Additionally, we gave college talks to the 5th through 12th graders. In the middle school classroom we addressed skills they would need in college, such as time management and research skills. We showed them a typical college schedule and then had them write up their current schedule, thinking about where they would fit in time for homework and extracurriculars. For research skills we taught them how to use the references list on Wikipedia to find more credible sources, and how to use Google Scholar.
By going through each day of the week and asking the students what they learned, it was a really good way for all of us to assess their learning. The students seemed to remember the main points and objectives we had going into the classroom, which was really great feedback for us. Talking to the 5th and 6th graders at college was a lot of fun because they were all so curious to hear about what college life was like. They were asking us where we lived on campus, what engineering was, and what kinds of labs we do. It was heart-warming to see how excited they were to hear about our experiences, and I can only hope they retain that desire as they continue through the rest of their schooling. One of the challenging things about talking to the high schoolers about college, is that many of them had heard the “college talk” before. Only a couple of students seemed like they had a desire to go to college. For the rest, we tried to inquire about their current interests, and how college might fit into that. I came across several students who were interested in sports, and so I talked about going to college to play sports and what intramural sports were if they just wanted to play for fun.
Although La Push does not currently have a museum that talks about their culture, a staff member at their visitor center graciously gave us a personal tour. I loved seeing the tribal council meeting room, which had beautiful wood carvings and panelling. Our tour guide, Naomi, gave us some history of the Quileute tribe, which was fascinating to learn about.