January 1, 2026 • 44 mins
Bradley Jay fills in on NightSide with Dan Rea:
Real-world skills could become a high school graduation requirement in Massachusetts. Instead of taking the old MCAS test, end-of-course exams, a portfolio/capstone project, and financial literacy may become the new norm. One teacher in Maynard, MA is paving the way for future classrooms to teach real-world skills! Jean LaBelle-Pierce, Senior Project Coordinator and School to Career Internship Coordinator at Maynard High School, joined Bradley to discuss her process!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Saturday and Sunday. The weather overall pretty quiet, though we'll
(00:02):
have some sunshine at times both days. High Year thirty
Saturday twenty nine on Sunday, and we'll see increase in
clouds Monday, perhaps some snow into Monday nights after only
getting into the twenties Monday. I'm atk you with the
BEDA Relatives. Brian Thompson, a WBZ Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Hey, it's Lori Grandy.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
I've learned how quickly life can change, and if a
parent suddenly needs care, a lot of what they hope
to leave behind can disappear fast. I just wanted to
be sure that my dad was protected and his savings
stayed where he intended. Phil, can you talk about how
the right trust helps with that?
Speaker 4 (00:37):
So, Larie, a lot of people do revocable trusts and
think they're protected, but they're not. We can do the
special trust that will protect the assets. And most importantly,
you have to do it five years in advance. If
you don't, even if you have the perfect trust, it's
not going to work. So the most important thing is
to get in here, get it done five years advance.
Speaker 5 (00:58):
You do the proper trust in your.
Speaker 6 (01:00):
Safe call the folks at the Commonwealth Advisory Group. One
eight hundred seven zero five one four one five. It's
one eight hundred seven zero five one four one five.
If you do one thing today, get this done. They
help me and they can help you too.
Speaker 7 (01:17):
Both the Celtics and the Bruins continuing their Western road trips.
Celtics and Sacramento tonight at ten o'clock. Bruins off until
Saturday night when they play in Vancouver. The Bees, by
the way, snapped out of their six game losing skid
with a win last night in Edmonton, and the Patriots
hosting the Dolphins Sunday afternoon in their last regular season
(01:39):
game of the season. W BZ News Time nine oh seven.
Back now to Night Side with Dan Ray and filling
in for Dan tonight, Bradley Jay. I'm Al Griffith.
Speaker 8 (01:51):
It's Night Side with Dan Ray on DELUGBZ, Boston's news radio.
Speaker 5 (01:56):
Onward into twenty twenty six. My friends, it's the numb
hear six one seven, two, five four to ten thirty
and want you to use it now to answer this question,
what real world skills do you think kids in high
school should be taught? Seriously? Think about it. I have
actually taken some time to think about it and created
a list. I don't. I do not have children, many
(02:17):
of you do, so you may you may be keenly
aware of some things that they've just done. Know how
to do that. Maybe they should by the age that
they are at, depending on what that age is, and uh,
I'd love you to share that with me. Or maybe
you think they're being taught some stuff they don't need
to know, bad use of time. I'd also like to
know that six one, seven, two, five, four, ten thirty.
(02:40):
You know that number? Now, right? They should be I
don't know if we have a fridge magnet there's that number,
but that would be kind of cool. And we have
a guest who is actually teaching kids real world skills.
It's become a high school graduation requirement in Massachusetts and
instead of taking the them cast, which they got rid
(03:01):
of in twenty twenty four, I guess, and those end
of course exams. There's a project now you have among
some of the things as a capstone project and something else.
I guess. I'm a little fuzzy on it, and that's
why we have the guests. Now. A teacher in Maynard
is paving the way for the future to teach real
(03:23):
world skills in the classroom. We have her here, jean
Lebelle Pierce. She is the senior project coordinator and School
to Career Internship coordinator at Maynard High School. It's here
at for Maynard High. What's the mascot at Maynard High?
Speaker 2 (03:38):
We are the Tigers.
Speaker 5 (03:40):
The Tigers Go, Tigers Go Tigers. And I'm so glad
you came on in this frigidly called night. I guess
that with real field temperature is going to be like
minus four.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
Well, my daughter lives in Medford, so it was fun
to come on in.
Speaker 5 (03:57):
Come right up close to that microphone.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
Is that a little better?
Speaker 5 (04:00):
Okay? All right, so you know, let's get a general
sense of what you do over there in Maynard.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
Sure. And I would just say that I think you
mentioned that this is the direction the state is going,
this is what the model is right now, like and
I don't think we entirely know exactly what.
Speaker 5 (04:20):
So you have the kind of this infrastructure, yeah, for
the concrete yet.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
Yeah, And I think there's a lot that districts will
you know, give feedback about in terms of what they'd
like to see that ultimately replaces mcass. But for us,
we've been doing this project, the Senior Project Program since
two thousand and nine. We piloted it and over decades
(04:48):
now it's grown to something that is really pretty special.
And I think what will be unique about going the
portfolio or because that's one of the things the Governor's
talking about using sort of this portfolio and project based
learning component of the skills that you're talking about the
(05:10):
more real life skills as opposed to taking a test, right,
But how do you demonstrate that and having some uniformity
about all of that is going to be an interesting
aspect going forward. And every district is so different, you know.
So Maynard High School Go Tigers, is you know small.
I'm going to say it a lot now to all
(05:32):
those kids who are on vacation right now, but the
Maynard is a small town and our high school graduates
like under one hundred kids every year, and that's really different,
you know when you're looking at very large high schools
that might be trying to use this model and meet
(05:52):
that for like five hundred kids. So we do it
in the way that we do it works really well
in our community and certainly speak to you know what
that looked.
Speaker 5 (06:02):
Let's get a little history though. Before m CAST it
was just here's your report card, right, yeah, yes, there
different subjects subjects.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
And subjects gave final exams.
Speaker 5 (06:12):
And you know like yeah, like high school for decades
and decades and decades, what was that You got a
report card that's right, math B minus and there was
no nothing like the m CAST. What was the reason
they brought the MCST.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
Well, I think into being Yeah, there was a lot
of concern and lots of reports at both state and
federal levels that students were getting left behind, certain students
were not meeting.
Speaker 5 (06:43):
Teaching them well enough, et cetera.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Well, I don't know about that.
Speaker 9 (06:49):
There.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
Sure, I think that was certainly this fear. But I
think education is a very complex dynamic and if you
you really need to kind of think a lot about
what the mix is in education, right, Like, so you
have a lot of kids coming from very different backgrounds,
maybe obviously different levels of support, different socioeconomics.
Speaker 5 (07:14):
That like, different language, coming in with different language.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
Absolutely, and yeah, I think MCAST was It's part of
really a national movement right to have state standard that
everybody has to meet, and there's there's a lot that's
right about that, but there's I in my own opinion.
I mean, this is just my own opinion. There's a
lot that was wrong about that. And you know, for me,
(07:40):
I come out of I'm originally a social studies teacher
and really m casts led to kind of an abandonment
of social study.
Speaker 5 (07:48):
The things that were right about it. Yeah, are those
things still getting done or have they been abandoned along
with the tests high standards?
Speaker 2 (07:58):
They're still being done, absolutely, Okay, I mean this is
what we all strive to do. And I think, you know,
there was certainly a level of learning about that test
and making sure that students were ready for that kind
of test, and lots of lots of lots of educational
(08:19):
debate over you know, what's what's authentic learning versus what's
you know, being prepared to take a test. I think
obviously skills are really important. You have to be able
to measure those skills, and you have to hold people accountable,
like schools have to be held accountable.
Speaker 5 (08:39):
And there still is testing, but it's not required.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
To graduate, right, that's the new idea.
Speaker 5 (08:45):
So I went away in twenty twenty four and as
a results of the twenty twenty four vote, and gradually
you coalesced into the thing you do.
Speaker 8 (08:57):
Now.
Speaker 5 (08:57):
Can you talk about that journey from when mcast went
away to how you happen to be doing what you're doing?
Speaker 2 (09:05):
Well? I guess the journey is you know, really pre
dates all of that, or is is going on alongside
as MCAST kind of developed, But we have been we
had this mission back in two thousand and nine to
really look at you know, and the education speak changes
(09:27):
over the decades, right, but back then it was how
do we make sure that kids are getting twenty first
century skills right? And we don't want to be a
static kind of organization that isn't teaching what everybody really
needs to know how to do. And the other term
back then, in like the late nineties was authentic learning
(09:50):
and what is real? I have to say, like one
of the really interesting moments in my own career was
thinking about a common meant that you know, I don't
know if it's Grant Wigans or one of the gurus
of authentic learning said that if a student gets a
piece of paper back from you and throws it in
(10:10):
the waste basket, and it had a ninety five on it.
What does that really mean? Right Like? And that's always
kind of struck me and stuck with me that learning
shouldn't just be something that is static that you get
this grade and in the end, I you know, it
doesn't really mean anything to me, right Like, I can
throw it in the waste basket. Here's this paper.
Speaker 5 (10:33):
And I don't understand that because, by the way, my
mother was a teacher, So I'm a teacher fan, big fan.
