WEBVTT 00:00:00.880 --> 00:00:09.880 It's crazy that in a system that is meant to teach and help the youth, 00:00:09.900 --> 00:00:12.900 there's no voice from the youth at all. 00:00:28.498 --> 00:00:32.250 If students designed their own schools, what would school look like? 00:00:32.250 --> 00:00:35.070 SANDY: Crime and Punishment is first and foremost a test. 00:00:35.070 --> 00:00:36.359 00:00:36.359 --> 00:00:40.789 Probably something like this: no quizzes, no grades, not even classes. 00:00:43.789 --> 00:00:47.789 And most of the time, no teachers or any adults in the classroom. 00:00:48.109 --> 00:00:54.100 Sandy: It's a completely alternative academic program. We have 9 kids in it. 00:00:54.100 --> 00:01:00.100 We look at the 4 main bodies of learning: English, Math, Social Sciences and Natural Sciences. 00:01:03.100 --> 00:01:07.780 This is a school within a public high school, designed by the students themselves. 00:01:07.780 --> 00:01:11.560 The program, known as the Independent Project, runs for one semester 00:01:11.560 --> 00:01:13.530 and is divided into three parts. 00:01:13.560 --> 00:01:18.530 All follow the same basic rule: design your own learning. 00:01:18.530 --> 00:01:23.349 Every monday, each students comes up with a question he or she is curious about. 00:01:23.349 --> 00:01:26.548 It should be related to one of their core subjects. 00:01:27.000 --> 00:01:30.459 Peter: The most important thing about your question is that you actually want to know the answer. 00:01:30.718 --> 00:01:34.718 They spend the week doing research or experimentation. 00:01:37.700 --> 00:01:41.960 And on Friday, they give a formal presentation to share what they've learned. 00:01:41.959 --> 00:01:46.959 Peter: If the question is yours, the answer is going to feel great when you obtain it. 00:01:49.950 --> 00:01:53.000 Peter: My goal every presentation is to be as engaging as possible 00:01:53.000 --> 00:02:02.299 and make my care for my subject as infectious as possible - try to make everyone catch it. 00:02:02.799 --> 00:02:07.679 The week I visited, the questions touched on diverse topics that included... 00:02:07.679 --> 00:02:11.280 unexplained mysteries, the novel Crime and Punishment, 00:02:11.280 --> 00:02:17.860 the naturalist John Muir, a local music establishment called Music Inn, 00:02:18.110 --> 00:02:20.000 and HIV/AIDS in South Africa. 00:02:20.110 --> 00:02:24.600 Jake: For a week, I went out and took a flight lesson 00:02:24.979 --> 00:02:27.000 and built myself a model airplane. 00:02:27.000 --> 00:02:30.860 Each day, I wanted to know why a wing generates lift. 00:02:30.860 --> 00:02:36.799 And it was that question that kept guiding me through all this research and it was fun research. 00:02:36.930 --> 00:02:41.930 These weekly questions usually take up half of their time. 00:02:49.209 --> 00:02:51.310 The other half is spent on their individual endeavor, 00:02:51.310 --> 00:02:56.000 which is a much more ambitious project that they work on for the entire term. 00:02:56.000 --> 00:03:03.968 Some learn to play an instrument for the very first time and put on a recital. 00:03:04.968 --> 00:03:06.099 Sergio: In two short years, I've learned 00:03:06.289 --> 00:03:10.000 to play the piano fairly well. I can play with other people. 00:03:10.000 --> 00:03:15.908 I'm in a band now. I can hold a beat. I can play. 00:03:15.908 --> 00:03:19.658 Others work on writing a book and a collection of poems. 00:03:19.658 --> 00:03:27.658 Matt: I try to write 2 to 4 hours a day. A 1 hour day is really bad 00:03:27.658 --> 00:03:30.658 and a 5 or 6 hour day is excellent. 00:03:30.919 --> 00:03:37.718 Some choose to devote their time to researching topics such as education or the environment. 00:03:40.718 --> 00:03:44.718 Again, it's whatever they decide, as long as it demonstrates effort, learning 00:03:45.430 --> 00:03:46.780 and a mastery of skills. 00:03:46.780 --> 00:03:51.209 Joe: The thing you center your semester around doesn't have to be academic. 00:03:51.209 --> 00:03:55.628 It can be something that you can really develop a strong passion for. 00:03:55.759 --> 00:04:01.000 Peter: This year my Individual Endeavor has been a complete blast. 00:04:03.699 --> 00:04:07.699 I've been making a mockumentary of the kids in my school. 00:04:07.699 --> 00:04:12.699 It's been an organic process, a lot of improv. There's no script. I've been making it up as I go. 00:04:22.569 --> 00:04:25.889 I think I've gotten better work from having it open ended. 00:04:25.889 --> 00:04:29.710 Your friends can suddenly think of something and you build onto that and they build back onto that 00:04:29.709 --> 00:04:36.709 and you have something that's 20 times funnier than you originally thought. 00:04:45.079 --> 00:04:49.639 Aside from the weekly questions and the Individual Endeavor, students also spend the last three weeks 00:04:49.639 --> 00:04:56.639 working on a group project, called the Collective Endeavor. 