Deeper Learning Den Talk - Big Picture with Sofia Ervin and Karla Cruz Godoy

Karla Cruz Godoy and Sofia Ervin

From the conference website:

Join San Diego Met alumna Karla Cruz Godoy and current SD Met senior, Sofia Ervin as they share the elements & design of their experiences at a Big Picture Learning school and how it has contributed to their identities as lifelong learners and beyond. This den talk will explore interests, relationships, and the self in the context of being a BPL student.

Sofia Ervin is a 17-year-old senior from San Diego, California who attends the San Diego Met. She is a young activist who participates passionately in speaking up in the name of student voice, especially black student voice. Some of her influences include groundbreaking creatives such as Spike Lee, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and John Singleton.

Karla Cruz Godoy is an educator, community organizer, and strong advocate of Big Picture's mission and values. Karla’s love for Big Picture originated from her own experience as an alumnus of the San Diego Met, Class of 2012. Currently, Karla serves as the Special Projects Manager at Big Picture Learning, where she provides strategic and programmatic support for a variety of projects including, but not limited to the Deep Learning Equity Fellowship, Ashe Leaders Fellowship, Leadership Journeys, and BPL's annual international conferences. 

Background of Big Picture Learning

The Big Picture Learning design is a dynamic approach to learning, doing, and thinking that has been changing the lives of students, educators, and entire communities since 1995. The design components are based on three foundation principles: first, learning must be based on the interests and goals of each student; second, student’s curriculum must be relevant to the people and places that exist in the real world; and finally, a student’s abilities must be authentically measured by the quality of her or his work.

How Big Picture Works

• The Advisor works with a small group of students to find what motivates and interests each student.
• The Mentor, a lawyer, engineer, merchant, etc., guides each student’s internship.
• The Parent is actively enrolled as a resource to the BP community.
• The Student (and peers) interact to reinforce each other’s passion for real work in the real world. The result is a self-teaching community of learners where no one feels left out, and each helps motivate the other.

(Source)

I was lucky enough to visit the first BPL school The Met in Boston back in 2013. You can read my reflections here. It's heartening to hear that the culture really hasn't changed. One takeaway from this session is that hiring alumni really helped maintain and build on the original DNA of the school. 

The Den Talk starts as a 20-minute conversation on stage between Sofia (San Diego Met Senior) and Karla (San Diego Met Alumni) followed by question design. The following are some of the themes that came through in the discussion. 

Readiness for the real world - Sofia talked about the power of internships (both interned at San Diego Pride) and the opportunity to take college papers. The power of being on a college campus and how to access college professors and counsellors. The confidence and maturity were evident, as she said, by the time they graduate - they are ready to go. 

Small by design - Sofia talked about the power of a small campus. BPL is small by design with the school within the school capped at 150 students. She highlighted that it was impossible to not belong and that students were always "seen" due to the size of the school community. 

Power of advisory- students are part of a small advisory group, both Sofia and Karla talked about the importance of the Advisory (similar to ASHS Tutorial or HPSS Learning Hub). The advisory is the student's homeroom throughout their time at BPL and the advisor moves through with them, looking after the learning and welfare of the young person and supporting them with internships, and projects and connecting their learning across the curriculum.

Power of exhibitions of learning - once again I heard about the power of sharing and celebrating learning with their community. Sofia stressed the power of choosing who she shared her learning with. 

School week structure - Monday, Wednesday Friday you go to school and on other days you can do college papers and internships. Another takeaway, once again, was the power of leaving to learn and getting over the idea that students need to be in school to learn. 

Student voice - Just give young people a chance. Trust young people. You learn through trial and error. Hosting "town halls" with students to guide change. Power of alumni and student voice. The power of co-design. Invite the student as a collaborator. Not as a token voice. Student activists have a lot to think about and a lot to say. 

There is not one path to success - Sofia talked about her generation and the increasing recognition that definitions of success are broadening and changing and the way that BPL celebrates this. 

The power of alumni - How are you using alumni in your growth and development?? Hire young people who have been in your schools. Don't just get them to complete a profile but invite them back in to mentor and teach. Make sure you foster a connection that's valuable for both the school and the alumni. This was a real takeaway for me as a school leader and definitely going on my to-do list. 

Relationship of Principal with the student body - Visible principal who directly connects with the student body. Need to know that any student can go into the Principal's office and is open to hearing ideas.