Logan McQuivey, GBP Student As we begin to approach the end of semester one in GBP, we’ve started to take a look at the Community Action Project (CAP). For those unfamiliar with CAP, the goal is to encourage and enable us (the students of GBP) to effect change in our community, while practicing and reinforcing the learning goals we’ve studied in the class thus far. However, I think a number of students (myself included) were having trouble grasping exactly what this project might look like - so the GBP teachers aptly decided to bring in the big guns. As we came back from lunch on Wednesday, January 6, we were greeted by Talia Shapiro and Haley Bowse, two students enrolled in last year’s GBP class. They kindly took time out of their day to come and give a presentation - punnily named “reCAP” - about the projects their teams worked on last spring. Talia’s team initially hoped to reduce water bottle waste, but they ended up working towards acquiring a solar-powered compacting trash can for the school. Haley’s group focused their attentions on reinvigorating school spirit, through tailgates and T-Shirts. They explained the processes they went through, as well as what kind of meetings and surveys they found were necessary and how to go about doing those things. Maybe more important, however, was the plethora of advice they shared, both about how to be successful and how to avoid their past mistakes. They both stressed the importance of avoiding monetarily dependent projects, using class and personal time efficiently, and getting meetings done way ahead of time. Although neither of their teams succeeded in making their project a reality, they shared examples from their class of the projects that were a success. Overall, it was great to see project through former students’ eyes, which helped make it more relatable than a rubric is able to. Afterwards, we had the pleasure of hearing from our Superintendent, Dr. Gutekanst. His presentation was about a CAP-like project that he has been a part of over the past few years here in Needham. This project has to do with the need to rebuild the Hillside school and the struggle of finding a suitable location. This presentation was particularly impactful because it was a “real-world” example… not that the CAP isn’t real world, but the Hillside project is something happening on a much bigger scale and it shows that this type of endeavor is relevant in our adult lives. In fact, Dr. Gutekanst had just been at a meeting presenting the building plans earlier that morning. He explained how this project evolved over time, how new options and obstacles arose, and how he and the school board dealt with those changes. He emphasized the importance of group work, open mindedness, and communicating regardless of whether it was good or bad news. His presentation showed how a project like this is translated onto a much larger scale, and made us feel that, by comparison, a CAP is much more attainable. I’m definitely glad we had the opportunity to hear from both the GBP alumnae and Dr. Gutekanst. They all were able to share their perspectives and insights about the project, but also into the skills and processes that would be crucial to our CAPs. As we ruminate on our project proposals, I’m sure many of us are thinking back to the presentations we saw, and the advice that was offered. Here’s to hoping our final projects CAPture the very best elements of the examples we saw!
Dan Shapiro, GBP Student Are GBP students feeling like “Karate Kids”? Keep reading and I’ll explain... For the first two quarters of GBP, we were asked to do a CED (Current Event Discussion). This would entail us finding a recent article relating to Boston which we presented as 3-5 minute talk in class followed by discussion questions. We would analyze our articles to see how our topics demonstrated the change and/or impact on the Greater Boston area. After three rounds of CEDs the GBP teachers decided to mix up the Current Event process. From the CED, the CEP was born. Now standing for “Current Event Presentation” the CEP entails us similarly picking a topic like the CED, however the CEP is much more in depth. When we presented our CED’s, the most we had to talk about was a list of bullet points, but for the CEP we are asked to make an entire presentation of information to talk about. The 3-5 minute length is also increased to a 7 minute length. The CEP “ups the ante” of the CED and does so in major ways. For instance, with the CEP we are asked to turn in an outline, annotated bibliography, and multimedia presentation. The outline, bibliography, and slides have been essential parts of GBP when we produced our Agents of Change and Colonial Context projects, but there was one major element neither of these projects fully explored: the individual element. In both of the earlier projects mentioned, we were working in a group, but with the CEP, we are presenting, conducting research, and making bibliographies all on their own. The CEP combines all the elements of the previous projects, but working individually it’s the biggest challenge that we have faced so far.
