Students take control of their education at S-E

SHERBURNE – The Talented and Gifted Program at Sherburne-Earlville is unique in every aspect. With student driven curriculum and little emphasis placed on grades, the students in the program are allowed to examine whatever topic peaks their curiosity.

“Students are selected for the TAG program based on three criteria; extraordinary grades, 90 or above, phenomenal creative problem solving and a passion to learn new information,” teacher and coordinator Jonathan Sherry said. Students who demonstrate all three characteristics are nominated for the program by their teachers and pulled from their regular schedule.

Approximately 150 students from kindergarten through the twelfth grade participate in the program, which is based on student driven curriculum, with Sherry acting as an intellectual advisor. Sherry explained how the program works, saying students can pick any topic, and once they’ve discussed their topic with Sherry, they until they have become an expert.

“They don’t get bored because they’ve chosen the topic,” Sherry said. “Once they’ve become an expert on their topic, they begin working on a project to share the information they have acquired.”

The students have created web sites, power point presentations, timelines and posters in enthusiastic ways. “It’s the culmination of their curiosity,” Sherry said.

Students in the kindergarten through eighth grade portion of the program aren’t given grades for their work. “In an age when so much is driven by standardized tests, they get to come in and they don’t have to stress about a grading rubric,” Sherry said. “It gives them more freedom to experience a topic.” Because colleges look at the level of difficulty of courses during the high school years, the program becomes a little different for students in ninth through twelfth grade. The students opt into an independent study, and a grade is assigned, but the students work with Sherry to develop their own grading rubric, making them a more active part of the experience.