00:04:57.579 --> 00:05:04.579 Here, they are starting to debate what they should do. 00:05:05.000 --> 00:05:09.000 The goal of the Collective Endeavor is to produce social impact and to make a difference. 00:05:09.199 --> 00:05:13.000 Peter: Just tell me why you're clearly not digging it and I want to know why. 00:05:17.079 --> 00:05:21.079 But as you can see, it's also a chance for this group to practice collaboration skills 00:05:22.079 --> 00:05:26.079 and to unite around a common cause. 00:05:34.550 --> 00:05:38.740 Self-directed learning in small doses can be found at many schools 00:05:38.740 --> 00:05:41.740 but few public schools have taken it to this extreme. 00:05:41.740 --> 00:05:47.500 Giving students full control of their school day was a big gamble on the part of the principal, 00:05:47.500 --> 00:05:51.788 Marianne Young: "My personal and professional investment 00:05:51.788 --> 00:05:58.788 in these opportunities is to create a school and a way of educating young people 00:05:58.788 --> 00:06:02.000 that allows them to be completely invested 00:06:02.410 --> 00:06:12.419 and to stop trying to move every kind of human being through the same gate." 00:06:14.410 --> 00:06:17.419 When the Independent Project was first proposed, 00:06:17.418 --> 00:06:20.008 it was met with a lot of resistance from some of the teachers, 00:06:20.009 --> 00:06:25.919 who felt there were too many unanswered questions. "What's the role of the teacher? 00:06:25.918 --> 00:06:33.299 Who decides what's good work? Who decides what earns credit 00:06:33.569 --> 00:06:37.110 and merits a diploma from this high school? 00:06:37.110 --> 00:06:40.110 The project did find strong support from the guidance counselor 00:06:40.110 --> 00:06:42.689 and a few teachers who became advisors. 00:06:42.689 --> 00:06:46.689 So Principal Young agreed to pilot it not once but twice. 00:06:46.689 --> 00:06:48.149 This is the second pilot. 00:06:48.149 --> 00:06:53.219 Lisa Baldwin: It's a pretty good risk to take on a student to allow them an opportunity 00:06:53.220 --> 00:07:00.220 for this sort of independent freedom and thinking because it can't really fail. 00:07:05.050 --> 00:07:08.050 I can't tell you how many times the question get me thinking 00:07:08.050 --> 00:07:13.050 and then I go and try to learn or refresh. 00:07:14.110 --> 00:07:19.110 Everyone has gained or will gain something positive. 00:07:23.158 --> 00:07:26.560 After two trials, what tangible benefits do they see? 00:07:26.560 --> 00:07:31.560 First the Independent Project seems to accommodate different types of learners: 00:07:31.560 --> 00:07:35.000 both the straight A students and those who have been struggling academically. 00:07:35.000 --> 00:07:40.000 Sergio: I have dyslexia so it's very hard reading and writing and doing those sorts of things. 00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:45.009 School has always been a big problem for me. If not for this program, 00:07:45.009 --> 00:07:50.000 I don't know if I'd be graduating. I don't know where I would be right now. 00:07:50.000 --> 00:07:55.329 So I think this has been my savior and got me through the last two years of high school. 00:07:55.329 --> 00:07:59.000 Free from assigned work and tests, they are able to focus on the one thing 00:07:59.000 --> 00:08:03.089 that motivates everyone to learn: their own passions. 00:08:03.089 --> 00:08:09.089 Joe: I think I've stayed up at night doing work more times this semester 00:08:09.089 --> 00:08:12.310 than in previous 3 years of high school. 00:08:12.310 --> 00:08:16.610 Sandy: I think every single person wants to learn about something. 00:08:16.610 --> 00:08:22.000 Even kids who are barely going to classes - they want to learn something 00:08:22.000 --> 00:08:28.149 and whether that's auto mechanics or the physics of skateboarding 00:08:28.149 --> 00:08:33.149 or how ice cream is made. Everybody's interested in something. 00:08:33.599 --> 00:08:39.570 And this gives you the room and space to really learn whatever you want. 00:08:39.570 --> 00:08:42.129 Another key benefit: learning becomes a group activity. 00:08:42.129 --> 00:08:49.750 There's mutual support every step of the way, starting with the morning check in. 00:08:55.860 --> 00:08:58.000 Mike: It's called the Independent Project but I don't think it can be any more 00:08:58.000 --> 00:09:00.860 dependent on a number of things. 00:09:00.860 --> 00:09:03.879 This program is really dependent on people working together. 00:09:03.879 --> 00:09:10.028 It's dependent on people pushing each other, giving constructive criticism, giving support, 00:09:10.028 --> 00:09:13.019 giving praise. It's dependent on people using resources and finding resources. 00:09:13.019 --> 00:09:18.250 It's dependent on being creative. It's dependent on learning how to ask a question. 