These gray winter days have us feeling a bit blah. Our routines seem monotonous and uninspired. We need something to jolt us out of our funk (More coffee? A vacation?). Similarly, kids probably are feeling like they’re going through the motions, too. Especially at school. They need something to wake them up a little–make learning feel fresh and fun again.
What is iTerm?
The two week period of time between Marshall School’s fall and spring semesters is called iTerm. Students can choose from a large number of courses–but not the type of sit-and-listen-to-a-lecture courses you’re envisioning. There’s no homework and class time focuses hands on engagement with subjects and content that you usually don’t see taught in a classroom.
Like sneaking extra veggies into favorite meal, iTerm courses are designed to be fun and relaxed while also sharpening invaluable learning skills for students, like curiosity, persistence, leadership, passion, resilience, creativity, and empathy. Students sign up for subjects they find interesting–everything from Poetry in Motion, Cryptography, and Baking the Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie to Stop Action Animation, Bees!, and Exploring Hogwarts through Minecraft.
What kids engage in iTerm academics, the number results speak for themselves. 75% of students collaborate with a new teacher, 69% learn new skills, and 84% learn something new that they wouldn’t in a traditional classroom setting. Because Marshall is an independent school, their academic professionals have flexibility when it comes creating new and interesting learning environments. Their iTerm classes successfully shake things up; kids grow as scholars through refreshing and engaging content.
The Art of Blogging to Empower Young Women
Marshall invites several local organizations to collaborate with them during their iTerm classes, and Duluth Moms Blog was so excited to be a part of the two week class schedule. Marshall teacher, Heather Call Holst, is also a blog contributor and she facilitated an iTerm class called “The Art of Blogging to Empower Young Women.”
Heather worked with eight high school students and together they learned about writing in the digital age; how to prepare their thoughts for an audience and how to execute a blog post. Duluth Moms Blog executive team member Sarah Pohl stopped by during one of the class sessions to chat with the students, too. The girls finished the iTerm class with polished blog posts–beautifully written pieces that focused on some of the most important things in their lives.
We’re so proud of their hard work that we’d like to share some of their writing with you. Check back tomorrow to read two of the students’ posts in the short series, Through Her Eyes: The Teenage Perspective.
