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Ponderings by Mary Smith

In spite of the weather, summer is rearing it’s head in a variety of forms- Senior Projects, graduations and summer apparrel inspite of the temps.

I sit here staring out my office window, wondering if the day will make up it’s mind… rain or sun?

Though I do not look forward to the 100 degree days that I know are ahead, I can honestly say I am tired of the rain and overcast skies!!! I am ready for sunshine and 80 degrees! Anyone out there on board with this concept?

Last night I attended a Senior Project Presentation Night put on by a group of homeschool students, and they did a really good job. The focus varied from Evangelism and llamas to photography and music; All in all, the students had done a good job of researching their topics and came up with solid presentations.

For thouse unfamiliar with the ‘Senior Project’ concept I’ll briefly explain it. The idea is for students to choose a topic and instead of just doing a research paper as I did 30 years ago, they now take 6-12 months to do a process that consists of research, a written paper, field work of some sort, and a speech and often an accompanying power point or video that is presented in front of an audience and review board.

I don’t know if this valley (Rogue Valley- Southern Oregon) was the original location for this concept, but I do know that our local high school developed a process for it in the 1980’s that was picked up by many districts across the nation.

As with our local high schools, many homeschool families and support groups have picked up this idea and have applied it for their highschool students as well. Some like the group I first mentioned did it in a formal type of presentation night, while other families have children involved in scouting and pursuing the Eagle Scout in Boy Scouts or Golden Arrow for Girl Scouting since these encompass much of the same process.

It really doesn’t matter which route is chosen as the route, they both net the same result; Students learn about a topic, and it’s background. How to apply their research beyond a classroom and into the community and finally prepare and present a complete presentation that takes the observer through the process they went through from initial idea to the net result of what they learned through the learning and application of the project in the real world.

All in all, I want to say congratulations to the Class of 2010! Press on toward excelling in whatever you choose to do with your lives, always strive to achieve the best and never let anyone tell you that you can’t reach your goal… sometimes it may take a while but, IT CAN BE DONE!!!!

Blessings!

Tags: Gals