Technology advances at a rapid pace. So fast that it often outpaces advancements in education policy and practice. Students are often way ahead of the curve while teachers who learned pedagogical methods in days when there were many less avenues for incorporating technology into classrooms lag far behind them in terms of technological facility. This is compounded by the fact that every student learns in a different way, and with more and more options, it gets increasingly difficult to cater to the individual needs of students. This is what makes the Design Thinking in Middle School: A Human-Centered Approach to 21st Century Learning Vision project really stand out. They aim to bolster the technological aptitude of their educators while designing more individualized curriculum for their students. In pursuit of this vision for student learning, a team of teachers at Southeast Middle School applied with their Board of Education to open a magnet center on campus. The focus of this magnet center is to bring a three “I” – Interest, Impact, and Innovation- driven approach to teaching and learning.
In order to better understand where they find themselves as of their last progress report, it’s important to understand the goals they set out to accomplish.
Students will work on collaborative, cross-curricular projects that center on design thinking, a powerful learning tool that teaches students to use empathy and critical thinking to tackle problems of any kind from a human-centered point of view. In their model, the teacher’s role is to provide opportunities for discovery and to guide students to understanding through their innovation projects. The transition from a teacher-centered, depository learning framework to a student-centered, design-based learning approach requires teachers to work in a highly collaborative environment to develop cross-curricular and student-centered projects.
So, in their first year, how did they go about doing this?
Before they could start they had to answer a few key questions for themselves, and anyone looking to replicate this program would do well to do the same.
- What resources are currently available and/or necessary to obtain in order to successfully realize their stated vision?
- How might the concepts learned in the theme-based professional development activities be applied to their specific school context?
- What effect(s) might a design thinking approach to teaching and learning have on school performance, as measured by five instructional pillars (teaching) and the ISTE 21st century skill standards (learning)?
These questions guided their approach and the following methods were applied.
- Conduct a needs assessment and establish a teacher growth plan,
- Plan and implement teacher developed lessons tailored to the classroom context, and
- Evaluate the impact of the project on student learning and extract teacher learning through reflective practices.
Their first year found its focus in the first two milestones. One of their priorities this year was to help the new magnet teachers build a theoretical grounding in the foundations of design thinking in K-12 education. They found early on in the project that this looked different for every teacher, based on their subject area, experience level, and their personal interests in areas of growth. Because of these disparate levels of experience, as a team, they decided that more experienced teachers would take on a more robust menu of learning opportunities that were designed to fill in gaps in theoretical and clinical knowledge and to prepare themselves to be teacher leaders in the new school. Their primary learning focus as a teacher leader team was to increase their capacity to understand and teach in alignment with a program theme of design thinking through project-based learning.
So, a year in, where are they?
Their collection of professional development opportunities during Year One has helped teachers develop a greater capacity for executing the magnet program’s vision of developing a human-centered approach to 21st century learning. Teacher leaders are using their learnings from model school visits, workshop and trainings, and collaborative planning sessions, to develop a comprehensive instructional technology plan, to plan and implement theme-based lessons tailored to their classroom contexts, and to develop a comprehensive introductory professional development plan for novice teachers. This included the teacher leaders themselves sharing their learnings through professional development sessions that they curated from their experiences in Year One of the project.
Students were able to develop their skills as digital citizens, innovative designers, knowledge constructors, creative communicators, empowered learners, and global collaborators through design-based, project-based learning tasks throughout the school year. Additionally, they were able to showcase their learning at multiple community events at their school site and within the larger learning community of South Gate. News and pictures of the events were shared on the school website at <http://southeastms-lausdca.schoolloop.com/>. Teacher-leaders are currently designing their digital portfolios to showcase their student projects on the magnet program website <www.dreamsmagnet.org>.
But no project is without challenges. What were some that they faced?
The biggest thing they had to contend with was finding substitute teachers within the budget. This allowed the participating educators to take time off from class for professional development. This is being solved in the second year by reallocating some of the grant money to pay for that.
It’s never too late to educate yourself on the latest technology. Even though chances are, by the time you’ve mastered it there will be something new. But that shouldn’t stop us from trying to narrow the technology gap between students and educators, and this project sounds like one way to do it.
LAMusArt’s Playmaking project approached their goals with a lot of ambition and spirit. Their program was an exciting one, aimed at engaging students ages 9 – 11 in the fundamentals of playwriting over the course of 10 weeks, culminating in a full scale performance of the student written plays by adult actors. It can be extremely difficult to schedule several adult actors to appear in one place at any one time, but in Los Angeles this difficulty can be compounded. So the fact that they were able to get 11 kids plays up and running cast with professional actors is something that on it’s own should be applauded.
But before we get into what they accomplished, let’s take a dive into what goals they set out to accomplish.
1) to give underserved students in their East Los Angeles communities a public opportunity to experience success and recognition through artistic expression, authorship, and performance regardless of race or gender.
2) to aid the growth and development of each student’s important life skills, including their cognitive and emotional evolution, and their creative, academic, social, and behavioral progress by way of artistic opportunities.
3) to validate each student’s unique voice by giving them an opportunity to tell and see their own stories about their respective experiences.
4) to bridge the gap between our community and the life-affirming power of the arts, which they’ve been traditionally barred from due to barriers like language, finances, and exposure.
5) to provide students with the academic attention they lack in public schools, including inclusive and enriching creative programs and better student/adult ratios.
4) to increase student learning in fundamental theater concepts and practices.
Now, a number of these goals seem a bit hard to quantify. Many of which won’t be fully known until long after the student has left the program. But, you might be surprised by the results that the parents are reporting. But we’ll get to that shortly.
So how did they accomplish their goals?
Over the course of 10 weeks, each student kept a notebook of their weekly writing exercises, vocabulary lessons, and understanding of key concepts. Each student was able to grasp these exercises, as proven by the completion of their original plays. Although some plays were more complex than others, every student completed a play with at least two characters and a central conflict between those characters. The driving idea that was used to emphasize dramatic storytelling was “Want. Conflict. Change.” They started the course by establishing that every character must have a strong want or wish. To move the story forward, they put characters with different wants in a scene together to establish a high-stakes conflict, in which the characters want to get in the way of each other. To resolve the story, they needed a change, from either one or both characters, or an outside force. The idea of “Want. Conflict. Change.” was interpreted in different ways by each student, resulting in wildly different, but entirely vibrant and entertaining works. And having personally attended the event I can say that what resulted was a wildly surreal night of shows. Even though their concepts were simple… or often nonsensical (like the boy and his friend, and a slice of pizza) what they demonstrated was unfiltered creativity. It’s not often that playwrights get to write without self consciousness, and while it’s doubtful that they approached it without self doubt — the final product betrayed a sense of fun, unfettered imagination, and clear encouragement to tell the story they want to tell.
So where are the students now and how are they doing?
According to reports from the parents, the students have seen vast improvement in all areas that the program set out to address.
- 100% said they would recommend the program to others;
- 100% said that the elementary school their student attends does not offer a program similar to Playmaking, which tells us the program is unique and needed in the community;
- 100% said their student’s literacy and writing skills developed over the 10 week course;
- 100% said their student’s listening skills developed over the 10 week course; and
- 100% said their collaboration and creativity skills developed over the 10 week course.
Now, I’m no math teacher, but 100% returns across the board seems to me to be pretty good results. If not pretty great.
But no program is without its challenges. How can this one improve?
The most notable challenge was the coordination of rehearsal time for all eleven groups of adult actors and directors. It was difficult to fit adequate rehearsal time for all eleven plays into a two week period, causing them to schedule additional rehearsals with actors and a prolonged tech period in the theater space.
Another challenge they faced was giving the composer sufficient time to compose an original song for each play. Because the songs and plays were not written until Play Day, the composer was unable to read the plays and lyrics until a day before the first rehearsal, giving barely enough time to compose a new piece. They believe this can be improved by having the composer present on Play Day to aid the students in writing their lyrics. This will also give the composer a better idea of what the student has in mind stylistically for their song.
