Socrates wrote, "There is only one good, knowledge; and one evil, ignorance." The "Adventure of the American Mind" (AAM) project is specifically designed to further the former and eradicate the latter.
As a pilot program, funded through an "earmark" to the 2003 federal budget by U.S. Rep. James P. Moran (D-8), it assists the Library of Congress in finding productive ways to make its collection of valuable primary source collections and resources available, through the Internet, to the nation's educational institutions. Its success was on full display last Friday morning at Bucknell Elementary School in Mount Vernon District.
There, on the last day of their three-week summer school session, were students from first to sixth grade engaged in what they, themselves, consider the greatest of summer adventures — one of the mind. They were all part of Fairfax County Public School's "Young Scholars" program funded by AAM.
"These classes are composed of students who have displayed advanced learning capabilities but lack the skills to build background knowledge due to economic or social constraints. Our goal is to improve their thinking capabilities when they get to advanced programs," said Carol V. Horn, Ed.D., coordinator, Gifted and Talented Programs, Fairfax County Public Schools.
Since its inception in Fiscal Year 2003, nearly $8 million in AAM grants have been distributed to Northern Virginia school districts, according to Austin Durrer, press secretary to Moran. The first $2.5 million went to Arlington, Alexandria and Falls Church school districts in 2003. This was followed by:
* $3.5 million in 2004 to those three districts plus local private schools and to targeted low income schools in Fairfax County
* $525,000 in 2005 to a consortium formed by the four Northern Virginia districts
* $1.3 million in 2006 to continue Northern Virginia's program
The consortium formed by the Northern Virginia districts combined their efforts to work with the Library of Congress on developing age-appropriate grade school curriculums, according to Moran's office. The Library's collections and resources have now been digitized making them Internet accessible.
"The grant funds can be used to cover stipends, teaching materials, electronic equipment, and other resources to find ways to make the wealth of primary resources at the Library available and able to be used by the school systems," Durrer said.
PRESENTLY, there are 110 "Young Scholars" classes operating throughout Fairfax County's school system involving nearly 1,700 students, according to Horn. Students in those programs are divided into two groups, one involves students from grades one through three, and the second pulls from grades four through six.
When the program started there was only one school involved. Now there are 55. Students attend for three hours Monday through Friday for three weeks throughout the summer. The $1.3 million grant has funded 10 classes, according to Horn.
Teachers for the Young Scholars program are selected by the principals from schools providing students. Those teachers are trained to differentiate curriculum and instruction in order to nurture advanced academic ability, according to the program model.
"We have targeted students who have not had this type of opportunity before. When they reach Middle School they are in honors classes," Horn said.
"The Young Scholars model promotes the notion of nurturing continuous academic growth beginning in kindergarten. Early identification coupled with early intervention allows each Young Scholars school to provide learning experiences that strengthen basic skills and require students to think and apply knowledge on a higher, more complex level," according to the County's program description.
"The main point of this program is to guide students to the most primary sources as possible. The Library of Congress has more information available than any other place in the entire world," Moran said in visiting the Bucknell students.
Students enrolled there undertook took two projects during their three-week session. The first to third graders' project was titled, "Your Story - My Story." It dealt with students sharing family and cultural artifacts and relating those items to the learning process of understanding the various world cultures and customs.
The older students interacted directly with the Library through a project titled "Individuals Make A Difference." It enabled them to tap into the Library's resources in exploring actual actions and writing of individuals who have had an impact on national and world events. From that they created individual video documentaries telling those stories and how the lives and actions of those individual not only impacted but also changed history.
"The reason I think this program is so important is that it brings history to life. It enables you to better relate to the actual people that lived hundreds of years ago and dealt with the problems and challenges of their time," Moran told the older students gathered in the school's gymnasium.
"This helps to bring both history and the arts alive. Your minds are the most important things we have in this country. This study will help you to make decisions on how you will contribute in the future. A good knowledge of history enables you to decide how you will react in a given situation," he said.
"Because you have been selected for this program you have a tremendous responsibility because of your knowledge and the fact that you are so smart. You can not just go through life willy-nilly enjoying yourselves. You have an obligation to help others and to try and make this world a better place," Moran told the students seated before him.
As an experimental program, Northern Virginia schools are developing target curriculum for the rest of the nation since expansion is intended for the program. In addition to summer school, "After school sessions, and intersession classes in year round schools are all used to provide Young Scholars challenging learning experiences with intellectual peers from similar backgrounds," according to the program's operations model.
As stated in the description of that model, "The primary goal of the program is to identify advanced academic potential in children from diverse ethnic, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds as early as possible. The long-range goal is to prepare Young Scholars for participation in gifted programs and challenging course work as they advance in grade level from elementary through high school."