If I got to ninety five, I would be excited
and I would be motivated to study that more.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
No, that's great, But would that test really have a
longstanding meaning for you, like that test itself, not maybe
the content that you learned to kind of do well
on that test, but the way that you took that test.
And and so you're getting this paid think about it
like you're getting this paperback, it's got its grade on it,
(11:10):
and you're walking out of the room.
Speaker 5 (11:12):
And I'm not throwing it. I'm yay, I'm all okay,
Well that's good, I'm this Google. Have you said this
guru doesn't think the kids care about getting a ninety
five or maybe they don't.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Know, well Andy getting a ninety five, right, they might
be getting a sixty seven, and so I think the idea.
Speaker 5 (11:31):
Is then I would cry, which I did and in
the fourth grade I couldn't understand math at all and
for the record, still cannot.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
Oh no, we'll see.
Speaker 5 (11:42):
Well, I think a lot of people on the radio
are bad at math. I would be willing to bet.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
I guess maybe you have to have people call in.
Speaker 5 (11:49):
Yeah, So we are talking about when we will get
to the real world skills that you teach. But I
would I would reach out to you in the WBZ
audience and ask you what do you think, and you
may give Jeane some ideas our real world skills that
kids should know. I'm going to rattle off a few,
but take a break now, and I like to see
some folks calling us. At six one, seven, two, four
(12:12):
ten thirty BS.
Speaker 8 (12:15):
You're on Night Side with Dan Ray on WBZ, Boston's
news Radio.
Speaker 5 (12:21):
Six one seven, two five four ten thirty. A little
bit of education. Now we're with Jean LaBelle Peers from
Maynard High School the town. Hello again Maynard, and we're
talking about what she does called Senior Project that teachers
kids real world skills. Now they've spent some time, given
some background, tell me about the project.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
Sure, So senior project is actually a term that you
can search and there's a national level of senior project,
and so colleges do senior project. Like there's all sorts
of things that call themselves senior project. And so we
back in two thousand than in nine there was this
(13:01):
move to I think at the time people the principle
at the time, said I want to get the kids
out of the building, Like, let's get the kids exposed
to kind of what the world is out there, right,
not just being kind of stuck in your class. And
so they kind of approached me back then and said,
we want to do this thing called senior project, and
you're the one who's going to do it. And I said,
(13:24):
what senior project? So you know, I did a lot
of searching, and really it's a model that tries to
get students to engage in something that they're really interested in,
do research in that field, look for placements or internships
in that field, and do a project based learning where
(13:45):
they may do the work of that particular field. So
if somebody's interested in radio right production or radio announcing,
then we would have them do research into that field.
What are some of the big issues that are going on.
There are some of the things that you would find
interesting about that field. Look to try to match them
with a professional in the field and either job shadow
(14:09):
or intern you know, not some internships that we've gotten
have been paid internships, but most of them are volunteer
positions to kind of learn what it's like to be
somebody who's who does that for a living.
Speaker 5 (14:22):
So really you're teaching a real world skill. Yeah, one
per student, the each student gets well one.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Well, I would know because our program is a lot
more than that. Like, so that's kind of how we
initially looked at it. What this model is of senior
project and so what has evolved really in our district
is a course. So you may delve into a topic
that you're really interested in, we'll look to match you.
(14:52):
Coming up in the spring now will be a lot
of the attempts to match people in with professionals and
mentors and volunteer position. But all through the course they've
been learning a variety of things. So, like we start
the year by doing interest based tests and finding out,
like what is it that you think you're really good at.
Speaker 5 (15:14):
I was going to bring that up when I was
in high school. I had no clue, right, none, I
wouldn't know. That must be a pretty big issue. Well,
what do you want to do your senior project on?
I don't know, no idea. You have to guide them somehow.
Speaker 2 (15:25):
Yeah, And I think because we've been at this for
a really long time, we have a ninth grade class
that introduces them to the capstone, and so kids in
Maynard are starting to think about this from the very
beginning of their high school career. And even now we're
pushing things down through the program in the state called
(15:46):
my cap which is my Career Awareness. Programs like those
kinds of programs are getting kids to start to think
a little bit more about this as they come up
through middle and high school. But you know, I I
started college as a film major, Like that's what I
(16:06):
thought I really wanted to do, and then I really
got excited about politics and history. Yeah, like my parents.
Speaker 5 (16:16):
Are, that's a tough, tough thing.
Speaker 2 (16:19):
Well, it was documentaries and films.
Speaker 5 (16:23):
This is interesting here. So aren't you kind of glad
you didn't go too far down the film major road?
Speaker 2 (16:28):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (16:29):
So is there any danger that you're I certainly don't
want to be negative, but that your senior project will
kind of I'll show them in to the wrong road. Now,
somebody says I'm into film, and you might say, well,
why don't you find out what you know it is
to be a film major in films? Sure, do you
worry about sending them down the wrong road because they
(16:51):
really don't know what they really want to do yet?
Speaker 2 (16:54):
No, because I think our whole mantra is like experiment
and and just start to ask questions and if you
are interested in film as a senior in high school,
let's see what that might look like. Can you meet
some people who make some independent films? And what is
that you know, experience like for people in that field?
(17:17):
And you know, we're really I'm very clear with kids
that you can't make a judgment based on you know,
a small sample, right, You have to really kind of
follow your passions. And that I think is our biggest
mission is just to get kids passionate about what they're
learning right and have a chance to take this final
(17:40):
year of high school, which a lot of times, like
I think of pre senior project and post senior project.
You know, senior year was kind of this drudgery. You're
just like you have senioritis and kids are checking out
like by January, and this program really requires them to
pretty much stay focused all the way through to may See.
Speaker 5 (18:02):
I don't really remember high school.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
I don't I have ever seen your writis you.
Speaker 5 (18:06):
Know, I don't even remember if. I don't know if
I learned a lot or not. I have no idea,
have nothing to compare it to that I never knew that.
It's not that I'm old and forgot. I never I
don't know how much I learned. I mean as I
can point to some things that I did learn, but
you know, skill sets were a lot different. Then we
have Lisa I bet you know, or she's from Maynard.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
Oh right, I'm not sure.
Speaker 5 (18:30):
So can you bring up Lisa Jay? Thank you? Hi Lisa.
You're on with Jeane and Bradley here on WBZ.
Speaker 8 (18:38):
Hi Geane.
Speaker 10 (18:39):
This sounds like an amazing program. Just wondering. I have
two questions. I think you mentioned financial literacy, which I'm
interested to hear about, and I'm just wondering if there's
any way that you bring community members into what you do.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
Oh I'm really glad that you asked that, because I
want to make sure that we really talk about that
this our program is. I have to say, Maynard is
a really awesome and unique and if you live there
you probably know, but a really awesome and unique town,
and it is really it feels like a lot of
a town effort. We have a steering committee that works
with us, all volunteers, community members, you know, people in
(19:20):
positions in the town and former parents of kids that
have come through the system, and the town itself really
supports a lot of what we do. So yes, it's
a big time community effort. A lot of our placements
for kids are in town itself. Maynard's a funky town
with a lot of cool little organizations and businesses, and
(19:42):
so a lot of our kids actually directly kind of
infiltrate the town. But financial literacy is one of the
pieces that we do. This is back to that point
that I was making Bradley about it. For us, it's
also a course, and so the course is includes things
like finding out what your interests are. We do resume writing,
(20:04):
we do mock interviews, we do email writing and professional communication.
We do the financial literacy pieces like using next gen
personal finances.
Speaker 5 (20:16):
This seemed like things that should be It's a good
time to bring this up included in every senior project.
It should be. It is a core of no matter
what you choose, Susie or Jimmy, these skills you have
to learn. And the specialty the direction is kind of
(20:37):
icing on the keke. So this is stuff you're going
to need to learn, regardless of the direction. And that's
that's big to me because I was I was wondering
if by choosing film or whatever, that they were sacrifice
learning learning basics, if the opportunity cost of that choice
(20:59):
was was spake. It doesn't seem like it is, because
there's a core of stuff you got to learn in
every specialty. All right, well, I feel much better about it.
We are not sad. Lisa went away. Lisa, it's too bad. Good.
So let me ask you actually, after this break, I'm
gonna ask I'm going to go through some skills and
(21:19):
see if they're in the uh, in the core that
are part of all of these I'm sure there are,
like like writing skills. When I have I have a
legal expert here all the time, he's the dean of
the mass School of Law, and I say, is what
should students need to be able to do to to
do well in in your school. He said, they need
(21:41):
to write, and students can't write. He's he's saddened by
the lack of ability to write. Students have it's you know,
they they don't write anymore. It's the phone business. And yeah,
nobody really knows if you had to write a legal brief,
we would not have the skills to do that. All right,
(22:02):
let's take a break and find out some of the
basic skills comment all these specialties on WBZ.
Speaker 8 (22:08):
It's Night Side with Dan Ray on WBZ Boston's news radio.
Speaker 5 (22:14):
Fredley j for Dan. Where was Jane LaBelle Piers? And
we're talking about her Senior Project program. It teaches students
at Maynard High real life skills. They early on are
encouraged to choose a project that's related to something they're into.