Completely surmountable challenges aside, this program seems to have legs that are going to carry it into the future and help improve the confidence, writing, and collaboration skills for any students involved.
Fourth graders stimulate the thinking processes involved in creativity through an Academic Enrichment Grant
As we face many challenges in educating our children, it is important to emphasize creative thinking and problem solving. Creative thinking and problem-solving are essential parts of the process to turn ideas into innovation and open up avenues to creativity.
What were the goals of the Cigar Box Odyssey project?
The overall goal of the Cigar Box Odyssey project was to teach creativity by integrating the Outcomes of their gifted program with the Objectives of their Fourth Grade Curriculum. Their goal was achieved by emphasizing the gifted process skills of performance, presentation, research, creativity, self-directed learning, group dynamics, and understanding and creating art. The students analyzed the creative process used by musicians to design the cigar box guitar using the SCAMPER (Substitute; Combine; Adapt; Modify; Put to another use; Eliminate; Reverse) technique.
What is the SCAMPER technique?
The SCAMPER technique (introduced Bob Eberle, as described in the design thinking blog, Designorate, by Rafiq Elmansy) is based on the idea that what is new is actually an adaptation of something that already existed. It is considered one of the easiest and most direct methods to creative thinking. The SCAMPER keywords noted above represent the necessary questions students should address during the creative thinking process. For example, for Substitute one could ask, “What part of the process can be substituted without affecting the whole project?” or for Combine, one could ask, “Can we merge two steps of the process?”
What skills did students use to build their Cigar Box Guitars?
The students researched the origin of the Delta Blues and how the Blues form travelled and changed, influencing other American music forms. They used measuring skills, basic knowledge of sound, and creative principles to build their own cigar box guitars. Then the students wrote original songs and performed them in a Blues Café that was set up in their classroom.
The students attended the New Orleans Cigar Box Guitar Music Festival where they were well received and able to meet professional performers. And, to top it off they have been invited to perform at the Festival next year. To prepare for their performance, they plan to invite T. J. Wheeler, creator of the Blues in Schools program, to College Park and help the students prepare for this performance. He taught this year’s fourth graders a few things in just a short time at the festival.
How has this program affected learning?
Because of this program the students have experienced the intersection of research and reality. They have had a taste of living what they researched and were exposed to adults who built the same instruments and performed the same kind of music. They were also able to extend the program to include some cutting-edge technology by 3D printing their own guitar picks.
So, what’s next for the students?
With the purchase of a 3D printer students will learn how to program CAD and create (not just print) their own picks. So, both the technology and the performance components of the program will be lifted to a higher plane when they learn to program CAD and perform formally in front of a festival audience.
While there are always needs in the schools in our own country, it is important to remember that other countries have students that have the same potential but lack even the basic resources available to many U.S. students.
This is what Candacia Greenman is aiming to address by working with the Loreto Primary School in Rumbek, South Sudan. The Village Science Project (VSP) aims to use an inquiry-driven, hands-on and play-oriented approach to improve access to high quality science education for over 200 disadvantaged students over a 3-year period in this MDEF funded academic enrichment project.
How can educators address barriers to high quality science education?
VSP intends to target the four main hindrances to science learning in their community in order to better serve the students:
- Limited resources for practical, inquiry-driven science exploration
- Poor English language acquisition
- Little community engagement
- Psychological barriers to learning
VPS’s proposed addressing these in the following ways:
- Providing students with the resources needed for science exploration through the use of science experiments and engineering and robotics projects.
- Implementing techniques to improve English language skills in science learning by promoting reading through tablets, facilitating peer learning experiences and encouraging student presentations through science fairs
- Stimulating community engagement through science fairs combined with field trips and career talks from local community members.
- Creating low-stress environments for our students, especially our girls to become interested in learning science (students are also given opportunities for “tinkering” or “free play” with science kits through the formation of an after school “tinker club”)
How can teaching methods improve students’ love for science?
Loreto Primary School serves over 600 students, with an emphasis on girls’ education and VSP will benefit about 200 different upper primary students over 3 years. The students live in a community with limited access to electricity and potable water and currently, classes are conducted outdoors under trees.
Most of these students never get a real chance to find a love of science because it’s taught almost exclusively in a theoretical, teacher-centered manner. As such, VSP is ground-breaking because of its use of a more hands-on and child-centered methodology to elevate student learning. They’ll do this by keeping a strong focus on inquiry-driven science exploration, which will help these students to develop their critical thinking skills. VSP will also deepen students understanding of, and interaction with the local physical environment as well as addressing social issues that adversely affect science education such as gender inequity, trauma-induced stress and poor community engagement.
At the end of year one the educators working on the VSP conducted initial baseline assessments of science performance and interest of Primary 5 and Primary 6 students after the following programs were implemented:
- Teacher demonstrations
- Laboratory exercises/activities
- Robotics and engineering projects
- Tablet usage
- Mathematics manipulatives usage
- Science fair
- Career talks
- Field trips
- Tinker Club
Revealing effective science and math teaching
The VSP team members have conducted baseline assessments in both science and mathematics enabling the teachers to tailor the rest of their programs according to how best to serve the students needs. In light of a mathematics assessment revealing gaps they’ve launched a mathematics intervention program targeting student understanding of number operations for Primary 3 through Primary 6 students. All teachers have adapted their teaching programs to allow for more time for Mathematics instruction and they have expanded their focus on number operations.
In addition, all of the primary school teachers attended a month-long training workshop to learn how to integrate demonstrations into their lesson plans for effective science teaching. In order to maximize the use of the science teaching aids, they expanded their focus to include demonstrations in Electricity, Magnetism and Weather modules.
Best of all, afterschool programs to supplement students’ science education have also been implemented. In these programs, the students use science kits to expand their learning of material covered in their Electricity, Magnetism and Weather modules. Those aren’t the only exciting things going on after school for Loreto Primary School students.
VSP has also introduced programs to introduce students to engineering principles and robotics. In these programs, students have been using Engino engineering blocks to build simple machines and learn how to code using the Lightbot app as a first step towards understanding robotics. The engineering afterschool program encompasses the proposed ‘Tinker Club’ in which ‘free play’ is encouraged and students build simple machines of their choice. Students are also being provided with tablets to use in the afterschool programs to aid them in their mathematics and science courses.
One of the most exciting additions have been the science fairs which give the students a place to shine in front of Teachers, parents and other community leaders also attending the event. The science fair focused on energy and engineering and students gave presentations on the design of solar toys, the basics of electricity, and the design and utility of simple machines.
One of the greatest feathers in the cap of the VSP project is that all of their after school programs and the science fair were conducted in English and has resulted in a vast improvement in English comprehension. In addition, students have learned how to use technology and the basics of coding through the use of tablets. Their teachers have reported that tablet usage has also helped the students with Mathematics anxiety.
Lessons learned in academic enrichment
The accomplishments of this project have not come without challenges. The VSP team have reflected on ways they can improve their program in later years. Their biggest challenge was the field trips due to security concerns. As a result of this challenge, they have shifted their focus and are currently designing a “Mathematics and Science for Life” program in which students will attend weekend sessions to learn how mathematics and science are useful in everyday life. Being able to adapt and shift strategies in response to challenges is a necessity for success for a program like this.
The VSP team also learned the difficulties of relying on applications that are not as readily available on the international networks. Google Play is not enabled in South Sudan. As such, all apps must be pre-loaded before transportation to Rumbek. Unfortunately, this means that updates cannot be installed as needed. Furthermore, a lack of consistent and fast internet access has limited the utility of many apps that would be very useful for the students. And in addition to these challenges, having electricity in the classroom has been an issue. As such, they recently invested in solar energy to provide electricity to their school campus and are have installed solar electricity panels for our primary school which will improve their internet access.
