(Vol. 1, No. 1 - Winter 1996/1997)
Jan Calvert's Changes
at Williams Middle School
Williams Middle School is using the Future Connections program and another
career exploration grant "to help turn this school around." It
seems to be having an effect.
Principal Jan Calvert takes a visitor through the sixth grade wing, where
different classes are exploring different kinds of engineering. One class
of budding chemical engineers is analyzing an odd material called "Oobleck"
which, among other things, is cold, green, clingy when wet, powdery when
dry. "This is what scientists do. They examine something and try to
be as precise as possible when they talk about it," a teacher explains
as kids record the results of their analysis.
Another class of budding systems engineers is thinking about ways to redesign
the cafeteria to make it more efficient. One student suggests using a system
of lights or sounds to notify students when the volume in the lunchroom
is getting too loud. "Bravo! What a great idea!" her teacher says.
"We used to have it at my elementary school," the student confesses.
"That's okay. A good engineer adapts lots of the good ideas she sees,"
the teacher assures her.
As a result of the careers focus, Calvert sees her teachers "using
much more hands-on learning, making more connections to real life."
Teachers find that they must integrate their various subjects to make the
program work, and they're discovering that students can learn to behave
inside and outside of school."
"Three years when I first came here, kids would throw things at me
when I came into the classroom," she recalls. "We've come a long
way from that."
Another Future Connections program that has helped kids relate to the outside
world is the seventh grade goal-setting activity, where students take part
in a formal luncheon with an adult - complete with silverware and linen
napkins - and question the guest about his or her career, using a "protocol"
they've prepared in advance.
"It's all part of thinking about growing up," Calvert concludes.
"We all depend on these kinds of skills to make our way in the world."
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