If they can at that point figure that out, that's
challenge number one. I had no idea, but let's let's
(22:36):
say they do, and I guess they all do. I'm
curious gene as to what some directions are that that
students take.
Speaker 2 (22:44):
Sure I can give you some examples and I'll show
you sort of the how it meets all the different
elements of these requirements. But you know, keep in mind,
like all through this is a course where there are
all these other fundamental skills that we're.
Speaker 5 (23:02):
Working on and that everyone has to know regardless of
the choice of direction. Right, very important.
Speaker 9 (23:07):
Right.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
And so so I can go back to one of
my like one of the early ones, and it's always
been one of my favorites to kind of talk about.
But this young woman was really interested in studying about
learning disabilities. She had a learning disability. She this you know,
back in the earlier, like two thousand and ten or whatever,
(23:30):
and she felt like kids who had learning disabilities were stigmatized.
That she felt stigmatized, and so she wrote a research paper.
So a big piece of this is that kids will
write a research paper and we're taking them through the
steps of that to make sure that they understand a
(23:51):
lot of media literacy, information literacy, you know, like all
of the need of to understand what's a reliable source
and lots of different strategies to do that. But you know,
so she wrote about how stigma affects kid's ability to
learn and it was a really interesting paper. And then she.
Speaker 5 (24:13):
Was the project to come up with that paper that everybody.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
Does a paper, and then her placement was with the
Special Olympics in Boston, and then she worked to bring
a a group to our high school that like a
Best Buddies program to our high school and that was
that was her placement, So working with Special Olympics and
(24:39):
Best Buddies program, and her project was to bring in
something called the Accessible Icon. I don't know if you've
ever heard of it. It's it's in place of like
the handicap kind of static icon that is painted on. Yeah,
so there's a move called the Accessible Icon. She reached
(25:03):
out to this organization, she met with them, she got
a template that could be sent to the town. She
went to the Board of Selectmen in the town to
advocate that going forward, we'd like the DPW to use
this template.
Speaker 11 (25:20):
There was a less stigmatizing issue, right like the idea
of an active participant, right like somebody's who's engaging and
still has a lot of the agency that we really
want our kids to understand that we all have, right like,
And that.
Speaker 2 (25:36):
Was such a great piece, like from start to finish,
of fruition of what this program can be. That if
you have something that you're passionate about and you you
learn how to really understand how do we research these things?
Like what's been written about this?
Speaker 5 (25:53):
Can you go through all the things that I can't?
Of course I can't think of them all. You you'll
be able to what they learn? What real world skills
are learned in each and every one of these special
projects senior projects.
Speaker 2 (26:06):
I think real world skills are things like number one,
being able to sift through information and make sense of it. Right,
That's that's a real world skill. We're all really desperately
in need of being able to trust information. Understand. How
do we trust information?
Speaker 5 (26:23):
Right? What's the answer to that question? O? Good question,
because pretty much everyone in this audience could use a
lesson in how to sift through incorrect information.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
Well, we we do a lot with databases, right, like
the ones that are vetted, that have works that are
peer reviewed works. Right, So there's one level of sophistication
or trust. But we yeah, we talk about the crap test.
I don't know if you've heard that. Like the crap
stands for like currency, like is it pretty new?
Speaker 9 (27:00):
Right?
Speaker 2 (27:00):
Relevance to what you're reading? And who's the authority? Like
when you look at the author what authority do they have?
Speaker 5 (27:09):
If they have any interrupt Yeah, sorry, no, No, that's
all right. It's something I've been wanting to share with
people for a long time, and this is the perfect time.
It's important for the kids to really learn about the subject,
not just learn a little bit about it, and make
sure they have the facts. Because there's a thing, and you,
as a teacher probably know this. There's the Dunning Kruger effect.
(27:31):
Have you heard of the Dunning Kruger effect. Everyone out there,
listen to this. This is important in everything, and perhaps
especially politics. It's an effect and it's been studied by
Dunning and Kruger. You can look it up. That people
only get a little bit information, believe they know way
(27:53):
more than they do, and they're super sure of themselves,
and they're very vulnerable to conspiracy theories and things like that.
Little information, and there's this reverse effect. I know very little,
but somehow you don't know what you don't know because
you haven't studied enough to know how complicated it is.
You're sure you're right because you haven't studied enough to
(28:15):
know you shouldn't be sure you're right. And then the
opposite of that effect, people who are professors are less
sure of the things they say and so as a result,
we get into all kinds of problem with voters being
super sure of everything based partly on the reason that
(28:39):
they don't know enough to know what they don't know.
So your students, this will help your students avoid yeah,
the Dunning Kruger effect.
Speaker 2 (28:48):
Yeah. I mean there are so many strategies that you
need to do, and they all require you being an
active participant in your education and not just the you know,
willing to accept what social media says or just accept well,
you heard it on somebody's authority, but who is that person?
(29:09):
Oh uh? I think lately kids are starting to get
a lot more aware of the impact that social media
is having on them, and they're not you know, they
they might be grudgingly still like they they're aware of it.
Speaker 5 (29:27):
Does then a student in every one of these projects,
are they taught that the things that rise to the
top of all social media are the most outrageous and
how that algorithm works to be a real world skill.
Speaker 2 (29:38):
Actually, we have a couple of students this year writing
their research papers on the TikTok algorithm, right, and the
addictive nature of it, And so I think this that
it is. Oh, there's so many interesting. There are so
many interesting questions that kids are asking, and that's that's
(30:02):
why this is a cool program for me personally, because
I get to really engage with them all on very
very different topics. But they get a chance to to
get into some of the things that they've been interested in.
And it doesn't mean that that young woman who's doing
the research on the TikTok algorithm is going to, you know,
go work in social media or maybe even marketing. Right now.
(30:25):
She's she's somebody who really isn't sure what she wants
to do. And that's okay, Like that's she's in high school.
And you know, I think they seniors particularly, they're they're
they're feeling the pressure of having to tell everybody what
their plan is, you know, they they we laugh about it,
(30:45):
you know, the dread around the holidays. Everybody's gonna say,
so where are you going and what are you doing?
And I think maybe, you know, for me, I just
want kids to just be passionate about something and to
be interested in the world.
Speaker 5 (31:01):
I remember in high school, nobody, nobody in the in
my generation or even generations subsequent, was passionate. Nobody's passionate
in high school they are they are now because of you.
Speaker 2 (31:15):
No, they are really. Okay, here's the here's the biggest thing.
Speaker 5 (31:19):
Were any of you really passionate in high school? Out there? Really?
I don't know you were you were?
Speaker 2 (31:26):
I was for sure.
Speaker 5 (31:27):
Passionate about geometry? No, No, passionately.
Speaker 2 (31:31):
About you have some issues earth science?
Speaker 5 (31:35):
No? Come on, no, you know I would have been
better off politics history. Did you sound like I was
in high school?
Speaker 2 (31:45):
I think, Okay, here's what they.
Speaker 5 (31:47):
Should have taught me. How to every student should be
have been taught how to keyboard or type everyone.
Speaker 2 (31:53):
Well nowadays, but I think back to like real world right, like,
I think that information literacy is is a huge piece.
And then yeah, I kind of got off track, but
I will. I want to just say this one thing
that I think one of the things I've learned being
a teacher over these years is that, you know, kids
(32:16):
aren't just kids. Kids are really just these They're very
complicated people and they have really interesting thoughts and you
just have to really work with them to get those
interesting thoughts out.
Speaker 5 (32:31):
But you as a teacher. Okay, we talked about writing skills.
Either some of the basic skills could be common to
all these projects.
Speaker 2 (32:40):
Yep.
Speaker 5 (32:40):
Writing skills, of course, yes, they have to do a paper.
How about this public speaking.
Speaker 2 (32:46):
Yep, they have to make a presentation at the midterm
to their class and at the end of the year
to the community. So the Lisa who called before, she
may want a volunteer to be one of our community judges.
But we have community judges who come in and listen
to the kids present about what they learned this year.
Speaker 5 (33:04):
Okay, because it's it's a more and more rare thing.
To find young people who are comfortable with speaking in person,
you have to come to Maynard High School. They will
they will.
Speaker 2 (33:17):
Knock your socks off, but they can a lot of
but not a lot. I mean there are there are
those kids who still dreaded, right, but we they have
to push themselves through it.
Speaker 5 (33:27):
And look, everybody should learn finding financial literacy. Is that
part of it. Every one of the special.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
Projects, financial Fridays, it's part of our class.
Speaker 5 (33:35):
Okay, great, there are other little things like how about
home repair? How to fix simple stuff.
Speaker 2 (33:43):
That's probably dependent on whatever the kid might be doing.
Speaker 5 (33:46):
You shouldn't have to take shop class to learn that.
You should. Yeah, I wish I knew how to be
more It would have saved me thousands if I could
fix little stuff around.
Speaker 2 (33:54):
The house I have. I think this spring we're going
to take kids out to the parking lot and at
least change a tire because that's a big one. But
we do learn. They do learn how to do.
Speaker 5 (34:03):
Their tax, teach them how to call triple A.