All in all, it sounds like some really exciting things are going on with the VSP in Rumbek. They’re swinging with the punches and adapting when necessary. The McCarthy Dressman Education Foundation is excited to see where they go in the years ahead. If they succeed, other schools in the region will benefit enormously from the pedagogical strategies that these educators are pioneering.
Learn more about the topics in this post
- Science and Math Education for Development
- SIAM: Developing Mathematics in the Developing World
- Science Education in Developing Countries
- Revealed: World pupil rankings in science and maths
- Redefining education in the developing world
Two things that are rarely taught in tandem, outside of college elective courses, are Art and History, yet these two disciplines are inextricably linked. Art gives us a window to the minds of humans living in another time. Every detail can tell a story, from the subject and the setting to the style of a time period. Each of these things gives us hints as to what life, attitudes, and technology were like when those pieces were created. Art as old as ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs as well as that created in modern day can shed light on how humanity has evolved and provide a glimpse to human potential. Some might argue, if you don’t know the history – how can you create the future?
This important connection between human expression and history has inpired the educators at NYOS Charter School in Pflugerville, Texas, in the Art History Enrichment Club. According to the project team, the goal is for students to better understand how history and art are interwoven throughout the ages. This understanding will allow students from all backgrounds to connect the art they studied to the community and world around them. By studying the craft of painting in a variety of techniques, they will not only grow as artists, but also make connections between advances in art, history and culture, from paintings in famous museums to those found in their local community.
How does art history after school enrichment support cognitive and social skills in intermediate grades?
The Art History Club was open to students in 4th and 5th grades. Students applied, with parent permission, and thirty of them decided to stay after school one day a week for an hour. This allowed the school to serve up to 20% of their student population. The classes were offered for 20 weeks and were capped off with a trip to the Blanton Art Museum in Austin, Texas. Not only did the project allow students of all backgrounds to connect with history and their communities, it also gave them a new visual language to identify styles and techniques. Research has shown that students who are enrolled in art programs increase cognitive and social skills that are then applied in daily classroom activities.
An important part of this enrichment program is that it wasn’t just passive observation. These students received hands on experience, so to speak. Not only did students see and study the art and varying techniques, they also put those lessons to the test. A weekly display of the information about an artist and the students work was also shared in a common area for all students to view. Additionally, there was an art show displaying student’s artwork open to the NYOS community. NYOS also has a collaborative relationship with local business. These business were able to display artwork allowing students to share their achievements with their local community.
What other benefits came from this project?
According to Melissa Hefner, project awardee, the project was designed to make broad connections between art, history, and real life: “The first goal of the project was to teach how history and art were interwoven. The second goal was to show the different styles of art that have been created throughout history, starting with Egyptian Art and ending with Modern Art. The third goal was for students to identify famous pieces of artwork on clothing, TV shows, movies, posters, etc. making the connection that masterpieces are all around us. The fourth goal was to have them identify art in their community and then add their own art to the community.”
The students have discussed art throughout many historical periods and created pieces of artwork in many different styles in the after school program, every Thursday for an hour. In April, students showcased their work at Fine Arts Night, and even the parents managed to learn a little something they didn’t know previously. In the beginning of May they took the field trip to a local art museum and graffiti wall. A great contrast between fine and street art, and a great lesson about the importance and impact of both. As a direct result, students have become aware of how much art exists around them in the books they read, historical events they study, current events they hear about, and even in their social media feeds.
This project is off to a strong start and continue to impress us at the McCarthey Dressman Education Foundation. Here’s to a few more years of making art and creating history!
App Development and 3D Printing for At-Risk Youth increases Learner Confidence and Problem Solving Skills through Maker Magic
“Failure is a good thing in the development world, it teaches developers quite a bit.”-App Development Instructor
Becoming good at anything is a process. Educators know that students must develop confidence in the face of mistakes and failure, because they are truly an opportunity for learning. As Bob Lenz explains in Edutopia, “failure is an opportunity for students to receive feedback on their strengths as well as their areas of improvement — all for the purpose of getting better. When reframed as a good, constructive, and essential part of learning, failure is a master teacher,” (Failure is Essential to Learning, 2015).
In this report from App Development and 3D Printing for At-Risk Youth, you’ll hear more about how a partnership at Helensview Alternative High School in Portland, Oregon, helped students build confidence and work through failure by developing 3D printed objects and apps. By integrating “maker” culture which focuses on DIY (do it yourself) engineering, students gained confidence and developed problem solving skills. Learn more below!
Why support students in making and developing?
According to the funding proposal “When Google released their diversity stats it came as no surprise that nearly every field was dominated by white men” so with an interest in building interest in STEM careers, the non-profit organization ChickTech partnered with high school teacher Brian Granse to offer making opportunities in the classroom. ChickTech, which focuses on increasing gender diversity in technology through hands-on activities, supported Helensview educators in pursuing the following project goals:
- Provide at-risk students from Helensview Alternative High School with technical workshops
- Allow students to create unique 3D printed objects and apps
- Improve students’ confidence and interest in learning
- Create lessons that can be improved upon next year and shared with others
How can you use 3D printing and app development to enhance learning and student interest?
In this project, students were offered access to workshops instead of their regularly scheduled classes. For five weeks, regular 3 hour sessions were offered on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Initially, others in the school were concerned about the length of the sessions, given that most students had a hard time staying involved in 45 minute classes. As the students became engaged and interested, the school community was pleasantly surprised. Students were not only engaged, but some stayed after school had ended to continue to work on their projects, a feat the report called “unheard-of” for this school.
Workshops focused on two types of making, 3D printing and app development.
3D Printing Layers Learning in Geometry and Measurement with Practical Knowledge
In the 3D printing workshops, students created multiple unique 3-D printed objects they could later take home. These included:
- personalized name plates
- custom-shaped containers
- bracelets (also personalized)
- toy cars
The workshops supported the students in learning important concepts and skills for 3D printing (explained here by 3Dify) over the course of creating the various designs, including:
- creating 3D objects using basic sketch tools such as rectangles and circles
- customizing objects with text
- adding loops to an initial sketch to build a 3D object in successive layers
- using a computer to navigate three-dimensional space
- drawing complex sketches using geometry for practical objects such as containers
- creating objects based on real-world measurements
- creating objects with functional wheels
- sketching flat designs onto curved surfaces
The more that the students learned, the more creativity they expressed. The most rewarding project for the instructors was the most complex and required the students to integrate all of the skills they were learning over time. By creating a custom built car model including customized mufflers, tailpipes, headlights, spoilers and wheels the students moved way beyond 3D modeling and into the real world – their designs even had to follow strict guidelines in order to be printable. “By the end, the students who clearly wanted to be designers stood out as did the students who wanted to be the builders of 3D printers” (Project Report) highlighting the effectiveness of the workshops focused on these skills.
App Development Builds Confidence in Problem Solving and Learning from Failure
The second series of workshops focused on app development, which also required the students to demonstrate complex problem solving skills. To get started, students followed a tutorial to learn TouchDevelop, an app creation tool, before brainstorming ideas for apps they would like to create. Once they decided what apps they wanted to develop they worked in teams to create them.
Learning how to develop apps required the students to practice and apply the following skills:
- problem solving
- content creation
- following directions
- managing time
- working in teams
Each app went through several iterations over the three week period. Two groups worked on two separate apps. One app taught about telling time on a conventional handed clock and the other taught about geometric math formulas that many students must learn for exams. Students also worked to incorporate a quiz feature that would test the app user’s knowledge of the content presented. Through trial and error, students learned about the complexity of app creation. According to the report, “Because the focus was on the process and not the finished app, students were able to explore many issues involved in developing technology for a wide audience of users. Students expressed how appreciative they were of apps that effectively solved problems as they understood how difficult it was to create and maintain a bug-free application.”
