PORT TOWNSEND — A teaching relationship that began with math tutoring has evolved into an innovative education program for a dozen Jefferson County high school students.
The Brainstorm for Education program features students from local schools working with math tutor Jonathan Safir to create their own study programs.
Some of his students asked Safir how they might develop an independent study program, which led to the current program.
The program is still in its formative stages, but plans call for students to study local farming for two weeks in August while photographing and recording audio and video at all field seminars.
In the fall, they plan to produce a book on local food systems as well as podcasts, programming for the local radio station and a website and Facebook page.
Students plan to earn high school credit in various disciplines such as environmental studies, sustainable business practices, current world problems, journalism, photography or mixed-media arts.
“The idea is for students to co-create the curriculum,” Safir said. “They invest in it.”
About a dozen students have been meeting with Safir for the past few months to develop the program and to seek community support. Safir said he’s impressed with the time and dedication of the students involved.
“They’re self-motivated,” Safir said. “We’ve been meeting for a while, and they’re not getting credit. We all work on it because we all believe in it.”
Winter Harms, a sophomore at Port Townsend High School, and Dylan Nichol, a junior at the Jefferson Community School, are two of the students involved in the Brainstorm for Education effort.
Harms has tutored with Safir while Nichol is a recent adherent. Both are looking forward to managing their own educational experience through the innovative program.
But that means researching and developing their own syllabi.
While all the students will focus on the food chain from farm to store to table, each selects an area of study and develops a study plan based on that discipline.
Harms plans to get credits in journalism while Nichol hasn’t settled on a discipline yet, though he may also seek credit in writing or journalism.
The students have been researching course requirements at educational institutions, using the Internet as a useful resource.
“I’ve been researching what it would take for journalism, talking to my English teachers and doing advanced searches using Google,” Harms said.
She has already adopted one primary practice of journalism: “I always check more than one source.”
Nichol said he believes his efforts are worth the time he and other students are investing in the course because he is forming his own education.
“I’m the one doing this and that’s a lot of work, but it’s rewarding because you know exactly what to do because you’re the one who figured it out,” he said.
Safir said the course also seeks community support through engaging the schools, community organizations, businesses and government agencies in the effort.
For example, the students participated in a presentation last month to the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce. They served food contributed by local farms and spoke about their plans for the coursework in August.
“We’re looking for ways to connect with the community, using the students’ skills and passions and building programs from there,” Safir said.
The Brainstorm for Education program students have enlisted support from local farms such as FinnRiver, Corona Farm, Red Dog and others; from food vendors such as the Port Townsend Food Co-op and Mt. Townsend Creamery; from local businesses such as The Printery and Pane d’Amore; and from both educational institutions and environmental groups.
“We’re looking to turn education into a portal for connecting with the community,” Safir said.
The students will do intensive field research in mid-August, exploring the relationship between local farms, food vendors and producers.
“It’s not only about local food but the systems that feed us,” Safir said.
“We’ll be talking to the Food Co-op and other stores and finding out what their buying priorities are as well as how they are meeting the needs of our community.”
The course continues into the fall with students doing follow-up interviews and intensive research. They plan to synthesize their study through producing artwork, articles, diagrams and other results.
More information about the course is available at the website, www.BrainstormforEducation.com.
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Philip L. Watness is a freelance writer and photographer living in Port Townsend. He can be reached at whatnews@olypen.com.