The Needham Historical Society, including the old schoolhouse in red on the left. (Photo from the North American Reciprocal Museum Society) Sam Cruickshank, GBP Student
On a frigid morning in January, the GBP class headed over to the Needham Historical Society. Located directly next to the Newman Elementary School on Central Ave., the Needham Historical Society is often overlooked or mistaken for a regular house. Founded in 1915, the information that the society has in the form of many historical maps and documents is immense for such a small venue and non-profit organization. On this specific visit, our second one this year, our class focused on several documents and maps from the Antebellum Period, which is the period in U.S. history that goes from the early 1800s all the way up until the Civil War. As we entered the Historical Society, half of our forty four student class crammed into the old one room schoolhouse that the Historical Society uses as an educational space for students, shedding jackets and coats as soon as we felt the warmth. Right away, we started looking at documents, which were set up into various stations around the room. I found two of the stations’ documents particularly interesting on this visit. The first was a selection of four maps of the town of Needham. These maps were from the years 1771, 1836, 1856, and 1854. I paid special attention to the maps from 1836 and 1856, because there were two interesting changes between those maps. The first was that the town of Wellesley, which borders Needham, was a part of the map in 1836, but not in 1856. My group joked about this, referencing the recent Thanksgiving Day Football Game played at Fenway Park, noting how we “didn’t want them anyway” and that “they were better off as West Needham in the first place.” All jokes aside, this was a major development in the suburbs of Boston, as it allowed for two different communities to develop, and eased the space clenches on a growing population. Additionally, the addition of a railroad to the town of Needham was very significant on the map from 1856. My group noticed that there were many streets and roads located around the railroad stops, and it was clear that the railroad led to population growth in Needham. The railroad and the train is still an integral part of the town of Needham today, as many people (including the Greater Boston Project classes, on occasion) take the MBTA Commuter Rail into Boston every day to get to work. The second document that piqued my interest was a document that talked about an anti-slavery meeting that was held in the Unitarian Meeting House in Needham. We recently finished reading the book Ten Hills Farm by C.S. Manegold, which talks about how slavery existed in the North, basically to the same degree that it existed in the South. I found the book somewhat disturbing, and I was confused as to why I had not learned this history before. I found the document from the Unitarian Meeting House reassuring. It showed me that the community of Needham did realize the injustices of slavery,and they were going to try and do something about it. Although we mainly focus on the history of the city of Boston, it was nice to slow things down and take a look at our local history right here in Needham. We took the time to look at and analyze specific documents, a hallmark of the GBP experience. The 54th Regiment Memorial, The African American Meeting House, and a Beacon Hill street light marking the trail's path. (Photos from: Virtual Tourist, Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism, Boston.com) Tom Beacham, GBP Student
One of the main points focused on in The Greater Boston Project is interacting with the community that is Boston. One of the best ways this is done, and our favorite as students, is leaving room 728 of NHS and going out into the community. These are opportunities to see these types of things with our own eyes. The trip to The Black Heritage Trail in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Boston was a great example of this, as we got to go into Boston and see the buildings where the events we read and talk about take place. Over the course of the day we all walked the beautiful area of Beacon Hill all while looking at historical places that all played a major role for the black community in Boston. One of these places that we visited was the 54th Regiment Memorial Statue in front of the Massachusetts State House, where we talked about how this regiment was the first all African-American fighting unit in United States history; and, despite being thought of as bad and cowardly soldiers at the time, they took on one of the toughest jobs of the war. On July 18, 1863, the regiment became famous for leading an assault on Fort Wagner, deemed a “suicide mission” that regiment General Shaw volunteered for to prove the soldiers were not cowards. This was part of the move to capture the Confederate city of Charleston, South Carolina. In the hard-fought battle Shaw and many members of the regiment were killed. This is just one example of the many different places that we went to on the Black Histroy Trail. One thing in common at all the different sites is that at each of the places we stopped at, the teachers told us stories of how African-Americans lived in Boston at the time. THe stories were often about these residents having the courage to stand up for what they thought was right, as well as defining what they were up against and overcoming it. Some examples of this were at the Phillips School, which was also known as the dividing line between white and black areas of town in the antebellum period as it was the best of the white schools in the city. Another stop on the tour was the Lewis & Harriet Hayden House, where slaves would reportedly hide in the North as part of the Underground Railroad. The house showed support for African Americans because when slave catchers showed up, the Haydens would threaten to blow up the house with a single match, having stored gun powder in the basement. A third place we went was the African American Meeting House. The meeting house became the host to giants in the Abolitionist Movement who were responsible for monumental historical events. These are just some of the many places we went to on the tour. All of the buildings showed a different side of historic Boston which we explored on the trip. Specifically looking at the black heritage in Boston, it was interesting to see how African Americans interacted with the community and how the community interacted with them. As a whole, this trip was a good representation of the GBP course as a whole. We went into the community and learned about the history of the city, thinking about the things we learned in class in a real-world setting. We were able to enjoy time out of the classroom while taking in the interesting city history of Boston with our own eyes and experiences. Jill Montesano, GBP Student It is no doubt that surveys help others learn more about a specific group of people, whether marketers are trying to find the hottest trends, schools are trying to learn more about students’ drug use habits, or researchers are trying to understand if people's sleeping habits have any correlation with their late night device use. Surveys can be interesting, informational, and helpful for researchers and the people reading about the studies done.
