Exhibition Night at High Tech High
Posted on | March 27, 2010 | Comments Off on Exhibition Night at High Tech High
For an interesting evening, a feel-good experience, and a lesson in what schools can be, spend an evening looking at exhibits of student work at High Tech High in San Diego.
I saw scores of well crafted examples of what high school students can do, some of which were highly sophisticated. The HTH students were enthusiastic about their work, and their presentations were often ready for prime time. The novel combination of head and hands, of work across disciplines, produced a blood-splattered crime scene, a primer on economics, conceptual art based on geometry, narratives of people and war accompanied by stunning linoleum block prints, original plays, and lots of videos. And then there is the series of books drawn from biotechnology research in San Diego Bay. The work-in-progress unveiled Thursday was on invasive species. Great stuff.
I went to HTH because it violates some important assumptions we have about schooling: that academic and vocational education must be separated, that hands-on and concrete is the enemy of college prep, and that school learning is distinct from learning in the community. It will be an important part of my study on the politics of learning differently.
My thanks to the students, teachers, and the boys in the band for allowing me to visit.
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