Check out this great new video from A. Maceo Smith New Tech High School featuring its wonderful students and exuberant theater teacher, Scot Pankey. The mission of A. Maceo Smith New Tech High School is to be an outstanding school of choice where students are engaged in projects-based learning that develops 21st Century Skills supported by technology that prepares them for a competitive global society. This is a very new "choice" school located in Dallas, Texas that will graduate its first class this year. I just loved seeing this video, which certainly was a projects-based learning experience involving many students. We need to give our kids lots of these types of authentic learning opportunities in order to prepare them for the world they will inhabit after high school.
This video really hit home for me. I know from my experience as a mom and a teacher how much our kids learn through the arts and authentic activities such as this. Last week I had the privilege of seeing projects-based learning highlighted in a brand new film called Most Likely to Succeed. If you need convincing that our schools need to move away from traditional classrooms, toward some "Uptown Funk," just watch this video, and then go see Most Likely to Succeed.