Summer Crown Before Project Week 2017 sign-ups were released, Latin students wondered if they would be structurally punished for the misconduct of a few of their classmates’ on last year’s Project Week. Had they lost their chance to travel out of town for Latin’s incredible program? How many out of town trips would there be? Would there be any out of the country? The situation was unclear, naturally making it a controversial topic among students. Once they scrolled through the 17 incredible out of town options, though, their fears were relieved. Despite their excitement, though, students couldn’t help but to question why they were still privileged with so many choices. To answer that question I interviewed Ms. Wells, who is one of the Project Week Coordinators this year in addition to Mr. Mahoney. She began by explaining the origin and purpose of Project Week. The program was inspired by Latin teachers who wanted to create experiences and bonds between students and themselves by sharing their passions that they may not be able to express in the classroom. The Project Week program has blossomed into one of most admirable and unique aspects of Latin’s curriculum. Because each teacher is required to either propose their own project or ask to join one, the number of out of town Project Week options remains entirely up to them. Students were threatened with the possibility of losing out of town choices because the disciplinary events of last year may have caused some teachers to lose trust. It is difficult to take responsibility for 18 students in a classroom for 50 minutes, but imagine doing so in a different state or country for an entire week. For that reason, our teachers propose project weeks with the desire to share a part of themselves, in hope to create incredible, long-lasting relationships with their students. They spend hours planning and coordinating these projects so that we enjoy ourselves, stay safe, and have a learning experience. If Latin teachers go through all of that, and their students just end up misbehaving and disrespecting the project, what’s the point? Ms. Wells made it clear that as a Project Week Coordinator, she had no power to force teachers to propose out of town trips. It must also be taken into consideration that last year’s Project Week took almost one quarter of Latin students to Paris for the chorus and band trip. There were 14 additional out of town trips for the rest of Latin students. When those 14 trips for three fourths of students is compared to this year’s total of 17 trips for all students, there are, in reality, a decrease in out of town trips. Therefore, even more so this year, we have to thank our amazing teachers for being so forgiving and maintaining their enthusiasm for the Project Week program. Make good choices this spring, love your teachers, and enjoy your Project Week 2017!]]>