What people often overlook about surveys is creating and analyzing one requires a thoughtful process. Surveys are created not only to be helpful and fun but also to find a trend or correlation of two factors. It is important when a survey is complete to take the time to compare answers which usually means creating graphs and drawing a conclusions from them. Surveys also have to be clear and direct with the audience, and have to be created based around who is going to be surveyed. There are many factors that go into making surveys and with our class activity we got some practice with creating successful surveys.
Brainstorming about all these tragedies got me thinking about how many tragedies could be happening all over the world that no one knows about or pays attention to. There is now so much more news coverage on media that we have more exposure to news stories, but we don’t always pay attention because it might not be concerning to us. All of these news stories could even be considered desensitizing to us because there is always something drastic on the news, it just depends what we pay attention to, or care to watch or read. It made me realize that we also can’t always trust what we read. Some textbooks may have mentioned some events as minor details, but that doesn't mean that all the facts were present or that there isn’t a whole other side to the story. Many textbooks seem to brush off real events like they were nothing, just a couple million people dead or a few thousand went missing, like the Armenian Genocide or the Haitian Revolution. While we were finishing up the activity, Mr. Brooke brought up a good point about what we think will be forgotten years from now. With all the technology present today it is difficult to have anything go unnoticed. But, as I explained, news can be desensitizing because every extreme that has happened is reported out. Throughout the journey of reading Ten Hills Farm, we are forced to question whether or not we really see every event in history for what it is. This lesson helped us think about how that happens now with our own media. A modern day photo from Ten Hills Farm in Medford, MA. (Photo from the Tufts University Magazine.)
Rachel Kingston, GBP Student
Sitting in a classroom for three hours can be extremely challenging for any high school student. At Needham High on A days the students of The Greater Boston Project, Periods 1-2 get to be together from 8am-11:20am-- that’s a long time for a group of 17 and 18 year olds to be in one place! Besides our 20 minute homeroom break, we stay within the room except for occasional bathroom breaks. But the teachers in GBP are realistic about our ability to do almost 3 hours of work, and realize to capture our attention for those two periods they sometimes need to throw in something fun and different, not connected to our class curriculum. A few weeks ago, the teachers set up a fun game to break up the long class. The class was split in half into 2 teams and both teams sat in a line facing each other. Students at the beginning of the line would wait for Ms.Tincher to flip cards from a deck and once they saw a red card they would pass the squeeze down the line waiting for the last member in line to press the button and beat the other team. All other teammates were required to hold each other’s hands and given simple rules: no talking, no looking- just squeeze the person’s hand next to you when you felt a squeeze on your other hand, like a chain reaction. The idea behind this game was to have everyone pay attention and be one part of a bigger chain; everyone had a role and each person had to perform the task as fast as possible so the team would be successful. As with any collaboration task, you had to rely on others to succeed. These kinds of activities allow us to step away from the traditional classroom, and learn collaboration in a different way. The games allow us to relax and enjoy each other during those long blocks, and give the opportunity to bond as a class form new friendships, too. It really does achieve another form of collaboration by exploring different ways people can be creative. We can learn things about each other that usually we wouldn’t know going through the basic school schedule. GBP students debate the issue of slavery as it was contested in the 1700s, looking at four of the prevailing perspectives on the issue at the time. (Photo by Ms. Tincher) Abby Kahn, GBP Student
There is nothing like engaging in a good natured class debate. These sort of thrilling debates take place in almost every classroom in our school, except for maybe science or math classes, where I’ve come to learn over the years that teachers in said subjects do not enjoy debating the validity of math laws! But other that than, I think it is safe to assume that every student at Needham high school will graduate with at least one formal in class debate under their belt. In GBP alone, we have conducted a few debates thus far. We debated current issues such as the impending legality of Fireworks and changes to taxes on cigarettes, as well as historical ones like whether or not Puritans intended to push Native Americans out of New England. Last Friday, we debated the institution of slavery in the 1700’s. Each student was been assigned a certain perspective on the issue, a perspective that would have been commonly encountered and debated amongst citizens in the 1700’s. This distinction that students were assigned commonly encountered perspectives in the 1700’s is crucial. If we were advocating for our beliefs in the present day, it would be a very one sided debate, as the paradigms of race have drastically shifted. So in this historical context, the assigned perspectives included advocates for the continuation of slavery as it was, advocates for the gradual emancipation of all slaves, advocates for the return of all slaves to Africa, and advocates for the immediate manumission of all slaves. As soon as positions were assigned, it was clear that some students were uncomfortable with arguing the historical position they were assigned, specifically those who had to argue that slavery should continue. Many students would now have to advocate for something that they know is totally wrong present day! However, as the preparation for the debate continued, the value of the lesson has become clearer. It is extremely easy to look back on our history of slavery and just say that it was an atrocity and should have ended sooner. However, as this fact is very clear for us today, it is more important for us as learners to understand that it was not so clear-cut back in the past. This debate encouraged students to understand all sides of the argument, and forced us to place ourselves in a position where we must fully understand and convey our assigned perspective, whether or not we believe in it now. Furthermore, the skill and other prowesses utilized in this debate have useful implications in the work force. Constructing a sophisticated argument, researching opposing viewpoints and being able to understand alternative perspectives are just some examples of skills that might be useful to us down the road. After this debate, I think we will have enhanced our persuasive argumentation skills as well as better understand why the issue of slavery was so disputed, and why it didn’t come to an end sooner.
