Cast Fire Project Sparks Passion in Students
March 5, 2019
(Photo Credit: Jaclyn McCauley/Achona Online/Piktochart)
This project was inspired by Blessed Marie Rose’s quote, “I have come to cast fire upon the earth, and how I wish that it were already kindled.”
Currently, in AP Government and Politics, the students are working on their Cast Fire Project. This project, started by history teacher Stacy Filocco, was created in order to help impact the community by focusing on the values of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary.
Filocco says, “I started this project because Ms. Cox and I thought it would be a great idea to start a senior capstone project. This assignment is a good marriage between the values of the sisters and learning how to work with the government. It is important for students to put into action what we are learning.”
For this project, students are assigned to groups based on their interest in certain topics. Topics range from human trafficking to the environment. Once they are assigned a topic, the group must determine the inequalities involved with this topic of concern and make a change in the community.
Gabby Boyd (‘19) says, “My group is discussing the wage gap between men and women in medicine, focusing on the differences between pay between white women and women of color. We have put a lot of time and effort into this project, and I am very excited to actually put our plan into action.”
Gray says, “Our group is planning on meeting with administrators from the following schools to discuss how the Accelerated Gifted Program is discriminating against minority children.”
Students must submit a plan of what they will do in order to spread awareness in their communities. In many cases, this involves meeting with local officials involved with the topic in question to explain how a specific problem can be fixed within our community. After collecting data, they must present their findings in a clear way to the class.
All of the work on this project is done outside of the classroom with some guidance from Filocco. This can be stressful for many students, as there is already a lot on their plate during the second semester of senior year.
Bailly Gray (‘19) says, “It can definitely be stressful at times. Some of the deadlines are close together and this project requires a lot of time and effort. However, I know that it will be worth it because we will be helping the community in a positive way and will be helping to fight for equality in the Tampa Bay area.”
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