Four whole days with 8th graders. That is 96 hours of being responsible for 90-something 13- and 14- year-olds. And of all places to go, we take our farming-community/small town teenagers to a city with 2.7 million people. My exact thought- This. Is. Going. To. Be. Insane.
Along with the 90-something 8th graders were seven chaperones- myself, three 8th grade teachers, our counselor, assistant principal, front-office secretary, and Ms. Allen. Although it was not directly related to library media, it is what consumed the majority of my time this week. The first half of the week (Monday-Wednesday) was spent like normal, at school.
My 8th grade classes continued to work in the library with Ms. Allen and I on their SketchUp designs. As students created, they were quick to realize that to accurately create their design previously drawn on paper using the computer program, they had to do some research. From the beginning, Ms. Allen and I told the students that we knew very little about the program, but assured them that we knew they would pick it up much more quickly than the little bit we had. Sure enough, they have. As they encountered problems maneuvering within SketchUp, they began to fall back on their basic research skills. We showed them at the beginning that YouTube actually has some of the best tutorials. Without barely any further guidance, students began searching for answers using YouTube and other various tutorials on the web. They also seemed to enjoy teaching and learning from each other. You can only imagine Ms. Allen and I beaming with pride at the self-sufficiency our students have shown with this project. I could not be more proud of their attitude when taking on such a new challenge!
Now to the Windy City...
We left school on tour buses right after school ended on Wednesday and did not return until late Saturday evening. On our travels, we visited the following:
Museum of Science and Industry
Field Museum of Natural History
Shedd Aquarium
Navy Pier
Medieval Times
Willis Tower
China Town (a quick drive through was all that entailed)
Indianapolis Zoo
Check out this video for a quick look at some of our activities!
Looking back on the experience, I am still amazed at how smoothly everything went. Our kids were AWESOME! We complimented their behavior and smart decisions, and they seemed to genuinely want to give us something to brag about when we got back to school. I think all of the chaperones were equally surprised at the maturity (which has not been this group's strength this year) our kids showed. One of my favorite memories was listening to two of our boys behind me on the bus as they discussed Chicago's population:
Student 1: This might be the biggest city I've ever been to!
Student 2: Yea, it's big, but I've been to New York.
Student 1: Well, Chicago is pretty close, right? Like, it has a lot of people. Like millions.
Student 2: Yea. I think so. But I think there are other cities that are bigger- like Boston. Boston is really big too.
Student 1: I don't think it's bigger than Chicago!
...arguing...
Student 1: I'm going to look it up... This one says-
Student 2: You can't look at that site! It's not even reliable! Look at it's crappy page!
Student 1: Fine! How about this one?
So the debate continued and a decision was finally reached (Chicago is #3 according to population, with NYC being #1, and L.A. being #2), but sitting in front of them and listening between the seats, I found myself first laughing at their intense argument, and then smiling at their conversation regarding the validity of a source. Even small, informal conversations and moments can provide some of the best evidence that we are, indeed, making an impact. Ms. Allen should be proud!
Happy Easter everyone!
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