Learning Curve

A year’s work, a team’s countless hours, a group’s research, monumental collaboration, an individual’s presentations on film footage and live on stage. It’s showtime for 23 students, and no matter how you spell it, IP is a multimedia educational in-house field trip worth taking. Join us on Wednesday, May 27, 2009 at Salisbury High School’s auditorium, or if you cannot attend in person, you can participate virtually in real time by joining our backchannels on Ustream.tv. You can attend by clicking this link, and you can participate in a chat format as well.

If you are new to the Integrated Project, this year’s venue, which explores factual and counterfactual history, asks and answers this essential question: What if there was no news? What’s news? So, why not join us as students rewrite the history of an era as it was, and as it might have been. All times are ET.

8:51-9:51 An Era on Air: 1920-1933–Brandon Aversano, Chloe Frick, Olga Karounos, Erin Lobach, Dennis Peterson, Meagan Walsh

9:55-11:00 Uncovering Coverups–Nadia Daher, Hayley Joseph, Laudi El-Kareh, Kelsey Molseed, Andrew Samy

12:23-1:30 Generation X–Peter Cialkowski, Skye McCarty, My Phan, Fatema Rajmohammed, Hannah Rucker, Courtney Weiss
1:34-2:40
9-11: Broadcasting Terror–Matt Eherts, Sarah Gracely, Joshua Gregory, William Kennington III, Brandon Lansing, Shannon Safi.

Guest Bloggers Brandon Aversano and Fatema Rajmohamed

It was an experience that the four of us would surely never forget. It all began when Jennifer Brinson, our Advanced Placement United States History Teacher, informed of us a contest titled J8. The J8 coincides with the global summit held by the G8 countries (United States, Canada, France, Italy, Germany, Japan, Russia, and the United Kingdom) in July, in which the eight leaders of the most powerful countries in the world discuss key issues facing the world today. J8 is a national competition in which teams of four (ages 13-17) create and submit an application to the United States branch of UNICEF. The winning team would spend a preparatory weekend in New York during the month of May, and then travel to Italy in July to join other youth teams from the G8 countries. The J8 conference occurs during the G8 summit, allowing the youths participating in the conference to interact with the most influential and powerful political leaders of our time.

With our ears wide open as Ms. Brinson explained the components of the intense competition, we decided there was no possible way we were going to allow an opportunity such as this one to pass through our fingers. The four of us (Brandon Aversano, Olga Karounos, Fatema Rajmohamed, Melinda Lehman), set to work on an application that would take over a month to complete successfully. We began by downloading the United States application form on the J8 website. With numerous aspects of the application form, each requiring its own special time and attention, we decided to each research and create our own ideas for each category.

Our first challenge was deriving a team name that encompassed our mission and purpose in the competition, as well as the individuality of our members. Spending a good deal of time creating a name, we decided to ask Ms. Brinson for some advice. The team recognized how global the J8 competition truly was, and therefore wanted to emphasize this in the team name. Taking ideas from the categories in the application, we finally arrived at our team name, G.U.I.D.E. The pneumonic device stands for, Globally Unified Individuals for Diplomacy and Ecology. R.J. Stangherlin served as our coach throughout the entire process. Helping us synthesize our information, create a platform with depth and understanding, and allowing us to realize our potentioal, Mrs. Stangherlin was a crucial part to the entire competition. However, as integral as Mrs. Stangherlin was, she allowed the members of GUIDE to complete the project on their own terms, because after all, the J8 was looking for youth voices.

J8 wanted us to create solutions on three pressing issues facing the world today including Climate Change, HIV/Aids and Infectious diseases, and a third topic of our choosing. Each of us researched the topics extensively on our own, and following this, we held morning meetings to compile our information and form conclusions on the best possible route for tackling the momentous problems at hand. Our solution for Climate Change consisted of limiting the amount of deforestation and promoting agroforestry business. Additionally, GUIDE suggested using alternative energy sources to curb the amount of CO2 released into the atmosphere. Gathering inspiration from conferences we have attended and even our own personal experience (Lehman’s time in Africa), we had a couple solutions for curbing HIV/AIDS in developing countries. Recognizing the importance and efficiency of microfinancing/microcrediting, we conveyed the very real possibility of implementing such a system in these developing countries to break the cycle of poverty, and therefore reduce the necessity to use prostitution as a means of obtaining monetary relief. The spread of HIV/AIDS would surely decline along with the decline of prostitution. For our third topic, we chose to tackle the problem of insufficient education in developing countries. GUIDE encouraged G8 nations to remove financial barriers (cost of notebooks, textbooks, pencils, pens, calculators) to disenfranchised families in developing countries. The adoption of a mandatory student teaching in developing countries, for students studying education in G8 nations, was also recommended by GUIDE.

