Pennsylvania is one of the 43 states currently using the Common Core State Standards, and it's also home to a school that proves the Standards aren't limiting. The Workshop School is a high school in West Philadelphia that uses projects as its main mode of teaching. This innovative approach to education fulfills Common Core Standards while allowing students to explore, all thanks to the creativity of the teachers who founded the school.
The sounds of creativity
Walking through the halls of The Workshop School, a person will hear hammers striking wood, students recording a new song and engineers soldering the frame of a hybrid car. It's like the STEM version of the school in "Fame." Students who attend the school, of which there are currently 92, don't have the same classes others do. Instead of going to geometry during first period and British literature during second, they spend their morning inventing. The entire first half of the day is devoted to working on a large project, which can be collaborative or solo. The afternoon is devoted to math and English/language arts.
The projects students perform range widely. Some are community betterment endeavors while others are automotive or technical. In fact, the first floor of The Workshop School is devoted to an automotive class that works on designing and building prototypes of hybrid cars. According to NPR, students passed the first round of a hybrid car-building competition in 2010, rivaling groups backed by major companies. While the school's approach to education may be unorthodox, it seems to be effective.
Building a school
The Workshop School was founded by a group of teachers, some of whom were engineers-turned-educators and others who specialized in education and high school reform. Most of the kids who attend The Workshop School come from a low-income household and are eligible for free- or reduced-price lunches. Additionally, almost a quarter of the students are special needs. Despite the makeup of the student body, it is certainly a thriving one. Not only do students perform well, they love school, and in many cases, the school helps students feel like they can succeed.
"It's a big change, 'cause they want to go to [community college] when last year they just say, 'I'm going to just have a little job,' " Haziz Self, graduate of The Workshop School, told the source. "They want to do something with their life. Everybody wants to do something with their life now."
Students are encouraged to try, make mistakes and try again. They have to complete their projects, and they still meet Common Core Standards.
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