Rationale
Last year our school initiated an advisory period for all students; high school students meet on Mondays and Tuesdays while middle school students meet on Thursdays and Fridays. This is a 30-minute “skinny block” for which the content and curriculum is left up to individual teachers. The Building Leadership Team (BLT) and administration placed no expectations or guidelines on this “skinny block” meaning – for once – teachers had complete freedom in regard to the course and its curriculum! Selections include Meditation, Robotics, Creative Writing, and History Through Film, amongst others. So far, I have used the time to work with groups of students who are interested in additional preparation for the AP Psychology exam administered in May. However, over the past two years, I have noticed that it seemed as if the students in my advisory did not benefit as much from the meetings during the first half of the year. I think it might be because at that point--so early in the year – the AP Psychology exam is too far in the future. It is hard for them to concentrate on something that still seems abstract to them in September. They do not know enough content yet to understand what and how to approach the exam. Because of this, I have thought I could offer a different advisory the first half of the year – one which has a subject that I am really now interested in….zombies!
I would like to marry one of my students’ interests (and mine!) – The Walking Dead/apocalyptic society – with Common Core Content Standards that would benefit them beyond Advisory. The television series, The Walking Dead based on Robert Kirkman’s comics, has become cult-like in our society. Many of my students as well as myself view the show on a weekly basis. Many examples of the characters – their experiences and relationships and the scenes depicting societal issues already find their way in to my Sociology and Psychology classes. Through this series we will be able to look at the culture of zombies, these characters’ stories, and the depiction of an apocalyptic society in an in-depth manner as well as to look at two medias – the written text (comics) and the television series both telling the “same” story. In that way we will be able to better understand the concept of adaptation and its nuances.
School Setting
Conrad Schools of Science (CSS) is a science/biotechnology magnet school serving almost 1300 students in grades 6 – 12. It is considered an urban school, situated on the outskirts of the most populated city in the state of Delaware, Wilmington, which is well known for its violence rates. CSS students come from all over our state’s county, New Castle, which houses six school districts. Since our state runs on a Choice Option, families can decide to apply to schools in districts outside of their home district. As our school has become more popular, most students come from our own district, Red Clay Consolidated. One of the most unique things about our school is that approximately two-thirds of our students stay with us for seven years throughout the middle and high school levels. Community is a word that I believe highlights our school.
At the high school level, students can choose to focus on a variety of learning “strands” such as biotechnology, physical therapy/athletic healthcare, biomedical science, animal science, and computer science. Our high school is the only one in the state that is not a vocational-technology school to offer a Delaware Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) program. Additionally, a variety of Advanced Placement (AP) courses are offered as well as multiple courses taught in conjunction with our local community college and university.
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