Entry # 28:
Abandoning Ship:
Sometimes it's the right thing to do
I hate to admit it, but I am beaten. It has long been time for me to throw
in the towel, to save the fight for another day, but I have been too stubborn
to give up the ghost of an idea I have had for a while.
I hate to lose.
Back in January, I wrote of my intentions
to shipwreck my students on a fictional island off the coast of Bora Bora
-- Survivor style. At the time I thought I had a pretty good framework for
a project that would be thick with content, and I believed it might be the
ideal capstone to our Hatchet unit. However, as I continued to work
on the concept, it became apparent that this project was not the best use
of instructional time for my students.
I still see the benefits of doing such a project, most notably the high-interest
nature of it for my students. With the shipwreck unit I would be able to
teach research skills, embedding factual information in fictional writing
(as many writers, including Gary
Paulsen, do) and narrative writing. Then there's the plethora of grammar,
spelling, and mechanics opportunities. I see the great possibility for learning
this unit offers, yet I am choosing to leave it in my idea file for future
consideration.
Why?
My major hesitation lies in the recent educational experiences of my students.
I have no worries about their abilities; they are well equipped to handle
whatever research challenge I throw at them. I am more concerned that they
have had and are currently in the middle of several research projects for
other classes. And I don't believe we should plan our teaching in isolation.
We have to pay attention to what's happening with our kids when they go
into other classrooms.
Another research project might be overkill
A few weeks ago in science they researched different animals and created
poster presentations. Last week they were assigned a geology "big book"
research project in the same class. Furthermore, in order to prepare for
a Model UN experience held last week, my students spent several weeks researching
countries in Western Europe.
Finally, in my own class, I had my students complete a short research project
on topics related to Hatchet to help them build their knowledge about
some of the concepts they were unfamiliar with like flight, survival techniques,
and the Canadian wilderness.
Although I have observed the pride and confidence my students have been
building because of their growing ability to find and use information effectively,
I sense that yet another research project might be overkill. I want my students
to continue to enjoy research, and I am afraid of creating negative attitudes
where there are none at present.
Since the bulk of the content for this project was teaching research skills
and my students have already demonstrated their competence in that area,
it seems foolish to spend precious instructional time on more research.
I never feel as if I have the opportunity to cover all of my content, so
I can not find a way to justify spending the time on a skill that my students
already understand.
There's also the issue of resources
I will probably use this unit in the future with a different group of students,
but before I do, I have to find a way to address other problems I found
during my planning. One large problem is a lack of resources in our school
library. We have plenty of encyclopedias, but the type of information and
reading I want my students to encounter is not available at this time. I
want my students' research to go beyond the encyclopedia to books, magazines,
and other sources because I want them to know that the encyclopedia is not
the only place to locate information.
We might be able to surmount that problem by using the Internet, but there
is a lack of time for access. Our computer lab is used for related arts
class and there is no open lab time. My students go to the animation lab
one 80-minute period a week, and the bulk of that time is spent working
on animation projects. I have four computers in my wired classroom, but
the district has yet to give us direct access to the Internet. We are technology-rich
but time-poor, it seems.
A final flaw that needs to be corrected is the location of the island. First,
I found it difficult to find any real information about the plants, animals
and geography of Bora Bora. Most web sites I found were geared toward tourism,
and I found very little "meat." Second, the applicable information
I did find indicated there would be little for my students to eat
-- or fodder for the interesting challenges I wanted them to encounter.
I know I need to choose a different location, perhaps the Galapagos Islands
or the Amazon rainforest. Since I am hoping to travel to Peru this summer,
I may even be able to provide some authentic pictures which can help my
students do research and make inferences about their hypothetical environment.
The possibilities are endless.
It has taken me a while to accept all this, but the best interest of my
students has prevailed over my selfish desire to see this project play out.
After all, I am not saying goodbye, just see ya' later.
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