Wowed

I think I use my blog as a source to rant about my the ridiculousness of my students.

Well, not today. Today I just want to brag a little bit about my students at South Tama.

First of all, my sophomores worked so well on the PLAN test! They followed directions; they were quiet; they worked efficiently - they were great! I was so proud. (Such a difference from the day before, let me tell you what.)

What I'm really beaming about today, though, are my 7th graders. This year, we are focusing on motivation and decision-making. Specifically, why do some people choose to go to and graduate from college, while others do not? We approach this as social scientists (you know, like psychologists and sociologists). First, we have a question. Then we brainstorm possible causes and develop a hypothesis. Now, we are in the research stage. They will be interviewing two people: one who went to college and one who did not. This month, we wrote interview questions. I did a little coaching and explained about the importance of asking open-ended questions. If they did ask a closed (yes or no) question, they needed to ask a follow- up. (After reading them, it appears I should have also talked about asking leading questions. If they were lawyers, I think a few of them might be objected!)

Here's a sampling:
Was going to college an option?
Has anyone else in your family gone to college?
Name some reasons you didn't go to college.
Did you want to go to college? At what point did you stop wanting to go/change your mind?
Who influenced your decisions?
What did your parents think of your decision?
How do you think your life would be different if you had gone to college?
Would you encourage your children and grandchildren to go to college? Explain.

Here's some of questions for those who went to college: (after a few of the more obvious - where did you go, what did you major in, what was your favorite part)

How did you benefit by going to college?
What motivated you to finish?
Why did you push yourself to graduate?
Where did you go for help?
Was it a difficult task? Did you ever want to give up? Explain.
What would your life look like if you hadn't finished?
Did you ever doubt yourself?

Seriously, I am PROUD of these kids! Days like this give me some hope & encouragement. They are getting it! They are smart kids! They do think college is more than parties! =)