Summer KAP (SKAP) Overview:

SKAP I Application

SKAP II Application

Summer KAP (SKAP) is a two-section, three-week intensive educational and social experience for students from participating KAP schools, as well as those from other Kenyon-affiliated programs. One group is made up of rising juniors and the other of rising seniors. Students in SKAP I engage in academic and social activities designed to introduce them to the college experience. Students in SKAP II have a more intense academic experience designed to prepare them for taking KAP courses and the college admissions process.

Summer KAP 2007 Recruitment:
Recruiting began in February. SKAP teachers and school administrators in Cleveland, East Cleveland, and Columbus schools were contacted and arrangements made to speak with tenth and eleventh grade students. Interviews were arranged for Cleveland students and parents and held on a Saturday at the local library. Interviews reinforced the serious academic nature of the summer program. Visits were made to the Columbus schools. Counselors and teachers were asked to recommend academically talented students for participation. Not all students who applied were invited to participate in the summer program. Decisions were based on student grade point average, counselor and/or teacher recommendation, quality of the application essay, and the strength of the personal interview. Students: Thirty-three students participated this year. Twenty-two were young women and eleven were young men. Nineteen were rising juniors and participated in SKAP I. Fourteen were rising seniors and participated in SKAP 1I. Seventeen came from Cleveland high schools. Nine were from John F. Kennedy, seven were from John Marshall, and one was from South. Nine were from East Cleveland’s Shaw High School. Four were from Columbus’s Linden McKinley High school. Two were from New Jersey and participants in the Wight Foundation. One was from Texas. One rising junior from John F. Kennedy High School decided the program was not for her and went home during the middle of the second week.

Staff:
There were sixteen staff members. Nine had participated in the program before, eight were present or former Kenyon College students, and two were former student participants. Thirteen stayed in the dorm. Two part time instructors taught dance and pottery twice a week. One was our administrative assistant.

Classes:
SKAP 1 classes were held weekday mornings from 8:30 to 11:30 and afternoons from 12:30 to 3:30. Students had humanities and science classes daily, but would alternate times based on the needs of the science class.

Humanities:
The humanities classes varied activities to fill the three hour session and science used many hands-on activities. The Humanities class focused on conformity and rebellion in U.S. History during the 1950s and 1960s. Students read two books and a play: J. D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, Anne Moody’s Coming of Age in Mississippi, and August Wilson’s Fences.

Class began with responses to thought questions that students wrote in the back of their notebooks. All questions were related to the book or topic being discussed that day. This was time for reflection followed by large group discussions. Activities during the rest of class time varied. Historical background was provided for each book and included topics such as “The Fabulous Fifties?”, “The Southern Way of Life: 1900-1970”, and “The Turbulent Sixties.” Students contributed to these presentations by making observations, answering questions, and drawing conclusions during lecture-discussions. Photographs and slides, music, poetry, and documentary and feature films were used as to draw students into the past. Students discussed how the book or play they read reflected the time period, especially the themes of conformity and rebellion.

The first two weeks students wrote essays about a book. The last week students researched civil rights organizations including the NAACP, CORE, SCLC, the Nation of Islam, and the Black Panthers. Using pictures gathered on the internet, they created posters describing the goals, methods, leaders, and accomplishments of their civil rights organization. On the last day students made group presentations.

Class time was also used to discuss authors’ themes and symbols, present a biography of the author, and discuss the significance of each work. Much time was spent developing essay writing skills. Finding examples and direct quotations was stressed in oral and written responses.

Science:
Science focused on the environment. Classes began with an introduction to the scientific method. The focus of the first lessons was how observations from everyday life can be used to formulate questions and hypothesis about the world around us. In the second and third weeks, work focused on collecting information that students would present on the final day of class. They explored the idea of ecosystem services and how they benefit us.

Students had the opportunity to help maintain a beehive up close with the Kenyon College beekeeper, Richard Marinos. They visited two different wetlands, Blackjack, with Professor Siobhan Fennessy as their guide, and Sacks Farm, with me as their guide. We also visited the Sacks Farm and the Darhma Farm, owned by Kate and Eric Helt, to learn the difference between organic farming and traditional farming methods.

