Blessings Blog

Tonight I'm thankful to have been inspired by the senior project presentations at Arcadia Charter School. This school, by virtue of its small size, project-based curriculum, and emphasis on fostering creativity, growth, and confidence, has prepared their students so well with skills of elocution and grace. Reflecting on my own experience, I was shy (and would still say that about myself) and hated speaking in public all through high school, and it was not until perhaps the last couple of years that I have felt more comfortable speaking with and in front of human beings. I was only forced to take one semester of speech class through high school though, while these Arcadia students, if starting there in the sixth grade, have been working on class projects and presenting in front of teachers and their peers since the age of twelve. By the time they are seniors, that experience is evident, and they are able to talk about their hard work and passion with ease.

And for Arcadia to be able to encourage their seniors to work tirelessly on their final projects of their choice, from building electric tricycles from scratch to glassblowing, to writing their own novels, to amateur documentary photography, and to work collaboratively with an adviser and a mentor from the community, those opportunities are incredible. Basically like Carleton comps, with some projects actually up to that academic level. 

Here are a couple highlights:

- A book of poetry titled "Life and God" because this student realized that was what it came down to for him. "I am a collage of those around me," he wrote. Commenting on his confidence that may come across as arrogance, he adds, "All praise towards me is a direct reflection of everybody who had put something into me." This boy knows where his love and strength come from, and he so delicately walked the line of vulnerability and assurance, and of questioning and faith in his poems.

- An in-depth study of social change and what it means to be an activist. Understanding how to define and contrast social change and social justice, and concluding, in dialogue with another student's study of "Just War Theory," that violence may be a means to social change but is always unjust because it is going against someone else's self-worth as a human being.

Wow. Just wow.

And I'm thankful for the note from one of the advisers "Thanks for being at our school this 'spring,' Kathryn. I wish there were more people like you, in Northfield, interested in being a part of influencing young peoples' lives in a positive way." I'm thankful to have been a part of this environment, albeit just for half days, twice a week for a few months, and I look forward to spending more time with these students in just the few remaining weeks. I am sure I am more inspired by them than they would be by anything I would have to offer, but we all do what we can.