Watching our own children's inquisitive learning process provides a foundation for what school could look like. How do we continue to foster that inquiry as students grow and become young adults? How can one turn that inquiry into innovation, understanding into application, and learning into honor and compassion? Can you imagine your students connecting with CEOs of top businesses in Europe, interviewing former FBI agents, or discovering veterinary practices from the veterinarian that oversees all animals in central Spain?
This past year, after exploring, researching, piloting, and visiting schools that implement personalized learning through interest-based projects, I created. LAUNCH. This is a program that guides and mentors students to create projects that implement student-created essential questions, community collaboration, and are focused on individualized instruction. After the first year of the LAUNCH program at at my school, students left lasting legacies through ongoing conferences such as a STEM conference and Dance Marathon. One student created a podcast with the intent to educate the public on social and political issues. They also were able to explore and foster possible career paths, communicating with community partners overseas and throughout the country. Students compared business hiring practices, teaching methods, equine practices, and culinary influences locally and abroad.
The LAUNCH program offered students a way to explore topics that the regular curriculum does not present, such as using photography to break down stereotypes of the midwest, doing a deep dive into Greek culture, researching the personal backgrounds of high profile criminals, exploring ancient cultures from the Americas, and why a medical university abroad produces the highest success rate of doctors.