Speaker 2 (34:06):
Yeah, making phone calls is not That's something that a
lot of kids don't like to do. They'd prefer to text,
so we you know, I know, yeah, Yeah, it's uncomfortable.
Speaker 5 (34:16):
So why is that and what what effect does that
have on education and in your class?
Speaker 4 (34:22):
Uh?
Speaker 2 (34:22):
I think it's just another skill to really work on.
So for us, once the kids start reaching out to
where they might be placed, they have to generally make
phone calls.
Speaker 5 (34:31):
And so that's what I was referring to when I
was talking about not really wanting to speak, being uncomfortable
with speaking. I have a friend that just will not
phone call. I don't like it. Yeah, and do it,
and I would think that that would be debilitating. So
you're working on phone skills, is that part of part?
Speaker 4 (34:47):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (34:47):
I think communication in general, an email is another kids
really need. They have to work on organizing email all right.
This one's you know, this is half serious. How to
buy a car. I think it's funny that you're asking
that because part of what we do on the financial
Fridays is look at things like car loans and interest
(35:09):
rates and I mean, you know, we're talking about retirement accounts,
which you know, talk to eighteen year olds about retire.
Speaker 5 (35:17):
Yeah, that's gonna be a tough show. How to buy
a car. If you bought a car and you had
to go, you made the deal, which was stressful enough.
Then they take he went to the financial room and say, well,
I think you need that undercoding, and I think you
need this, and I think you need that. Oh you
need that just like in Fargo, and you don't know
what do I need that? And then you get a
thing in the mail it says that because they sold
(35:38):
your information, says if you don't do this, you're going
to lose your warranty. As a real world world skill
of sifting through scams.
Speaker 2 (35:47):
Okay, I mean, I will say we can't do everything right,
like so we have a year, we have a lot
that we try to accomplish, and that's you know, you
try to work in as much as you can.
Speaker 5 (36:04):
Is it possible to teach human decency and that being
nice is the way to go because it's such a
dearth of human decency these days. Is there a way
to teach that being? You know, when you're a nice
a little your soul grows a little bit. When you're mean,
even online, your soul dies a little bit, is it?
Speaker 2 (36:21):
I think what we try to encourage is that classroom
care for one another and that that level, you know,
I don't think it's as much as a you know,
ethics course as it might be. Let's talk about what
works with people and what doesn't work with people, what makes.
Speaker 5 (36:42):
How to motivate them to work with you, et cetera.
Speaker 2 (36:45):
Yeah, and how to respect one another, like right respect
is a huge piece of everything that schools are trying
to do.
Speaker 5 (36:52):
Very good.
Speaker 2 (36:53):
Yeah, and.
Speaker 5 (36:57):
Debating skills is that something? I mean that's a little
bit like public speaking, but not really, it's a separate thing.
Is that.
Speaker 2 (37:04):
I would say we probably in our model, our Maynard
High School Senior Project model. There are so many different
things out there that all the districts are working on
with these different capstone projects. But I would say we're
not as much into debate as we are into asking
questions of each other and answering those questions.
Speaker 5 (37:26):
You can't do everything, I guess, yeah, how about civics,
how the government works, and what happens when you don't vote?
Speaker 2 (37:33):
Yeah, well, civic. So one of the things that we
do in Maynard is the Senior Project is based on
our quote vision of the graduate. Right, and so the
vision of the graduate is something that the teachers and
the district agree that we believe our kids should be
able to accomplish. And in fact, Senior Project, the program
(37:54):
at our school was originally put together to demonstrate that
kids could meet that right. So for us, it's I'll
just read them to you. It's to self advocate, demonstrate
self respect, and make positive decisions. That's the first vision
of the graduate. Second, work effectively with others by communicating
and collaborating while demonstrating respect for different perspectives. Speak and
(38:15):
write academically and professionally. Demonstrate problem solving skills, apply knowledge,
think critically and creatively, synthesize information and develop a coherent argument.
Access utilizing game proficiency in evolving technologies. And to your point,
the last point, function as engaged in active citizens.
Speaker 5 (38:34):
I'm glad you read that because that answers a lot
of questions. Yeah, that's really this is.
Speaker 2 (38:38):
What we're trying to prove with this last year and
to oh, sorry, that's all.
Speaker 5 (38:43):
Right, I need to break and we'll go to Gina
and Burlington. Gina probably has a question and a question
or a comment after this.
Speaker 8 (38:50):
On BZY It's Night Side with Dan Ray on Boston's
news radio.
Speaker 5 (38:57):
We continue with Jane developed Pers. We're talking about our
specially senior projects that they do at Maynard High And boy,
I sure wish that I had something like you when
I was in school. It sounds like a kind of
a bright light among you know, a rather dark landscape,
and you must have you might be so happy with
what you do. It sounds like you have the best
(39:17):
job in the world.
Speaker 2 (39:18):
I actually do have the best job. I am always
interested in engaged with kids who are interesting and engaging.
And yeah, I mean, teaching is not easy, but you're
in the world of ideas all the time, and with
this class, I'm kind of in the world of the
community and instruction.
Speaker 5 (39:38):
Community is very involved, as I understand Gina in Berlin, Jay,
could you put up Gina by the way, I know
this sounds different that I have to ask Jay to
put the callers up. But something about this computer screen
is not working. I do know how to do it,
it's not working. Gia in Burlington, how you've been?
Speaker 12 (40:00):
I thought you thought it was somebody different, Bradley when
you said, Gina.
Speaker 3 (40:03):
Yeah, I made a mistake, Okay, Hi, Hi jeene.
Speaker 12 (40:09):
So I want to say, Bradley, that to both of you,
but to Bradley, because he was saying he wasn't passionate.
I was passionate since I was six years old about
helping animals and saving nature. Bradley, you know that's my passion.
Speaker 5 (40:20):
I do.
Speaker 12 (40:21):
And it maybe because my parents were artists, musicians and
teachers themselves, so they were very passionate, and maybe they
passed that on to my brother and me. But I
wanted to tell Gina I talked to high school students
about saving nature and about caring about something bigger than themselves.
And out of twenty five students in each class, maybe
two or three look forward, but the rest of them
are completely engaged and seriously upset about animals of Earth
(40:44):
going extinct.
Speaker 2 (40:45):
So do you.
Speaker 5 (40:47):
Speakers like you want?
Speaker 2 (40:50):
Do you want to get in touch with me?
Speaker 9 (40:52):
I would love it, Okay, Oh yeah, that'd be great.
Speaker 12 (40:54):
But I just want to say that I think what
you're doing is excellent and kids really just need to
be taught like you care about them and that you
take them seriously, and it's amazing how much they really
do care and respond.
Speaker 5 (41:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (41:07):
I agree with that.
Speaker 5 (41:08):
Completely short on time. Should have called a little earlier, GI,
But we love you.
Speaker 12 (41:13):
Okay, Babby, bye, thank.
Speaker 5 (41:14):
You bye now. Jays Michael in Boston. Hi, Michael, you're
on WBZ.
Speaker 9 (41:21):
Good evening. It seems to me that a lot of
items that you mentioned were incorporated are incorporated into academic
subjects like economics. For example, I taught it. We had
a four hundred page textbook. One chapter was devoted to
personal finances and they learned all about that, opening a
(41:42):
checking account and insurance and mortgages and things like that.
And then English, which I also taught. We had six
weeks on logic and things related to that, psycho cybernetics.
I'm wondering how colleges view this for your college bound students.
Speaker 5 (42:09):
I'm gonna let her answer that right now because we're
so short on time. Yeah, this is something that college
recruiters look at and go, oh, this looks good. We
want a student like this.
Speaker 2 (42:19):
Yeah, I absolutely. I think that senior project is pretty
well known around the country. A lot of districts are
trying some form of this, and so it's not you know,
like I think what's unique for us in Maynard is
it's a graduation requirement. That's that's the key. Like every
senior has to do this. And so I taught economics
(42:41):
for a long time too, but it was an elective
and not every kid had to take it. And so
I think all of our disciplines are we we maintain
a very rigorous discipline based high school. But this is
one way to kind of cohesively bring things together and
say have they met these particular vision of the graduate
(43:04):
requirements and can you demonstrate that and can we get
them some like connections out in the world that that
they'd be interested in pursuing.
Speaker 5 (43:15):
Good call, Michael, thank you and goodbye, thank you.
Speaker 2 (43:18):
Thanks Michael.
Speaker 5 (43:19):
All right, well, hooray for you and hooray for Mainard
and they're very fortunate to have you. I have to
tell you, though, you want to plug, you want to
mention some people, So you have like forty five seconds, Okay.
Speaker 2 (43:30):
Well, I just want to say, like if Paul Orzek
was like my original co coordinator, he's now at Littleton
High School. But I mean for ten years we really
just kind of plugged away at making this a model program.
And you know, with the work of our district and
all of the people on the Steering committee and the
(43:53):
new partnership with the Massachusetts Consortium, like all of these
groups an individuals have been so critical in helping us evolve.
And I think that's just okay, we got to go.
But the state will need time.
Speaker 5 (44:08):
So give them time.
Speaker 9 (44:09):
State.
