.

Dear Harry:

It was so good to talk with you on the phone. My introduction to InterStudent was five years ago at the National Social Studies Convention in Phoenix. I sat in on your group session and decided to buy your Interstudent Unit on the spot. I was teaching American Government and Economics at the time. The unit seemed to be my answer to teaching difficult economic concepts to my students.

Interstudent changed my teaching methods. It provided a method for delivery of instruction that placed the student in the position of teaching themselves. The Socratic Method is an incredible method of instruction. The focus of learning becomes the student and not the teacher. The student must produce every day in the classroom. The peer pressure of other students in their groups forces the less achieving students to learn also.

Interstudent provided an interesting change in my classroom. All of a sudden my lower achieving students were participating. They had no choice.

All of a sudden my attendance improved because students (groups) didn't want to be penalized. The student became the focus of learning. They had to learn the information provided in the units. It forced them to think.(yes!) They were forced to write papers(debates) and they also produced an Interstudent newspaper in some of my classes.

Probably the most interesting part of the InterStudent was the Trivium Debates. Students really got into the questioning process. All students had to participate and most were prepared before the debates. They learned the value of working together and the high achieving students had the opportunity to achieve even when the group didn't. I also adapted the Interstudent for my Government class. It really sets you free from the traditional methods of teaching.