My students are busy researching, writing and creating culture posters. This is the third or fourth year that I've been involved in this project, yet this year is presenting new challenges which shows that no one curriculum or content unit is the same for every student or student group.
In years past, my classes have included many more immigrant students. Those students were mostly enthusiastic about sharing their cultural history and traditions. As soon as the project was announced, they were busy jumping onto the computers to research and write. Also when it came to sharing artifacts, their biggest problem was which artifacts to choose since their homes were filled with objects that represented their native homes and countries.
This year most of my students represent a long history in the United States. Similar to my own children they are many generations removed from the stories, songs, arts and traditions of their ancestors' native lands, hence the interest factor is not as great. Also this year's students represent less collective experience with Internet research and work as well as global studies, therefore they require greater guidance and direct teaching in this regard. I actually didn't expect this change, and wasn't prepared for it. In year's past our curriculum included more global studies at each grade level and we've lost some of that. Similar to year's back our k-3 curriculum includes little independent research so that's an expected goal, but I think my immigrant students of the past may have had more experience since the Internet is such a vital tool for new immigrants and families.
After reading students' initial research and writing this morning, I was happy to hear voice and note that enthusiasm for the project has begun to emerge as students discover interesting facts and information about a country and culture different than their own. Today, with greater understanding, I will lead the project with new motivation and zest. I will see this project more as an "exposure" project than a "deep and detailed" project. I will think of this project as a good activity to introduce children to the world around them as well a chance for children with strong immigrant ties to share their story.
This experience has demonstrated to me once again, that good education does not fit into a box, and each year with every group, the way we roll out the curriculum units will look different if we really care about responding to and adapting for student engagement and success.
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