Student Swap

Discrimination based on differences, especially racial differences, is a problem in every school. The achievement gap is off and running. There are ways to teach about tolerance and diversity in the school and in the classroom, but even more learning happens with students at very personal levels.

This project is based upon guardian permission from students involved.

Prior to the project, subjects studied may include: Brown vs. Board of Education, the Civil Rights Movement, World History, immigration, or other subjects that focus around culture. Also prior to the project, students complete video journals at school, making predictions about the project and its potential outcomes, to become familiar with the equipment.

On Monday and Tuesday of any given week, students prepare for their "swap." In class, we discuss boundaries, cultural differences, and how to be a thoughtful guest in someone else's home. As a model, students watch slide shows from a student's or teacher's visit to a different culture. Students create goals for learning on their visit. They anticipate the similarities and differences they may face.

Student A goes with Student B to his/her home Tuesday after school. They both return on Wednesday morning, and then they go to Student A's home on Wednesday night. The student whose home it is does the video and audio recording of the night. Upon returning to school on Thursday, the recording of the project is complete. Thursday is a time for de-briefing in the classroom, in Paideia Seminar fashion. Thursday night students create comparison-contrast reflection pieces about the week. On Friday students create a plan for how they want to produce their visits.

The next week the students spend in the computer lab, creating photo journals, video journals, pod casts, or other publications surrounding the project. All are titled and there is a school event night to showcase the work.

The goal of this project is two-fold. One, students will learn how to put together a video project with meaning. Two, it will help student relationships so that the school day has fewer social stresses and is more integrated, and ultimately, it will help to decrease the achievement gap.

If your school does not have enough “cultural differences” within it, search for a partner school to complete this project. Complete other activities, such as e-pals or cross-school visits, before the home visits occur.