Shortridge’s Impact on my Learning

1. Shortridge’s Impact on my Learning Benjamin Young

2. MagnetSchool • Idea of themedhighschool -Possiblilities, advantages, opportunities • Integration of selectedCurrculum • Law and public policy classes • Real life experience (Court exposure) • Supportivecareeroriented clubs • First hand experienceinside an IPS and urbanschool

3. Understanding of StudentCentered Instruction • Vatterot’sideas • Studentslearn by constructingmeaning and through active experience (pg. 19) • Shortridge: youth court, opinions matter, real life cases • Myclassroom: provide real life experiences • Students input isvaluable and has worth. Students are entitled to be in control of theirlearning, yetstillneed the guidance of adults (pg.19) • Shortridge: Taughtneccesaryskills, Judge as facilitator • Myclassroom: sharedecisionmaking power w/ students

4. Importance of Building Relationships • Idea of Waysideteaching • Create and Maintain an invitingclassroom: givestudentsreasons to want to come in • Help studentsfindtheirvoices: givechoices, oppotunity to express opinion • Practicinglittlegesturesthatmatter: small talk, beconcerned, personalizerelationships • Shortridgeexample: John Akers Jr. (Thin Blue Line Cadet Sergent) wasrefered to being ‘like a dad ’ • Not onlyoptimizingour influence as teachers but alsoprovides a sense of belonging and safety • Beingrolemodelsthatmaybe absent in an adolescents life • Single parent households, workingwomen, twocareerfamily have resulted in children of thisgenerationspendingless time withtheir parents than in anypreviousgeneration

5. Final Thought • They all come withtheirown stories, needs, abilities, hopes, dreams, and fears, and if we are to reachthem, weneed to understandthem and meetthemwherethey are beforewecantakethemsomewhere new. • George Wood