Students learn about harvesting mushrooms from group LTI mentor Teage at Crows Path.
At Big Picture Schools we believe that education is everyone’s business. Learning opportunities are everywhere, not just inside classrooms. Research tells us that we learn best when we’re personally motivated. When we have a passion for what we are doing, knowledge unfolds and evolves naturally.
One of the basic structures of Big Picture schools is that students spend two days a week out at an internship site. By Learning Through Internship (LTI), a student will learn math, science, reading, writing and many more skills more effectively than he or she could learn them in a classroom. LTIs are not meant to help students pick out a particular career. At their LTIs, students will learn the skills needed to go on to college and beyond.
A mentor gives each student the opportunity to learn from an adult with a similar interest. The focus on real work in a professional settings gives the student’s learning context and depth. Through genuine relationships, mentors teach a work ethic and model what it means to be an adult member of our community. The mentor guides and coaches the student intern at the work site, while the student receieves additional project support from the advisor back at school. The student is expected to contribute a substation work of real consequence to the LTI site. The mentor becomes a part of the students learning team.
If you would like to become a mentor and offer an internship experience to a Big Picture student, please contact Christine Lundie (advisor).
christine(at)bigpicturesb.net