American education is very interactive, and the problems projects that teachers assign train students' reading, observation, and hands-on skills.
I remember in elementary school a teacher required, as an assignment, students to find a type of snake, and through researching text and pictures, to explain the size, color, habits, diet, status of venom, and other attributes of the snake. When all the work was turned in, a few moms helped tack them onto the wall for the students' viewing pleasure. This was useful because although every student did deep research on a different snake, now, on the wall, students could compare theirs with other types, or judge the distance of knowledge between classmates. I remember one of my friends researched the rattlesnake, intricately describing its shape, size, movement, and special aspects of its rattle. The teacher wrote on the back of his paper: “Thanks for the facts on rattlesnakes. Next time I hear that rattle, wherever I am, I'll run far away! ”
Another time a teacher wanted us to research deep-sea fish and write an essay on them, in addition to making a 3-D model. Taking into consideration the lack of light deep in the ocean, I made an emphasis on the head of my model and hung a light bulb on a metal wire attached to it. The light bulb worked, throwing off dazzling brightness. These fish were all hung on the ceiling. Classmates saw mine and chuckled, admiring the creativity; but humor aside, I wrote in my essay that because in the deepest parts of the ocean there is little light, the vision functions of these fish has devolved,compen
sated by other functions which have grown better. This was the biggest difference between deep-sea and normal fish. Of course, some, like mine, really did produce their own light. In the process of researching materials and studying pictures, the students learned loads about nature and formed their own hypotheses.
Because there are many assignments like this, my parents bought a lot of supplies in elementary school: poster board, colored markers, etc. To turn in these projects, I would sometimes bother my parents to drive me to school, so my work wouldn't be ruined on the bus trip.
If you see a bunch of kids running about, carrying brightly colored posters, it'sprobably a due date for some school project!
