Featured Story
J-Term Tackles Theme of Freedom in America
From Director of Character Education Kate Parker-Burgard:
From the moment when the 9th graders walked into the Fireplace Commons, they knew it was going to be a different week of school. Placed around the room were objects that had some connection to each other and a topic. Without instruction the students found their name on an object, quickly clustered together with students who had like objects and learned what their topic was going to be for the week. Thus began J-Term 2017.
Now in its third year, J Term is gaining a reputation for being an intense week of student-led learning around topics that are important to our 9th graders. We met with the 9th graders in the first weeks of school and asked as they think about the world they will be entering as adults, what weighs heavily on them. Their responses to that question lead us to a theme and topics. This year’s theme (chosen in early September) was “What is the meaning of freedom in America?” and the seven topics were: Animal Rights; Child Labor and Trafficking; Global Warming; Gender Inequity; Gun Laws; Mental Health; Racial Inequity and Police Brutality.
Faculty were on hand to give the students some suggestions and ideas for exploring their topics and set up interviews for the students to have with experts in the field, but the students were largely responsible for their own learning. Without the restrictions of class time and subjects, the students were both exhilarated and challenged by the learning process. They learned that the work was very meaningful and that collaboration can sometimes be really hard. The quotes below are just a small sampling of student feedback that we received from the students about their experience; these responses illustrate how J-Term is sculpted around our Community Goals for Learning (Curiosity, Reflection, Seeking Truth and Understanding, Open-mindedness, and Integrity):
- “It was much more than just a research project to learn about an issue. We had to think critically about how to communicate our understanding of climate change.”
- “Of course the research part was important, but analyzing it and interpreting it in our own way was what made us really understand what it all means”
- “I learned a lot of different and useful facts about my topic, and most importantly, I learned that there is a negative stigma surrounding people with mental illness or substance abuse issues, and it needs to be erased.”
- “J-term helped me see a different perspective.”
- “Conducting an interview was beyond helpful because the woman we interviewed was extremely informative and it brought all of our information to life with her background knowledge and stories.”
- “It felt incredible to be a part of such an important issue. The work seems more challenging but that was outweighed by the importance of the work.”
- “It was a very different mindset than regular school. So much of this time was spent self guiding so I also learned a lot about myself this week.”
- “I felt that I could be passionate and curious in terms of how I could go anywhere with my topic. It was frustrating when our group did not always click with what ideas were suggested and sometimes people's voices in our group were not heard.”
At the end of the week, the 9th grade groups presented their findings at a showcase. Two weeks later, students put their ideas into action by implementing their service projects. The culminating service events were varied but all required the students to see themselves as agents of change, taking one step on the road toward helping those problems that weighed heavily on their minds.
View our J-Term photo galleries to see some of went on during the week.
St. Luke’s School is a secular (non-religious), private school in New Canaan, CT for grades 5 through 12 serving over 35 towns in Connecticut and New York. Our exceptional academics and diverse co-educational community foster students’ intellectual and ethical development and prepare them for top colleges. St. Luke’s Center for Leadership builds the commitment to serve and the confidence to lead.
