It's Much Less Crowded & There's Room to See

"It takes a lot of guts to step out, but once you do, it's honestly one of the best feelings. I can assure you of that." 

The above quote greeted me today, in an email exchange between a student and myself. It was a discussion about #GeniusHour, and it couldn't have come at a better time. The student quoted above deals with the typical plight of many of my students, they are afraid to step out of the box! You see, that is one of the most amazing things about Genius Hour. For students to really take charge of their projects, for them to get the very most out of this very special time, they have to get out of their comfort zone.

1. Genius Hour is not the education of the 1950's, 60's 70's, 80's or 90's. 
2. Genius Hour isn't sitting in a chair, listening to a teacher spoon feed information to students.
3. Genius Hour has nothing to do with state assessments; although, it can certainly help students score higher on them.
4. Genius Hour covers reading, writing, presenting, researching, editing, even publishing...all while the student gets to learn about an interest of their own.
5. Genius Hour engages deep learning because student passion is involved.
6. Genius Hour encourages critical thinking.
7. Genius Hour helps students learn about leaving a positive digital footprint.
8. Genius Hour teaches vital networking tools.
9. Genius Hour allows students something to be excited about when learning.
10. .....and Genius Hour helps students realize the importance of learning to fail. 

Yep, I said it... sometimes students encounter failing. Sometimes they have to change their research/project topic, because through research and probing, they realize their first idea was just too much. Students sometimes get half way through their project and find out that a prototype didn't work anything like it was supposed to. There are even times when meetings for interviews fall through, and the student has to run with a Plan B instead of their Plan A... and this, folks, is life... and isn't "life" something that school is supposed to be preparing young people for? Oh, and Genius Hour does that too...helps prepare students for life. Many are researching and putting projects together, only to find out that it is a path that they would like to follow after high school. 

Students encounter tremendous success from Genius Hour. That is what I am finding with my students. I have also discovered that some of my students have found a new passion through another student's Genius Hour project. That is remarkable to me! There are students in my class that are thriving with their projects...networking, finding confidence, discovering that they actually LIKE being outside of the box; whereas their norm before was to stay as much 'in the box' as they could. 

As the year comes to a close, students are preparing to give their final presentations for Genius Hour. Some will be giving Powerpoint presentations to show their findings and successes, some are using iMovie, some are putting together a Prezi talk, and some will just be speaking upon what they have done for this nine weeks. I, for one, am so excited to see what these bright minds have concluded for this initial Genius Hour, and I'm excited to share them with the world as well. Each student will get out of Genius Hour, what they put in...and that, too, is life. 

"....it takes a lot of guts to step out...." It sure does take guts! I couldn't be more thrilled to see so many of my students with the 'guts' to 'step out'. It seems that the box is much less crowded as this nine weeks comes to a close.... and once one steps out of the box, things appear much clearer.

Happy travels,

Flem~

Throwing It Out Of the Window!

April...it is usually the time where many teachers start looking down the home stretch and planning what they are going to do as far as professional development for the summer. Many teachers start their countdowns, many plan vacations, some have a ceremonial tearing of each calendar page and maybe even sing a song as they tear it out and toss it away.... as page by page the year slips away.

To be honest... every other year, that has been me. THE COUNTDOWN!! I credit #GeniusHour for my change of heart. Actually not only do I credit Genius Hour, but I also credit Twitter and my newly found PLN (personal learning network) for getting me fired up about teaching again. My desk is piled high (ask any of my students and they will affirm the Mount McFleming on my desk), I have papers to grade each day and night, there are blogs to check, personal development chats to take part in, reading, discovering, etc....and I am excited about it all! I think one of the reasons I am so excited about it is the new found vitality and enthusiasm in my classroom. MY STUDENTS ARE EXCITED! That makes it all worth while.

