When Kids Rule School

I just read an interesting article by Susan Engel in the New York Times about a unique project eight students undertook in their Massachusetts high school. In response to what many are calling a broken education system, these students designed The Independent Project, whereby they created their own “school within a school.” With the help of their guidance counselor, this small group of students, which included two who were considering dropping out of school altogether, designed their own curriculum for math, English, and science in order to see if an alternative approach to learning would yield better results…not just academically, but socially and personally.

From September 2010 to January 2011, these students developed their own inquiry-based approach to science, selected eight novels to read and discuss (more than the school’s AP program reads in a year), took on an “individual endeavor” (such as learning to cook or play the piano), and participated in a “collective endeavor” (making a film about how other students could start and run their own schools).

The results of this unique experiment were nothing less than amazing! According to Susan’s article:

“An Independence Project student who had once considered dropping out of school found he couldn’t bear to stop focusing on his current history question but didn’t want to miss out on exploring a new one. When he asked the group if it would be O.K. to pursue both, another student answered, “Yeah, I think that’s what they call learning.”

One student who had failed all of his previous math courses spent three weeks teaching the others about probability. Another said: “I did well before. But I had forgotten what I actually like doing.” They have all returned to the conventional curriculum and are doing well. Two of the seniors are applying to highly selective liberal arts colleges.”

I would love to see the film these students made and consider how their experiment might be replicated in other schools. I think the reason The Independent Project was so successful is that it took the focus off of achievement and test scores (there were no grades given on any of the work) and instead focused on making learning relevant, exciting, and fulfilling – a great reminder that any solutions for the current educational crisis be developed with the students’ needs, interests, and well-being at their very heart.

What changes would you make in your school’s curriculum if you could launch your own Independent Project at your school?