Listening to one of the leading proponents of ocean conservation talk about her explorations of the deep seas left our primary students literally begging for more. This sort of passion and energy is a dream for progressive educators, and so I happily dropped all of my lesson plans and followed the students’ curiosity deep down to the proverbial ocean floor.
The next six weeks were magical. The curriculum was completely student-led, driven by their specific interests and questions. Renowned ceramicist Courtney Mattison happened to be in Bali at this time, so I invited her to visit the school, and her inspirational small group FAQs activated yet another wave of excitement and inspiration, this time focused on ceramics and the topic of coral bleaching. Drawing inspiration from both speakers, the students embarked on an incredible collaborative art project!
The immersive exhibit they created featured over 250 pieces from students in grades 1- 5. Topics included ocean pollution, reef preservation, and ocean wildlife extinction — and they didn’t stop there! Students hung posters around school with statistics about climate change, organized beach clean-ups, and even raised money to save turtles. On the day of the unveiling, we hoisted up “Disco Dolphin” — a 10-foot-long 4th grade collaboration that upcycled an old fish armature found in a dumpster — and invited the community to tour the gallery. Our underwater exhibit became the set and stage for student written-and-performed plays about the ocean.
What an honor it was to provide the platform and encouragement for these children to take their education into their own hands! When children are empowered in this way, they learn at a mind-blowing pace, and create the most inspirational art!
Topics ranged from pollution, coral bleaching, extinction, and more — students raised money to save turtles, hung posters around school with statistics about climate change, and organized beach clean-ups. On the day of the unveiling, we hoisted up “Disco Dolphin”, a 10 foot long 4th grade collaboration to rescue and upcycle an old fish armature that was found in a dumpster, and invited the community to come through and tour the gallery. Our underwater exhibit was the stage and set for student written-and-performed plays about the ocean. What an honor is was to provide the platform and encouragement for these children to take their education into their own hands. When children are empowered in this way, they learn at a mind-blowing pace, and create the most inspirational art!