Although students came into the app creation workshops enthusiastically having already explored 3D printing, they needed a fair amount of encouragement to work through the challenges of app development. The instructor of the app development workshops wrote:
“Successful developers (app or otherwise) have a unique ability to manage frustration well, and this skill really only comes with practice and time. I did see students give up quickly at first. There was a lot of waiting for instruction rather than self guided discovery. My impression was that there was still a lot of fear attached with “failure.” Failure is a good thing in the development world, it teaches developers quite a bit. After explaining that to students, they were more inclined to try and try again without feeling frustrated. I noticed around this time, too, that students were starting to share what they were learning. If a student came up against the same bug or error message as another student had previously, it became an opportunity for those students to collaborate, and learn from one another.
We are fortunate enough to live in a world where apps are plentiful and most are very well made and fun to use. Once students learned how complex and time consuming the process really is, they were initially put off by the amount of work that loomed in front of them. Students came up with ideas that were really fun but ambitious. And once the hard work started, it was a struggle to keep the students motivated. The enormity of making an entire app that looked as flashy as something already on the market started to seem like a “why bother” scenario. But, by breaking our apps into smaller, more manageable pieces, the students had consistent success with creating new features.
There are almost infinite solutions to solving even the same problem in computer programming, so we really tried to communicate to the students that giving up is not an option. There is always something new to try. At points I know the students would have preferred to give up altogether, but I did see them gradually start to shift away from one problem to tackle another-rather than abandoning the entire project altogether. That is a very evolved problem solving technique, and one that even professional developers don’t learn until years on the job.”
Celebrating Results of a Maker Nurturing Project
After 5 weeks of workshops, the project team held a celebration party for all students, teachers, school and school representatives, and the workshop instructors. During this celebration, students showed off their projects and received feedback from the community.
Positive Response from Administration
The response was outstanding; Helensview High School administrators highlighted the value of partnerships for academic enrichment, explaining in writing:
“Schools are constantly challenged with the task of offering varied, meaningful hands-on projects, while public education is placing more focus on core academic standards and high stakes exams. Most programs lack the personnel, money, and equipment to experiment with cutting edge technologies. However, outside organizations can help tremendously with this challenge. In the case of our program, both the
McCarthy-Dressman Foundation and Janice/ChickTech have made incredible contributions that have provided at-risk youth with eye-opening, confidence-building activities that are both inspirational and academically enriching. The workshops facilitated in this program are the perfect example of how collaboration between schools and outside organizations can deliver fresh experiences that are meaningful, cutting edge, and connected to real industry people who operate beyond the walls of the public school system.
By producing 3D printed objects and phone apps, our students learned that acquiring new skills isn’t just for passing tests and earning diplomas. They learned to take an idea, develop a plan, and create something real with several weeks of dense, action-packed courses in 3D printing and application development. We are grateful for the foundation’s support, and thrilled with Janice’s/ChickTech’s implementation of the programming. For everyone involved, this is time and money well spent on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for youth who will remember
this experience forever.”
Strong Evidence of Student Growth
According to results of pre and post surveys, students were definitely enriched by this program.
Of the group (93% non-white students – mainly African-American and Latino/a with a 63% parent education level of high school educated or below), some exciting increases were noted:
- “I plan to go to college”: 21% increase
- “I can work through problems”: 22% increase
- “I have resources I can go to when I have tech questions”: 22% increase
In addition, students self-reported an increase in technology skills. On a 1-4 reflective scale there was an increase from 1.9 to 2.9, a 52% increase. In addition, responses to the question “Would you be more interested in school if more classes were like this?” also on a 1-5 scale, averaged 4.2. The project team found this especially exciting, writing:
“Although this is a great experience for the students who attended, what if all of their classes were hands-on and interactive? What if they got to solve interesting problems, learn how to work as a team on things that affected them, and learned useful skills in every class? Can you imagine what the above numbers would look like for these students? I can, and it gives me hope for our society’s dismal track record of serving its highest-risk students.
All but one student said they would recommend that their friends take this class next year. We expect to see a strong increase in students who want to attend next year, and our instructors are so excited to improve and continue increasing their impact.”
Lessons Learned and Ideas for Improvement
ChickTech described the challenges for project implementation included finding experienced instructors, curriculum developers and drag and drop software for app development. They also noted that the educators involved were already meeting many demands in the classroom which affected the overall timeline – in fact, the student post-surveys were obtained after the project concluded which may have decreased the amount of enthusiasm shown in comments on the surveys.
In the future, the team plans to work with the same instructors so that less time can be spent on planning and their existing rapport with the students can be leveraged for more enthusiasm and interest.
Even though some of the students are moving on before next school year, some of them plan to come back as teaching assistants or to work on more advanced projects with the support of the instructors.
Funding for the project provided by the McCarthey Dressman Education Foundation supported this effort in several areas including instructor fees, teaching assistants, curriculum development, materials and evaluation costs. Sixteen students participated (50% male/50% female) which was perfect for the availability of resources within the school and the number of instructors.
Learning More about Making Projects in Education
If you would like to learn more about integrating maker culture in the classroom to build student confidence, increase gender diversity in technology, and develop complex problem solving skills, we recommend the resources below.
- MakerEd Resource Library (Maker Education Initiative, 2016)
- Jaw Dropping Classroom 3D printer Creations (Edutopia, 2015)
- MIT App Inventor (MIT, 2015)
- Mobile Makers Academy brings Mobile App Development to Schools (Tech Republic, 2014)
- App Creation Inspires Student Entrepreneurs (EdWeek, 2012)
- A Guide to Teaching Mobile App Development (Scholastic)


Lower School Curriculum
Overview: Grades One Through Five
We strive to create a learning environment that is joyful, engaging, challenging, and multi-faceted. It is a place where students grow in confidence and independence within a broad program where they feel safe to take intellectual risks and grow. With basic academic skills built upon responsibility, creativity, problem-solving, and hands-on learning, we endeavor to teach the “whole” child. Co-curricular teachers tap into the various interests and talents of the students as they work closely with the homeroom teacher to meet the needs of the class and grade. Being a part of a community of learners where students work together and respect differences is a critical element to the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth grade experiences.
- Fine and Performing Arts
- Global Languages
- Physical Education
- Social Studies
- Speaking and Listening
- Study Skills
Art: First and Second Grades
Artistic expression and art fundamentals are critical aspects of the first and second grade art curricula. At these stages, students are exposed to techniques, specifics artists, and great works of art, as well as key elements of art including: line, shape, form, space, texture, value, and color. Students often study important works of art and then practice the techniques unique to creating a similar piece of art. Key aspects of the experience include: developing a sense of aesthetic judgment and color theory, understanding how visual arts relate to history and culture, and showing appreciation of the creative works of self and others. SMART Board and iPad technology are used in the classroom to enrich understandings and to offer a unique form of multi-media art-based experiences.
Art: Third Grade
Critiquing each other’s work, investigating the full range of mediums, understanding the relationship between culture and art as well as exploring color theory and aesthetic education, are combined to create a vibrant studio art program. This class meets twice a week in the art studio. Through these experiences and with two and three-dimensional work displayed throughout the school, students come to appreciate each other’s work and enjoy the creative process and how it connects to other disciplines in their school and to world cultures.
Art: Fourth Grade
Through art history and self-expression, students will create works using a variety of mediums. In particular, at this grade, level students will learn about the Elements of Color and be able to communicate their ideas using them; understand the visual arts in relation to history and culture; reflect upon and critique the merits of their own work and the work of others; and make connections between the visual arts and other disciplines. Art meets twice a week in the art studio.
Art: Fifth Grade
This is a studio art course in which art history provides an introduction to each art project, and an inspiration for the students. Drawing, painting, printmaking, ceramics and sculpture, as well as mixed media, are central to each student’s experience. While art history and the exposure to various mediums of expression are at the center of the students’ work; art theories regarding color and design are also integrated into their projects. Student artwork is continually displayed throughout the school. The annual All School Student Art Show at Stony Brook University and the Young Illustrators Challenge, in which student art work from around the region is judged, are two centerpieces for our year as well. Students have one block period for art and one class period each week.
