From Bad Ideas to Genius

"Stare a hole into someone's head!" "Make a mountain out of mole hill." "Learn how to drink solids."

Terrible ideas.

The beginning of our 20% Time Project was marked with a splash of some of the worst ideas I have heard in a long time - and some of the funniest. The rationale behind 20% Time, made famous by companies like Google and 3M, is that people are most productive and creative when they are allowed to pursue their passions and talents. The structure is simple: give people 20% of their work time to innovate in a direction of their own choosing. Ideas like Gmail and Google Sky were consequences of this initiative.

As a teacher, I love this concept. I have always believed that the more you allow students to be who they really are, the better.  I am not alone. Many teachers around the country are implementing a version of 20% Time, also often called Genius Hour, to encourage students to fall in love with learning. In my classes, the students will spend every Friday for the remainder of the year, working on a project of their own choosing. When I first presented this idea to the kids, I was met with skepticism, followed by the all important question, "How will we get a grade?"

The whole point of giving students this time is to allow them to find motivation outside of grades. However, I still have to give them, and I can't undo a decade of conditioning. One of my favorite parts of teaching English is the freedom I get within the content. You can use almost any "structure" to teach students how to research, reflect, and present. While the students move through their projects, they will be keeping reflective blogs (see the links on the side pannel). Also, the students will write research papers about their topic, and will conduct a Ted-esque Talk at the end of the semester summarizing the learning process, and their progress.

So, back to the ideas. I didn't want to give them any; after all this is their project, not mine. To get their creative juices flowing we conducted a Bad Idea Factory (see the blog I Teach. I Think. for more details). The students came up with the worst possible uses of their 20% Time. From there, they began to see how open the possibilities really were, and how much they could accomplish. This week the students will start their blogs, write a brief project proposal, and begin actually working on their projects.

"Create a manual about the the spawning patterns for fish in South Alabama." "Plan and hold a student centered art show." "Write and perform a 30 minute comedy routine." "Learn about the stock market and make $20,000 in the stock market game."

Genius ideas.