I swear I am not making this up. Read the story here. In Arizona, a “group of students from Rob Thompson’s World History class presented an Egyptian-themed project they cryptically referred to as ‘MFC.’ That stands for mummified cat.”

While I find certain elements of their execution [wait -- I mean the way they went about completing the project; they didn't kill a cat for this] questionable I have to applaud their creativity and willingness to go above and beyond the minimal effort most students put into projects. Without getting too deep into pedagogy (which is a big word teachers throw around that means the art and science of what we do as teachers — I’ll save that for my posts over there)… crap, where was I? Oh yeah, without getting too deep into pedagogy, critics of projects, portfolios, and other forms of alternative assessment are sometimes right that kids get credit more for applying pictures to posterboard with glue than applying knowledge to problems with rigor.

Here’s what I think went right with this project:

  • Spent extra time outside of class (although a good bit of it was apparently on the day before the project was due)
  • Documented the process with photographs
  • Variety of materials — chemicals and the cat, of course, in particular
  • Continuity of theme — they also built a sarcophagus and a pyramid for the presentation

Here’s what I think went wrong with this project:

  • Student disemboweled the cat without wearing gloves (besides the ick factor, how about safety and sanitation?)
  • Stereotypical gender roles (Yeah, I’m being picky on this, but a female student said, “The girls took on the responsibility of sewing the cat back up ‘because boys don’t know how to sew.’” I guess I should have had a female surgeon for this.)
  • Cheesey presentation music — Also Sprach Zarathustra (Why not something… I don’t know, Egyptian? Hell, why not inject a little humor with Steve Martin’s “King Tut” or The Bangles’ “Walk Like an Egyptian”? Maybe that’s not PC, but I think the ACLU would be trampled by PETA getting to this group.)
  • Dangerous presentation effects — a homemade smokebomb (That alone would can you suspended if not expelled.)
  • The teacher “replaced a hanging piñata in his room with the mummified cat.”

Disclaimer: Everything I know about this project is based on the one article I linked to above. I checked out the website for the school and they have no mention of it and no individual contact information. In fact, their “News and Events” page had absolutely no news and no events when I checked, just this:

“Welcome to the Coolidge Bears News and Events page. Here you will find our school newsletter, school and community events, information about school holidays, testing dates, and modified schedules. Check here often to remain informed.”

…and a cute little animated graphic. No news. No newsletter. No events. Maybe these students should take on the school website as a project?

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Posted by tvansant