Current Events Teacher Mr. Tim Dial-Scruggs incorporated an in-class project for his students to present at the Rethink Youth Conference on Feb. 26. The virtual conference is a platform for students to connect and share their ideas on how to improve the educational experience. Ten presentations of schools from the KC Metro Area were viewed by their peers and also educators from around the city. 

The goal of the conference is for teachers to self-evaluate and consider the ‘why’ of their current classroom practices. Mr. Dial-Scruggs believes his students are addressing their concerns with an open mind by identifying what works and what can be updated. 

“As these senior students are leaving, they’re not necessarily making changes for themselves, but they’re providing suggestions for future generations,” Mr. Dial-Scruggs said. “Sometimes the way we’ve always done something isn’t necessarily the right way to go about it.” 

Fort Osage Team “B” put together a Google Slides presentation about the effectiveness of homework. They surveyed students from outside their class, put together research from universities, and combined their findings with student opinions. The team then presented their work to administrators from Fort Osage and it was recorded to submit to the conference. 

Talking in front of a lot of people can be a daunting task, but overall, Senior Brooklynn Gilpin believes this opportunity and experience is great for students.

“I think it’s important because since it is student-led, they can hear how we as teenagers or young adults feel,” Gilpin said. 

Students in the group were appreciative of the project’s and conference’s purpose. In class, the groups felt they were able to open up their eyes about their education and propose positive changes. The group stated that not only do students surveyed feel homework isn’t beneficial, but teachers feel it can be busy work. 

With this project, Senior Josie Gates feels her point of view of a student not only has changed, but now it matters.

“I think hopefully the conference will impact teachers to get more understanding about how students feel.”

Each school had a breakout room to talk about their topic during the conference. Participants selected the rooms to attend based upon interest of the learning concern being discussed.