Telstar teacher Carrie Lynch explains how she and her students thought outside the box during the pandemic. Meira Bienstock
BETHEL — When the pandemic struck and students were working both remotely and at Telstar, high school Social Studies/Career College Counselor teacher Carrie Lynch knew technology was going to be incorporated, but she had to think outside the box.
“So when I think about creativity, I often think about how do I meet individual students’ needs as a classroom teacher,” explains Lynch. “And if that means that not everybody’s doing the same thing at the same day, I think understanding the technology that would allow that to happen is a good thing that came out of the pandemic.”
Lynch says she gave her students the freedom to pick out whatever topic they wanted (as long as it had a historical element), and the students could have the freedom to present it in their own way.
“At a time when we all needed some breathing room. I think that that worked really well for them,” Lynch continues. “Then I got to teach really hardcore writing skills, I got to teach speaking skills, and I got to teach presentation skills. I got to teach all of those communication components that we all work on, regardless of our curriculum. And the kids were thinking. That to me, it’s like, if you can just think and not regurgitate, that’s what it’s about.”
When Lynch describes the projects the students presented, they too, went above and beyond. One student researched all of the statistics for at-risk youth and whether or not they go on to post secondary education. They decided to interview their dad who had dealt with an addiction issue, and a friend of theirs who’s homeless, about overcoming the challenge and how they have become successful people in their lives. They then turned that into a podcast.
Another student wrote a thorough nine-page research paper on D-Day, looking at it from the Russian perspective. Another student wanted to work in the medical field one day, and interviewed many of those in the medical field, asking why they went into their field, what their lifestyles are like, and how much they make.
“That was what was in her mind in the moment, really important for her to dive into,” says Lynch. “I think the pandemic allowed us some freedom to like put the curriculum away a little bit and just try to keep kids motivated in school.
“And in doing that, I found that when you just give kids choice and freedom of how they express themselves and what they research, you can apply all the same skills that you would in a traditional lesson. That was the best work they produced all year. That’s amazing.”
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