Planting Community
In a time when much of our food production comes with questions regarding human health, environmental consequences and ethical dilemmas, Planting Community was an opportunity to delve deeply into the science, systems and philosophies behind both industrial & urban agricultural practices. As a team we worked to build a better understanding of how & why food is produced through industrial agricultural systems, what costs are associated with these practices, and what alternative approaches are available for generating the food resources we rely on. Then, students used this knowledge base to take on designing & building a food-based green learning space for a local elementary school.
Campification
America’s Mixtape was a semester-long collaboration between Engineering and Humanities classes. The broad goals of this project were to conduct a critical look at social, political, and economic conditions throughout U.S. History by way of the music inspired by them, as well as to employ the engineering process to create phone-powered multimedia devices. At the exhibition of our work, students utilized these devices to share a “mixtape” of songs that were remixed to highlight contemporary connections with their original purposes; this listening experience was presented alongside an anthology of related historical fiction at the Logan Heights Public Library.
Farmification
America’s Mixtape was a semester-long collaboration between Engineering and Humanities classes. The broad goals of this project were to conduct a critical look at social, political, and economic conditions throughout U.S. History by way of the music inspired by them, as well as to employ the engineering process to create phone-powered multimedia devices. At the exhibition of our work, students utilized these devices to share a “mixtape” of songs that were remixed to highlight contemporary connections with their original purposes; this listening experience was presented alongside an anthology of related historical fiction at the Logan Heights Public Library.
Inspired Furniture
America’s Mixtape was a semester-long collaboration between Engineering and Humanities classes. The broad goals of this project were to conduct a critical look at social, political, and economic conditions throughout U.S. History by way of the music inspired by them, as well as to employ the engineering process to create phone-powered multimedia devices. At the exhibition of our work, students utilized these devices to share a “mixtape” of songs that were remixed to highlight contemporary connections with their original purposes; this listening experience was presented alongside an anthology of related historical fiction at the Logan Heights Public Library.
The Urban Re-Farm
America’s Mixtape was a semester-long collaboration between Engineering and Humanities classes. The broad goals of this project were to conduct a critical look at social, political, and economic conditions throughout U.S. History by way of the music inspired by them, as well as to employ the engineering process to create phone-powered multimedia devices. At the exhibition of our work, students utilized these devices to share a “mixtape” of songs that were remixed to highlight contemporary connections with their original purposes; this listening experience was presented alongside an anthology of related historical fiction at the Logan Heights Public Library.
America's Mixtape
America’s Mixtape was a semester-long collaboration between Engineering and Humanities classes. The broad goals of this project were to conduct a critical look at social, political, and economic conditions throughout U.S. History by way of the music inspired by them, as well as to employ the engineering process to create phone-powered multimedia devices. At the exhibition of our work, students utilized these devices to share a “mixtape” of songs that were remixed to highlight contemporary connections with their original purposes; this listening experience was presented alongside an anthology of related historical fiction at the Logan Heights Public Library.
The Upcycle
The Upcycle, a semester-long collaboration between Engineering and Humanities classes, had the broad goals of recognizing and confronting our environmentally adverse consumption & production cultures that are entrenched in practices of planned obsolescence, materialism and disposability. During the course of this project, our team worked to develop an understanding of the waste that our personal & consumer habits produce, explored the principles & approaches of engineering that lead to more purposeful and sustainable building, and considered the benefits inherent in designing and building with upcycled, or repurposed, materials that would otherwise persist solely as waste.
Documenting Change
Documenting Change was a semester-long documentary film project built around an examination of groups and individuals who have fought for greater social justice within U.S. society. During this project, which was conducted as a collaboration between two Humanities classes, our students studied a particular U.S. Social Movement enacted in pursuit of change and, after exploring its causes, goals & significant events, honed in on a Cultural Movement that served to support this larger effort. Each student had the opportunity to look deeper than the political and legislative achievements of the movement and examine the ways in which it challenged the social norms of an era.
My America, Our America
The semester-long My America, Our America project was built around an exploration of the ideals that we have come to expect as U.S. citizens, as well as certain organized efforts that have been undertaken to protect them. During the course of this project students on our team examined the means by which these social standards have been communicated, what they mean to “us” as diverse individuals, how different groups have organized effective struggles in pursuit of them, and how these movements have impacted contemporary society.
The Awakening
The Awakening: Re-Examining the American Dream was a semester-long project examining the ideals and diverse experiences associated with the “American Dream.” As a collaboration between two Humanities classes, we took on exploring the content, mastering relevant technologies and establishing the community participation necessary to work towards a student-produced documentary film festival. At this exhibition, students presented publications (as DVD inserts) and documentary movies depicting research, creativity and critical commentary based on what they each personally discovered about the realities of rights and opportunities embedded in this “American Dream.”
Deconstructing Icons
Deconstructing Icons was a semester-long project founded in examining and assessing various icons that America has come to recognize as representations of both social movements and contemporary culture. With a number of academic & artistic activities scaffolding our learning, we headed towards a student-produced art exhibition where we shared pieces built around these accustomed images, and chapbooks, which were self-published by our students to accompany the commentary portrayed through their art.
Viva La Revolucion!
Viva la Revolucion! was a semester-long collaborative project between two humanities classes employing the production of a theatrical performance as a track for examining the impetus and impacts of social movements throughout U.S. History. Inspired by the work of Luis Valdez & El Teatro Campesino, who utilized amateur theater as a means of advancing the culture, education and mobilization of California’s agricultural workers during the 1960s, our team considered various historical and contemporary efforts for change as the content foundations for our learning.
HTH For Haiti
HTH for Haiti is the face of the relief assistance project started by several High Tech High teachers and myself following the earthquakes of January, 2010 that devastated the island nation of Haiti. Our group found life immediately after the disasters when, at our first staff meeting in January, a Haitian friend and colleague asked the simple question, “Who will help?” This simple question catalyzed a village wide collaboration between staff and students alike with the aims of better understanding the condition of those affected by this natural event and extending an authentic helping hand to them.