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Our three-week oral history project culminated with student presentations last Thursday night. With 50 students and 50 projects, presentations took place in three rotations, with parents, staff and peers visiting with individual presenters.
The events was very well attended, and the kids did a terrific job, given the various technology challenges that arose.
Students were placed in the role, figuratively speaking, of baseball players up at bat for the first time. There they stood, in uniform, holding a bat, swinging at pitches, before an audience of friends and family members. Some hit home runs, others made base hits, a few wondered why they were wearing a uniform and what was this wooden thing they were carrying. But developing understanding is complex: becoming a skilled batter is at least an order of magnitude more complex than hearing about batting, or seeing/reading about batting, especially when it's performed before your friends and family. Clearly, developing the skills will take practice, lots of it, and each of the kids begins with a different skill-set and confidence-comfort level. Thus, we begin the 5th grade school year, providing multiple opportunities to practice, practice, practice, with coaching and feedback.
It is key that we -- family, friends, and teachers -- are supportive and encouraging, trusting that with practice and feedback, students' performances with improve markedly in skill and confidence.
