Delphi Community High School was recently gifted with a very special Veterans Day program. Along with the usual things accompanying the program such as the band, choir, and a host of our very own veterans, this year’s program included a unique aspect to it that was unseen before this year. Our most recent program was organized and put on by our own students. A small group made up of juniors Isaac Miller, Hannah Napier, Amanda McCormick, and Abigayle Price took it into their hands to ensure that our Veterans Day was spent honoring our veterans and not just being used as a day out of class.
These students spent much of their time outside of the classroom working toward their goal of putting on this program. Hannah Napier said that the hardest part of the process was “finding suitable speakers that we thought could present to our student body and community.” She went on to say that by putting this program on she has learned many communication skills along with organization and leadership skills.
The idea to have a student-led program came from DCHS social studies teacher Mr. Tonsoni. He mentioned the possibility of it to one of his history classes during their “Genius Hour.” Genius Hour is something that Mr. Tonsoni is trying out with all three of his history classes. The philosophy behind Genius Hour is to give students a portion of each week to research and plan their own projects that interest them. He enjoys having his class work more like a laboratory rather than an actual classroom where there should be “trials made by students, even if they include failure,” said Mr. Tonsoni.
The four students who stepped up to take on this huge task “performed above any set expectations,” said Mr. Tonsoni. He also said that this truly showed the power of students by demonstrating just how much they can accomplish when they plan and collaborate together on a project they are passionate about. Through his trial and error system Mr. Tonsoni has realized that handing over the controls to his students can and is a very powerful way to teach a class, while still achieving positive results. The success of this year’s Veterans Day program is certainly a testament to that.
