Senioritis Schmenioritis

This is the time of year when every twelfth-grade student must face the implacable "senioritis."

Some schools deal with this phenomenon by requiring seniors to complete a rite of passage, such as a final project or presentation. As Jay Mathews points out on his blog at the Washington Post, these are fairly common in private schools, but less so in public schools.

Two schools bucking that trend are the School of Environmental Studies at the Apple Valley Zoo in Minnesota. This optional school (not a charter, not a magnet) is limited to juniors and seniors. During their senior year, students must complete three elements in a capstone sequence. They write a personal statement of their ethic of environmental leadership. They complete an extensive project, internship, or investigation. Finally, they present their work before a panel of at least 30 people, including four adult community members. At an end-of-year event called the senior forum, students dress up and discuss their senior experience during a forum event that is part open house and part science fair. It isn't a perfect solution because some students disengage, but it is far better than the traditional slide into oblivion.

At The Classical Academy in Colorado Springs, we require our students to form teams of two and present on an issue of current controversy. Throughout their senior year, the seniors participate in a variety of world view seminars as part of the senior core consisting of Civics, World Literature, and Rhetoric. The students hear from scientists, religious leaders of many faiths, alumni, business leaders, philosophers and artists. When it comes time to synthesize their learning into a coherent presentation, seniors at TCA must present to a hostile panel. Using the claim-data-warrant model (assertion + evidence = argument) the students must stake and defend a position on a controversial topic. However, they face a panel of three to five adults who are also prepared to challenge the students' reasoning. The students are highly motivated to prepare and perform. This gives the end of their senior year a level of meaning and focus similar to the students in Minnesota.

This is exactly the kind of innovation that should be bubbling up in a charter school so it can be adopted by the traditional public schools. Mr. Mathews serves education well by finding examples of this kind of practice that we can share and emulate.