Friday, March 11, 2011

PYP in Action

Our kids' school is an inquiry based education system. Students are encouraged not only to think, but to act on their areas of inquiry. This week was a perfect example of the educational model in practice.

Brendan's class is learning persuasive writing. Last week, the students all wrote persuasive letters, asking the recipient to enact change. Brendan tackled the topic of homework -- a subject near and dear to his heart as well as pretty much every other fourth grader across the world. He wrote a letter to the Principal and Assistant Principle stating that the current homework was boring. He then suggested that homework should be made to be more fun, and suggested assigning games and other activities instead of worksheets. His teacher encouraged him to deliver the letter to the heads of school, so Brendan sent it off and anxiously awaited a response.

Now, I happen to know that the entire homework policy was revamped at the beginning of this year. A committee convened to study best homework practices around the world and drafted a new policy, which culminated in our current homework "grid". The roll out of the new system was a pretty big deal, so I "knew" that changes to homework weren't really up for debate. But Brendan either didn't know or didn't care; he's a determined individual.

Earlier this week, the Principal responded to his letter and suggested they meet to review the contents. Yesterday, Brendan had his face-to-face with Mr. Penny and argued his case. I'd be pretty impressed if that was the end of the story. It turns out that Brendan has a follow-up meeting next week. This time, he needs to bring examples of current homework packages as well as example of his improved homework plans. Brendan is furiously working to gather his materials. He also plans to bring a secret weapon -- his friend who argued that primary kids should get time to do their homework in class, like the secondary kids. He figures that if he loses the argument to change the homework requirements, he can negotiate for a study/homework period sometime during the week.

Brendan is now inspired to solicit change in other ways. Last night, he wrote a letter to Microsoft arguing that his PC crashes to often. He pointed out that the family has an Apple, and he doesn't see these same crashes. He suggested that Microsoft needs to improve their products or risk losing businesses to competitors with higher quality products. I wonder if Microsoft will schedule a meeting to review Brendan's concerns?

5 comments:

Craig said...

Fantastic story! What a great learning experience! Please update us with the outcome of the next meeting with Mr. Penny and Microsoft's response.

Anonymous said...

Way to go Brendan. Can't wait to hear about follow up meeting.

Brendan you have a fantastic principal and teacher that encourage you to speak up.

Apple would love getting a copy of the letter you sent to Microsoft. I could see them turning it into a commercial.

Nana

Anna said...

Way to go Brendan! This is what I love about IB!

Craig said...

What was the outcome of the follow-up meeting with Mr. Penny and what was Microsoft's response?

Marci said...

Mr. Penny agreed that it was time to talk to his teacher about the idea. I don't think Brendan has talked to him yet. No response from Microsoft.