UNICEF stressed their requirement for diversity in the application, and our team absolutely fulfilled this requirement! Aversano (17 year old male) brought his Ashekanzi Jewish background and his lingustic endeavors in a second language (Spanish) to the diversity of the team. Karounos (16 year old female) has a strong Greek heritage with comfort in the Greek language as well as Spanish. Rajmohamed (17 year old female) has a practicing Shia Muslim, speaking Gujariti (and Indian language), she brought another sect of language and culture to the table. Lehman (17 year old female), spent many years in Tanzania, Africa, assimilating to the customs and cultures of her surrounding; not only fluent in English and Kiswahili, she has experience with the French language as well. The team clearly embodied diversity, with strong ethnic backgrounds, and linguistic abilities in a myriad of languages.

Stressing our social commitment and love for community, we included the various activities and events the members of the team have completed. Each member brought unique benefits and individuality to the group, creating a diverse and interesting makeup. All the members have participated in different forms of community service, whether it be domestic or abroad, and each member had experience with political and governmental bodies. Encompassing a broad range of skills and talents, GUIDE was easily able to strengthen the overall reliability of the application.

Utilizing technology with the purpose of reaching a larger demographic of people, UNICEF required a piece of writing detailing our experience and ability with various forms of technology, and how we, as a team, would utilized this background to gain a broader audience. Working with modern 2.0 tools such as Google docs and Facebook, our team was able to successfully communicate numerous ways to reach more people. Proposing the creation of a 2 day LCIU course on global technology integration, the team showed how we could reach our community; and therefore our community could reach the world. GUIDE went above and beyond the requirements of the J8 and created supplemental material to submit along with the application. An animoto further emphasizing the points of our application, along with an xtranormal video, created the diverse application that led to an impressive placement in the competition.

After submitting on March 30th 2009, all GUIDE could do was wait in ernest. Receiving a confirmation of reception from UNICEF, we learned we would be informed of our status around April 30th 2009. The morning of the 30th each member anxiously arrived at school waiting to see the outcome of our hard work and anticipation. Unfortunately, the notification did not come. Dejected and tired, GUIDE lost some of the enthusiasm we had possessed from the start. Finally, on May 5th 2009, GUIDE received an email from UNICEF with the results! Excitedly, we opened the email. Inside we learned we had not come out on top, however, we had made the top 10! GUIDE WAS ECSTATIC! Our application had placed us in the top 10 for the entire nation. Feeling successfully and as if the entire process was worth it, GUIDE rejoiced in the outcome. Learning so much, debating world issues, collaborating on a team, utilizing technology, embodying diversity, and realizing the potential of four teens in suburbia, GUIDE felt the entire J8 experience was one to remember!

J8 Summit
Melinda Lehman
Olga Karounos
Brandon Aversano
Fatema Rajmohamed
Top Ten
Turbo Tagger

March Madness, aka the countdown to Integrated Project presentations in May, adds more than the usual stress to the AP US History and Honors English 11 students. At Assignment 6 due March 11 and only 2 assignments remaining until the work is a wrap, the pressure is on. In spite of everything, these truly gifted students managed in three days to showcase a commercial promoting their teams’ presentations, a culmination of year-long interdisciplinary research packaged in stage and film format.

My Phan, whose artistic talent and organizational ability is legend at SHS, designed, oversaw, and assembled the Administration Building’s showcase. But in fairness to all concerned, this extra credit activity was a team venture; these students are aces at collaboration. At the end of the month, the advertising moves to the high school, where interest in the forthcoming presentation runs high.

This year, the presentation venue will be different–an interactive documentary, with presentations on stage as well as in video segments. Although nothing has been finalized, we anticipate running one day of team presentations. We hope that you will join us in May, either in real or virtual time, to see What If There Was No News? What’s News?

IP
Integrated Project
factual history
counterfactual history
what if
365 Days
Turbo Tagger

What am I missing this weekend? A best friend and colleague and 16 wonderful students in Washington, DC, at NAIMUN, the largest model United Nations in the United States. Nothing can replicate the real-world higher level thinking and speaking skills that this UN simulation creates for thousands of students, and our 16 are more than up for the challenge. From emails between us, Jennifer Brinson tells me that the students have a chance at an award, although competition from other schools who have a Model UN year-long course in their curriculum makes winning a tremendous challenge against the odds. (But more about their experiences in another blog, student written and hosted on my two school blogs).

In the past few years, I have tagged along. Some say that Brinson was bringing her press corps with her, but she is equal to that task alone with the launching of her new blog, Education, Technology, and Fun. This year, for many reasons, I opted to remain behind. Much good has come from that decision, including launching Katie Stehly as Brinson’s new helper. And that makes much sense, since Stehly is a history teacher at Salisbury Middle School, and definitely technologically intelligent as a grown digital native (and Salisbury High School graduate). But do I miss being in the moment–absolutely. Am I happy with my decision–definitely. There comes a time when you transition to a place between career and family, and I am finally attempting to do what I should have done a while ago: make family come first.
Jen Brinson
Katie Stehley
Salisbury High School
Model UN
NAIMUN
Education
Turbo Tagger

Take a look at the following videos, submitted by 11th grade students to the BrainyFlix contest on YouTube.

(Ed. “too” fastidious)