Those days are far behind, and the electronic BreadNet, unlike many telecommunications networks, is connecting students more than teachers. Pulling far-flung rural settings together, it provides an online writing workshop for students; online discussion involving students and guests, such as staff from Vice President Gore's office; and World Class, an international class for students based on reading of a common text.
For a recent World Class activity, students first made up essays that introduced themselves. "These were very poignant," said Patricia McGonegal of Vermont. "This is a real slice of life for the kids to see. We got very powerful poems from kids all over the world." In some schools on BreadNet, students run the network and are graded on their management.
Students are natural entrepreneurs. At North High School in Wichita, Kansas, teachers mine this interest to engage students turned off by traditional teaching. Students receive $50 to buy a product from a wholesaler and learn how to resell the product to make a profit. As budding businesspeople, they negotiate, read the Wall Street Journal, write business plans, and even write formal business memos when they want to be excused from a class. One of 11 sites around the country for the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, North High seeks businesses to fund individual students. One business helps students patent and produce good inventions, another gives them stock in the company.
***last updated 5/18/94 (pkickbush)***
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Teacher Power: CROSSING THE PRIVATE LINE