by Paige Miller, KTA Intern
A fifth-grade teacher at Seven Generations Charter School is versing her students on a common aesthetic issue plaguing the Appalachian Trail: graffiti. As part of a service-learning project, teacher Alison Seger Panik and her students are taking on the challenge of restoring vandalized rock faces on a nearby stretch of the trail. Panik is teaching her students how to think critically and solve problems via trial and error. They are researching a number of different solutions to the graffiti issue, and evaluating each solution based on its effectiveness, environmental impact,cost, and difficulty to implement.
As our world grows increasingly more complex, experiential learning and service-learning projects such as this one present invaluable opportunities for young students to attach meaning to their environment while developing critical problem-solving skills.
For more information on this project, read Panik’s blog post on "A Trail to Every Classroom" by clicking here.