Senioritis, Project Learning, and What They Have in Common...

Today marked the first day of what we call "senior project", or "project", at Detroit Country Day School. Each of our seniors seeks and finds a job shadowing type "project" experience with a professional / expert in fields of interest, and spends the next several weeks immersed in a work environment. It really is the ultimate example of a "project learning" experience as students have the opportunity to see first hand the application of the many lessons, academic and otherwise, that have been part of their experience at Detroit Country Day School. These projects will culminate with a "fair" style day on June 8th, during which our seniors will present their experiences to an audience of parents, faculty, fellow students, project hosts, and community members.

"Senioritis" is the term often used to refer to the kind of itch seniors have to leave high school. It sets in at different times for different people, but generally, sometime after first semester exams seniors at every high school across the country exhibit symptoms. Students care less about homework, grades and school, and more about what lies ahead - and that's natural. This itch to explore, to see the world, and to know what's beyond the cocoon of high school is a natural evolution. Senior project represents a safe, protected way to allow our students an immersion experience in the "real world".

Project can go many different ways. Some students come away with an experience that completely validates everything they thought they wanted in life after high school. Some students go on project, and are immediately disillusioned with what they find the real world application of their chosen area of interest to be. Other students go on project, discover that what they thought they wanted to pursue was not quite right, but then find something tangential that does fit their interests and aptitude. 

"Project Based Learning" or "PBL" is a buzz phrase and approach in education today, and like many acronyms or ideas, it begins to lose meaning when deconstructed. Still, the process of discovery, prototyping and refining is at the core of almost every truly valuable learning experience. Through our senior project experience, many of our students gain the opportunity to explore that was missing in the confines of a classroom. Each year seniors will say that project was the best experience of their high school career.

Students don't need to be seniors to be immersed in lessons of the world outside of school. In fact, those lessons are perhaps even more meaningful than some of the lessons of the classroom. Senior project, its success, and its impact on our seniors should teach us that implementing immersion / project experiences is valuable. When we can control these experiences, and create a safe framework for exploration, project experiences are incredibly powerful.

Please join us on June 8th from 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. at the Upper School to see our senior projects on display, and to spend time with and talk to the amazing graduates of the Class of 2015. You will be impressed, and more importantly, you will be part of their learning experience as they relate their adventures putting into application that which they have learned, and "scratching the itch" of their senioritis...

Matadors

"There are many people who think they want to be matadors, only to find themselves in the ring with two thousand pounds of bull bearing down on them, and then discover what they really wanted was to wear tight pants and hear the crowd roar." - Terry Pearce

Leadership is not an easy thing. There as many different theories regarding leadership as there are leaders and organizations, maybe more. In educational strategic plans, mission and vision statements, and character education curricula, there is significant focus on the role of schools in developing "leaders of tomorrow". Clearly defining the elements of great leadership is not easy, because there are many successful and different ways to lead. Not unlike the classic Justice Potter Stewart definition of obscenity, "...I know it when I see it..." (Jacobellis v. Ohio, 1964), great leadership is often in the eye of the beholder.

The other night my 8th grade daughter had a homework assignment to interview an adult regarding World War II. Apparently my inability to take an in-focus selfie has led her to believe that I might be old enough to have memory of life in the forties, so I became the subject of her interview. One of the questions was "Do you think Adolf Hitler was a great leader?". Now, by many definitions of leadership, one might characterize Hitler as a successful leader. He was enormously successful in gaining followers, and in crafting a horrific plan, but the objectives of his leadership were so heinous that the negative implications of his leadership far outweigh the successes of his efforts. In assisting students to develop leadership qualities, it's important that we emphasize not just processes, qualities and procedures of leadership, but philosophies and development of an individual moral compass.

Paul "Bear" Bryant once said that "Good leaders take more than their share of the blame, and less than their share of the credit." At Detroit Country Day School we place an emphasis on learning to be part of a team. Every student plays interscholastic athletics and / or participates in an extracurricular team environment such as robotics, yearbook, newspaper, theater etc. These experiences are invaluable. Collaborative work environments are not the exception in the 21st century, they are the norm. Students who leave here with experiences in sacrificing for others and working towards a greater group good have an advantage over those who don't learn those lessons at a young age. Rarely is a leader more valued than when he or she recognizes the efforts of the team in securing positive results. Giving and sharing credit to teammates is an essential core competency of leadership. 

Finally, one of the most important lessons for our students is that "wearing the shiny pants" doesn't make one a leader. Leaders have to have strength of character, perseverance, and thick skin. They have to be willing to do whatever it takes for the team's success, even when that is not personally easy. One of my former mentors was fond of saying "If no one's mad at you, you probably haven't made any decisions recently." The point is that if there were no decisions to be made, there would be no need for leaders. Leaders who have developed a team first attitude, who put the success of the team ahead of their personal needs, who give credit, and who have developed a strong philosophical approach and individual moral compass will most often make the right call - even with 2000 lbs. of bull heading their way! 

Of all the things we teach, putting students in positions to grow as leaders, and developing the competencies that make one successful as a member of a team, may be the most important. As for the would be matadors, it's important to remember that some days, no matter how hard we work, the bull can get the best of us. We have to learn to fail in order to lead. Learning to minimize damage, dust ourselves off, and come back for more is an essential part of developing leadership skills. Leaders have to be willing to fight for those things that are meaningful, and be willing to fail occasionally along the way. Those skills are great skills to impart to our children.

Mostly, we have to teach our future leaders that to hear the roar of the crowd, they're going to face a lot of bull...

"Keep your fears to yourself, but share your courage with others." Robert Louis Stevenson