Music: First and Second Grades
Students attend music class twice a week and participate in both our choral and instrumental programs. Chorus is an important aspect of our music curriculum, as it fosters a sense of community, responsibility, and teamwork. Students perform in the winter and spring concert each year and develop skills such as following a conductor, pitch-matching, and concert etiquette.
First and second grade students also participate in our recorder program. It is designed to challenge and stimulate a developing sense of multitasking and coordination skills. Through a differentiated approach, each student progresses through the program at his or her own rate, allowing for an individualized experience tailored to each student.
Music: Third Grade
Music class centers on music theory, music history, vocal skills and instrument skills. By listening to music, singing, playing an instrument, reading music and learning about the history and culture of music, students build an appreciation, if not, a passion for this area of study. There are two major performances each year and music class meets twice a week in the music room.
Music: Fourth Grade
Music class centers on music history, music theory and performance. By listening to music, singing, playing an instrument, reading music and learning about the history of music student build an appreciation, if not, a passion for this area of study. Reading notes on the treble clef, identifying notes above and below the music staff, rhythms, time signature are included in the fourth grade curriculum. Students have two major performances every year and each will start (or continue with) a band instrument. Music meets twice a week in the music room.
Music: Fifth Grade
Music class centers on music history, music theory and performance. By listening to music, singing, playing an instrument, reading music and learning about the history of music student build an appreciation, if not, a passion for this area of study. Reading notes on the treble clef, identifying notes above and below the music staff, rhythms, time signature are included in the fifth grade curriculum. Students have two major performances every year and each will start (or continue with) a band instrument. Music meets twice a week in the music room.
First Grade Through Fifth Grade
At the end of the lower school years, students should have familiarity with basic vocabulary and rudimentary styles of conversation. In order to encourage global citizenship, special attention is paid to culturally authentic materials and activities such as: art crafts, foods, greetings, etiquette and customs of the countries studied.
First Grade through Fifth Grade
This is a multi-faceted class where students broaden their background and exposure to a range of types of literature, library resources and technology while becoming more independent in how to negotiate the resources in the library. Students read independently, take out books for outside reading, are read to, and learn about how best to use the atlas, dictionary, and thesaurus. Students listen to various stories, authors and genres, learn about multiple print resources, and understand and use the Internet catalog system as they take books out on a regular basis. Students visit the library for their regular library period, and visits to the library happen throughout the year as needed for research.
In first grade, students reinforce the skills learned in kindergarten but also begin working with fractions, place value, and data interpretation.
By second grade, students review all that has come before in grade one and then move into certain areas more deeply. They study place value, addition, subtraction, and begin multiplication and division. Problem solving is a major focus in every unit.
Confidence in mathematics grows as each concept is introduced, understood, practiced, and mastered. In third grade students solidify their knowledge of number facts, numerals through 100,000, place value and money. Basic number operations of addition and subtraction with re-grouping and understanding multiplication and division concepts are also major elements in third grade. Reading is fundamental here as well with word problems incorporated into the class.
The fourth grade mathematics program’s goals focus on understanding the theory behind the numbers, computation skills and, most importantly, having students build confidence and an interest in learning math. Whole number operations, place value, fractions, decimals, geometry, data analysis, measurement, probability, time, measurement and problem solving are part of the fourth grade curriculum. We also focus on problem solving and using math vocabulary to explain the meaning behind the math computation.
Harbor fifth graders learn to reason mathematically and use mathematics to solve problems in authentic contexts. Students learn about numeration, operations, patterns and functions, geometry, measurement and data through exploratory activities. Supplemental materials are used to extend and enrich student experiences and ideas. Lessons, assignments, and homework are differentiated in order to meet the needs of each student. Teaching is responsive to the individuals and is consistently monitored to make sure the level of enrichment and reinforcement is appropriate.
First Grade through Fifth GradeLower school students participate in Physical Education (PE) in our gymnasium or on the athletic fields, depending on the weather. We build a physical education program as a life skill class where responsible behavior, good health, teamwork and knowledge of and exposure to athletic games and physical movement all play a role. Competency in motor skills, using a wide range of age-appropriate athletic equipment, physical fitness, cooperation in team play, nutrition and competition are a part of the curriculum.
First graders are developing the skills needed to improve independent reading and are beginning to read to learn. As decoding gives way to fluency, a first grader’s reading comprehension improves. Focusing on high frequency words helps improve fluency. The first grader begins to fall in love with characters in stories, becomes familiar with folktales, and use illustrations to support comprehension. First graders begin developing understandings of letter patterns known as blends and diagraphs. Nuances of word patterns, such as the concepts of plurals, contractions, compound words, and synonyms/antonyms, greatly expand reading skills. In writing, students learn to add details to stories, to write sentences, and to vary their sentence structure. They practice writing stories with a beginning, middle, and ending.
Second Grade is a time where reading fundamentals are becoming established and students are now reading to learn new things or to make connections to what they already know. By second grade, non-fiction reading becomes more important as students do more research and learn to organize their ideas. In writing, emphasis is placed on writing descriptive sentences, compare/contrast, writing “how-to’s” and relying on themes as a backdrop for writing. Writing is often based on content related to cultures. Students are also trying their hand at scientific writing such as with making predictions. The Teachers' College Reading & Writing Project is used at this grade level to support biographical writing, informational writing and research papers.
Students in third grade have a wide range of interests in the types of books they read and in the level at which they read. Our goal in third grade is to create an environment throughout the day and year, where students build on their love for words, books and reading. Exposing them to a range of genres provides the right context for this to happen with fiction, non-fiction and poetry.
This is an exciting time in their lives as they turn from solidifying reading skills – depending on the reading level of each child – to using reading to learn about the world around them. The third grade teacher takes the time to learn about, through a variety of means, what authors and literature will continue to ignite a child’s love for reading. Decoding, using context clues to improve comprehension, understanding the structure of a story including details about the characters, setting and plot, predicting, summarizing and, importantly, making personal connections to the reading are all skills developed at this level.
Students also develop fluency through guided practice and repeated readings with appropriate expression and phrasing. Engaging our students in regular repeated readings will improve their word recognition, reading rate, comprehension, and overall reading proficiency.
Reading is one of the keys to success in school and life. The homeroom teacher focuses on the reading level of each student to build a reading program that will challenge them appropriately and excite them to become life-long readers. We use a variety of means to learn what kinds of books will interest each child and at what level is just right. Through both conversation and the choices students make in their free reading to regular assessments around fluency, expression and comprehension will help us fine-tune the kinds of literature that will stretch each child’s mind. Students are exposed to fiction, non-fiction and poetry and a range of genres and authors. In addition, we teach the basic academic skills about character, setting and plot. Improving comprehension, learning how to summarize, inferring meaning, decoding unfamiliar words and making personal, global and text connections help to create a firm base for future growth and development of each child’s reading foundation.
The fifth grade reading program focuses on building essential comprehension skills while keeping students engaged in a variety of texts. Students read a range of literature, both as a class, in small groups and independently. We utilize the Reader's Workshop method, which blends whole group mini-lessons, small needs-based groups, and individual conferring to guide students through the application of seven basic comprehension strategies.
Instruction is designed to meet students at their skill levels and to raise their abilities and confidence as readers. There is a focus on developing critical-thinking skills, such as drawing conclusions from a text and making predictions. In addition, students are taught and encouraged to make connections to their reading in a variety of ways, which helps them to internalize the deeper meaning of the text. Independent reading is a critical component to being a successful reader, and this is heavily emphasized. As students progress through the fifth grade program, they become comfortable and adept at thinking, speaking and writing about what they read.
Students in first grade learn about insects and spiders, cold and warm blooded animals, and use measurement to make scientific observations. Field trips to go apple picking with kindergarteners and a trip to the local grocery store, to study nutrition, take place during the school year. The scientific method is introduced.
Second grade science is a time for exploration and creativity. Students study innovation; they create their own inventions and they assemble and program robots. Robotics features strongly in the second grade science curriculum. Within the biological sciences, second grade students raise Monarch butterflies in early spring.
