Students Compete for $4 Million

The winning group on Day One, Dymaree Mason, Juan Salgado Sepulveda, and Parker Adams, came up with a solution to the social issue Fast Food – How It Affects the Earth. Front Row (L-R): Emily Collier (Honor English I teacher), Caroline Mullis (Coastal Community Foundation), Lainie Berry (Director of Educational Technology for CCSD), and Eileen Fernandez-Parker (Technology Instructional Coach for CCSD). Back Row (L-R): Parker Adams, Dymaree Mason, and Juan Salgado Sepulveda.
On Thursday, October 13th and Friday, October 14th students in Emily Collier’s third period Honors English I class presented group projects to a panel of judges (who were acting as representatives of the United Nations) in a competition to win a four million dollar grant to fund their project.
Collier wanted to try problem-based learning in her classroom. “I am always looking for new ways to make the classroom experience as relevant and personalized to each student as possible,” said Collier. So, instead of assigning the project and having the students present to the class, Collier invited community members to make up the panel that would evaluate and ultimately determine which group’s project was worthy of the four million dollar grant. “I wanted [students] to hear authentic feedback from people in the community and in the workplace,” said Collier. “I wanted them to build connections and make the connection between classroom and ‘real world.’”
The complete project involved students reading a chapter of the book Fast Food Nation: the Dark Side of the All American Meal by Eric Schlosser; in the book Schlosser examines the influence of the American fast food industry on the United States and the world. Students were each assigned a chapter of Fast Food Nation to read as groups. From the chapter they were assigned, the students were to choose a social issue that impacted the globe and create a remedy to solve that social problem. Ultimately, they presented their projects in a “shark tank” fashion to the panel in an effort to win the grant to fund their solution.
The panel was formed by a combination of West Ashley High faculty & staff and business partners within the community. Collier’s United Nations panel was made up of English Department Head Sandra Cannon and Assistant Principal R. Carl Burch from West Ashley High; Caroline Mullis from the Costal Community Foundation of South Carolina; Eileen Fernandez-Parker, Technology Instructional Coach for Charleston County School District; and Lainie Berry, Director of Educational Technology for Charleston County School District. Mullis’ work involves evaluating applications for grant money. As a panel member she was able to provide the students with authentic and powerful insight from an insider’s perspective. “I wanted my students to see the value in rhetoric,” said Collier. “I could have asked my students to do the same project and present it to me and their classmates, but I didn’t think that scenario would have the same impact on them. I wanted them to hear authentic feedback from people in the community and in the workplace. I wanted them to build connections and to collaborate and compete with one another to most impress authentic stakeholders. They were very successful in meeting all of my goals for them.”
Before students presented their proposals, Robin Griffith, Special Assistant to the Mayor of Charleston, presented information to the class which they could incorporate into their presentations if deemed necessary. Student projects varied from false advertising to western globalization and from lower quality for great profit to the dangers of adolescent labor; Ms. Griffith made sure to touch on all of the group topics. “Her extensive knowledge in the food and beverage industry, and her knowledge in the power of rhetoric positively impacted each project,” said Collier.
Parker Adams, Dymaree Mason, and Juan Salgado-Sepulveda won the four million dollar grant on the first day. Anyia Watkins and Langston Nichols won on the second day. The students enjoyed working on and presenting their projects. Freshman Tyler Bates said his favorite part of the project was presenting to the panel. “It taught us the skills we need to use in the future when presenting something,” said Bates.
Because the project was so successful, Collier plans on doing it again in the future. “I think any opportunity to build community connections and expose students to authentic situations is worth doing,” said Collier. She hopes to include even more community members from a larger variety of fields next time.