Community Hour : Challenging the Status Quo, Inspiring Active Citizenship, and Fostering Student-Led Learning Experiences at Illini Bluffs High School
Over the course of the 2020-2021 school year, and in spite of the many challenges associated with operating a school during a global pandemic, Illini Bluffs High School began a unique learning experience called Community Hour. This hour is dedicated to listening to students, discovering their needs, and providing for those needs. In short, IBHS decided to make student voice, and choice, a priority. Students are telling us what they need to learn, and we are providing those experiences for them. It has been a remarkable experiment that is now culminating in students choosing what mini-sessions they'd like to take during their Community Hour; mini-sessions are the courses they asked for and teachers created.
“I've earned a Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction. I've completed the National Board process to become a Master Teacher. But nothing has changed the way I teach more than this experiment and I'm convinced nothing is better for my students now - in the midst of a pandemic - than valuing their voice. I really do believe in the power of education to change a student's life, and I believe that our Community Hour is helping us do this, one student at a time.” – Teresa Gresham, High School English Teacher and Community Hour Leadership Committee
Courses during Community Hour include topics like Iconic Duos, STEM, Adulting, Folklore, Creative Living, Antiracism, Inkscape, Public Speaking, Star Wars, American Sign Language, Automotive Interests, Yoga, and more. For a full list of mini-sessions with descriptions, follow this link: Mini-Session Catalog (Spring 2021)
“Mr. Welsh [High School History] came to see me to make sure that he was using the term archetype correctly before he explained it to his Star Wars session students. I thanked him for teaching English and shared a couple ted ed videos with him that talk about the archetypal hero's journey, one of which features Luke Skywalker. There is a buzz in the school among staff and students. I think this is how authentic education is supposed to look and feel.” – Erin Coulter, 6-12 Librarian, English Teacher and Community Hour Leadership Committee
Along with these mini-sessions, Community Hour has focused on understanding and improving the world our students live in. We are learning about the integral impact each of us can have on making our school community, the Illini Bluffs community, central Illinois, and the world a better place. Utilizing the 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development established by the United Nations as the foundation, students have engaged with real-world issues and contributed to active citizenship. Throughout the school year, students and staff embarked on various community service projects, initiatives aimed at improving school culture, and helping local families in need.
Traditional high schools are generally rigid in their approach, operating in content specific silos, and as a result student’s routinely become passive receivers of knowledge rather than active participants in their learning. Illini Bluffs High School is committed to challenging the status quo in education. We are knocking down the silos, reimagining what the high school experience could/should be, and we are enlisting our students to actively participate in their education.