Third grade science is a hands-on lab science where students investigate, explore and learn about the three branches of science. This course examines life, physical and earth science. Through observation, data recording and experiments, the central themes to the year are living things in our environment, understanding the earth’s surface and how we can protect its resources, understanding matter and mixtures and how they change and, finally, energy.
Fourth grade science is a hands-on lab science where students investigate, explore and learn about the natural world. This course examines earth, life and physical sciences. Through observation, data recording and experiments, the central themes to the year include watersheds – a critical catalyst to life on our planet electricity - natural resources and marine life of Long Island and electricity.
In fifth grade, we unite theory with practical applications through field trips to natural outdoor settings on our nearby coastline and Long Island’s regional science centers. The scientific process forms the backbone for our laboratory work, and lab reports are the culmination of the students’ research and hands-on studies. Basic academic skills, such as note-taking, proper lab report writing, discussion and collaboration, are reinforced throughout the year. The fifth grade studies all three scientific disciplines: life, earth and physical.
In first grade, students develop understandings related to citizenship. They study important historical figures as well as U.S. states, with special emphasis on New York. Map skills are explored to a greater extent, especially through the unit related to Flat Stanley. Students are given opportunities to problem-solve, to negotiate, and to develop understandings related to facts versus opinions. A strong emphasis is placed on the ideas of citizenship, community, and respect.
In second grade, the curriculum focuses more on map skills, landforms and explorers. Students work to a greater extent developing the idea of citizenship. There are a number of social studies project in second grade including a research project related to Hawaii, a geography project related to rainforests and a habitat project related to penguins.
Child development tells us that children at this stage in their growth are beginning to understand that they are not just an individual in this world but a contributing member of a group of people. Parallel plan continues, but it is less and less a part of what they are naturally inclined towards. There are myriad lessons learned as children become cognizant of and a valuable member of partnerships and group work. This is why the theme of third grade social studies focuses on Community. What role do people play? What role should each member play? What examples exist in our school and local regions? Beyond our localities, the third grade will learn about the fifty states as well where we are in the global community.
The theme of the fourth grade social studies program is the State of New York. From the first inhabitants, explorers and slave trade to the Revolutionary War, founders, local and state government structures, and immigration, students become well-informed historians about our regional history.
The fifth grade social studies curriculum focuses on the study of people from around the world, beginning with the emergence of mankind and continuing through to ancient China. Traditional skill building through note-taking, research, debating, writing and reading are core elements to our history program.
How we speak and listen to each other is a natural connection to our social studies theme and is an important part of child development at this age. There are many opportunities to speak in third grade in pairs, groups, with one’s homeroom teacher and in public forums. Presenting information in a clear manner with good eye contact and a loud voice are skills we reinforce. As a considerate member of a community knowing how to share, listen and brainstorm effectively students learn how to work as a team to solve problems and create solutions.
There are many forms to speaking in school and we believe in providing frequent opportunities for each student to become self-assured, poised speakers. Summarizing current events, explaining the processes used in answering questions, reading aloud fluidly and with expression, as well as presenting projects in a public forum, are examples where students gain confidence in themselves a public speakers.
The pace of life in school can be fast, but by concentrating on attentive and thoughtful listening skills, students learn more about the world around them from their classmates and teachers alike. By listening carefully and patiently to oral directions, student discussion and storytelling, for example, students appreciate the power of listening.
Speaking and listening are woven into many areas of the curriculum throughout the year, especially in their partnership work in literacy, math, and social studies as students strive to develop skills related to attentive listening, collaborative communication and clear presentation of ideas.
One of the backbones of establishing a solid foundation for future school success is in laying the groundwork in study and organization skills. As part of a community where each student develops skills around cooperation, responsibility, preparation, collaboration, children learn to become contributing members of a class and school. They also grow into independent, self-assured individuals.
Constructing a reliable and predictable set of study skills paves the way for deeper learning. Organizing desks, books and folders, as well as developing consistent homework, project and classwork timelines, builds confident learners.
It takes a combination of skills to achieve academic success. These skills are practiced as students work on various projects throughout the year. The skills are organization, time management, prioritization, concentration, and motivation.
First Grade through Fifth GradeTechnology is an integral part of the curriculum and it is integrated into the homeroom teacher’s program. Through instruction of basic skills, familiarity with various hardware sources, and projects, students gain an appreciation for and confidence in their computer skills. Learning about safe use of the Internet, students are exposed to the computer, laptop and iPad. Google programs are introduced and reinforced – email, Google Drive, and the calendar. Students will continue to learn about Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Google Chrome, and improving keyboarding skills.
By leaps and bounds, students in the third grade grow as writers as they publish their own work on an increasingly sophisticated level. Students are introduced to the basic concept of paragraph writing. They learn the essential parts of a paragraph, which include main ideas, topic sentences, supporting and body sentences, and conclusions.
The reading and writing programs work like hand-in-glove in developing each child’s writing. Writing about what they read and about what the teacher read to them, we provide an opportunity for students to express themselves in writing every day. It starts with a safe learning environment where students feel comfortable writing and in generating their own ideas independently. From understanding that stories need a beginning, middle and end to building a logical story line with character development, setting and plot, students gain confidence as authors of their own work. Learning about the mechanics of writing fine-tunes their work as the gain knowledge about capitalization, punctuation and formatting. Students come to appreciate the essential need revision plays in becoming great writers.
One of the mainstays to a robust language arts program is its writing curriculum and with it, creating confident writers. Writing often is one of the keys to this and using a variety of styles and techniques in another. We do this with practice in writing narrative, persuasive, expository and creative writing pieces. Building a foundation of basic skills by solidifying each child’s knowledge of and familiarity with the importance of writing an essay with an introduction, supportive evidence and a concluding sentence all with proper mechanics are essential skills. Creating an energetic style within each exercise includes instruction around transition words, description language, fluid phrases, a varied sentence style allow students to develop their own unique style in writing. Research is also a part of the writing program, which includes not only finding credible and varied sources, but also citing research.
Writing in fifth grade is based on a writers' workshop model. The goals of writers' workshop are to develop students’ awareness of the process and craft of writing and to increase their ownership of their writing. Teachers expose students to a variety of writing styles and aim to develop each student's unique writing voice. Students are carefully guided through the writing process, and writing lessons scaffold to allow students to build upon strategies and skills learned throughout the year. Beginning with brainstorming and planning, children learn specific conferencing and revision techniques so that they are able to share their ideas effectively with one another. Following the conference, the children proofread and edit their own work, and ultimately publish selected texts. Teachers work with individuals and small groups, discussing genre, teaching skill lessons, helping with the editing process and asking questions to provide feedback.


Folklore and Oral Traditions
Folklore and Oral Traditions
FOLKLORE AND ORAL TRADITIONS
Between 1870 and 1920, folklore studies in the United States blossomed. By the 1870s the analysis of Native American folklore already was in full swing, and serious interest in transplanted Old World traditions and American ethnic, regional, and occupational traditions was emerging.
NATIVE AMERICAN FOLKLORE
From the late 1870s through the first couple of years of the twentieth century, John Wesley Powell, head of the Bureau of American Ethnology, oversaw the publication of many of the important works on Native American folklore as annual reports of the bureau. These included A Study of Siouan Cults (1894) by James Owen Dorsey; The Calendar History of the Kiowa Indians (1898) and Myths of the Cherokee (1900) by James Mooney; Outlines of Zuñi Creation Myths (1896) by Frank Hamilton Cushing; and The Mountain Chant: A Navaho Ceremony (1887) by Washington Matthews.