Last Tuesday, as a class, we were able to have our own say on some of the policies and practices at Needham High School. Our proposals were not going to be reviewed by the school board or anything, but this activity was great practice for the class. We were able to experience the process of how formal proposals are actually constructed and brought into consideration by institutions like the high school, as we were tasked to create their own proposals. In groups of two, we were able to choose what policy at the NHS we would like to change or alter. There were a vast range of policies we chose from, like issues in the lunchroom to student attendance.
Once a group decided on the topic for their proposal, we then explained the purpose and reasoning of why there needs to be a change or alteration to the school's policy in a persuasive introduction. Next, we expressed what the desired outcome of the proposal was, such as the beneficial effects of the proposal being set into place. We used outside research to show statistics of how the policy may have already been successful in other schools. We gave a list of options for the ways the new policy could be conducted in sufficient detail. In the proposal options, we detailed components like resources needed for the policy and how the school will enforce the policy if it were to be put in place. Most importantly, we then offered a recommended option that we thought would be the most efficient and effective way to put the policy into place. A plan of action explained how the proposal can be accomplished by providing the audience with instructions on methods of how to make this proposal policy. A conclusion finally summarized our main points and the importance of once again why this policy need to be put into effect and the plan on how this policy can take roots with the school. Our experience with writing the proposals enabled us to understand the process of how new ideas and policies are brought into consideration to everyday places like companies, schools and even the government. It is important for us to work on our communication skills to better help us pass on our ideas and become persuasive and understandable when we request something. It is also important for us to work in the interest of the group we request aid or approval from in order for us to have the most success with our request. Zach Kaplan, GBP Student “Because it's the law.” one student touted. “My parents even said the courtyard was used as the designated smoking area back in the 1980’s.”, a different student remarked as the debate continued on whether or not tobacco should be allowed on school property. It was one of a few contentious issues debated amongst Greater Boston Project students in a recent GBP class. Students were split into three groups, and from then split into four smaller groups. Each group took turns discussing remedies to current school issues including placement of substitute teachers, the tobacco policy at NHS, fitness center hours and school start times. Students had 3 minutes to present their issues to a group, then 5 minutes to take questions from a three-person panel, and finally 2 minutes of feedback from observing onlookers. The standoffs between different students were interesting to see as often times, the temperature rose during times of rebuttal. There was a quick debrief where students and teachers talked about how presenters can improve for the future, in addition to the feedback given by the small groups initially. This activity was comprised in preparation for not only the upcoming Community Action Project (CAP), but to help improve life skills as students will need to know how to prepare and present proposals in the not-so-distant future. Students were able to get valuable experience in terms of framing questions about issues, as well as presenting their sides on why their proposals would work.These experiences are important as they help students prepare for some of life’s important tasks, a main takeaway so far from many students in the Greater Boston Project. Crucial scenarios such as making a proposal to a group and answering questions without being flustered are important skills to know, especially for the numerous GBPers who will likely enter the business world or other professions in which this is a regular practice. They will need mastery of the traits needed to be successful making proposals. I know I will need to make proposals for myself or speak for groups when it comes to making changes. Being able to verbally disarm concerns and field questions about an idea or implementation without getting flustered is important in any career path, and certainly something I will use in my life. GBP Students present proposals and field questions as part of a practice activity. (Photo by Ms. Tincher)
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GBP BloggersThis blog is powered by both the students and teachers of the GBP course. Check back often for features on what we've been up to in class! Archives
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