The Book Problem — and One Community’s Solution

Submitted by Judy Hanning on Thu, 2017-04-20 18:00
One teacher in Durham, North Carolina, teaches at a Project Approach School where students perform different inquiry-based projects each year. They analyze relevant social topics, manage research, devise questions, and share their findings with other people. The school’s goal is that they hope students will use the skills they honed to create positive changes in the world.

Amy Lau’s students believe in the mantra that “people can change the world” and they set out to make their own changes by donating books to a charity.

One afternoon, after a brainstorming session, students determined that they had an excessive amount of books in their classrooms. The solution? The group worked to get their surplus titles to children who would benefit from them; they collected books from their classrooms and their own homes for their project. These types of projects force children to ask questions, work in committees, and make relevant changes in the world.
I am fortunate to spend my days teaching at Duke School, in Durham, NC, a Project Approach School* where students engage in several inquiry-based projects each year. Here students explore real-world topics, conduct research, formulate questions, and share their findings with others.
~ School Library Journal

Key Takeaways:

1
Local teacher hopes for solution to book shortages at schools.
2
The teacher says her job is to prepare students to make a better world.
3
Seeing progress every day keeps teachers optimistic.
Read the full article here:
http://www.readingrockets.org/news/book-problem-and-one-community-s-solution