Daniel Garrison Brinton, who published The Lenâpé and Their Legends (1885), tried to find a home for the study of Native American folklore in American museums beginning in the 1880s. This coincided with the early activities of Franz Boas (1858–1942), who launched his career as an anthropological folklorist in 1883 by conducting field research among the Eskimos of Baffin Island. Five years later he was serving on the faculty of Clark University in Massachusetts and producing his monumental collections of folklore from the tribes of northwestern North America—some, such as Chinook Texts (1894) and Tsimshian Texts (1902), were published as annual reports of the Bureau of American Ethnology. Eventually Boas established a base and a method for studying Native American folklore at Columbia University, where in 1899 he began his long career as professor of anthropology. His talented students continued to carry the torch in Native American folklore studies throughout the early part of the twentieth century. Among his students who became renowned for their work in Native American folklore were Alfred Louis Kroeber, author of Indian Myths of South Central California (1907); Robert H. Lowie, who wrote Myths and Traditions of the Crow Indians (1918); and Paul Radin, author of Literary Aspects of North American Mythology (1915). It was an aim of Boas and some of his students to reconstruct Native American history and culture through oral traditions.
Though published in 1929, the classic collection Tales of the North American Indians by Stith Thompson is extremely useful for those interested in Native American oral literature between 1870 and 1920. Many of the tales in the anthology and many of the collections and studies cited in his thorough comparative notes and exhaustive bibliography fall into the period under review. Native American tales collected during this period include myths of the origin of the world and of humans; other etiological myths, including those explaining peculiarities of animals, birds, and plants; stories of tricksters and heroes; tales of journeys to other worlds, usually to the sky world; and stories of marriages between animals and humans. Native Americans also adapted folktales they borrowed from Europeans, as Thompson's eighth chapter of Tales of the North American Indians and his published dissertation, European Tales among the North American Indians (1919), show. Although Native Americans freely borrowed and adapted European tales, European settlers, save perhaps the French, did not borrow Native American oral tales.
AFRICAN AMERICAN FOLKLORE
Though much attention was paid to Native American folklore throughout the nineteenth century, little work was done on the folklore of other North American groups until after the Civil War, when some writers discovered African American folklore. The local color writer George Washington Cable, who published a couple of articles on Creole folksongs in Century magazine in 1886, was one of these writers. Joel Chandler Harris (1848–1908), another regional writer, published an article on "Folklore of the Southern Negroes" in Lippincott's magazine in 1877. It was Harris's book Uncle Remus, His Songs and His Sayings (1880), however, that produced the most interest in African American folklore. In all, Harris published six collections of Uncle Remus tales, including his highly regarded Told by Uncle Remus: New Stories of the Old Plantation (1905). Harris's animal tales inspired others to collect African American folklore in the United States.
The publication of William Francis Allen, Charles Pickard Ware, and Lucy McKim Garrison's Slave Songs of the United States (1867) stimulated an interested in another genre of African American folklore—folksongs—that has never abated. Many African American folksongs are functional. African work songs were fresh in the minds of newly arrived slaves, and on the plantations slaves created new work songs for picking cotton, plowing, husking corn, and other jobs in the field. When slavery was abolished, African American labor groups—often working on southern chain gangs, in prisons, and in construction camps—inherited the work song tradition. Their songs helped make the back-breaking work more bearable, and the rhythm of the songs kept the workers swinging their sledgehammers and picks more effectively than the whips of overseers. African Americans sang lyrical and narrative folksongs, too. In spirituals and blues, among the best of American lyrical folksongs, they sang their feelings. Though spirituals are religious and sung in groups and blues are secular and performed by individuals, both often express the same general feelings of bitterness and a desire to escape, sometimes employing the train as a symbol of getting away from unpleasant situations.
From the southern fields, African Americans moved to cities after the Civil War, hoping for freedom but often finding a different kind of servitude in city slums, where crime frequently provided the only means of making a living; consequently, many African American ballads deal with crime and often with murder. While white Americans sang of Jesse James, Sam Bass, and Billy the Kid, black Americans sang of Stagolee, Bill Brady, and John Hardy, with some of their ballads being historical. The ballad "John Hardy," for example, is based on a real event. On 19 January 1894, John Hardy was executed at Welch, West Virginia, for killing a fellow miner in a crap-game dispute over twenty-five cents. It was not a bad man, though, who inspired one of the great African American ballads but a hard-working, steel-driving man named John Henry, who died "with his hammer in his hand." The exact origin of "John Henry" will never be known, but it is thought that the John Henry legend got started around 1870 during the construction of the Big Bend Tunnel on the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad in West Virginia. Whatever the origin, African Americans have largely been responsible for the preservation and diffusion of songs and stories about John Henry, and every state in the South claims him.
REGIONAL AMERICAN FOLKLORE
Between the Civil War and the end of the nineteenth century, regional folklore was best preserved by regional realists or local color writers. Representative of these authors was Rowland E. Robinson (1833–1900), a Vermont farmer, sports enthusiast, and illustrator who did not begin to write until after middle age, when his sight began failing. He wrote most of his stories and nature essays after he was blind. Robinson had a lifelong interest in the oral traditions of his region. While hiking, hunting, fishing, trapping, and sketching in the vicinity of his Ferrisburgh home, he encountered a wide variety of Vermont folk traditions. In realistic stories such as Uncle Lisha's Shop: Life in a Corner of Yankeeland (1887), Sam Lovel's Camps: Uncle Lisha's Friends under Bark and Canvas (1889), Uncle Lisha's Outing (1897), A Hero of Ticonderoga (1898), and A Danvis Pioneer (1900), Robinson drew upon nearly every form of folklife, including speech, proverbs, riddles, rhymes, games, beliefs, cures, songs, tales, customs, arts, crafts, and architecture. What is more, utilizing the frame device, he presents this lore in authentically reconstructed social and physical contexts. Because his main purpose for writing stories, as he points out in his author's note in Danvis Folks (1900), was to preserve folklore and because he was interested in context as well as in texts, his writings offer a literary ethnography of nineteenth-century Vermont folklife.
In the Midwest, the Hoosier poet James Whitcomb Riley (1849–1916) grew up at a time when the nation was making a transition from agrarianism to industrialism. Throughout his life he always looked back with nostalgia on his boyhood days in an Indiana village, as he suggests in one of his sentimental poems, "The Old Times Were the Best." Riley, like other regional writers, was selective in his use of folklore and altered and adapted the material to suit his purpose. But like Robinson, Riley consciously preserved folklore and believed that the creative writer who draws upon folklife should be faithful in his or her presentation. In "Dialect in Literature" (1892), for example, he says "the true interpreter" of common life should permit "his rustic characters to think, talk, act and live, just as nature designed them. He does not make the pitiable error of either patronizing or making fun of them. He knows them and he loves them" (pp. 2682–2683). Although Riley is remembered for his poetry and not for his prose, his prose sketches, especially, indicate his thorough use of proverbs, superstitions, games, tales, songs, material culture, and customs. His work is also remarkable for its accurate transcription of regional speech. One value of his writings, as those of other regional authors of the period, is that they preserve a picture of folk practices from a time when no systematic field collections were made.
Many regional writers were inspired by tall tales—humorous narratives of lying and exaggeration—which were especially popular on the American frontier among hunters, fishermen, farmers, and river men, as the tales frequently deal with hunting, fishing, rough weather, fertile soil, big crops, and fabulous animals. Many tall tales deal with the legendary logger Paul Bunyan. As Daniel Hoffman shows in Paul Bunyan: Last of the Frontier Demigods (1952), this figure quickly passed from a folk hero of lumberjacks celebrated for his sexual prowess to a mass-culture hero found mainly in advertising and children's literature. Printed texts of Bunyan's exploits, however, fail to capture the tall tale's art, which, as Mark Twain suggests in "How to Tell a Story" (1897), lies in its manner of telling, not especially in its content. Twain (1835–1910) cites an old tale, "The Wounded Soldier," as told by James Whitcomb Riley in the character of an old farmer, to illustrate what he means. For his retelling of the tale, Riley, like Robinson, re-created a context of performance. This, according to Twain, is what makes Riley's treatment of the tale effective. In suggesting the importance of context and performance in oral storytelling, Twain predated the social scientists' interests in contextual folklore studies by at least forty years. Twain, himself, made good use of southwestern tall tales in his first book, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County and Other Sketches (1867), and also in Roughing It (1872). Some of his later works, such as Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Tom Sawyer's Comrade) (1885), are storehouses of all kinds of regional American folklore.