Students completed two experiments aimed at identifying the ways humans have altered the ecosystem and how this impacts ecosystem services on which humans rely. One was water quality and habitat quality analysis in two rivers—Dry Run, which is heavily polluted and has been dredged in construction, and the Kokosing River, a clean and well protected Scenic River. The second compared insect habitat, microbial community, and soil quality in four terrestrial ecosystems: farms, mowed fields, prairies, and forests. Students determined which systems were most healthy and most able to provide the ecosystem services humans need.

Since the focus of the class was not only the principles of ecology, but also about the political issues surrounding decisions we make regarding the environment, students watched the “Silent Spring” documentary and “An Inconvenient Truth” and after each film students divided up for some very successful debates regarding issues in the films. We ended the class with presentations for SKAP II students and staff.

Enrollment:
SKAPII students enroll in a Kenyon College class, American Studies 99: Introduction to American Studies. These students were selected based on their performance in last year’s SKAP class or a strong recommendation from one of their teachers. The course descriptions states: “American Studies is a discipline that seeks to understand the nature and meaning of our culture within a broad context. It does this by analyzing specific moments of time and exploring the connections between all aspects of culture—politics, drama, art, poetry, literature, popular culture, material culture, science, music, films, the environment, and economics. By its nature, American Studies is interdisciplinary and often provocative because it looks at the past and present laterally rather than strictly chronologically. The purpose of this course is to introduce you to the general practice of American Studies by studying two artifacts that represent different aspects of twentieth-century American culture.”

The course was divided in two sections: Gordon Park’s Shaft and the Civil Rights Era and The Things They Carried and Vietnam. Students read selections from “Takin’ it to the Streets” by Alexander Bloom and Wini Breines and The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien. Topics included Martin Luther King and the March on Washington; Malcolm X and the Black Panthers; the Women’s Liberation Movement; Chicanos and the American Indian Movement; Nuclear Anxiety, Environmentalism and Rachel Carson; Vietnam and the Cold War; the Counter Culture; and Resistance, Kent State and Jackson State.

Class activities were varied and included analyzing historical text, film, music, and poetry as artifacts. Each artifact represented at least one point of view. Students were urged to make connections between the different viewpoints in the sources examined and the course themes. Class discussion and participation was encouraged.  Culminating activities were two five page papers and small group presentations based on individual research.

Recreational and Social Activities:
Students were broken into groups for activities and seating at meals. We wanted to build a strong group identity and avoid cliques based on former friends or schools. Group seating at meals continued for the first ten days. There was free time between 3:30 and 5:30 and the swimming pool and weight room were available. Each evening at 6:45 we had a brief group meeting to discuss upcoming events and topics of concern for staff and students.

Recreational activities started at 7:00. They included athletic activities such as kickball, volleyball, elbow tag, ultimate frisbee, and capture the flag. Twice a week students attended dance, journalism, or pottery classes. The journalism class produced a summer newspaper. Weekends offered more open time. Students could sleep in and skip breakfast.

There were trips to Mt. Vernon for a movie and shopping and the pool and weight room were open in the afternoon. The trip to the Infield, which had miniature golf and go-carts, was a favorite. One Saturday the group attended an Akron Aeros baseball game. One Sunday the group went bowling and out to eat at the Hong Kong Buffet on the other we had a home-cooked, family style dinner. A Friday night party was held at Gund Commons where there were pool tables and room for dancing. One Friday and one Saturday night were movie nights. Sunday mornings some students chose to attend church.

Students also produced a SKAP 2006 memory book. On June 29, students performed in our No-Talent Talent show and everyone, including staff, participated. Our final event was the June 29 luncheon for students and their parents or guardians. Bus transportation was available for parents or guardians. Parents and guardians were given time to tour campus before lunch. After lunch SKAP staff members presented students with certificates. Then, students loaded cars, vans, and the bus to head for home.