Fourteen-year-old Taryn Wieser looked into the future and
didn't like everything she saw.
Working 21U2 hours a day for two weeks, Taryn scoured the
Internet for information on how scientists had mapped the human
genome, which contains the basic operating instructions for life.
She found there were benefits -- such as the promise of curing
deadly diseases -- but also risks, such as the temptation to
engineer perfect human beings.
Then she put it together in a Power Point presentation complete
with a video clip from the science fiction thriller "Gattaca" and an
illustration of moving strands of DNA.
The ninth-grader at Foothill Technology High School had plenty of
company in her exploration of the information age.
Every ninth-grader at the new magnet school in Ventura was
assigned the task of researching online the risks and benefits of
some aspect of advances in genetic and digital technology. The 270
students prepared presentations that will be evaluated by business
people and educators beginning tonight at the school. The
presentations will extend over the next couple weeks.
Foothill teacher Rich Geib said the project is an example of the
type of education the new school was designed to offer.
The curriculum combines modern technology with "authentic
assessment" in which professionals in various fields give students
feedback on their work.
Geib said the freshmen researched topics in health care,
economics and the mass media, determining how technological trends
will change life in Ventura. In all, they worked for seven weeks on
the projects that were graded by their teachers, he said.
As his students made their presentations to fellow students last
week, Geib critiqued them. Michael Hipskind won high marks for
theatrics as he smashed a soda can against his forehead to show what
some students may do when they're taken off Ritalin. Jake Smith,
representing the opposite side of the Ritalin debate, got points for
his calm delivery.
"Don't assume that people know what you're talking about," Geib
told another student. "Take it from the big story down to the small
story."
The project mimics what students could expect to find in a
business environment, from the suits they wear for their
presentations to the high-tech graphics. But Michael Hipskind said
drama goes a long way, too.
"I thought I had to make my point," he said.
-- Kathleen Wilson's e-mail address ismailto:%20wilson@insidevc.com.
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