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Leigh-Anne
Hendrick
Emily Testa
09 Project
Summary
Chautauqua Lake Central
School
1. General Overview of the Proposed
Project:
To implement a Brown Bag Lunch Series
that hits upon key historical and cultural points. On the second
Thursday of each month, we would like to bring in a speaker that
addresses cultural and historical topics pertinent to the holidays
or cultural celebrations taking place during that month. The speaker
would address students during a 40 minute study lab period, to be
followed by a breakdown activity/discussion during lunch immediately
after.
2. Clear Purpose and Objective:
Expose students to a wider range of cultural
and historical experiences to enhance their current understanding of
the world around them and their academic studies. Speakers would
address both contemporary and historical experiences, while the
follow-up activity would breakdown the issues presented, connecting
them to the individual students and their current understandings. I
would pair with Leigh-Anne Hendrick, a member of the Social Studies
Department, to work with student writing in response to the topics
covered.
3. Stakeholders: grade level, who will
benefit, who will participate in this project.
The series will be open to any students who
have a vested interest or curiosity about the month’s topic. Extra
credit may be given at teacher’s discretion in order to promote the
series and encourage attendance.
4. U.S. History Content Area
Civil Rights, Women’s Rights, September 11 and
Terrorism, local history . . . .
5. Outline Describing Content
SEPTEMBER: 9/11 Memorial
- NYSP rescue workers speak on
experiences at Ground Zero and the changes in US policy since 9/11
OCTOBER: Make a Difference Day
-
Jonathan Powers
-
Cemetery Night Tour at Lakeview Cemetery
NOVEMBER: Native American History Month
-
Teaching American History Seneca?
-
Call Averl @Native American Group
DECEMBER: Human Rights Month
- Holocaust survivor, Lost Boy
from Sudan, Jackson Center Rep.
JANUARY:
FEBRUARY: Black History Month
- Canadian Professor?
MARCH: Music in our Schools
- Jim Davis Music of the Civil
War
APRIL: Poetry Month
- Amy Nez
MAY: Local History
- Mayville Historical Society
JUNE: History of Place
-
Dr. Mosher
Please note, these are ideas and no
speakers have been contacted at this point
6. Software to be used, internet
materials, contacts, etc.
Non-applicable
7. Level of Student Involvement
Students will be involved with every facet of
discussion and breakdown following the speaker’s presentation.
8. Evaluation process (include students
when possible)
At follow-up sessions, students will be asked
to complete a range of activities including: Socratic seminar
discussions, narrative essays and debates. These activities will
evaluate the level of student understanding and act as a supplement
to the educational experience.
9. Timeline: how you envision the
project being carried out between start up and conclusion
May-June: Obtain permission from
district, set dates, and reserve room
July-September: Contact speakers,
create posters and video commercials for announcements.
September-June: Evaluate programming
and make changes as necessary.
TAH REFLECTION
EMILY TESTA AND LEIGH-ANNE HENDRICK
BROWN BAG LUNCH SPEAKER SERIES
CHAUTAUQUA LAKE HIGH SCHOOL
The Brown Bag Lunch Series has been a great
success. When we began our planning for the series, we wanted to
expose students to a wider range of cultural and historical
experiences to enhance their current understanding of the world
around them and their academic studies. Throughout this year, we
have introduced Chautauqua Lake students to speakers and subject
areas ranging from the impact of 9/11 on New York City to how race
relations and diversity has progressed in our area.
Students signed up to come to hear each
speaker, and that seemed to work very well. Each month, we had a
willing and interested audience who was there because they were
truly intrigued by the topic or the speaker themselves. A
school-wide assembly introduced the series on September 11. Our
speakers were members of the New York State Trooper’s Mobile
Response Team who were pivotal in the response to the attack seven
years ago. This introduction served to excite our students about our
future speakers, and it created a great deal of interest about or
series. After several months of smaller, voluntary audiences, we
held another school-wide assembly for Carl Wilkens. His presentation
was the culmination of a visual campaign entitled “Do You See
Orange?” This was a campaign begun by students in Leigh-Anne’s
Holocaust class, and our March event with Carl Wilkens served to
solidify the importance of caring about “the other”, as well as
involving the entire school in a challenge begun by a few students.
These two larger events punctuated our series of smaller, more
informal presentations and gave our students a reminder of what was
being offered to them. These two presentations also encompassed many
of the ideas that we wanted to capture with our series: that our
world is much larger than just our own, small town, and that there
are things we can do to change what has already been done.
During the other months, speakers
were invited to give more informal presentations to our students.
Speakers would present their stories for about forty-five minutes,
followed by a thirty-minute period in which students could ask
questions. Our only regret was that this often seemed to be too
short of a time period for students to really ask all of the
questions they had crafted while the speaker was presenting. Our
October speaker was a panel of administrators and students from
local social and employment aide organizations. The administrators
spoke for a lengthy period of time, but it was clear that our
audience really wanted to hear more from the students themselves,
the people that had directly benefited from these institutions and
the aid therein. Our students were motivated and inspired by Victor
Habinshuti, a survivor of the Rwandan genocide, but his story was
cut short by our restrictive time. Our February speaker was
Director of Multicultural Affairs at SUNY Fredonia, Averl Otis, and
students seemed to respond very well to her interactive and
straightforward approach to racism and stereotypes. We would
definitely look towards more interactive speakers after seeing the
student’s response to her. What was to be most important about each
of these speakers was that they were primarily local, and available
to really answer student queries on a more personal level. This
seemed to remind our students of the diverse stories and passions
present in our small community. These were people who had
experienced great things, and acted in great ways, and they were
here.