Speaker 5 (44:10):
Yeah, next up, maybe you made a New Year's Eve resolution,
Maybe you want to maybe you want to improve yourself. Well,
you know what hypnosis helps and can help. Doesn't help everybody,
but it helped me quit smoking. It worked for me,
maybe it'll work for you. We have a hypnotist on
next a hypnotherapist on BES
Saturday and Sunday. The weather overall pretty quiet, though we'll
(00:02):
have some sunshine at times both days. High Year thirty
Saturday twenty nine on Sunday, and we'll see increase in
clouds Monday, perhaps some snow into Monday nights after only
getting into the twenties Monday. I'm atk you with the
BEDA Relatives. Brian Thompson, a WBZ Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Hey, it's Lori Grandy.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
I've learned how quickly life can change, and if a
parent suddenly needs care, a lot of what they hope
to leave behind can disappear fast. I just wanted to
be sure that my dad was protected and his savings
stayed where he intended. Phil, can you talk about how
the right trust helps with that?
Speaker 4 (00:37):
So, Larie, a lot of people do revocable trusts and
think they're protected, but they're not. We can do the
special trust that will protect the assets. And most importantly,
you have to do it five years in advance. If
you don't, even if you have the perfect trust, it's
not going to work. So the most important thing is
to get in here, get it done five years advance.
Speaker 5 (00:58):
You do the proper trust in your.
Speaker 6 (01:00):
Safe call the folks at the Commonwealth Advisory Group. One
eight hundred seven zero five one four one five. It's
one eight hundred seven zero five one four one five.
If you do one thing today, get this done. They
help me and they can help you too.
Speaker 7 (01:17):
Both the Celtics and the Bruins continuing their Western road trips.
Celtics and Sacramento tonight at ten o'clock. Bruins off until
Saturday night when they play in Vancouver. The Bees, by
the way, snapped out of their six game losing skid
with a win last night in Edmonton, and the Patriots
hosting the Dolphins Sunday afternoon in their last regular season
(01:39):
game of the season. W BZ News Time nine oh seven.
Back now to Night Side with Dan Ray and filling
in for Dan tonight, Bradley Jay. I'm Al Griffith.
Speaker 8 (01:51):
It's Night Side with Dan Ray on DELUGBZ, Boston's news radio.
Speaker 5 (01:56):
Onward into twenty twenty six. My friends, it's the numb
hear six one seven, two, five four to ten thirty
and want you to use it now to answer this question,
what real world skills do you think kids in high
school should be taught? Seriously? Think about it. I have
actually taken some time to think about it and created
a list. I don't. I do not have children, many
(02:17):
of you do, so you may you may be keenly
aware of some things that they've just done. Know how
to do that. Maybe they should by the age that
they are at, depending on what that age is, and uh,
I'd love you to share that with me. Or maybe
you think they're being taught some stuff they don't need
to know, bad use of time. I'd also like to
know that six one, seven, two, five, four, ten thirty.
(02:40):
You know that number? Now, right? They should be I
don't know if we have a fridge magnet there's that number,
but that would be kind of cool. And we have
a guest who is actually teaching kids real world skills.
It's become a high school graduation requirement in Massachusetts and
instead of taking the them cast, which they got rid
(03:01):
of in twenty twenty four, I guess, and those end
of course exams. There's a project now you have among
some of the things as a capstone project and something else.
I guess. I'm a little fuzzy on it, and that's
why we have the guests. Now. A teacher in Maynard
is paving the way for the future to teach real
(03:23):
world skills in the classroom. We have her here, jean
Lebelle Pierce. She is the senior project coordinator and School
to Career Internship coordinator at Maynard High School. It's here
at for Maynard High. What's the mascot at Maynard High?
Speaker 2 (03:38):
We are the Tigers.
Speaker 5 (03:40):
The Tigers Go, Tigers Go Tigers. And I'm so glad
you came on in this frigidly called night. I guess
that with real field temperature is going to be like
minus four.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
Well, my daughter lives in Medford, so it was fun
to come on in.
Speaker 5 (03:57):
Come right up close to that microphone.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
Is that a little better?
Speaker 5 (04:00):
Okay? All right, so you know, let's get a general
sense of what you do over there in Maynard.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
Sure. And I would just say that I think you
mentioned that this is the direction the state is going,
this is what the model is right now, like and
I don't think we entirely know exactly what.
Speaker 5 (04:20):
So you have the kind of this infrastructure, yeah, for
the concrete yet.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
Yeah, And I think there's a lot that districts will
you know, give feedback about in terms of what they'd
like to see that ultimately replaces mcass. But for us,
we've been doing this project, the Senior Project Program since
two thousand and nine. We piloted it and over decades
(04:48):
now it's grown to something that is really pretty special.
And I think what will be unique about going the
portfolio or because that's one of the things the Governor's
talking about using sort of this portfolio and project based
learning component of the skills that you're talking about the
(05:10):
more real life skills as opposed to taking a test, right,
But how do you demonstrate that and having some uniformity
about all of that is going to be an interesting
aspect going forward. And every district is so different, you know.
So Maynard High School Go Tigers, is you know small.
I'm going to say it a lot now to all
(05:32):
those kids who are on vacation right now, but the
Maynard is a small town and our high school graduates
like under one hundred kids every year, and that's really different,
you know when you're looking at very large high schools
that might be trying to use this model and meet
(05:52):
that for like five hundred kids. So we do it
in the way that we do it works really well
in our community and certainly speak to you know what
that looked.
Speaker 5 (06:02):
Let's get a little history though. Before m CAST it
was just here's your report card, right, yeah, yes, there
different subjects subjects.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
And subjects gave final exams.
Speaker 5 (06:12):
And you know like yeah, like high school for decades
and decades and decades, what was that You got a
report card that's right, math B minus and there was
no nothing like the m CAST. What was the reason
they brought the MCST.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
Well, I think into being Yeah, there was a lot
of concern and lots of reports at both state and
federal levels that students were getting left behind, certain students
were not meeting.
Speaker 5 (06:43):
Teaching them well enough, et cetera.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Well, I don't know about that.
Speaker 9 (06:49):
There.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
Sure, I think that was certainly this fear. But I
think education is a very complex dynamic and if you
you really need to kind of think a lot about
what the mix is in education, right, Like, so you
have a lot of kids coming from very different backgrounds,
maybe obviously different levels of support, different socioeconomics.
Speaker 5 (07:14):
That like, different language, coming in with different language.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
Absolutely, and yeah, I think MCAST was It's part of
really a national movement right to have state standard that
everybody has to meet, and there's there's a lot that's
right about that, but there's I in my own opinion.
I mean, this is just my own opinion. There's a
lot that was wrong about that. And you know, for me,
(07:40):
I come out of I'm originally a social studies teacher
and really m casts led to kind of an abandonment
of social study.
Speaker 5 (07:48):
The things that were right about it. Yeah, are those
things still getting done or have they been abandoned along
with the tests high standards?
Speaker 2 (07:58):
They're still being done, absolutely, Okay, I mean this is
what we all strive to do. And I think, you know,
there was certainly a level of learning about that test
and making sure that students were ready for that kind
of test, and lots of lots of lots of educational
(08:19):
debate over you know, what's what's authentic learning versus what's
you know, being prepared to take a test. I think
obviously skills are really important. You have to be able
to measure those skills, and you have to hold people accountable,
like schools have to be held accountable.
Speaker 5 (08:39):
And there still is testing, but it's not required.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
To graduate, right, that's the new idea.
Speaker 5 (08:45):
So I went away in twenty twenty four and as
a results of the twenty twenty four vote, and gradually
you coalesced into the thing you do.
Speaker 8 (08:57):
Now.
Speaker 5 (08:57):
Can you talk about that journey from when mcast went
away to how you happen to be doing what you're doing?
Speaker 2 (09:05):
Well? I guess the journey is you know, really pre
dates all of that, or is is going on alongside
as MCAST kind of developed, But we have been we
had this mission back in two thousand and nine to
really look at you know, and the education speak changes
(09:27):
over the decades, right, but back then it was how
do we make sure that kids are getting twenty first
century skills right? And we don't want to be a
static kind of organization that isn't teaching what everybody really
needs to know how to do. And the other term
back then, in like the late nineties was authentic learning
(09:50):
and what is real? I have to say, like one
of the really interesting moments in my own career was
thinking about a common meant that you know, I don't
know if it's Grant Wigans or one of the gurus
of authentic learning said that if a student gets a
piece of paper back from you and throws it in
(10:10):
the waste basket, and it had a ninety five on it.
What does that really mean? Right Like? And that's always
kind of struck me and stuck with me that learning
shouldn't just be something that is static that you get
this grade and in the end, I you know, it
doesn't really mean anything to me, right Like, I can
throw it in the waste basket. Here's this paper.
Speaker 5 (10:33):
And I don't understand that because, by the way, my
mother was a teacher, So I'm a teacher fan, big fan.
If I got to ninety five, I would be excited
and I would be motivated to study that more.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
No, that's great, But would that test really have a
longstanding meaning for you, like that test itself, not maybe
the content that you learned to kind of do well
on that test, but the way that you took that test.
And and so you're getting this paid think about it
like you're getting this paperback, it's got its grade on it,
(11:10):
and you're walking out of the room.
