Envision Richmond: A Capstone Experience

An assemblage of Collegiate 8th Graders participating in Envision Richmond this week had just watched a video presentation about the Korean Conflict, and now Stephen Galyan, who serves as a docent at the Virginia War Memorial, asked for questions.
    
There was a pause. Then, one hand went up.
    
“What was the most difficult part of fighting the war?” he was asked.
    
“The bitter cold,” Galyan responded. “Major battles – such as the Chosin Reservoir – were fought in such extreme conditions that some of the soldiers’ rifles froze and they were unable to use them. Unfortunately, as our men retreated off the reservoir, they met a relentless enemy. And once they crossed the 38th Parallel and got close to the Manchurian border, 400,000 Chinese alleged volunteers came across. There was no easy duty in the Korean Conflict.”
  
Later, I asked Galyan what he hoped our students would gain from the information he provided.
“A perspective of the struggles that take place to preserve America’s freedom,” the retired high school teacher replied. “In war you’re dealing with human beings who are fragile, even though they’re well trained and prepared. Our service men and women do an amazing job, especially those committed to combat situations. Wars are not a pleasant business. I don’t know why we still have them.”

Such was one of many, many profound insights and observations which our students have received during Envision Richmond, which began as a small pilot project two years ago and now involves all 132 8th Graders. The idea is that students leave the traditional classroom and travel to assigned sites around Central Virginia where they explore and analyze specific issues related to – in addition to the military –  homelessness, medical care, mental health, literacy, foster care, immigration, and the plight of individuals with disabilities. Then, they work in small groups to develop solutions to the problems they identify.
    
The goal is to foster collaboration, empathy, creativity, and problem-solving techniques so that they are better equipped to move into the future.
    
They deliver their presentations at Collegiate’s Burke Hall on Friday.

“We’re calling it a capstone experience,” said Laurie Shadowen, the program’s coordinator. “It will bond the class together and really engage them in real-world, real-life issues.”

The week began with a chilly raft trip down the James River and presentations by two speakers: Clare Sisisky, Collegiate’s director of responsible citizenship and strategic planning, and Ted Elmore, founder of the BridgePark Foundation, a nonprofit that enlists individuals as well as corporate, community, and government entities to create a park along the James.
    
On Tuesday, they launched into their projects using the concept of design thinking.
  
“It’s a way to approach challenges in a thoughtful and fun way while applying the 4Cs: collaboration, creativity, critical thinking and communication,” Laurie explained.  “You take a broad topic, narrow it down to one user: the person most affected by the topic. Then, you identify what the user needs and find a solution.
    
“By doing that, you’re not so overwhelmed with the bigger topic of, for example, homelessness. Sometimes, people are paralyzed because a topic is so big and the need is so great that they don’t do anything. This really helps narrow it down so they feel that, Yes, I can, indeed, make a difference in our community.”

Can 8th Graders really handle such a challenge? I asked her.
    
“Absolutely,” Laurie said.  “It’s amazing to see them from the very beginning when they gather information, then wrestle with it. They make it jell together and come up with a solution. I’ve seen it, and it will work.”
                 -- Weldon Bradshaw