Economic Innovation

About two weeks ago I asked the question..."How are we going to kick-start the Michigan economy?" Using my class website and other technological resources the students were to present a 12-15 minute proposal complete with a Social Studies proposal paper & professional brochure.

I became a computer lab hog. I signed up for projectors and lap tops. It was all consuming. Last year when I would take my students to the computer lab it wouldn't fail that at least 5 students would end up playing an internet game or "Halo" before the end of the hour. After five days in the lab not a single game was played...

The ideas these young minds have are amazing. The "Whirlmill Company" designed and manufactured small, efficient, environmentally friendly hydroelectric generators using the old water mill technology of centuries past. Another team, "AutoTracks", designed a Grand Rapids subway system complete with data on cost analysis, jobs created, & gross domestic product effects. "Grand Rapids Energy Entrepreneurs" decided to use Finevera AquaBuoy technology along the Lake Michigan coastline to power cities like Grand Haven, Saugatuck, & Ludington thus reducing carbon emissions and cutting electricity costs. They were using small business, alternative engergy, health care, revival of the auto industry, and mass transit as modes of operation. If only our political and social leaders were as bold and imaginative. The students, without much direction, saw two things...A planet in peril and an economy become a wasteland. Unlike their adult counterparts, they actually seemed concerned that nothing was being done about either.

Within the classroom and community my politics remain hidden save this fact (one that I remind my students of often): On either side of the aisle, why are we concerned with millionaire baseball players and their steroid use? Why did it take a year to finalize a state budget? Why are we more concerned with what is going on in Iraq than with what is going on in our schools? Why are we eliminating physical education in schools and placing pop machines in the hallways when the childhood obesity rate is sky-rocketing? The ineptitude my students see is clear. They are poised and ready to solve these problems.

In front of a panel of judges and their classmates the student presented movies, powerpoints, slide shows, brochures, data, and concept technology. To say I was both exhausted and impressed is an understatement. However, the learning and growing that took place during the last two weeks in undeniable. I have a more efficient, engaged, self-advocating body of students in class where once there were deer in the headlights and dust-collecting text books.

Be the Change...

On Friday I launched an over-arching challenge to all of my students. It was a two-hour delay day (due to the first serious Michigan snow fall) and I blasted them with a few things. First, "How are we going to kick-start Michigan's economy in the 21st Century?" They were to select the topics that most interested them and work in groups to answer the question. They would, however, not be forming their own groups nor would I assign them one either.
In thirty five minutes they were going to fill out a "job" application and create a resume for interviews on Monday. They would apply and interview for their position on an economic innovation team. My Social Studies students were going to form teams with leaders and with me as, no longer the teacher, but the "Project Manager".
The light in their eyes I had seen days before when I declared textbooks off limits was back! They sat up straight and hustled to fill out their extra curricular activities, GPAs, & references on their applications & resumes. They were asking questions like "How do you know if someone is a good reference?" and "Should I exaggerate on my resume?" All things that are valuable real-life issues. Suddenly they were no longer 9th grade Social Studies students, but economic innovators charged with mending our state's broken economy. Even the most dis-interested student was engaged and penciling in their "Other skills & experience".
As of tomorrow, through an interview and conference process, they will form teams that will research and present on such topics as:
Alternative Energy options
Mass transit & infrastructure
Reviving the Auto Industry
Health Care initiatives
Small business start-ups
Not only will they be studying economics, but they will be economics...Over the next two weeks they will research, idea-storm, and submit a proposal to a panel of judges in a multi-media format of their choosing. The outcomes for each team are limitless; the only barrier is their own imaginations.

They will become the change they want to see in this world.