Thistletalk Autumn 2008 - Winchester Thurston School

Inspired Teaching at WT…Real World Classroomsfaculty highlightswt todayHow does a school preparestudents for the unscriptedrealities of the 21st century?The most powerful way is forteachers to engage studentsin the world’s problems now,which requires agility, flexibility,responsiveness, and adose of inspiration.This fall, Maurice Bajcz saw inthe unfolding global economiccrisis an opportunity for hisAdvanced Placement (AP)economics students. He decided to flip thecourse sequence, focusing first on macroeconomics,so the class could use the subprimemortgage crisis, stock market volatility, andthe recession in their study of key aspects ofthe economy, such as GDP, unemployment, theConsumer Price Index, andthe Prime Interest Rate. Theyare currently exploring fiscalpolicy decisions, the effects oftaxing and spending, the president’sCouncil of EconomicAdvisors, and historicaltrends and current concernsabout budget surpluses anddeficits. They will also lookat monetary policy and theFederal Reserve and thebanking system.Finally, recognizing that the economy doesnot operate in a vacuum, they will discussglobalization. Bajcz adds, “With any luck, wecan get these students some jobs in the newadministration soon!”Against the backdrop of the2008 presidential campaignand election, Middle Schoolsocial studies teachersAmanda Greenwald andKira Senedak worked with eighth graderson a leadership election project, in whichthe students simulated the electoral process.The students planned and organized a townmeetingstyle debate in the school auditoriumon November 3, with students in grades 4through 8 assembled to hear both Democraticand Republican candidates’ positions on suchmajor issues as energy policy, health care,and immigration. The eighth graders alsodevised a voting system and simulated thepresidential election on November 4. Studentsin grades 4 through 8 participated in this year’shistoric election by casting their own votes onNovember 4.Greenwald says, “The project was a greatway for the eighth graders to demonstratetheir leadership skills. They were responsiblefor running every aspect of the project. Thisincluded the panelists who researched theirtopics as they prepared to portray McCain,Obama, Palin, or Biden, to the students whocreated and ran the voting system. We hadstudents taking exit polls and students whodocumented the entire process through photographsand video. The eighth graders got toexperience our electoral process in action whilestudying the relevant current events issues.”26 T h i s t l e t a l k A u t u m n / W i n t e r 2 0 0 8