Speaker 5 (11:12):
And I'm not throwing it. I'm yay, I'm all okay,
Well that's good, I'm this Google. Have you said this
guru doesn't think the kids care about getting a ninety
five or maybe they don't.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Know, well Andy getting a ninety five, right, they might
be getting a sixty seven, and so I think the idea.
Speaker 5 (11:31):
Is then I would cry, which I did and in
the fourth grade I couldn't understand math at all and
for the record, still cannot.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
Oh no, we'll see.
Speaker 5 (11:42):
Well, I think a lot of people on the radio
are bad at math. I would be willing to bet.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
I guess maybe you have to have people call in.
Speaker 5 (11:49):
Yeah, So we are talking about when we will get
to the real world skills that you teach. But I
would I would reach out to you in the WBZ
audience and ask you what do you think, and you
may give Jeane some ideas our real world skills that
kids should know. I'm going to rattle off a few,
but take a break now, and I like to see
some folks calling us. At six one, seven, two, four
(12:12):
ten thirty BS.
Speaker 8 (12:15):
You're on Night Side with Dan Ray on WBZ, Boston's
news Radio.
Speaker 5 (12:21):
Six one seven, two five four ten thirty. A little
bit of education. Now we're with Jean LaBelle Peers from
Maynard High School the town. Hello again Maynard, and we're
talking about what she does called Senior Project that teachers
kids real world skills. Now they've spent some time, given
some background, tell me about the project.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
Sure, So senior project is actually a term that you
can search and there's a national level of senior project,
and so colleges do senior project. Like there's all sorts
of things that call themselves senior project. And so we
back in two thousand than in nine there was this
(13:01):
move to I think at the time people the principle
at the time, said I want to get the kids
out of the building, Like, let's get the kids exposed
to kind of what the world is out there, right,
not just being kind of stuck in your class. And
so they kind of approached me back then and said,
we want to do this thing called senior project, and
you're the one who's going to do it. And I said,
(13:24):
what senior project? So you know, I did a lot
of searching, and really it's a model that tries to
get students to engage in something that they're really interested in,
do research in that field, look for placements or internships
in that field, and do a project based learning where
(13:45):
they may do the work of that particular field. So
if somebody's interested in radio right production or radio announcing,
then we would have them do research into that field.
What are some of the big issues that are going on.
There are some of the things that you would find
interesting about that field. Look to try to match them
with a professional in the field and either job shadow
(14:09):
or intern you know, not some internships that we've gotten
have been paid internships, but most of them are volunteer
positions to kind of learn what it's like to be
somebody who's who does that for a living.
Speaker 5 (14:22):
So really you're teaching a real world skill. Yeah, one
per student, the each student gets well one.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Well, I would know because our program is a lot
more than that. Like, so that's kind of how we
initially looked at it. What this model is of senior
project and so what has evolved really in our district
is a course. So you may delve into a topic
that you're really interested in, we'll look to match you.
(14:52):
Coming up in the spring now will be a lot
of the attempts to match people in with professionals and
mentors and volunteer position. But all through the course they've
been learning a variety of things. So, like we start
the year by doing interest based tests and finding out,
like what is it that you think you're really good at.
Speaker 5 (15:14):
I was going to bring that up when I was
in high school. I had no clue, right, none, I
wouldn't know. That must be a pretty big issue. Well,
what do you want to do your senior project on?
I don't know, no idea. You have to guide them somehow.
Speaker 2 (15:25):
Yeah, And I think because we've been at this for
a really long time, we have a ninth grade class
that introduces them to the capstone, and so kids in
Maynard are starting to think about this from the very
beginning of their high school career. And even now we're
pushing things down through the program in the state called
(15:46):
my cap which is my Career Awareness. Programs like those
kinds of programs are getting kids to start to think
a little bit more about this as they come up
through middle and high school. But you know, I I
started college as a film major, Like that's what I
(16:06):
thought I really wanted to do, and then I really
got excited about politics and history. Yeah, like my parents.
Speaker 5 (16:16):
Are, that's a tough, tough thing.
Speaker 2 (16:19):
Well, it was documentaries and films.
Speaker 5 (16:23):
This is interesting here. So aren't you kind of glad
you didn't go too far down the film major road?
Speaker 2 (16:28):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (16:29):
So is there any danger that you're I certainly don't
want to be negative, but that your senior project will
kind of I'll show them in to the wrong road. Now,
somebody says I'm into film, and you might say, well,
why don't you find out what you know it is
to be a film major in films? Sure, do you
worry about sending them down the wrong road because they
(16:51):
really don't know what they really want to do yet?
Speaker 2 (16:54):
No, because I think our whole mantra is like experiment
and and just start to ask questions and if you
are interested in film as a senior in high school,
let's see what that might look like. Can you meet
some people who make some independent films? And what is
that you know, experience like for people in that field?
(17:17):
And you know, we're really I'm very clear with kids
that you can't make a judgment based on you know,
a small sample, right, You have to really kind of
follow your passions. And that I think is our biggest
mission is just to get kids passionate about what they're
learning right and have a chance to take this final
(17:40):
year of high school, which a lot of times, like
I think of pre senior project and post senior project.
You know, senior year was kind of this drudgery. You're
just like you have senioritis and kids are checking out
like by January, and this program really requires them to
pretty much stay focused all the way through to may See.
Speaker 5 (18:02):
I don't really remember high school.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
I don't I have ever seen your writis you.
Speaker 5 (18:06):
Know, I don't even remember if. I don't know if
I learned a lot or not. I have no idea,
have nothing to compare it to that I never knew that.
It's not that I'm old and forgot. I never I
don't know how much I learned. I mean as I
can point to some things that I did learn, but
you know, skill sets were a lot different. Then we
have Lisa I bet you know, or she's from Maynard.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
Oh right, I'm not sure.
Speaker 5 (18:30):
So can you bring up Lisa Jay? Thank you? Hi Lisa.
You're on with Jeane and Bradley here on WBZ.
Speaker 8 (18:38):
Hi Geane.
Speaker 10 (18:39):
This sounds like an amazing program. Just wondering. I have
two questions. I think you mentioned financial literacy, which I'm
interested to hear about, and I'm just wondering if there's
any way that you bring community members into what you do.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
Oh I'm really glad that you asked that, because I
want to make sure that we really talk about that
this our program is. I have to say, Maynard is
a really awesome and unique and if you live there
you probably know, but a really awesome and unique town,
and it is really it feels like a lot of
a town effort. We have a steering committee that works
with us, all volunteers, community members, you know, people in
(19:20):
positions in the town and former parents of kids that
have come through the system, and the town itself really
supports a lot of what we do. So yes, it's
a big time community effort. A lot of our placements
for kids are in town itself. Maynard's a funky town
with a lot of cool little organizations and businesses, and
(19:42):
so a lot of our kids actually directly kind of
infiltrate the town. But financial literacy is one of the
pieces that we do. This is back to that point
that I was making Bradley about it. For us, it's
also a course, and so the course is includes things
like finding out what your interests are. We do resume writing,
(20:04):
we do mock interviews, we do email writing and professional communication.
We do the financial literacy pieces like using next gen
personal finances.
Speaker 5 (20:16):
This seemed like things that should be It's a good
time to bring this up included in every senior project.
It should be. It is a core of no matter
what you choose, Susie or Jimmy, these skills you have
to learn. And the specialty the direction is kind of
(20:37):
icing on the keke. So this is stuff you're going
to need to learn, regardless of the direction. And that's
that's big to me because I was I was wondering
if by choosing film or whatever, that they were sacrifice
learning learning basics, if the opportunity cost of that choice
(20:59):
was was spake. It doesn't seem like it is, because
there's a core of stuff you got to learn in
every specialty. All right, well, I feel much better about it.
We are not sad. Lisa went away. Lisa, it's too bad. Good.
So let me ask you actually, after this break, I'm
gonna ask I'm going to go through some skills and
(21:19):
see if they're in the uh, in the core that
are part of all of these I'm sure there are,
like like writing skills. When I have I have a
legal expert here all the time, he's the dean of
the mass School of Law, and I say, is what
should students need to be able to do to to
do well in in your school. He said, they need
(21:41):
to write, and students can't write. He's he's saddened by
the lack of ability to write. Students have it's you know,
they they don't write anymore. It's the phone business. And yeah,
nobody really knows if you had to write a legal brief,
we would not have the skills to do that. All right,
(22:02):
let's take a break and find out some of the
basic skills comment all these specialties on WBZ.
Speaker 8 (22:08):
It's Night Side with Dan Ray on WBZ Boston's news radio.
Speaker 5 (22:14):
Fredley j for Dan. Where was Jane LaBelle Piers? And
we're talking about her Senior Project program. It teaches students
at Maynard High real life skills. They early on are
encouraged to choose a project that's related to something they're into.
If they can at that point figure that out, that's
challenge number one. I had no idea, but let's let's
(22:36):
say they do, and I guess they all do. I'm
curious gene as to what some directions are that that
students take.
Speaker 2 (22:44):
Sure I can give you some examples and I'll show
you sort of the how it meets all the different
elements of these requirements. But you know, keep in mind,
like all through this is a course where there are
all these other fundamental skills that we're.