One regret that we have shared is
that we have not had as much time as we would like with the students
to focus on the follow-up. Wanting to give as much time as possible
to the speakers themselves and to the students’ questions, we cut
ourselves short and that did not allow time for a breakdown of the
event. However, we have received a lot of individual feedback from
the students, and that has opened many doors and given us
opportunities to carry over these discussions into our classes.
This series has taught us many lessons. We
have learned that people are willing to share their stories, and we
have realized that students are willing to listen. The intimate and
informal setting allowed students to feel comfortable asking honest
and thoughtful questions. Many of the projects that our students
have started, including the “Do You See Orange?” campaign, were
projects inspired by the very ideas that this series was intended to
highlight. History surrounds us all the time, and we are capable of
shaping by our own thoughts, words and actions. What has happened
before may be a tragedy, but we are capable of preventing such
tragedies in the future.
Hendrick Reflection
One thing I noticed lacking at Chautauqua Lake was the opportunity
for students to selectively use their study lab time in unique
ways. I also noticed that our many of our students have a strong
interest in learning – not only about history; but also about
culture, current events, and sociology. I thought in working with a
fellow teacher, Emily Testa, The Brown Bag Lunch Series could be
developed and it would enable us to offer our students exposure to
speakers who could teach and enlighten them on various topics. As a
whole, I feel strongly that the Brown Bag lunch speaker series was
extremely successful and well received by faculty, staff, and the
community. Throughout this year, we have introduced Chautauqua Lake
students to speakers and subject areas ranging from the impact of
9/11 on New York City to how race relations and diversity has
progressed in our area.
One regret
that we have shared is that we have not had as much time as we would
like with the students to focus on the follow-up. Wanting to give as
much time as possible to the speakers themselves and to the
students’ questions, we cut ourselves short and that did not allow
time for a breakdown of the event. However, we have received a lot
of individual feedback from the students, and that has opened many
doors and given us opportunities to carry over these discussions
into our classes.
This series has taught us
many lessons. We have learned that people are willing to share their
stories, and we have realized that students are willing to listen.
The intimate and informal setting allowed students to feel
comfortable asking honest and thoughtful questions. Many of the
projects that our students have started, including the “Do You See
Orange?” campaign, were projects inspired by the very ideas that
this series was intended to highlight. History surrounds us all the
time, and we are capable of shaping by our own thoughts, words and
actions. What has happened before may be a tragedy, but we are
capable of preventing such tragedies in the future.
I am sending our joint
journal along to serve as an outline of our work.
BROWN BAG LUNCH SPEAKER SERIES TAH JOURNAL
EMILY TESTA AND LEIGH-ANNE HENDRICK
SEPTEMBER 11, 2008
NYS TROOPERS MOBILE RESPONSE TEAM
·
Reserve room and lunch plans
·
Took place during study lab – not enough time for
presentation
·
Well received by faculty and staff and an appropriate
memorial to 911
·
Need to better control student press – each member of
the newspaper wanted to interview troopers – resulted in duplicate
questions and not enough time for other students’ questions
·
Slide show very well received
OCTOBER 16, 2008
JOYCE GOLDEN, CHAUTAUQUA WORKS AND PANEL
·
Panel 3 adults and 2 non CLCS students
·
Students signed up for this BBL – not a school-wide
assembly
·
Sign up went well m –maximum occupancy
·
Student speakers did not have enough time to speak
·
Lunch was provided for students to increase
participation
·
More time should have been spent with the speakers to
transition from one topic to the next
·
Lunch took too long
·
Students responded well to the fact that these were
local organizations
DECEMBER 11, 2008
WILLIAM PIHL, SURVIVOR OF THE USS ESSEX
EXPLOSION
·
Students signed up and had to bring their lunch or
order from café. Café was very good about getting lunches to the
room, labeled, and divided by meal type
·
Speaker was good but took a while to get on topic –
once he was there he did great – we think nerves might have
contributed to this
·
Students loved the props and primary documents Mr.
Pihl had with him
·
Lunch went better this month, but bags were loud.
JANUARY 8, 2009
VICTOR HABINSHUTI, RWANDAN GENOCIDE SURVIVOR
·
Students signed up and had to bring their lunch or
order from café. Café was again very helpful about providing lunch
choices and delivering lunches.
·
Speaker presented first to students from Holocaust
class before speaking again during study and lunch
·
Speaker was engaging and students responded well to
his difficult story
·
Time ran short for questions, several students stayed
after to speak to Victor
FEBRUARY 20, 2009
AVERL OTIS, SUNY FREDONIA DIRECTOR OF
MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS
·
Students signed up and had to bring their lunch or
order from café.
·
Speaker was very interactive, students responded well
and participated in activities geared at flushing out stereotypes
regarding gender, race and sexual orientation
·
Some students struggled to understand the idea that
there are no “good stereotypes”
·
Time was well-managed and student participation was
excellent
MARCH 12, 2009
CARL WILKENS
·
School-wide assembly
·
Done in tandem with student-led “Do You See Orange?”
campaign
·
Campaign raised anticipation for Mr. Wilkens’
presentation
·
Students from the Holocaust class had lunch with Mr.
Wilkens before the assembly. Speaker was excellent in this less
formal environment.
·
Speaker was engaging and insightful, although the main
presentation was unfocused and too lengthy for the time provided
(approx. 60 minutes)
·
Students responded well to message about “the other”
·
Assembly ended with a challenge to students to raise
$1000.00 in the next 36 hours (including a dance the following day)
to send to caretakers for AIDS patients in Africa through the World
Vision organization—goal was met AND exceeded!
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