Love Letters to a City in Lockdown

The 9th grade teaching team works from a planned curriculum, but they also strive to be nimble and adjust their class work to respond to what’s happening in the world. For example, at the onset of the Syrian Refugee Crisis, one teacher responded with a refugee project; when Hilary Clinton was running for president, the team formulated a project on female leadership.

 

As COVID-19 became a new reality, Upper School history teacher Sue Elliott embraced the opportunity to be responsive with her craft as she leads students though a closer look at the 1918 flu pandemic and its connections to today.

 

Last summer, Elliott was enhancing her curriculum for the year ahead and wanted to develop an assignment that would encourage students to see their surroundings in a new way. She said, “If they could see the streets they walk or ride past every day in a new light, that would show them how much they can dig deeper for understanding. In addition, I wanted them to understand how everything is interconnected, so I encouraged them to find connections between landmarks in their city and the wider world.”

 

Elliott’s original plan for this assignment was to have the class to identify, plan and choose the best routes and take them together once the weather warmed up. With COVID-19 came remote learning and social distancing, pushing these planned walking tours into the virtual realm.

 

“Due to the current lockdown, students and their families cannot go out and explore the vibrancy of our city,” Elliott noted. “In fact, the deserted streets are unnerving and make us feel like we aren't living in the same city we lived in last spring. As a result, these virtual tours read like a love letter to the city we are all missing so much. In a regular year, I don't think the assignment would have had that tone, but it happened organically.”

 

You can view some of the student’s work here.