August 27, 2020
by Emma Cohen, MPA Class of 2021
I had the good fortune to work with Breakthrough Twin Cities (BTC), a local organization closely partnered with MPA, this summer. Breakthrough is a challenging academic enrichment program for highly motivated, under-resourced students, where all the teachers are high school and college students.
I had heard about Breakthrough from a few friends who worked as teaching fellows a previous summer and their enthusiasm for the program was what initially encouraged me to apply. As I learned more about the program, I saw connections between what I loved about my own education and a community at Breakthrough that emphasizes student’s authenticity, encourages them to drive their own learning in the ways that work for them, and allows them to pursue what they are curious about. In other words, from what I had heard, Breakthrough fostered an environment that was appealing to me as a student—the kind of environment my teachers had created for me—so I was thrilled and grateful to have the opportunity to be a part of creating that for other students.
Despite being a small school, my teachers at MPA have always forced me to look beyond our walls to the larger community I am a part of. By teaching material that is relevant and emphasizing its applications to today as well as creating a classroom in which student curiosity and passion lead the conversation, my teachers have encouraged me to understand my education as a tool meant to be used for impact and change while empowering me to do so.
In the beginning of the summer, I thought that because teachers designed the curriculum, they led class and students followed. However, as the summer progressed, I came to understand that the most effective way to teach is to decentralize control of the classroom, giving students the power to drive their learning. While I still wrote lesson plans for each class, these lesson plans became more flexible and instead of me talking at students, we learned together with conversation and hands on activities. I found that because this approach was centered around students, it allowed them to take control of their education, ultimately intended to shape a view of learning as a meaningful tool built and used by each individual.
To learn more about Breakthrough Twin Cities, visit www.breakthroughtwincities.org.
