Tick, tick, tick. Five days. That’s how long until our Holocaust Exhibit opens. There are moments I want to panic; But most of the time, we’re busy, and on track. But to be honest, when you haven’t done anything like this before, you don’t really know. By the time this exhibit opens, most students will have invested anywhere from 30to 50 hours in it, some probably more.
And it’s coming together. My students are excited because it is assembly week. I have a feeling this next week is going to be one of the most rewarding of my career, thus far.
We’re working on “face two”. This is the real deal of what occurred during the Holocaust. I have 3 students who are painting a map of Europe on a 4′ by 6′ canvas that includes pictures of Hitler’s invasion of each country. And something about Modge Podge. It’s been at least two decades since I’ve Modge Podged anything, but one of the things this whole journey has taught me, is that my students have skills and talents that I do not. And they’re using them.
My students have also learned what real research looks like. For many things you can’t simply research it once, from one source, and you’re done. No. My students did their initial research, to become familiar with the project. Then we designed the exhibit. And then they realized the huge gaps in their research. Everyday, at least one student, usually more, need to supplement the information they’ve already gathered, often it’s images to support their documentation. But many times they realize they’ve missed significant information as well.
My students have also learned some real practical lessons that many teachers learn the hard way, such as, if the laminator is not hot enough, the plastic won’t stick together and it has to be done again. They’ve also learned that if you’re not careful, it can re-roll on you, jam, and whatever you laminated is destroyed. Then you start again creating the entire picture from scratch.
When you teach topics like this, you never really know what’s going to make the biggest impact. For my students, it’s the fact that most inmates lived, or died, on 300 calories a day. My students talk about it when they’re at McDonald’s. They talk about it in the hallway. They tell their peers in other classes. Many of them have begun to check food packages to see if what they’re about to eat is more than 300 calories. I’m shocked at the new found knowledge my students have of the caloric content of food. This is the exhibit piece we’re designing tomorrow.
My favourite part of student-centred learning is that I don’t sit there and watch, or walk around listening to their conversations and making sure they’re on task. I’m part of it. I help create, research, and problem-solve. I’m also a co-learner. One of my students explained to me that although the Jewish people wore yellow stars, the Nazi’s had a plethora of colours that delineated who different people were. I didn’t know that. So today, she was the teacher; I was the learner.
Shouldn’t our classrooms be more like this? The bottom-line is can you think of your students as partners with different skill sets? Can you see alternatives to lecturing, telling, and explaining to all? Are you ready to leave the stage? Take the leap. It’s worth it.