On Monday, September 14, the Jonathan Alder Board of Education voted unanimously to remove Senior Project as a graduation requirement effective this school year.  I’ve spent the past five years teaching Senior Project and the past seven teaching seniors.  It was strange to present to the Board asking that Senior Project be removed after I had spent so much time advocating for it over the years.  But that is the nature of education.  Education is fluid.  It changes constantly.  Technology and philosophy swirl around with new ideas to help our teaching styles keep up with the needs of our students.

That’s the thing about Senior Project.  For many students it provided a rich learning opportunity.  For many others it was a struggle to survive.  Our educational opportunities shouldn’t be a struggle to survive.  It’s nearly impossible to find one lesson or teaching unit that works perfectly for everyone, but it’s easy to tell when one doesn’t work for far too many students.  It’s the never-ending struggle to find a balance between challenge and engagement.

As Senior Project exits stage left to the applause of many ecstatic seniors, new opportunity is spinning in from the right.  Fellow English teacher Stephanie Tinberg and I have been working since the end of last school year on possible new learning opportunities for our seniors including everything from podcasts to TED Talks to reading and writing workshops.  We couldn’t be more excited about the new ways in which we will be able to challenge students in more student-led units and activities.  With more ownership and engagement (and significantly less dread), we hope to see seniors’ reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills more college and career ready than ever before.

If you are looking for some exciting new opportunities and have a little time on your hands, stop by the classroom of your friendly neighborhood English 12 teacher to see what’s happening. Miss Tinberg and I would love to have you!