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'