed one for younger kids. Our questionnaire will go out this week, and the kids will email the students with their scores and ask some follow-up questions. Developing the questionnaire required lots of time and thought, and may serve as the beginning of a more comprehensive study for our work next year.
We celebrated the completion of our short stories with a Zoom read-aloud followed by a game of bingo honoring the stories’ themes. We plan to send our anthology to several historical societies seeking work from kids completed during this time of pandemic.
The class is nearing the conclusion of our work on Public Health and COVID 19, directed by Jerry Raustiala, MSN, RN. We will synthesize our learning by creating an illustrated book underlining the significant themes that we encountered, and Jerry will be available for fact-checking and editorial advice. We plan to publish our book and will let you know when it's available for purchase.
Last but not least, I am in contact with an English language teacher from Guanzhou, China. Her students have been vlogging in English about their lives during the pandemic to develop their language skills, and she has asked our class to offer them feedback. These vlogs provide a unique window into the lives of young Chinese students. In this time of isolation, the ability to connect to other kids living through similar circumstances, while coming through it from a different cultural perspective, is incredibly beneficial for all. We'll keep you posted about this exciting exchange.