I had just finished reading the class a book about Teddy Roosevelt and was planning to have a brief discussion about his life. The students, however, had a different agenda. After discussing at length the environmental issues that caused our conservation President to "totally flip out”, they decided to open a natural history museum just like Teddy Roosevelt had done when he was nine years old. A museum that would inspire people to love nature, teach them about Teddy’s life and inform them about environmental issues affecting us today. Within forty minutes the students had chosen a new area of study and made a curriculum for the next month of school. The Teddy Roosevelt Museum became their passion project, evolving from their interests and ideas.
Exceptional instruction has nothing to do with the ability to come up with picture perfect products at the end. Its success is rooted in students being comfortable and feeling empowered to make decisions about what they learn and how they choose to demonstrate it. Extraordinary classrooms are driven by student’s own interests and ideas. The job of the educator is to connect as many questions and new insights to what the students are already bringing to the table.
In one fell swoop, we addressed standards in earth science and civic responsibility. In Language Arts we read for information, wrote paragraphs and spoke eloquently to the guests who came to visit the museum. Standards were not the driving force behind my instruction. They were the necessary tools for achieving our common objective. Like all learning should be, they were meaningful and relevant to the classroom.
The next five weeks was a whirlwind of planning meetings and curating our ever-expanding collection of prized shells, feathers and fossils. We made dioramas and created two massive wall displays on the life of Teddy Roosevelt. A life size Hopi monument was built in the corner alongside a museum gift shop. A team of museum security guards was assembled while another group organized the advertisement, publicity and tours. Each day was different with groups shifting and changing. The classroom was slowly being transformed.
The students’ museum project illustrates the importance of hands-on curriculum in education. When hands are moving, minds are working. When students are building and creating, they learn far more than the standards. They master how to work together with their peers. They understand how to share ideas, collaborate and compromise. They begin to understand their role within a group and how they contribute to it. These are the skills individuals need to be successful in society and the workplace.
The day of the museum opening, students beamed with pride and accomplishment as they took their parents, other classrooms and family friends on a tour. The Teddy Roosevelt Museum project was a huge success, in part, to the many adult members of the school community who collaborated on the project. A parent planned a whale watching field trip (whaling had been a major area of interest and concern for the students). Some parents made professional looking posters while others brought in movies related to the environment. One of the student’s sisters even served as Research Librarian, continually bringing in new books about nature and the life of Teddy Roosevelt
Adult collaboration is the cornerstone of an exceptional school culture. My classrooms have always had extensive parent involvement. They assist in the day-to-day activities and even in the planning of the curriculum. This involvement has made the classroom more rich and exciting for both students and parents.
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