This project is part of the Black History Month celebration because it supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of the students are Black.
About My Students
Solomon, Jada, Amiya and Martin are four of our 8th graders leading a project to effect change in our community. Each has been recognized as a Light Leader, the highest honor in our school. They are determined to use their leadership skills to create the change they want to see in their community.
This project grew out of work they began last year with a study of our country's founding documents. Students tackled complex text to try and understand how one affects change and to figure out how they participate as young U.S. citizens. From their in-depth work they created "Voices for Change," a project that looked at the issues of race and stereotypes in the United States. Students created a series of podcasts to push the dialogue and understand the multiple perspectives of this complex issue in American society.
This year these students have decided to use what they learned from their podcast interviews to get into their communities and make the change they want to see. They are answering the question, "What is worth living for?". Through a student-led project they will affect change and combat stereotypes by documenting their lives as community activists in West Humboldt Park. Students will document work with community organizations to combat negative stereotypes about their community.
When designing their independent expeditions, 8th grade students are expected to put into action everything they have learned during their academic career at Polaris. It is the culmination of their growth and development as a learner. Through this project I expect students to hone their critical thinking and problem solving skills. These self-directed projects are meant to further develop students' effective communication skills, teach time management and further the collaboration skills they will need to be successful in high school, college and career.
This project with solidify my students academic mindsets. They will learn how great their abilities are and understand the benefits of hard work and effective effort. These skills will be developed and applied through the creation and application of their real world project that must include the identification of experts, fieldwork opportunities and the creation of a real world final product that meets professional standards.
In Their Own Words
Our project idea is to create documentaries about life in our community. We are going to research all of the great community organizations and service projects happening in our community and share them with the world. The purpose of our projects is to combat the negative stereotypes people have about us and our community by highlighting all of the great work being done. We also want to make sure that people understand what it is really like growing up in West Humboldt Park.
Independent expedition is about students leading all of the work being done. Our teacher will support us through guidance and setting some restrictions but it really is up to us as students to lead our own work. Our teacher will support us but it is up to us to do the work and make the project come alive. We are promising to work as project leaders and support the rest of our classmates in following through on our work. For this to really work we all need to be committed and own the work.
This project is important because we want to make the change we want to see in our community and beyond. At Polaris, teachers teach us that even though we are young we have the power to make ourselves and our community better. We want to be leaders in making change. We want to understand the world we are growing up in and make sure the world better understands us. In a way this project is our way to make our mark before we graduate from Polaris. We are excited and ready to do the work.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. Brady and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.