As Christmas Break nears, and I see a glimpse of light at the end of the long, dark tunnel that is grading senior research papers, two particular thoughts rise up in my cloudy mind: first, as soon as I finish grading these research papers, I have to return to grading Honors Sophomore reviews of The Road because honors students expect writing to be graded, and second, I am blessed to work with some incredible kids.
The seniors at BHS undertake an ongoing project each year that begins with researching a topic for which the student holds a passion and then proceeds into an Extension Activity that allows the young person to somehow use or extend the research as part of an independent activity that is service related, builds something, develops and designs a lesson, or creates some time of production. They later will present the activity and the product to an audience. The undertaking has been a part of BHS for many moons, and the benefits and experiences that come from it are invaluable.
Part of the transition from research paper to activity is the creation of a proposal by each student which lays out exactly what they hope to accomplish in the spring semester regarding activity. As I have been working with students on these proposals, I am struck not only by the ambitious nature of some of the proposals, but also by the desire of our students to help others. Students are designing and building vehicles. Others are producing cooking segments that will demonstrate the proliferation of GMOs in the food we eat. One student is going to produce a portfolio of clothing made entirely from alternative, nontraditional materials. Examples of ambitious undertakings abound.
In addition to the ambitious nature of so many of the proposals, the number of students who are proposing to give of themselves in an effort to make the lives of others better is impressive. Students are planning charity drives to benefit The Open Door program that assists young mothers, they are organizing fundraising campaigns for Children's Mercy Hospital, and they are developing bullying and suicide prevention seminars to reach out students who need a helping hand. Students are designing lessons for freshmen to help them understand how alcohol affects decision-making in young people. They are reaching out to national organizations who assist athletes with disabilities. They are planning books to help educate the general public about the issue of homelessness in our community. Some of these students are what most would pray to have in any classroom. They have an internal drive that has propelled them throughout school to high grades and repeated recognition. They are the students you expect to dream big and then go chase those dreams. Others do no fall into that category. Some are students who struggle. Some seemed to want to be written off as sophomores, to be labeled as losers so no one would expect anything of them. But something happened; they grew up. They found themselves and they found a direction. They, along with the stellar classmates who drove them crazy answering questions that just confused them, are looking to provide some sort of light for people in need. They are thinking beyond themselves, and beyond just getting through without having to do much. They, along with their stellar classmates, are becoming the stories we will want to tell years down the road to remind us to never give up on the sophomore who finds every possible way to aggravate, well, just about everyone at some point in the day. That is why I am frustrated by the move to assess whether our kids are ready to succeed in the world at the sophomore level. So much growth takes place after that year. At the sophomore level, for some, success is sometimes means just getting through day. Give them a chance to grow; so often, they surprise us.
Are all of our kids perfect? Absolutely not. Actually, none of them are. However, they are our kids, and I am impressed every day with how some of them grow and mature and begin to dream, and then start working for those dreams. So, as Christmas break approaches and my eyes grow more weary, I am already looking forward to 2016. Some great things are going to happen, and some amazing people are going to shine.
And I have not even told you about my sophomores yet...
