A 14-year-old Girl Scout is challenging the status quo when it comes to educating local students.

Alexx Earley, who recently earned the Girl Scout Silver Award, said she was motivated to raise awareness of the failures associated with today’s single curriculum system when deciding on a community project. She said students learn differently, and teachers should be mindful.

“Students are not all going to learn the same,” said Earley. “They need variety.”

At a recent Montezuma-Cortez Re-1 board meeting, Earley outlined three basic types of learners: audio, visual and kinesthetic. Audio learners retain information through sound, visual learners via sight, and kinesthetic learners through a hands-on approach, she said.

Earley complained that school curriculums often fail to consider that people learn utilizing different methods.

“Give options to our classrooms, and we will acquire it,” Earley told board members. “We will learn.”

In addition to addressing school officials, Earley also hosted a recent education fair, working more than 40 hours on the total project.

“I hosted the education fair, because I wanted to show our community that there is more than one to learn,” she reiterated. “I wanted to show people that we could change the system.”

A ninth-grader, Earley is homeschooled by her parents, Gayle and Colby Earley. She is in Girl Scout Troop 2619, which is led by Dena Thompson.

tbaker@the-journal.com