Education on Centre: Black History Month a learning opportunity for students

Black History Month wraps up this week.

And it’s been a learning opportunity for students at Soaring Heights School in State College.

Soaring Heights is a school for special needs students.

Director John Dibert said students have been learning about events since the first of the month.

“Students have been exposed to major historical black figures or milestones in black history and then tasked to use their art skills to develop and create a representation to display as a tangible reminder of an important part of American history,” he said.

According to a class schedule, the lessons started Feb. 1 and continued every Monday, Wednesday and Friday through the end of the month, with the exception to March 15, because there was no school.

It all started with an introduction to Black History Month, and projects that followed.

Students studied the Underground Railroad and its local connections, and then made lanterns to display outside their classrooms to represent the indication of safe houses.

They also learned about segregation, the civil rights movement, the Emancipation Proclamation and the Civil War, medical influences, inventors, musicians, writers and current black leaders.

“Students have been exposed all sorts of cultural and historical figures,” Dibert said. “They (were) to integrate what (they) are learning and then apply it to the art project that is the culmination of the topic. This is really cool stuff and the students have been interested in each topic.”

When they learned about athletes such as Jesse Owens, Jackie Robinson, Hank Aaron and Meadowlark Lemon, they finished the lesson with an art project by making sport trading cards.

This story was originally published February 28, 2016 at 6:48 PM with the headline "Education on Centre: Black History Month a learning opportunity for students."