Palmer Trinity School

LEADING A MINI COURSE IN ROUND SQUARE: FOLKLORE & LEGENDS Danny Reynolds, Associate Head of School/Admission/College Counseling/ Round Square and Semester Abroad The Round Square "Folklore & Legends" conference included over 100 students from 20 different countries. Mike Arias '22 and Sealey Bacardi '22 organized and narrated the collaboration. Students researched folklore, "tall tales'' and urban legends from different regions of the world. They discovered commonalities from region to region and the arc of progression from origins to music to pop culture. They concluded that the monster slayer of ancient stories has not declined in popularity and understood that, even as our storytelling technology has changed, our love of these stories has stayed the same. Such legends even form the basic concept of many video games: the hero emerges and slays an increasingly difficult series of monsters before facing the "final boss." Students agreed that, although there is no scientific evidence to support any of these stories, they are fun to tell and retell, and they survive in popular culture because of their psychological effect. PA RTICI PA NTS: Maria Munilla '22, Diego Cano '22, Carlos Penzini '22, Marcos Leon '22, Tyler McCray '22 and Gaby Cruz '22 A ND, L AS TLY, M Y OWN E XPERIENCE: LITERATURE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS: A CROSS-ATLANTIC COLLABORATION AP Literature Over a two-month period, seniors in AP Literature partnered with students at Herlufsholm School in Denmark to learn how personal stories illuminate broader, more universal concerns. The partnership began with an overview from Martin Hansen, who comes from Bonn, Germany and serves at the U.N. He shared an overview of the Sustainable Development Goals. After this introduction, students selected a work of literature that connects with one of the four targeted goals. They met regularly, both during and outside of class time, to study the work of literature, analyze perspective and voice and explore how audiences from different countries may perceive the text differently. Our partnership culminated in a student-led showcase where each group shared a creative presentation on their understanding of the work. They highlighted the role of perspective and voice in literature, the power of "individual story" in helping us tackle broader issues and the reasons why all of these questions matter to them. The creation, implementation and success of these expanded classrooms are the result of teachers optimizing the technology all around us, the newfound flexibility of our school day and the intention to embrace the endless possibilities before us as we design teaching and learning experiences post COVID. Expanded Classrooms result from teachers prioritizing content and concepts while ensuring students see relevance in what they study. Finally, they share a common thread: connection. In a time when we think we are isolated in our work behind the laptop, teachers challenge that view and show that Expanded Classrooms promote problem solving, allows for application of skill and builds student- centered learning communities. (Continued from Page 22) S U MME R 2 0 2 1 23

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