For Civic Engagement, our project was to create a lesson plan and “micro-mentary” about one of GCE’s values. My group focused on autonomy. Our video was about students in Chicago Public Schools who get little support from their school system, but who work hard as artists on their own. It was inspiring to interview them and see how they go after their dreams without any help. Here you can watch our micro-mentary, “We’re Not Waiting”:
ART AUTONOMY from GF on Vimeo.
Along with the movie, we had to create a lesson plan that worked with our theme of autonomy. To get people thinking about how the current education system discourages independence and creativity, we included a divergent thinking activity. Divergent thinking is the ability to see multiple solutions to a question, and studies have shown that as kids get older and are educated, they generally lose this ability. Through this activity and a discussion we hope to fulfill our mission statement, “to support and inspire autonomy for youth in a city where resources are few.” Below is the plan and agenda for our lesson plan.