Stars on PPTV

Last week the primary school put on a show called PPTV (Primary Perspectives TV). It was a culmination of their work on their guiding questions the first half of the year. Each term students have a guiding question that shapes how they approach learning in all the subject areas, and as much as possible they try to incorporate lots of aspects of life from Tanzania. Ava's class had been working on "A Seed is a Promise" about the life cycle and habits of plant life on Earth, while Noah's class was "Dig It" looking at archaeology and different ways to learn about the past. The format was like a television show. Each class, according to their question, had a TV "show." There were cooking shows, animal shows, gardening, do-it-yourself, soap operas, MTV, and a talk show. The older students had been studying communication and persuasion and provided all of the commercials. About 120 students ages 3 through 12 participated in the show. It was an amazingly clever way to showcase what they have been doing!

Ava's class did a nature show on the importance of the baobob tree to the ecosystem. She played a bush baby.

The makeup residue around her eyes (after 3 days) made her look like she had taken up heavy drugs and cigarettes and given up sleep! She did a great job with her lines and singing her songs.

Noah's class did a roundtable discussion on a mystery object that had been discovered at a dig. A panel of experts examined the object and then weighed in with their opinion as to what the object backed up by their evidence.

One of the best things about the kids' school is that they are given so much freedom to be creative and there's always the assumption that the students can handle the challenges and responsibilities, even down to getting the sound system and microphones ready and working. Everyone pitches in and turns out in support, so younger kids interact with the older ones, and the older ones support the efforts of the younger. The kids did this show (which lasted 2 hours) 4 times in 3 days! They were exhausted but oh-so-pleased with their work. As they should be