An adult could have moderated the panel. At Wellington, a student did.
Upper school students helped shape a Hispanic Heritage Month conversation with six Hispanic professionals from the Columbus community. They shared what they wanted to learn, and an upper school student took the moderator's seat. She guided the discussion with poise, putting her peers' questions to the panelists and listening as the conversation unfolded.
Later in the week, students took the lead again. Five of them sat down with two journalists from Signal Ohio and led the discussion, asking about local news, journalism, and Ohio politics.
These experiences built on what students learn in class, but they also gave students a responsibility that is hard to recreate in a typical assignment. When a guest answers, students have to listen closely, think in the moment, and decide where to take the conversation next.
That is how we learn in the world beyond school, too. We seek out people with knowledge and experiences different from our own, ask questions, and make sense of what we hear. This month, Wellington students got to ask the questions themselves.