Education, Learning, and Knowledge: It’s in the Student’s Hands
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On the inside of a public charter school in the Midwest, the students’ colorful artwork is proudly displayed throughout the building. The artwork is a visual representation to show what they learned. You can see drawings of teachers, students’ families, and a fruit basket from different points of view. The artwork is the final presentation of projects they have produced. When my class first visited the charter school and saw colorful pictures of presidents with poems under them, the principal explained that the kids were interested in learning about money. They discovered each bill had a different president’s face and they learned about each president. This project led them to write “I Am From” poems from the point of view of a president. What is interesting about this approach to learning is the students told their teacher what interested them and the teacher helped guide them to answer their own questions. As a result, they learned United States history, used poetry and literature to write about a president, and had fun while doing it.