THE AMERICAN FOLKLORE SOCIETY
Twain, in fact, along with his friends Joel Chandler Harris and the Indiana writer Edward Eggleston (1837–1902), were charter members of the American Folklore Society when it was founded in 1888. The goals of the society, enumerated in the first issue of the Journal of American Folk-Lore, involved collecting "the fast-vanishing remains of Folk-Lore in America." This included English "ballads, tales, superstitions, dialect, etc."; folklore of "Negroes in the Southern States of the Union"; folklore of "the Indian Tribes of North America (myths, tales, etc.)"; and folklore of "French Canada, Mexico, etc." (Journal of American Folk-Lore, p. 3). Though the founders' notion of "fast-vanishing" traditions has proven false, their emphasis on English and other European folklore in the United States, African American folklore, and Native American folklore echoed the early research in American oral traditions and set the stage for folklore studies in the United States during the last part of the nineteenth century and the first part of the twentieth century. A prime mover among the founders of the society was William Wells Newell, who published Games and Songs of American Children (1883), the earliest annotated compilation of children's folklore in the United States. A forgotten founding member of the society, mainly because he wrote in German, was Karl Knortz, a prolific early collector of all kinds of folklore, including customs, beliefs, legends, games, riddles, rhymes, and proverbs.
Francis James Child, first president of the American Folklore Society, made British ballads his life's work but did not do any fieldwork in the United States; however, at Harvard he trained several notable American folklorists, including George Lyman Kittredge (1860–1941). While Kittredge continued Child's work on British ballads, he enlarged his range of folklore interests to include tales, beliefs, proverbs, European folklore in America, and folklore in ancient and medieval literature. What is more, he trained at least half of the American folklorists, including Stith Thompson, active in the first half of the twentieth century. Another of Kittredge's students was John Avery Lomax, who since childhood had been collecting cowboy songs in Texas. Kittredge recognized the importance of these songs and was instrumental in securing for Lomax three summer Sheldon Fellowships from Harvard to collect more cowboy songs in western states, resulting in the publication of Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads (1910), one of the early collections of cowboy songs. It had an enormous impact on the study of occupational folklore in the United States.
AMERICAN OCCUPATIONAL FOLKLORE
As a matter of fact, many American oral traditions from the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century were collected from occupational groups. In addition to cowboys, these included loggers, sailors, miners, railroaders, oil drillers, and steelworkers. The heyday of the cattle drive, documented in Andy Adams's Log of a Cowboy: A Narrative of the Old Trail Days (1903), occurred during the 1870s and 1880s. Adams (1859–1935) spent twelve years in the saddle, mainly herding horses, not cows, though he did herd cattle at least once. The realistic Log accurately depicts the life of the cowboy on a drive of three thousand cows and four hundred horses from Texas to Montana in 1882, emphasizing the long hours, hard work, difficult terrain, inevitable stampedes, and predictable skirmishes with rustlers and Native Americans. Though Adams's book is fiction, his intimate knowledge of cowboy life equipped him to depict the cowboy as an occupational figure and present a more accurate picture of the cowboy than most plays, novels, and films dealing with the mythical or idealized cowboy. Adams is especially good at re-creating storytelling sessions around the campfire, even providing texts of some tales, but he also includes cowboy songs, beliefs, and sayings. Most early compilers of cowboy lore, however, focused only on songs. An early example is Songs of the Cowboys (1908) by N. Howard "Jack" Thorp (1867–1940), which includes versions of "Little Joe the Wrangler" and other familiar cowboy tunes. Cowboy songs tell a lot about the occupation. "The Buffalo Skinners" tells of hardships on the buffalo range, "Git Along, Little Dogies" deals with the cattle, "I Ride an Old Paint" celebrates the horse, "The Old Chisholm Trail" describes a trail drive, and other songs deal with branding, roping, and night herding.
The logging industry began in Maine and passed through Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota on its way to Washington and Oregon, taking with it a body of oral traditions and place names. Historically, no other country experienced such an intensive and prolonged period of logging. Franz Rickaby, in Ballads and Songs of the Shanty-Boy (1926), called this era the "Golden Age of American Lumbering" (p. vii), and he sets its dates as 1870 to 1900. Rickaby—who collected songs from loggers who worked in the woods of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota during this period—claimed that no group celebrated itself in folksongs more than the lumberjack. Though many of the tunes of lumberjack songs were borrowed from Irish street ballads, the texts were unique. The songs celebrated cutting trees; hauling, rolling, and driving logs; breaking logjams; and the romance between a logger and a town girl, often ending in tragedy. Loggers preserved all kinds of songs, though, including some not dealing with their occupation. This resulted from the fact that they came from a variety of ethnic and occupational backgrounds and did not have much else to do to while away their time in the lumber camps except play checkers, tell tales, and sing songs like "Lost Jimmie Whalen," "The Banks of Gaspereaux," "The Jam on Gerry's Rock," "The Little Brown Bulls," and "Canada I. O."
In parts of the United States mining was an important occupation that produced a body of folklore, especially stories and songs but also speech, beliefs, naming, and other traditions. Coal miners generated most of the mining lore since more Americans worked in coal mining than in lead, gold, silver, or copper mining. Coal miners' songs are especially important for historical and sociological interests, for unlike the songs of cowboys and lumberjacks, coal-mining songs represent mass protest. In their songs there is a growing passion for unionism that does not appear in the songs of most other early occupational groups. Miners' songs tell of greedy bosses, long hours, dangerous work, poor working conditions, and disasters. In addition, miners lived with their families close to the shafts, so miners' songs reveal a domestic life that does not appear in the songs of lumberjacks and cowboys. George Korson published two important books—Minstrels of the Mine Patch: Songs and Stories of the Anthracite Industry (1938) and Coal Dust on the Fiddle: Songs and Stories of the Bituminous Industry (1943)—on mining folklore. Although published after 1920, many of the traditions Korson reports date from the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century.
Ore boats on the Great Lakes and steamboats on the big rivers generated all kinds of folklore, too, including tall tales. Along the big rivers comic legends were told of steamboat and keelboat pilots, especially Mike Fink, hero of the boatmen. A Treasury of Mississippi River Folklore: Stories, Ballads, Traditions, and Folkways of the Mid-American River Country (1955) by B. A. Botkin provides broad coverage of Mississippi River folklore. What Korson did for mining folklore, the Texas folklorist Mody C. Boatright did for oil field workers in a couple of books, including an excellent one on Gib Morgan, an oil-driller hero who told fabulous tales about himself that other drillers later retold. Following the Civil War, the fast-developing railroad industry produced another body of occupational lore, including a ballad about a brave engineer, John Luther "Casey" Jones, who in 1900 "died with the throttle in his right hand." Such tales follow a familiar pattern in American occupational folklore, for countless cowboys, loggers, miners, and railroaders get killed performing their jobs in American ballads. Another example comes from the steel industry, where there is a legend about a worker who fell into a furnace and came out in an ingot.
BRITISH BALLADS IN THE UNITED STATES
After World War I, there was renewed interest in regional folklore, especially ballads and folksongs, largely because of Cecil Sharp's fieldwork in Appalachia between 1916 and 1918. At the encouragement of Olive Dame Campbell, who began collecting folksongs in the Southern Highlands in 1908, Sharp, a native of England who was an experienced collector of folksongs, spent forty-six weeks collecting surviving British ballads and other folksongs in North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Accompanied by an assistant, Maud Karpeles, he found a rich folksong tradition—collecting about 35 songs a week, a total of 1,612 songs with tunes, one of the largest and best collections of folk music from the United States. The efforts of Campbell, Sharp, and Karpeles not only inspired other folklorists to collect ballads and songs in other regions of the United States, they forever identified Appalachia as the region most closely linked with American folklore.
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Ronald L. Baker