Honduras RPCV Howard Bean working with students in Charter School on a project that could bring them to Honduras
An educated move for charter school
By Matthew J. Gill/ MGILL@CNC.COM
Wednesday, September 29, 2004
There are 30 full-time teachers who comprise the faculty of the South Shore Charter School in Norwell, four of whom are known to their students as Kathy and Rick, Seth and Andre.
There are 25 additional staff members including administrators, aides and part-time instructors, who go by official titles such as Pamela and Mary, Claudia and Thomas.
While still tackling the basics of English, science and mathematics, there are numerous things that are different about the South Shore Charter School starting with the usage of first names; in the hallway and the classroom students and teachers address each other on a basis that's strictly casual.
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Spanish teacher Howard Bean, who previously taught at the Jeremiah Burke School in Dorchester, said smaller classes allow teachers to devote more time to each student.
He added that one of the benefits he's seen working at the charter school, is the educational approach, one which he described as "a lot more open to different ideas."
The school's focus on experiential learning projects is one of these.
In addition to the coursework of their everyday classes, students in every grade also spend six hours per week working in groups to complete one large project.
Students in the younger grades work on specific predetermined projects including learning about gardens and butterflies, while older students have the opportunity to choose which project they want to get involved in.
Some students will learn the ins and outs of working at a newspaper, and by year's end they'll be writing and producing one themselves.
Others will be studying gerontology, and making connections at a local nursing home.
This year, Bean will be working with approximately 14 students on a project that could bring them to Honduras. Throughout the year, Bean's students will be researching, writing and designing a children's book that could be used to teach Honduran children about life and culture in The United States.
Bean has a personal interest in Honduras, as he spent two years volunteering there with the Peace Corps.
Last summer, he returned to La Esperanza, Honduras, and visited the Southwest School where he used to teach, and spoke with the principal about establishing a cultural exchange program with his students at 'South Shore.
Bean's students will also raise money so they can travel to Honduras during their February vacation, and personally deliver the books they create.
In addition to the knowledge they gain, Bean said projects like these help to instill in students a sense of responsibility. Although Bean said he will put goals in place for the group, and assign them individual missions, the responsibility of "making it happen" lies with the students themselves.
Each group must establish different roles of leadership during the year, and they must also create a Web page where they will describe what they've done and how it worked out.
As the school year draws to a close, students will be asked to demonstrate what they've learned about their subjects by showing an "exhibition of mastery," in form of a paper, art-piece or presentation.