Speaker 5 (23:02):
Working on and that everyone has to know regardless of
the choice of direction. Right, very important.
Speaker 9 (23:07):
Right.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
And so so I can go back to one of
my like one of the early ones, and it's always
been one of my favorites to kind of talk about.
But this young woman was really interested in studying about
learning disabilities. She had a learning disability. She this you know,
back in the earlier, like two thousand and ten or whatever,
(23:30):
and she felt like kids who had learning disabilities were stigmatized.
That she felt stigmatized, and so she wrote a research paper.
So a big piece of this is that kids will
write a research paper and we're taking them through the
steps of that to make sure that they understand a
(23:51):
lot of media literacy, information literacy, you know, like all
of the need of to understand what's a reliable source
and lots of different strategies to do that. But you know,
so she wrote about how stigma affects kid's ability to
learn and it was a really interesting paper. And then she.
Speaker 5 (24:13):
Was the project to come up with that paper that everybody.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
Does a paper, and then her placement was with the
Special Olympics in Boston, and then she worked to bring
a a group to our high school that like a
Best Buddies program to our high school and that was
that was her placement, So working with Special Olympics and
(24:39):
Best Buddies program, and her project was to bring in
something called the Accessible Icon. I don't know if you've
ever heard of it. It's it's in place of like
the handicap kind of static icon that is painted on. Yeah,
so there's a move called the Accessible Icon. She reached
(25:03):
out to this organization, she met with them, she got
a template that could be sent to the town. She
went to the Board of Selectmen in the town to
advocate that going forward, we'd like the DPW to use
this template.
Speaker 11 (25:20):
There was a less stigmatizing issue, right like the idea
of an active participant, right like somebody's who's engaging and
still has a lot of the agency that we really
want our kids to understand that we all have, right like,
And that.
Speaker 2 (25:36):
Was such a great piece, like from start to finish,
of fruition of what this program can be. That if
you have something that you're passionate about and you you
learn how to really understand how do we research these things?
Like what's been written about this?
Speaker 5 (25:53):
Can you go through all the things that I can't?
Of course I can't think of them all. You you'll
be able to what they learn? What real world skills
are learned in each and every one of these special
projects senior projects.
Speaker 2 (26:06):
I think real world skills are things like number one,
being able to sift through information and make sense of it. Right,
That's that's a real world skill. We're all really desperately
in need of being able to trust information. Understand. How
do we trust information?
Speaker 5 (26:23):
Right? What's the answer to that question? O? Good question,
because pretty much everyone in this audience could use a
lesson in how to sift through incorrect information.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
Well, we we do a lot with databases, right, like
the ones that are vetted, that have works that are
peer reviewed works. Right, So there's one level of sophistication
or trust. But we yeah, we talk about the crap test.
I don't know if you've heard that. Like the crap
stands for like currency, like is it pretty new?
Speaker 9 (27:00):
Right?
Speaker 2 (27:00):
Relevance to what you're reading? And who's the authority? Like
when you look at the author what authority do they have?
Speaker 5 (27:09):
If they have any interrupt Yeah, sorry, no, No, that's
all right. It's something I've been wanting to share with
people for a long time, and this is the perfect time.
It's important for the kids to really learn about the subject,
not just learn a little bit about it, and make
sure they have the facts. Because there's a thing, and you,
as a teacher probably know this. There's the Dunning Kruger effect.
(27:31):
Have you heard of the Dunning Kruger effect. Everyone out there,
listen to this. This is important in everything, and perhaps
especially politics. It's an effect and it's been studied by
Dunning and Kruger. You can look it up. That people
only get a little bit information, believe they know way
(27:53):
more than they do, and they're super sure of themselves,
and they're very vulnerable to conspiracy theories and things like that.
Little information, and there's this reverse effect. I know very little,
but somehow you don't know what you don't know because
you haven't studied enough to know how complicated it is.
You're sure you're right because you haven't studied enough to
(28:15):
know you shouldn't be sure you're right. And then the
opposite of that effect, people who are professors are less
sure of the things they say and so as a result,
we get into all kinds of problem with voters being
super sure of everything based partly on the reason that
(28:39):
they don't know enough to know what they don't know.
So your students, this will help your students avoid yeah,
the Dunning Kruger effect.
Speaker 2 (28:48):
Yeah. I mean there are so many strategies that you
need to do, and they all require you being an
active participant in your education and not just the you know,
willing to accept what social media says or just accept well,
you heard it on somebody's authority, but who is that person?
(29:09):
Oh uh? I think lately kids are starting to get
a lot more aware of the impact that social media
is having on them, and they're not you know, they
they might be grudgingly still like they they're aware of it.
Speaker 5 (29:27):
Does then a student in every one of these projects,
are they taught that the things that rise to the
top of all social media are the most outrageous and
how that algorithm works to be a real world skill.
Speaker 2 (29:38):
Actually, we have a couple of students this year writing
their research papers on the TikTok algorithm, right, and the
addictive nature of it, And so I think this that
it is. Oh, there's so many interesting. There are so
many interesting questions that kids are asking, and that's that's
(30:02):
why this is a cool program for me personally, because
I get to really engage with them all on very
very different topics. But they get a chance to to
get into some of the things that they've been interested in.
And it doesn't mean that that young woman who's doing
the research on the TikTok algorithm is going to, you know,
go work in social media or maybe even marketing. Right now.
(30:25):
She's she's somebody who really isn't sure what she wants
to do. And that's okay, Like that's she's in high school.
And you know, I think they seniors particularly, they're they're
they're feeling the pressure of having to tell everybody what
their plan is, you know, they they we laugh about it,
(30:45):
you know, the dread around the holidays. Everybody's gonna say,
so where are you going and what are you doing?
And I think maybe, you know, for me, I just
want kids to just be passionate about something and to
be interested in the world.
Speaker 5 (31:01):
I remember in high school, nobody, nobody in the in
my generation or even generations subsequent, was passionate. Nobody's passionate
in high school they are they are now because of you.
Speaker 2 (31:15):
No, they are really. Okay, here's the here's the biggest thing.
Speaker 5 (31:19):
Were any of you really passionate in high school? Out there? Really?
I don't know you were you were?
Speaker 2 (31:26):
I was for sure.
Speaker 5 (31:27):
Passionate about geometry? No, No, passionately.
Speaker 2 (31:31):
About you have some issues earth science?
Speaker 5 (31:35):
No? Come on, no, you know I would have been
better off politics history. Did you sound like I was
in high school?
Speaker 2 (31:45):
I think, Okay, here's what they.
Speaker 5 (31:47):
Should have taught me. How to every student should be
have been taught how to keyboard or type everyone.
Speaker 2 (31:53):
Well nowadays, but I think back to like real world right, like,
I think that information literacy is is a huge piece.
And then yeah, I kind of got off track, but
I will. I want to just say this one thing
that I think one of the things I've learned being
a teacher over these years is that, you know, kids
(32:16):
aren't just kids. Kids are really just these They're very
complicated people and they have really interesting thoughts and you
just have to really work with them to get those
interesting thoughts out.
Speaker 5 (32:31):
But you as a teacher. Okay, we talked about writing skills.
Either some of the basic skills could be common to
all these projects.
Speaker 2 (32:40):
Yep.
Speaker 5 (32:40):
Writing skills, of course, yes, they have to do a paper.
How about this public speaking.
Speaker 2 (32:46):
Yep, they have to make a presentation at the midterm
to their class and at the end of the year
to the community. So the Lisa who called before, she
may want a volunteer to be one of our community judges.
But we have community judges who come in and listen
to the kids present about what they learned this year.
Speaker 5 (33:04):
Okay, because it's it's a more and more rare thing.
To find young people who are comfortable with speaking in person,
you have to come to Maynard High School. They will
they will.
Speaker 2 (33:17):
Knock your socks off, but they can a lot of
but not a lot. I mean there are there are
those kids who still dreaded, right, but we they have
to push themselves through it.
Speaker 5 (33:27):
And look, everybody should learn finding financial literacy. Is that
part of it. Every one of the special.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
Projects, financial Fridays, it's part of our class.
Speaker 5 (33:35):
Okay, great, there are other little things like how about
home repair? How to fix simple stuff.
Speaker 2 (33:43):
That's probably dependent on whatever the kid might be doing.
Speaker 5 (33:46):
You shouldn't have to take shop class to learn that.
You should. Yeah, I wish I knew how to be
more It would have saved me thousands if I could
fix little stuff around.
Speaker 2 (33:54):
The house I have. I think this spring we're going
to take kids out to the parking lot and at
least change a tire because that's a big one. But
we do learn. They do learn how to do.
Speaker 5 (34:03):
Their tax, teach them how to call triple A.
Speaker 2 (34:06):
Yeah, making phone calls is not That's something that a
lot of kids don't like to do. They'd prefer to text,
so we you know, I know, yeah, Yeah, it's uncomfortable.
Speaker 5 (34:16):
So why is that and what what effect does that
have on education and in your class?
Speaker 4 (34:22):
Uh?
