Imagination, Engineering and Democracy in a Deep Dive Back in Time

Take a peak into our students’ current project!

One of the things that makes our school unique is that all our students work together to solve real world problems that integrate standards-based curriculum across math, science, language arts, social studies, visual arts and our own neuroscience curriculum, "Human 101." Each student has an individualized program, differentiated for their neurocognitive strengths and challenges and delivered in ability-based classes--and these projects become the 'glue' that brings them all together.

Which brings me to our time machine, and the kids' current "driving question:"

"How can we envision a democratic society in the years 1202-1204 in Normandy, through a 3-dimensional model, a charter (negotiated with your peers) and a 1st person short story told through the eyes of a character walking around in the community that you create?"

As you can imagine, this has led to spirited debates of feudalism, the Magna Carta, medieval technology, the social and military merits of castle architecture and the math of protecting against pestilence and trebuchets alike! All the while, they're up and moving, whether they're freeing up brainstorming juices through a community-wide obstacle course or taking a mental throw-back to medieval times with a walk along our natural stream.

What better way to appreciate modern democracy than to imagine what life was like without it?

Stay tuned to learn more as our project unfolds!