When a teacher decides to veer from the path which screams, "BUT WE HAVE ALWAYS DONE IT THIS WAY".... and ventures down that non-traditional teaching pathway, really great things start to happen. Now, don't get me wrong, it is scary and uncomfortable at first...but like I tell my students, "You have to walk through the fear to get what you want .... it's always on the other side, and always worth it." .... I have to practice what I preach. With that said, letting go of some of the things I have always done was a bit scary at first. What am I going to do if I don't have something to grade from this class each day? What am I thinking, having a meaningful discussion about non-conformity during the days of Transcendentalism vs. 2015...shouldn't they write about it instead? Who said it was okay to do Hashtag Tuesday and show learning through a Tweet on a sticky note? I thought all of those things, and more, to myself.... but when I went for it, you know what???? REAL LEARNING STARTED TO HAPPEN. Real dialogue between students was taking place, applications for life started to be learned, morals and ethics started to be talked about, and there was laughter in my class...lots and lots of laughter. 

What I have always known, but have seen first hand in the last three or four weeks is this.... students don't learn from multiple choice and true / false tests. Instead, what they do is memorize. Once that test is over, and the grade handed over, they forget what they memorized and move on to the next bit of information they must memorize to get a "good grade".... that's not learning. I want to be the teacher that sees true learning happening .... and that doesn't come from those types of tests. Real learning comes from open ended questioning, building a classroom environment that is safe for discussion, where all opinions are welcome and able to be talked about, where students feel like they matter, and what they have to say matters. That is when true learning happens. That is what I have witnessed through great methods like Genius Hour and tools I have have adopted through professional development chats via Twitter. There is a world of wealth out there that teachers need to be using to reach their students. 

Teaching has become fun again, and I hope my students have found some fun in learning as well. 

There are some great Genius Hour projects going on in my classroom; I hope you will take some time to read about the exciting things the students are discovering. 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FaRGeGBSV5rc4_XOyLbIj7_1bfBHoPsDih1si0AMvCU/edit#gid=0

Safe travels,

Mrs. Fleming~

Innovation in the Classroom

Teaching English Lit & Composition, I have the opportunity to see writing that simply blows the mind. I run across it every year...it may be the student that didn't grasp the nuances of descriptive writing last year, but this year paints this beautiful picture for the mind's eye with his or her words. Maybe it is the student that didn't understand the concept of unity and coherency their freshman year, but now, their junior year, those supporting sentences work together with their topic sentence like an army of well trained soldiers. There are some of my students that have trouble grasping the "rules and structure" (bllaacchhh) of a formal essay, but when it comes to poetry, I have to pick my jaw up off of the floor or even wipe a tear from my eye. Writing doesn't come easy for many.... but most of my students definitely want to succeed at being writers. 

One of the concepts that I really like about #geniushour is that it incorporates so many different ELA (English Language Arts) standards, while at the same time, putting the learning experience directly into the hands of the learner. Another aspect that I am really enjoying, is the required blog that the students comment on at the end of each Genius Hour time. It gives them the opportunity to journal about the positives (and even negatives) of their project, it gives me another way of communicating with them, and it helps instill positive social media experiences and creates a positive digital footprint. It even encourages them to take time with their writing, knowing that so many people can and will see it. 

That is one of the things that I wished to share with you all today. The embedded link (below) will take you to each student's blog. This is where they share their Genius Hour project with the world, where they give updates, voice frustrations, and brag on their findings. I encourage you all to visit some of the blogs, and please make comments on them. These young people are excited about what they are learning, and some of them are wanting to network with others that can help them with research questions, or give them insight as to what they are working on. I hope that you will take the time to dive into the work that your sons, daughters, nieces, nephews, friends, etc. are doing. It is very exciting, and they are excited to share it with you. 

If you have any questions, I urge you to comment on this blog, and I will definitely get back with you. Until then... thank you again for reading, and making a positive impact on the students of Waverly High School. 

Here is the link to take you to student blogs:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FaRGeGBSV5rc4_XOyLbIj7_1bfBHoPsDih1si0AMvCU/edit#gid=0

Travel light,

Mrs. Flem~

No Foolin' On April Fools Day

The English room at Waverly High School has been loud, busy, full of laughter, learning and all things 'new' this week! A brief overview of what we have been doing, you ask? Well, I'd love to...

