Techie Talk

Innovation is one of the core tenets of everything we do at Purdue Polytechnic High School. It’s the answer to the long-standing frustration educators have with the phrases “It’s always been done this way” or “That’s the way school works”. Innovative solutions are required to never compromise our vision to improve education and reduce the current achievement gap. One innovative strategy implemented by the educators at PPHS is that of self-paced learning. 

What do a pot-hole sensor, a KERS system for planes and an app to reward recycling have in common? They’re all ideas pitched by Purdue Polytechnic High School North students during their second pitch challenge.

This work is messy and it’s hard and it’s fun and it is never done. We have our ideas challenged, we take chances, we offend, we get offended, we forgive, we are affirmed, we learn how to understand each other and why that understanding is important. We are stretched in new, unexpected and important ways.

The world is a dynamic place and we need to prepare our students for the world by having them go out into it. It’s not just that the students are having field trips for their enrichment, but that they are interacting with the world while they go.

We all have stories that we want to tell. The real skill, perhaps, lies in making those stories compelling enough and telling a narrative that no one has heard before, yet everyone is able to relate to it.