CSUSB Field Trip

Seventh grade AVID students visited California State University, San Bernardino on Monday, October 29th. Students toured the campus with our HJH teachers. Stops included the CSUSB museum, the gym, the Pfau Library, and peeks into classrooms and lecture halls.

We're currently in the works of planning our upcoming, second semester eighth grade college tours. This year we plan on visiting UC Riverside, the University of LaVerne, and Cal Poly Pomona. A special thanks to the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians for their generous donations for making these trips possible!

Philosophical Chair

One of the skills promoted in AVID is the use of evidence to articulate an argument. On Wednesday, students did just that with a Philosophical Chair! A Philosophical Chair helps the development of students’ abilities to give careful attention to other students’ comments and to engage in dialogue with one another to gain a greater understanding of the topic presented. On Wednesday students debated the topic of schools start times.

Preparation for this began with reading two articles, one pro and one con.  Afterwards, students chose a side, outlined two claims based on evidence. Next, students looked at the opposing side, possible claims and evidence to prepare them for the counterargument. On the day of the debate students chose a side and gave their arguments. Through this experience, it is our hope students learn to use evidence to defend their positions but also gain an understanding of the opposing viewpoint.