Speaker 2 (34:22):
I think it's just another skill to really work on.
So for us, once the kids start reaching out to
where they might be placed, they have to generally make
phone calls.
Speaker 5 (34:31):
And so that's what I was referring to when I
was talking about not really wanting to speak, being uncomfortable
with speaking. I have a friend that just will not
phone call. I don't like it. Yeah, and do it,
and I would think that that would be debilitating. So
you're working on phone skills, is that part of part?
Speaker 4 (34:47):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (34:47):
I think communication in general, an email is another kids
really need. They have to work on organizing email all right.
This one's you know, this is half serious. How to
buy a car. I think it's funny that you're asking
that because part of what we do on the financial
Fridays is look at things like car loans and interest
(35:09):
rates and I mean, you know, we're talking about retirement accounts,
which you know, talk to eighteen year olds about retire.
Speaker 5 (35:17):
Yeah, that's gonna be a tough show. How to buy
a car. If you bought a car and you had
to go, you made the deal, which was stressful enough.
Then they take he went to the financial room and say, well,
I think you need that undercoding, and I think you
need this, and I think you need that. Oh you
need that just like in Fargo, and you don't know
what do I need that? And then you get a
thing in the mail it says that because they sold
(35:38):
your information, says if you don't do this, you're going
to lose your warranty. As a real world world skill
of sifting through scams.
Speaker 2 (35:47):
Okay, I mean, I will say we can't do everything right,
like so we have a year, we have a lot
that we try to accomplish, and that's you know, you
try to work in as much as you can.
Speaker 5 (36:04):
Is it possible to teach human decency and that being
nice is the way to go because it's such a
dearth of human decency these days. Is there a way
to teach that being? You know, when you're a nice
a little your soul grows a little bit. When you're mean,
even online, your soul dies a little bit, is it?
Speaker 2 (36:21):
I think what we try to encourage is that classroom
care for one another and that that level, you know,
I don't think it's as much as a you know,
ethics course as it might be. Let's talk about what
works with people and what doesn't work with people, what makes.
Speaker 5 (36:42):
How to motivate them to work with you, et cetera.
Speaker 2 (36:45):
Yeah, and how to respect one another, like right respect
is a huge piece of everything that schools are trying
to do.
Speaker 5 (36:52):
Very good.
Speaker 2 (36:53):
Yeah, and.
Speaker 5 (36:57):
Debating skills is that something? I mean that's a little
bit like public speaking, but not really, it's a separate thing.
Is that.
Speaker 2 (37:04):
I would say we probably in our model, our Maynard
High School Senior Project model. There are so many different
things out there that all the districts are working on
with these different capstone projects. But I would say we're
not as much into debate as we are into asking
questions of each other and answering those questions.
Speaker 5 (37:26):
You can't do everything, I guess, yeah, how about civics,
how the government works, and what happens when you don't vote?
Speaker 2 (37:33):
Yeah, well, civic. So one of the things that we
do in Maynard is the Senior Project is based on
our quote vision of the graduate. Right, and so the
vision of the graduate is something that the teachers and
the district agree that we believe our kids should be
able to accomplish. And in fact, Senior Project, the program
(37:54):
at our school was originally put together to demonstrate that
kids could meet that right. So for us, it's I'll
just read them to you. It's to self advocate, demonstrate
self respect, and make positive decisions. That's the first vision
of the graduate. Second, work effectively with others by communicating
and collaborating while demonstrating respect for different perspectives. Speak and
(38:15):
write academically and professionally. Demonstrate problem solving skills, apply knowledge,
think critically and creatively, synthesize information and develop a coherent argument.
Access utilizing game proficiency in evolving technologies. And to your point,
the last point, function as engaged in active citizens.
Speaker 5 (38:34):
I'm glad you read that because that answers a lot
of questions. Yeah, that's really this is.
Speaker 2 (38:38):
What we're trying to prove with this last year and
to oh, sorry, that's all.
Speaker 5 (38:43):
Right, I need to break and we'll go to Gina
and Burlington. Gina probably has a question and a question
or a comment after this.
Speaker 8 (38:50):
On BZY It's Night Side with Dan Ray on Boston's
news radio.
Speaker 5 (38:57):
We continue with Jane developed Pers. We're talking about our
specially senior projects that they do at Maynard High And boy,
I sure wish that I had something like you when
I was in school. It sounds like a kind of
a bright light among you know, a rather dark landscape,
and you must have you might be so happy with
what you do. It sounds like you have the best
(39:17):
job in the world.
Speaker 2 (39:18):
I actually do have the best job. I am always
interested in engaged with kids who are interesting and engaging.
And yeah, I mean, teaching is not easy, but you're
in the world of ideas all the time, and with
this class, I'm kind of in the world of the
community and instruction.
Speaker 5 (39:38):
Community is very involved, as I understand Gina in Berlin, Jay,
could you put up Gina by the way, I know
this sounds different that I have to ask Jay to
put the callers up. But something about this computer screen
is not working. I do know how to do it,
it's not working. Gia in Burlington, how you've been?
Speaker 12 (40:00):
I thought you thought it was somebody different, Bradley when
you said, Gina.
Speaker 3 (40:03):
Yeah, I made a mistake, Okay, Hi, Hi jeene.
Speaker 12 (40:09):
So I want to say, Bradley, that to both of you,
but to Bradley, because he was saying he wasn't passionate.
I was passionate since I was six years old about
helping animals and saving nature. Bradley, you know that's my passion.
Speaker 5 (40:20):
I do.
Speaker 12 (40:21):
And it maybe because my parents were artists, musicians and
teachers themselves, so they were very passionate, and maybe they
passed that on to my brother and me. But I
wanted to tell Gina I talked to high school students
about saving nature and about caring about something bigger than themselves.
And out of twenty five students in each class, maybe
two or three look forward, but the rest of them
are completely engaged and seriously upset about animals of Earth
(40:44):
going extinct.
Speaker 2 (40:45):
So do you.
Speaker 5 (40:47):
Speakers like you want?
Speaker 2 (40:50):
Do you want to get in touch with me?
Speaker 9 (40:52):
I would love it, Okay, Oh yeah, that'd be great.
Speaker 12 (40:54):
But I just want to say that I think what
you're doing is excellent and kids really just need to
be taught like you care about them and that you
take them seriously, and it's amazing how much they really
do care and respond.
Speaker 5 (41:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (41:07):
I agree with that.
Speaker 5 (41:08):
Completely short on time. Should have called a little earlier, GI,
But we love you.
Speaker 12 (41:13):
Okay, Babby, bye, thank.
Speaker 5 (41:14):
You bye now. Jays Michael in Boston. Hi, Michael, you're
on WBZ.
Speaker 9 (41:21):
Good evening. It seems to me that a lot of
items that you mentioned were incorporated are incorporated into academic
subjects like economics. For example, I taught it. We had
a four hundred page textbook. One chapter was devoted to
personal finances and they learned all about that, opening a
(41:42):
checking account and insurance and mortgages and things like that.
And then English, which I also taught. We had six
weeks on logic and things related to that, psycho cybernetics.
I'm wondering how colleges view this for your college bound students.
Speaker 5 (42:09):
I'm gonna let her answer that right now because we're
so short on time. Yeah, this is something that college
recruiters look at and go, oh, this looks good. We
want a student like this.
Speaker 2 (42:19):
Yeah, I absolutely. I think that senior project is pretty
well known around the country. A lot of districts are
trying some form of this, and so it's not you know,
like I think what's unique for us in Maynard is
it's a graduation requirement. That's that's the key. Like every
senior has to do this. And so I taught economics
(42:41):
for a long time too, but it was an elective
and not every kid had to take it. And so
I think all of our disciplines are we we maintain
a very rigorous discipline based high school. But this is
one way to kind of cohesively bring things together and
say have they met these particular vision of the graduate
(43:04):
requirements and can you demonstrate that and can we get
them some like connections out in the world that that
they'd be interested in pursuing.
Speaker 5 (43:15):
Good call, Michael, thank you and goodbye, thank you.
Speaker 2 (43:18):
Thanks Michael.
Speaker 5 (43:19):
All right, well, hooray for you and hooray for Mainard
and they're very fortunate to have you. I have to
tell you, though, you want to plug, you want to
mention some people, So you have like forty five seconds, Okay.
Speaker 2 (43:30):
Well, I just want to say, like if Paul Orzek
was like my original co coordinator, he's now at Littleton
High School. But I mean for ten years we really
just kind of plugged away at making this a model program.
And you know, with the work of our district and
all of the people on the Steering committee and the
(43:53):
new partnership with the Massachusetts Consortium, like all of these
groups an individuals have been so critical in helping us evolve.
And I think that's just okay, we got to go.
But the state will need time.
Speaker 5 (44:08):
So give them time.
Speaker 9 (44:09):
State.
Speaker 5 (44:10):
Yeah, next up, maybe you made a New Year's Eve resolution,
Maybe you want to maybe you want to improve yourself. Well,
you know what hypnosis helps and can help. Doesn't help everybody,
but it helped me quit smoking. It worked for me,
maybe it'll work for you. We have a hypnotist on
next a hypnotherapist on BES
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