The flier (left) describes what the Ron Clark Academy (RCA) did for students, Wednesday. The statement at the bottom - "We hope to make this the best day of school ever!" - demonstrates the drive and energy of this amazing school in Atlanta. The day was one of whisking students all over the city and conducting classes appropriate to various locations. It must have taken a great deal of coordination to plan such a day, but the execution of the day is where the magic appears.
When parents dropped off their children at school, yesterday morning, they were handed one of these fliers. They were told RCA was kidnapping their children. They loaded the kids on buses and took them all over the city for their "classes." Math class was held on the floor of Philips Arena, science class was at the zoo where they fed elephants, language arts was on the set of a popular TV show, geometry was in a pool room where they studied the importance of angles on a shot, PE was at a self-defense studio, and there were many more great stops and surprises (the Titanic exhibit, the Atlanta History Museum, Turner Field, etc.). Finally, while the rest of the kids headed back to school, the 8th graders were taken camping (They were provided pajamas and toothbrushes.). The whole thing was a surprise to all.
How does magic happen? It takes great commitment. I asked myself if it were possible for us to host Joplin: On Location. It might be difficult to make it a big surprise like RCA did, but that's where their magic began - no anticipation, just surprise. It might be hard to coordinate the day, but I believe we could make it happen. How about classes conducted as follows:
When parents dropped off their children at school, yesterday morning, they were handed one of these fliers. They were told RCA was kidnapping their children. They loaded the kids on buses and took them all over the city for their "classes." Math class was held on the floor of Philips Arena, science class was at the zoo where they fed elephants, language arts was on the set of a popular TV show, geometry was in a pool room where they studied the importance of angles on a shot, PE was at a self-defense studio, and there were many more great stops and surprises (the Titanic exhibit, the Atlanta History Museum, Turner Field, etc.). Finally, while the rest of the kids headed back to school, the 8th graders were taken camping (They were provided pajamas and toothbrushes.). The whole thing was a surprise to all.
How does magic happen? It takes great commitment. I asked myself if it were possible for us to host Joplin: On Location. It might be difficult to make it a big surprise like RCA did, but that's where their magic began - no anticipation, just surprise. It might be hard to coordinate the day, but I believe we could make it happen. How about classes conducted as follows:
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It would certainly be a full day - and tiring - but also memorable. Another challenge would be to make lessons for each location that would be worthwhile and meaningful. In my imagination, Joplin: On Location would not be just a way to get out of school for the day, but would be a rich experience in which students would thrive.
Could something like this be arranged in our fair city?
Could something like this be arranged in our fair city?
