Students at Highland Park High School create an "ANT-eating" poster

I'm a high school teacher, so I'm always hunting for activities that will engage the teenage mind.  

a)  Tony Wagner's "Survival Skills" to prepare for the global economy
b)  The Personalized Curriculum that Big Picture schools advocate
c)  Daniel Amen's work with "Automatic Negative Thoughts" (ANTs).  
d) The male/female brain differences that Rob Becker talks about in Defending the Caveman.
Students can take the initial idea and then create a project

Look what some students in Highland Park High School, near the Nightingale Middle School, created after I dropped by to tell them about Dr. Amen's work with "ANTeaters" (procedures to "eat" the negative thoughts).  The photo shows a detail of the poster.



How did this project evolve?  I met Enrique Gonzalez when he was the principal of Frida Kahlo High School in Los Angeles in 2009.  Four years later, he's at this Highland Park school and I dropped in for a visit.  Enrique encouraged me to stop in again and I spent 45 minutes with students, talking for 5 minutes about innovative schools and the power of projects, and then I asked them to make some posters.   


Now look what some of those students did!
Here's their message:  

hey again! it's ireland lopez, greg morales and drake ferris. we finished the poster board A.N.T project.

Bravo... I'm sending this link to Dr. Amen...

I'm a happy visitor and mentor.

Further reading:  Tony Wagner's page  7 Skills
Big Picture and Personalization
Dr. Amen and the ANTeater

Tips about Negative Self-Talk
Article about ANTeaters