00:09:18.470 --> 00:09:23.240 Peter: Group dynamic is everything. That's like one of the most important concepts of 00:09:23.240 --> 00:09:27.000 this program: You are not only doing it for yourself 00:09:27.000 --> 00:09:29.600 but you're doing it for your group-mates. It's like a team. 00:09:29.600 --> 00:09:37.000 Sophie: I enjoy being with people as interested in what they're doing 00:09:37.000 --> 00:09:42.179 as I am in what I'm doing even though we're not doing the same thing. 00:09:44.889 --> 00:09:49.000 Peer support also means peer pressure to stay on track 00:09:49.000 --> 00:09:50.929 and follow through on your commitments. 00:09:51.519 --> 00:09:57.730 Annalena: If you blow off the independent project, you're letting 8 00:09:57.730 --> 00:10:02.000 of your friends down and that feels a lot different than getting a D on a test. 00:10:02.000 --> 00:10:10.549 It feels a lot worse so in that way, there's a lot more pressure to do well than in normal school 00:10:10.549 --> 00:10:12.500 because in normal school you're letting down one person, 00:10:12.500 --> 00:10:16.740 whereas here you're impacting a huge group of people really negatively. 00:10:16.740 --> 00:10:26.000 Do you guys criticize each other? Yes, period. Yes. That's definitely the hardest part. 00:10:26.339 --> 00:10:31.000 The most visible benefit however is the ownership that students feel over their learning. 00:10:31.000 --> 00:10:37.470 Sandy's presentation on Crime and Punishment sparked a lively discussion but didn't go as planned. 00:10:46.339 --> 00:10:50.930 Although no one else noticed it, he felt he lost control of what he wanted to say. 00:10:50.929 --> 00:10:56.799 SANDY: I just faltered and I couldn't get the grasp on the book I wanted to grasp. 00:10:56.799 --> 00:11:02.219 And what really frustrated me was that I wanted to give them a taste of what I have learned and 00:11:02.220 --> 00:11:05.259 it felt like the taste I gave them was probably rancid. 00:11:05.259 --> 00:11:08.259 I slipped up on that and that kind of made me upset. 00:11:08.259 --> 00:11:11.629 For the following week, he assigned himself a five page essay 00:11:11.629 --> 00:11:15.629 so he can present his thoughts more coherently. 00:11:22.169 --> 00:11:27.049 During another presentation, Joe started to describe a logic problem he learned to solve. 00:11:31.049 --> 00:11:35.049 Before he could present the answer and without any prompting from him, 00:11:35.759 --> 00:11:38.319 the other students formed two small groups 00:11:38.759 --> 00:11:42.319 and solved the problem themselves, using two different approaches. 00:11:42.320 --> 00:11:48.680 Sandy: I like the way you guys did it. That's a much more innovative way to do it. 00:11:48.679 --> 00:11:52.039 This is like, I don't have anything else, I'm just going to go for it. 00:11:52.039 --> 00:11:56.819 Peter: The world we're coming into right now - we're going to really be on our own. 00:11:56.820 --> 00:12:01.000 We're not going to be able to rely on our elders telling us what to do. 00:12:01.000 --> 00:12:07.409 It's going to be us telling us what to do and responsible for the next generation trying to help them. 00:12:07.409 --> 00:12:17.209 The only way we can learn lessons and be individuals and autonomous is if we do it by ourselves. 00:12:17.399 --> 00:12:19.299 Are students capable of teaching themselves? 00:12:20.500 --> 00:12:24.610 And is it enough for teachers to be mentors and coaches? 00:12:24.610 --> 00:12:27.919 These are the tough questions being asked and tested 00:12:27.919 --> 00:12:30.929 at the most innovative schools around the world. 00:12:30.929 --> 00:12:33.929 Marianne Young: I think the more options we have in our schools 00:12:33.929 --> 00:12:41.929 the more students we will help develop into the citizens we need. 00:12:42.528 --> 00:12:46.649 And it's ok for you to need a little bit of a different approach from mine. 00:12:47.000 --> 00:12:51.320 Mike Powell: The power of a young mind is pretty impressive. One, they're so resilient. 00:12:51.320 --> 00:12:57.690 Two, they're extremely creative. Three, they're fearless. They'll try anything. 00:12:57.690 --> 00:13:02.899 So the qualities that many many teenagers have go very well with a program like this, 00:13:02.899 --> 00:13:05.919 which makes sense… it was developed by a teenager. 00:13:05.919 --> 00:13:09.860 The Independent Project itself continues to evolve... 00:13:09.860 --> 00:13:13.980 but students are taking pride in the fact that dozens of schools around the world 00:13:13.980 --> 00:13:16.000 have already expressed interest in their model 00:13:16.000 --> 00:13:19.000 and may soon replicate their program elsewhere. 00:13:19.000 --> 00:13:26.940 Sandy: It would mean the world to me if just one other school saw this video and said, 00:13:26.940 --> 00:13:31.410 "Let's start an Independent Project." That's all I want. 00:13:32.000 --> 00:13:35.899 If that happens then more students will finally get to have 00:13:35.899 --> 00:13:42.899 their say in how to reform education for the 21st century.