This spring, we pulled up chairs (including some very small ones) in five amazing classrooms across the country. You might remember some of these snapshots:
In Reno, eager second graders debate the Civil War, likening Ulysses S. Grant to Garfield—the cat, not the president—on account of his stubbornness.
High school seniors in Newark pore over primary source texts in a U.S. history classroom that they say is preparing them not just for college, but to change the world.
Sixth graders in Boston compare historical and modern claims about the solar system, as they move toward mastery of complex science concepts—and the English language.
The kids in the classrooms we visited couldn’t be more different from one another. Some are just beginning their school journeys, while others are nearly finished with it. Some were born around the corner and others overseas. Some come from families with multiple degrees, while others are first-generation college-bound.
But here’s what they have in common: access to schoolwork that challenges and inspires them. We wanted to understand what’s possible for students when they have that. So we asked.
In August, we’ll be launching Room to Run, TNTP’s first multimedia feature, which will take you inside those five classrooms and let the kids and teachers speak for themselves. We hope you’ll sign up now to be the first to hear from them when Room to Run goes live. In the meantime, here’s a sneak peek.
