3. A Lively Spirit of Adventure

3. A Lively Spirit of Adventure

This we believe (NMSA, 2010).

* Curriculum is challenging, exploratory, integrative, and relevant. Challenging Curriculum

Our hallways were buzzing with energy and excitement yesterday. On Thursday and Friday of this week, students, who have been working all year, were putting last minute touches on their Science Olympiad (/www.soinc.org ) objects; and students who were part of Battle of the Books (http://battleofthebooks.org/ ) were drilling one another and reviewing the authors, themes, characters, and details of thirty-six books.

Science Olympiad and Battle of the Books are two national programs designed to allow students with a passion for science and literature to participate in competitions at the local, regional, state, and national levels.

One of my homeroom students streamed in saying, “I am here; but I am not here.” My response, “Thank you for letting me know. Have fun today.” This is a student who normally comes in passive, but in a positive mood. Thursday and Friday were different. He is on both Science Olympiad and Battle of the Books. Battle of the Books competition was in the morning and Science Olympiad practice was all day. (Competition is today, Saturday, at the local university!) The energy surrounding those involved was contagious. I felt like I had walked into one of those hotels that has the bass rhythm drumming. Students and faculty were pumped up for this day!

The Battle of the Books Team competed all morning. Science Olympiad participants were working on rockets and other presentations all day. Because my classes were a bit smaller we derived the formulas of triangles as they relate to rectangles and constructed and measured popcorn to explore the relationship between cones and cylinders on Thursday. On Friday, the technology coordinator taught students about circuits and at the end of the day my students were working on their “healthy and unhealthy foods” project. The entire two days were exploratory, integrated, and relevant.

At the end of the day Friday, a very hands-on day, a celebration day, our team rearranged the schedule to have “Clubs,” making the entire day a focus on exploration and innovation. I wish I could have captured the energy and the joy in our halls.

When our office coordinator came over the intercom to announce our Battle of the Books team won our District competition, there was as much celebration as we heard when our boys basketball and our wrestling teams came in second in the district! High fives were given as the members of the team passed through the classes. (It was right out of Konigsburg’s “The view from Saturday.”) What a fun day!!

Advice

1)   If your passion is in science, literature, math, or social studies there are competitions your students can engage in. Our school participates in these two programs.

2)   Celebrate the efforts and successes of teams!

3)   When competitions take students away from class, find ways to adjust the schedule and the curriculum so all students have a chance to engage in exploration and creativity.

4)   I have heard that college retention is related to being involved. If we encourage our students to participate in activities and/or get involved in an organization or club or activity, we are preparing them to stay in college.

5)   Resources are on line in all these areas. Consider using the resources to enrich your classroom.