Wheaton R-III Active Learning Day teaches students real life skills
Wheaton Junior/Senior High School’s Active Learning Day gave students the opportunity to provide hands-on, real world experience. Above, Doug Henry, from the Barry County Sheriff's Department, provided a hands-on demonstration to students about working in law enforcement.
February 26, 2020
Charlea Estes-Jones
For a lot of students nearing graduation, the adult world brings with it a lot of unknowns, like how to file taxes or cook a meal for just yourself. At Wheaton Junior/Senior High School, school administration and staff took the initiative to help students learn those skills.
Wheaton School hosted its inaugural Active Learning Day that featured a variety of different experience students could choose throughout the day to learn valuable life experience.
Principal Tyler Willis explained staff had been planning a day like this for awhile, and with an opportunity offered by the Missouri Army National Guard. He said, "Mrs. Christman [school counselor] and I have been thinking about it for awhile, and we weren't really sure when the best time would be to make it happen. Then, sergeant Billingsly with the Army National Guard came in about a training they do called HEART, Helping Everyone Achieve Respect Training.
"With that training, they wanted to do it in smaller groups with one grade level at a time. Since that was going to take a good portion of the day anyway, we thought this would be a good opportunity to do these sessions."
The school staff worked together to decide what types of classes to offer students to sign up for. Willis said, "I asked teachers, students, and anyone in the community for potential sessions and potential presenters, and it all came together."
They held the Active Learning Day on February 7, and the school offered experiences on preserving food, emergency first air, vehicle maintenance, graphic design and apps, income taxes, line dancing, cooking, and more. Missouri State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick also attended as a special guest to talk to students.
The whole day was dedicated to hands-on learning and real world experiences.
Willis explained the idea behind the Active Learning Day, "I wanted a day where students got to choose what they learn. I wanted them to find something they were interested in and leave with information they didn't learn before and hopefully they found valuable."
The response from students was overwhelmingly positive, and they are considering hosting one or two Active Learning Days each school year in the future, as well.
Willis said, "It was really positive. I had several students comment asking if we would do it again. Then, I had a lot of people come to me with ideas for sessions for future Active Learning Days. Overall, I think it was really positive."
Sessions that really resonated with students were the cooking for one class, vehicle maintenance and first aid. Willis said approximately 80 percent of the student body attended the cooking class.
He continued, "The emergency first aid was really popular where they learned CPR, what to do in the case of an emergency if someone has a seizure and stuff like that."
The session that surprised Willis was the interest younger students took in the income tax session. He said, "The income tax session, the intention was juniors and seniors would bring it in, and we could work through it with them. It ended up having several younger students, including a handful of seventh graders, interested in it, so the presenter could make it a little more appropriate for the students' needs."
Other presenters spoke about their jobs and what they face day-to-day in their lines of work. The Barry County Sheriff's Department even brought in equipment for students to see and try.
Willis said for students to learn how to change a tire or check their oil in their vehicles is a valuable skill that they wouldn't normally learn in school, but staff knew would be beneficial.
He said, "We think we'll do another one in the fall and maybe a second one in the spring."
Charlea Estes-Jones
For a lot of students nearing graduation, the adult world brings with it a lot of unknowns, like how to file taxes or cook a meal for just yourself. At Wheaton Junior/Senior High School, school administration and staff took the initiative to help students learn those skills.
Wheaton School hosted its inaugural Active Learning Day that featured a variety of different experience students could choose throughout the day to learn valuable life experience.
Principal Tyler Willis explained staff had been planning a day like this for awhile, and with an opportunity offered by the Missouri Army National Guard. He said, "Mrs. Christman [school counselor] and I have been thinking about it for awhile, and we weren't really sure when the best time would be to make it happen. Then, sergeant Billingsly with the Army National Guard came in about a training they do called HEART, Helping Everyone Achieve Respect Training.
"With that training, they wanted to do it in smaller groups with one grade level at a time. Since that was going to take a good portion of the day anyway, we thought this would be a good opportunity to do these sessions."
The school staff worked together to decide what types of classes to offer students to sign up for. Willis said, "I asked teachers, students, and anyone in the community for potential sessions and potential presenters, and it all came together."
They held the Active Learning Day on February 7, and the school offered experiences on preserving food, emergency first air, vehicle maintenance, graphic design and apps, income taxes, line dancing, cooking, and more. Missouri State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick also attended as a special guest to talk to students.
The whole day was dedicated to hands-on learning and real world experiences.
Willis explained the idea behind the Active Learning Day, "I wanted a day where students got to choose what they learn. I wanted them to find something they were interested in and leave with information they didn't learn before and hopefully they found valuable."
The response from students was overwhelmingly positive, and they are considering hosting one or two Active Learning Days each school year in the future, as well.
Willis said, "It was really positive. I had several students comment asking if we would do it again. Then, I had a lot of people come to me with ideas for sessions for future Active Learning Days. Overall, I think it was really positive."
Sessions that really resonated with students were the cooking for one class, vehicle maintenance and first aid. Willis said approximately 80 percent of the student body attended the cooking class.
He continued, "The emergency first aid was really popular where they learned CPR, what to do in the case of an emergency if someone has a seizure and stuff like that."
The session that surprised Willis was the interest younger students took in the income tax session. He said, "The income tax session, the intention was juniors and seniors would bring it in, and we could work through it with them. It ended up having several younger students, including a handful of seventh graders, interested in it, so the presenter could make it a little more appropriate for the students' needs."
Other presenters spoke about their jobs and what they face day-to-day in their lines of work. The Barry County Sheriff's Department even brought in equipment for students to see and try.
Willis said for students to learn how to change a tire or check their oil in their vehicles is a valuable skill that they wouldn't normally learn in school, but staff knew would be beneficial.
He said, "We think we'll do another one in the fall and maybe a second one in the spring."