The Three Little Pigs and the GraduationProjectBy: June St. Clair AtkinsonSeptember 7, 2007(Copyrighted)

The Three Little Pigsand the Graduation Project

By: June St. Clair Atkinson

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Preface:

Beginning with the ninth grade class of 2006, allNorth Carolina students must complete a graduationproject. This project must include (a researchpaper, product, portfolio, and an oral presentation).Recently, the Department of Public Instructioncoordinated a workshop about implementing thegraduation project where I made this presentation.

AUTHOR:

June St. Clair AtkinsonState Superintendent of Public Instruction

September 07, 2007

Introduction:

Iam sure that all of you haveread the book, The Three Little Pigs.But did you know that the story

you have heard over the years is notthe real story about the three littlepigs? Today I want to tell you thereal story starting with what thetitle should have been in the firstplace. The real title should have beenThe Three Little Pigs and the Graduation Project.

To my knowledge you are the firstgroup to hear the way the story shouldhave been written. So here goes.

CHAPTER 1

The Little Pigs Go To High School

Once upon a time there were three little pigs whowere ready to go to high school. As the threelittle pigs left their warm, comfortable home,

their mother said to them, “Little teenage pigs, I want youto graduate from high school prepared for work, furthereducation, and life in the 21st century. I want you to beable to compete and collaborate in this global economywith people in all parts of the world. I want you to attenda high school that will prepare you with options. Bewareof the big, bad 21st century wolf!”

CHAPTER 2

The Straw High School

So the three little, independent teenaged pigs lefthome excited about attending high school. The firstlittle pig went to the first high school that he saw,

the one that was built with straw. This was a school whereall the desks were in rows. The teachers lectured every dayfor about 45 minutes and students took notes. The littlepigs were not allowed to use any technology in doing theirwork. The little pigs were assessed on how many facts andfigures they could memorize. All of their tests were bubblein the answer. The little pigs were not allowed to work inteams, nor were they ever asked to use creativity or to solveproblems. They never had to think about any situationor circumstance where there may be more than one rightanswer. The little pig’s teachers never worked togetherto review student work and to discuss how they could plancollaboratively to help the little pigs.

SCHOOL

GRADUATIONDAY!

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And one day, the principal announced that all the studentswould have to complete a graduation project because theState Board of Education said they had to do so. Theteachers moaned and said, “Oh, this requirement will goaway soon so let’s just ignore it.” And the principal said,"Oh no, we have to do it and he told the newest Englishteacher that it was her responsibility to make sure that alllittle pigs completed graduation projects."

It was time to graduate and as Mrs. Mother Pig's little pigwalked across the stage to get his diploma, the big, bad21st century wolf jumped out in front of the little pig whoattended the school of straw and said, “I’ll huff and puffand blow your straw diploma away.” The little pig said,“Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin.” The big, badwolf huffed and puffed and blew the straw diploma away.And this little pig was not prepared for work and furthereducation and life in the 21st century. He had nothingto show for his experience at the straw high school.

Chapter 3

The Stick High School

T he second little pig chose a school built of sticks.Some of the classes had rows of desks and periodically,teachers would allow the little pigs to write their

reports by longhand and when the reports were just right,the little pigs could use a computer to key/type the final copy.This school, built of sticks, allowed some of the pigs to takeclasses that were engaging and filled with activity requiringcreativity and problem-solving skills. Only a few little pigs,however, were required to do a graduation project where theycould do in-depth research, a project, a presentation aboutsomething that really interested them. There were some littlepigs, however, that struggled with learning because they didn’tsee the relevancy of what they were learning. And when theselittle pigs wanted to do a graduation project, some of theteachers said, “Oh no, you don’t know enough. You don’thave the skills so you will have to do some more worksheetsbefore you can do a senior project.” But the brightestlittle pigs benefited from having a mentor inthe community, an opportunity to learnabout something that interested them.

SCHOOL

GRADUATIONDAY!

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And the second little pig, whose mother wanted him to beprepared for the 21st century, wasn’t one of the “chosen” pigsto receive the benefits of a graduation project. The time camefor the second little pig to graduate from the stick school.

After he walked across the stage to receive his diploma, thebig, bad 21st century wolf jumped out in front of him and said,“I’ll huff and puff and I’ll blow your diploma away.” And thesecond little pig said, “Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin.”And the big, bad 21st century wolf huffed and he puffed andblew half the second little pig’s diploma away.

When the second little pig went to college, the college peoplesaid, “Oh, you will have to enroll in remediation courses.You are not prepared to do reports, or speak in front ofgroups. You need remediation courses so you will be prepared.”And the second little pig went to work, only to find out thathe was not prepared to work in teams, do reports, makepresentations, and solve problems.

Mrs. Mother Pig became very distraught because two of herlittle pigs did not meet her expectations. They were notprepared for work and future education.

Chapter 4

The Brick High School

The third little pig went to a brick school. This schoolwas quite a place. All faculty members took responsi-bility for helping every little pig with a graduation

project. They made sure that every little pig had a communitymentor. In some cases, the little pigs had virtual mentors.These little pigs used engaging technology to create their work.They were always challenged in every class to use creativity,problem-solving, and decision-making skills. It was just a wayof life in the brick school for students to use project-basedlearning. Ongoing formative assessment was the routine andon any given day, the little pigs knew exactly what they neededto improve. The teachers in the brick school were modelsfor students in showing how to work as a member of a team.Regardless of what teachers taught, they found ways toincorporate the skills needed for completing a graduationproject with their little pigs.

SCHOOL

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!START YOURGRADUATIONPROJECT TODAY!

GRADUATIONDAY!

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WOLFPICKIN’TIME!

All the little pigs in the brick school had electronic portfolios.As they started their graduation project work in the 9th grade,the electronic portfolio was used extensively as a repositoryfor work. It was just so normal for the little pigs in the brickschool to make presentations, do research, and solve problems.All little pigs were expected to perform well and when theyhad trouble, the teachers and mentors were there to help.

Finally, graduation day came for the third little pig fromthe brick school. As the third little pig walked across thestage, the big, bad 21st century wolf jumped out in frontof the third little pig and said, “I’ll huff and I’ll puff andblow your diploma away.” The third little pig said, “Notby the hair of my chinny chin chin.” The big, bad 21stcentury wolf huffed and puffed and the third pig’s diplomawithstood the huffing and the puffing.

Finally, there was no air left in the 21st century wolf, andhe fell to the ground exhausted. The third little pig juststepped over the big, bad 21st century wolf and went onhis merry way with a diploma that gave him options –options for work and further education in the21st century. And Mrs. Mother Pig was sovery happy with the brick high school, sheinvited all the teachers to a pig pickin.Oops! I mean a wolfpickin!

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THE END.

The tale of the Three Little Pigsand the Big Bad Wolf was included

in Nursery Rhymes and Nursery Talesby James Orchard Halliwell-Phillipps,first published around 1843. It seemsto have become popular during the

late 19th century.

June St. Clair Atkinson, Ed.D., State Superintendent6301 Mail Service Center | Raleigh, NC 27699-6301Phone 919.807.3432 | Fax 919.807.3445www.ncpublicschools.org/statesuperintendent