Notes from Ian
Dave pretty much explained most of the project already. However, to maybe clear up some other questions you may have, I will give more information. At Allen, in addition to the many other graduation requirements, you must complete an extensive project. There are many options, such as what I am doing, creative work, but also communtity service, research essays, cultural projects, and culmulative projects. All of the options require a school advisor, which is your homeroom teacher. The advisor is responsible for handling paper work that must be handed in to the graduation project office. Mentors are mandatory in most of the project catogories, but not all. Creative work did require a mentor. As Dave said, the project began back at the end of last year. Before you began working on your project, however, you had to submit a proposal stating many things from the type of project to what you planned to learn from the project to your time line of the project and get it approved. Although this sounds easy, its easier said than done. Many kids have a hard time figuring out all of that stuff and getting it in with the due date, and it is also difficult to get your ideas accepted by the teachers who approve or dissaprove the proposal. Luckily, I encountered no issues with that. Once approved, you can begin. The project is due just before Thanksgiving. During the Fall Break, Seniors will come in on appointed days and present their project to about three teachers. The oral presentation must last so long (I think 5 minutes but it may be 3) and requires certain things to be addressed. The oral presentation must be accompanied by a visual. You will be graded on those two things, plus, as in my case but perhaps not others, a journal of at least ten entries and a two page double spaced reflexive essay. You can either recieve as "outstanding", "satisfactory", or "unsatisfactory", which would need remediation. That just about covers most of the info about the graduation project.
Ian
July 10, 2007
Added on July 10, 2007 by bvdrangs
