This Teacher Unlocks Students Curiosity - Student Research Foundation

Mr. Escobar Used Small Padlocks to Unlock His Students’ Curiosity

Mr. Escobar is a social science teacher at Tranquillity High School located in California. He is clearly a creative thinker when it comes to teaching social sciences to his 120+ students. He created a series of “escape room” lock box puzzles for them. After they discover a piece of historical information contained in each “room,” they unlock it and move on to another one.

“I am trying to update the curriculum in the social science department into something that is more relatable to students’ needs and interests while still maintaining rigor and standards,” he writes. “My students deserve much more than what they are receiving, and with your help we can change that and make their education something special.”

(Most of Mr. Escobar’s students come from disadvantaged households; 100% of the students at his school are receiving free breakfast and lunch at school.)

The Missing Pieces to the Lock Boxes

So what was missing from Mr. Escobar’s locked boxes? Locks! (Funny but it seems you cannot lock escape rooms without them 😉.)

So Mr. Escobar decided to post his project on DonorsChoose.org, in hopes of raising $166.18 to buy the locks he needed to fully set up his learning project.

And now thanks to a donation from the Student Research Foundation and others, Mr. Escobar’s students are fully engaged in the process of discovery. He has his locks, and students are learning as they move from one locked “escape room” to the next.

Mr. Escobar Writes . . .

Dear Student Research Foundation,

Thank you for your generous donations. I started this project based assignment last year on a small scale. Now this project will help springboard this assignment to the next level, increasing the number of students that can participate at one time as well as student interest in the social sciences in a hands on team format.

With gratitude,
Mr. Escobar

Escaping and Unlocking Future Potential

As Mr. Escobar story proves a little creativity can go a long way to engaging and inspiring students. We are proud to have supported Mr. Escobar and his worthy project. Did we help unlock the potential of future college graduates and leaders? Only time will tell.

We look forward to writing about the success of more DonorsChoose.org teacher projects here on the Student Research Foundation blog. Stay tuned!

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