The freshmen are finishing up their unit on characterization. We have been discovering and learning about many authors...authors whose memories can still be felt today if we are willing to look for them..... Ernest Hemingway, Langston Hughes and Truman Capote all still have relevance in 2015.... and when they were still with us, they made their characters come alive! The freshmen have been reading stories and poems from these authors, and we have been discussing characters that we know from 2015 that compare to those in author's stories. We have also talked about how we make them come to life through the mood, dialect and voice of the author. Their latest adventure is creating themselves as a character in 3rd person, and I'm anxiously awaiting tomorrow's discussion about this.

The sophomores have had a busy week of traveling back in time with Medieval literature and alo setting up and blogging about their #geniushour. We had a huge discussion today on Internet responsibility and the importance of a leaving a positive digital footprint in this day and age of technology. Last week the sophomores spent Monday through Thursday taking their state assessment tests in English Language Arts. This week, they will have spent Monday through Thursday taking their state assessments in math. *sigh* These are amazing individuals with individual talents and gifts... you sure can't measure that with a test score!

The juniors are in the midst of their Transcendentalism unit... we are talking about what it means to be a non-conformist in 2015 as compared to the time of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Many are really loving the concept and ideology behind this movement, and they are loving how it relates to their own lives! After learning about Mr. Emerson, each student scoured poetry through music lyrics and mood to find, what they thought, would have been Emerson's theme song. They also got to find their own, perfect, theme song that matched them perfectly.

The seniors started the week talking about irony from W.W. Jacobs, 'The Monkey's Paw' and we are ending the week discussing Sir Thomas More's "Utopia".... we have been comparing that to many types of "utopias" that are still trying to be found in 2015....when someone finds a real version of it, please let me know. I will book a one way ticket!

#geniushour is underway ..... and there is a lot of excitement buzzing around the halls about it. I really have never seen students so excited about learning, and applying what they have learned to real life... something bigger. We have networked with some great people all over the USA, and many students are finding mentors to help them along their journey. They have created their blogs, and I will be making those available for you all to view, make comments and encourage them through to success!

There are great things happening! Stay tuned as we venture down the 'road less traveled'....

Safe 'travels',
Flem~

What a GREAT BIG World!

Wow! I am no stranger to the fact that the world is full of amazing people, but the past few days my eyes have been opened wide! When I first introduced #geniushour, I had a student ask a pretty profound question, "Hey Flem'....what are you doing for YOUR Genius Hour?" ... My quick response met with not only a smile but also excitement, as I perked up and said, "My time will be spent helping you all, and letting the world know how awesome the students at Waverly High School are." 

Now.... I didn't tell him that the thought was a bit overwhelming, nor did I tell him that I can often bite off more than I can chew...HA! I didn't know exactly where to start (there are so many great networking sites)... BUT....I knew one thing, and that was that I was going to do my very best to put these amazing young people in contact with others around the nation, and even the world, and make sure that I helped give voice to their GALACTIC ideas! Yes, I said GALACTIC! I'm tellin' ya' ... some of the ideas that these special young people have come up with will make your head spin twice, and make your feet dance the jive! NO KIDDING!

I quickly got to work on Twitter... googling anything and anyone that I could talk to and network with about Genius Hour and #20percenttime.... it didn't take long before the Twittersphere (is that even a word?) was dinging my phone as frequently as Santa Clause gets letters at Christmas time! I started researching some of the people that I was hearing from, and that lead me to this jaw dropping site called https://about.me/ (you can check out mine at https://about.me/pennyfleming).  It was a bit much to take in at first, and there weren't a lot of directions given on setting up a profile, but I did quickly find out that it is a great place to house your personal information (for instance who you are and what you love....not your phone number, height, weight, social security and mother's maiden name...LOL) and links to all of your social media pages and blogs.

