So, how does this school really work?

After yesterday’s discussion about the Caste system in school, I whipped up a little handout to help the kids get their ideas flowing and in order about how the actual Caste systems that work in our schools.

Click the image below to download the handout, or click here to see the big picture.

See, the kids told me yesterday about all the secret societal levels that happen in and around the school, and they started talking about the rules associated with each level — styles of dress, types of acceptable behavior, the odd prison-esque rule system about where you can and cannot sit in the cafeteria, and the rituals of dating between caste levels. It was really interesting stuff, and I thought we could take it further.

In the handout, the students are asked to create a caste system for school — they can choose to outline the actual systems they see in action, or they can write about a system they’d like to see in place. No matter what, they have to write an essay. But the beauty of the handout is that I ask so many questions about the caste system that, if they answer each question, they’ll end up writing an essay. It’s a directed writing assignment, but at least it gets them thinking. If there’s anything they have to come up with on their own it’s the Thesis Statement and the Transition Sentences between paragraphs. (But once they outline the levels in their systems, the students will have created a roadmap for meeting both those goals.)

Ultimately it’s an analysis paper. A discussion on a specific topic with clear definitions and research done in order to present the findings. But the kids don’t know that — they get the chance to talk about themselves.

The paper, though, is only for me. I want the boring stuff. The paper is merely background for them in creating a presentation for small group discussion, and at that point they have the option to present their findings to the class via art, poetry, powerpoint, video, models, games, interactive play, quizzes, a performance, etc. I want them to have fun with this and to be creative and to think outside the box when it comes to prewriting, drafting, and writing. Once they complete the handout, their work is nearly done and they can focus on fun instead of on work.

Hopefully the excitement they showed in class today extends throughout the next week (and that I can put up with a workshop class for an entire week), because what they came up with today was pretty interesting.

For example: One student focused on the actual caste system in school.

• Preps.
• Jocks.
• Skaters.
• Nerds.
• Emo kids.

One student decided to focus on the sports department.

• Starters.
• Second String Players.
• Benchwarmers.
• Waterboy.
• Cheerleaders.

And one girl focused on the levels of sexiness students can achieve.

• Very, very sexy.
• Very Sexy.
• Sexy.
• Wannabe Sexy.
• Ugly.

One kid really hit it home with how the school really works.

• Principal.
• Secretaries.
• Janitor.
• Students.
• Teachers.

And I’m already printing up permission forms to share the student work on a website (which I’ll surely share, if the students are willing), because some of the projects the students want to complete are even more interesting than the essay topics they’ve chosen.

One group of students plans to interview a variety of 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students to hear their views about the caste system in school, and to point out where they fit. A documentary of sorts.

Another group of kids wants to write a play and perform it.

Another group wants to create a large model of our cafeteria and label the tables based on who can sit at each table, and which rules apply to those tables.

Wild, imaginative stuff, and I’m really excited to see how it turns out.