The Ripple Effect

The Voice of TEAM  Number 18  Fall 2000

T.E.A.M.: Teachers of Experiential and Adventure Methodology

In this issue:

Departments:

     
"From Our Students" 

Amundsen High School:

Amundsen High School, a Chicago Public School, is an ideal example of urban education. The student population is diverse with 90% minority and 96% low income. In 1997 it was reported that 28% were reading at national norms. The school received a $2500 grant to tour and learn while on a Prairie State Journey. They visited such sights in Illinois as Cahokia, New Salem, Springfield and some Illinois Universities. The goal was to enrich students in the awareness of Illinois heritage, environmental resources and education opportunities.

Students kept summative portfolios that included photography, graphic arts, writing narrative, poetry and historical accounts of their Illinois journey. These are some excerpts from their works:

"A Night Out" by Sokoeun Tor:
"The moon shines brightly its light,
As the stars glimmer up above
Like a blanket, covering the night
That twinkle and shine without stop
The night with its wonder, calm and free
While the tiring, gentle souls sleep;
Their hearts at rest from the day's journey,
Restrained from traveling trails that's sleep;
Reposed under the towering trees
At the moments, blindly unaware
As the tranquil wind blows with ease
All that is here and all that is out there
Unaware as silence, the night's sweetest sound
With the blazing fire slowly dies down."

Mohamed Hassan:
"The trip to Cahokia was a good learning experience for me. It taught me a lot about the natives history and how they became history. It also showed me how important other peoples history is to us. We build museums to preserve our history and put a land field next to the natives history. We dedicate memorials to our dead and build malls on others graves. What happened to the natives was sad but the way it was presented was despicable. Just because they didn't have long English names doesn't mean that they are not important to our history.

"We disrespected them by migrating to their land without their permission and talk about it like its second nature to us. I liked Cahokia because it stood for hope, and showed how our history is connected from Egypt to Cahokia. I am grateful that I got to be a part of the trip and hope that I get the opportunity to tell others about the people who let us live on their land. I think that if people knew how long it took for them to build those tombs and how they were used it would change the way they looked at Native American history. I know it changed the way I looked it."