Learning by doing: Students acquire multiple skills by working on projects

When will Las Lomitas district follow suit and bring some innovation into our highly traditional schools? It's time for the leadership to recognize that they can still produce great test scores (most kids enter the school with those test scores) and create the kinds of open-ended, project-based curriculum that allows kids to think, engage, wrestle with ambiguity, and collaborate? These skills will serve our kids far better in modern world than our current focus on "covering" material, determining right/wrong answers, and becoming "knowers" instead of "learners." The current model is so very traditional. A district like ours could do so much better. Just look at how PV and MP districts are piloting innovation like this.

We live in Felton Gables now, but we were in Las Lomitas for years while our children were in school and this sounds exactly like what the common core state standards are all about. It is such a shame that politics is rearing its ugly head and turning people against common core. One of the main points of these standards is to use project-based learning to inspire and engage children in learning. Think about when you learned the most. Bet it was a project-based activity. Share your memories with the rest of us!