BY CARMEN JURI
Art teacher Naava Katz held up the number "100" and challenged students to interpret it artistically.
A child, who Katz describes as literal-minded, designed a "prehistoric roller coaster" using 100 rocks from her driveway. A tactile-inclined child created a boy's portrait using 100 paper clips.
Yet another, whose strength lies in mathematics, used pasta to produce a three-dimensional geometric sculpture.
"I was struck by how incredibly individualistic these projects are," said Katz, a teacher at the Winston School in the Short Hills section of Millburn, a school for kids from third to eighth grade who have language-based disabilities.
Last fall, educators chose a theme for the year: Exploring the various ways individuals learn. At the time, they asked teachers to incorporate into the curriculum the question, "How do all minds live and learn?" Students were tasked to answer that question throughout the year.
That theme was revealed through dozens of projects at the Winston Expo earlier this month, where students showcased their art and science projects for their families.
School head Pamela Bloom said exploring the varied ways people learn is particularly relevant for these students, who are typically not linear thinkers.
"School is very linear, paper and pencil oriented," said Bloom, speaking of mainstream schools. "The problem is that most of these kids are more right-brained."
The Winston School opened in 1981 with a single classroom of 10 students to fill an educational void in northern New Jersey for a program that addressed learning disabilities, Bloom said. Today, there are 61 students.
Students receive a custom-fit education according to their needs, Bloom said. The school was named after Winston Churchill, who himself was learning disabled.
"Our kids come to us with a particular profile. They have the potential to learn, but have difficulties in a traditional setting," she said. "They felt isolated and alone in their prior setting. Here, they exhale."
Bloom said mainstream teachers may teach too quickly for these learners, but that once students graduate, they successfully attend conventional private or public high schools.
"Look at so many of our leaders and CEOs. They have a different way of thinking," Bloom said.
When sixth-graders were asked to invent a device for a science project that would help children learn, the kids responded intuitively.
Connor Hollenbaugh, 12, designed a moving table that transports items students might have forgotten they need to complete an assignment. The table, of Styrofoam, stands on a remote control car.
Hannah Geller created a "Traveling Teacher," which includes a spell check feature and can read homework instructions if a student struggles with reading.
Hannah, 11, said some kids need help in school but still want to learn, and the robot can help explain what a word means.
It also helps students who have difficulty with organization, she said.
"If someone has trouble with homework, it helps them understand it," Hannah said. "I sometimes forget my homework so I thought if somebody could remind me by putting it in here (the homework slot), I'd forget it less."
Paula Lordy, director of admissions and a learning consultant, said the expo is the ideal venue for children who think in an artistic, "out of the box" way.
"The wonderful splashes of color and design. When you walk in, it's almost breathtaking," Lordy said. "It's quite a moment for the students. They're proud of what they've done."
Carmen Juri may be reached at email@example.com or (973) 392-1853.