In our local school district no one can graduate unless they complete a "senior project"...a 60 plus hour project that ends with a presentation to a panel of peers, teachers and parents...I won't bore you with my humble opinion of this required nonsense but I will tell you that my two children had to do one in order to graduate (which means, in their particular cases, they would not have graduated WITHOUT MY HELP WITH THEIR SENIOR PROJECT! So I've done TWO senior projects myself...and I'm still not over it!) I've mentored many kids in the last ten years with their senior projects...all of them expensive, time consuming and, if you ask me, a waste of time. While these seniors are completing their projects they still have to do all their regular assignments - this is EXTRA nonsense! I heard about UN-SCHOOLING this morning...that's where kids are home schooled except without any curriculum...they get to do/study whatever they want...fascinating! Where was THIS when I was a kid! I would have EXCELLED at un-schooling!
This is Rachel's senior project - she made a quilt - and I was her mentor - which in this case means I got to stand back and say, "Good job Rach!" Rachel, who has excelled at school because she studies round the clock, took a sampler class at a quilt shop and learned to piece several different kinds of blocks. She picked out her fabric and designed this quilt herself...and she did a great job! I think Rachel should be proud of herself for finding the time/energy in her day to get this done...see? I'm not totally opposed to senior projects - I just think they should be optional, school funded and completed only if weather and time permit! In the block on the far right I quilted a secret message for Rachel...it says "sweet dreams" and it is very hard to see - I knew where it was and it still took me 5 minutes to find it!
Rachel has a very small sewing machine, not nearly big enough for her to machine quilt her quilt - so I volunteered to quilt it for her...now she just needs to remove the pins, put on the binding - and a label - and she can graduate from high school! Way to go Rachel - it's a beauty!