THEN.... the magic started happening. I was able to research others on the same site, find out their professions and their interests, tell them I'd like to find out more info on them and even send them an email. Within just a week, I have made more contacts than I can shake a stick at... I have networked with a professional chef; I have students that are putting together cook books, and even wanting to start a Youtube channel to v-log (video blog) their journeys with new recipes.  I have networked with many professional photographers, even those who have substantial credits after their names; I have students that are wanting to learn the ins and outs of photography and are putting together a photo documentary. I have networked with several published writers, poets and musicians; I have several students who are wanting to publish their own book of poems and short stories. I have networked with 'up and comers' in the field of sports, announcers, writers and athletes; I have students that are wanting to make sports safer and find ways to put high school sports on the map. I have also networked with a photo journalist, who travels all over the world and takes pictures for major magazine publications; I have students that are interested in travel as well. The amazing part of this is that many of these people have said 'yes' to being willing to Skype with our class. WOW.....first hand account learning with professionals that are doing and living the kinds of passions that my students are interested in! I'm super excited, and when I told the students the news today, their excitement was contagious as well.

It is amazing opening up the world of learning to these outstanding young people.... I can't wait to see what happens next....stay tuned!

Travel on,
Mrs. Flem'

You Need to Drink the Water

Hello everyone! I hope you are having a relaxing Sunday evening in preparation for the week ahead. Obviously, you know that I have started a blog, as you are reading it currently.... WELCOME, and thank you for stopping by. I hope you will be checking in on a regular basis to find out what 'shenanigans' are going on inside of my classroom, and what the daily life as a teacher at Waverly High School is like. (hey.....we really don't take part in shenanigans....I was just kiddin' around)....

As some of you may know, I have implemented a new concept in my classroom called Genius Hour. Genius Hour isn't a 'new' concept in general, but it is a new concept at WHS. It is something that hasn't ever been done before....and frankly, I'M SOOOOO SUPER EXCITED!!! If you want to find out more about what Genius Hour is, you can click on the link below my profile, or follow this link to learn more about it: http://www.geniushour.com/. The concept of Genius Hour comes from our friends at Google. They thought, "What if we gave our employees 20% of their work time during the week to work on 'pet projects' they are interested in, that could benefit the company?" The idea took off, and was coined '20% Time'....from this concept great tools such as Google Talk and Google News were developed. The concept is the same in the classroom. If the students master what they need to know in their core subject, Monday through Thursday, then they can take Friday to work on a project that they are passionate about. The response was met with emotions that crossed the board....some were thrilled, some raised an eyebrow as if to say, "She can't be serious...", some were overwhelmed, and some had tons of questions! I spent the week before Spring Break building the excitement of 'being in charge of your own learning'....and then on Friday, I hit them with the idea through a short video that I put together. Questions were answered, and heads started spinning with thoughts of changing the world....EVERY TEACHER'S DREAM!!!

This past Friday was our first Genius Hour, and it was so eye opening. Students that would normally struggle to pay attention were engaged, excited and working so hard at research and implementing ideas that you would have thought their learning worlds were opened for the first time. By the hour's end, in both the Sophomore and Junior classes, there were ideas that ran from A to Z. You can find a short list on our Facebook page entitled "An Hour of Genius" https://www.facebook.com/FlemsGeniusHour?fref=nf .... I encourage you to follow the link and like the page.  It is because of this, Genius Hour, that this blog was started. It is truly a goal of mine to put my students on the map, and I am working at networking and connecting with teachers, corporate entities, etc. all over the map....letting them know the GENIUSES that we have at Waverly High School.

If you have made it this far....thank you!!! It is vital that parents, community members, administrators, and people from all over buy into the education that our students are getting. We can no longer sit by and let our young people be boxed and pushed into one mold that looks the same. These are young people with visions, with dreams, with ideas....and they are all different. These are young people that learn differently, see things differently, get through tasks at different rates of speed; what a disservice to lump them all together and say, "This is what you are learning, because you have to pass a test."  I don't want that for my students. Genius Hour opens up their minds, allows them to think critically, creatively, and individually.

I encourage you to come along with us on this incredible journey! Don't miss out, because WE ARE CHANGING THE WORLD....one hour at a time!

Have a great evening,
Mrs. Flem'