2025 Promotion Speech

5th Grade Promotion, 2017-18

Coleman Families, Alumni, Parents, Grandparents, Community Members, Tigers.
Welcome to the 2018 Coleman 5th grade promotion ceremony. Kids - you made it!
Parents - you made it! Coleman Teachers - you made it!

Many of you know that we host a Morning Message each Wednesday.
Just last week, we hosted arguable our best morning message of the year.
Jackson Johanson, the student council president, and I were almost giddy about how well all of the
students were doing and that it only took ALL year to get there. And it was in that moment that a
something became wonderfully clear to me. Just when you seem to have it all figured out, life goes and
changes everything.

Just when Mrs. McEowen seems to have taught the most epic writing lesson, the next lesson is a new
genre that you have to figure out. Right after Mr. Jackson teaches you about multiplying fractions, he
throws in decimals! Right after Ms. Kenney asks you to write about Walker Creek, she then
says “now edit it!” Ugh!

Kids, don’t despair. Embrace these changes; for this is actually what life, and growing up, is all about.
This is how we learn. So, prepare for this. Notice, I didn’t say, “good luck for these changes”
or “I sure hope you’ll get middle school.”At these speeches, you will often hear “good luck”,
or “I hope you enjoy middle school.” Not today, because in the last two years, here is what you
have taught me. You have taught me that your hard work and perseverance will make your luck happen.
Your kindness to others will endear you, connect you to chance opportunities and people and ideas.
That is your luck - you make it yourself. You have made it yourself.

If you hang around me long enough, you will hear me say that “hope is a bad strategy”. This is usually
tied to some budget or strategy thing. People often use the word hope, but I want you all to be ready
to moves past this word and actually design a future for yourselves so that you will politely say,
“Thank you” as someone says to you, “I hope you do well on your test”. You will smile and say
“thank you” (because you are kind), as you pass your test because you had a plan and worked hard.
You had an idea of what to do, and you did something. No luck or hope needed, you    work hard.

So, class of 2026. Class that I have come to know and love in the last two years, class that I will be
watching as you move through middle school and into high school. I wish you no luck - Go and be great;
no hope you do well - Get it done, you’ve got this.

We all love you very much and always, always have your back.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the class of 2025.

The First Few Weeks

Hiking around King Mountain, Larkspur, CA

Two and a half weeks in as Principal. Welcome back dinner and popsicles, hundreds of kids and families, lost soccer balls, iPads deployed, Back to School Night, parent data entry, yard duty, carline duty, garden meetings, after school enrichment meetings. Check, check, check. Kids? Check. Teachers and staff? Check. The first few weeks have been busy, but I didn't really expect anything different. I expected twists and turns, and I have truly loved and embraced them all.

Yes, I'm a little more tired than usual - no big deal. Being a new Principal isn't all twists and turns, I have many perks. For instance, settling into the TK classes to play with the dinosaurs, or perhaps talk to a kiddo about which animal should be yellow ("All of them!"). There are more perks, too. I have the unique opportunity to work with a Mentor Principal (I'm technically an Intern) who is guiding and supporting, asking me questions along the way and co-principaling the heck out of this school with me on a daily basis. He's basically like an octopus with super powers, quick to smile and amazing with the kids. On top of this, I have the Dream Team... One click on #Voxer minutes later a challenge is solved. A quick text starts another conversation. The team might be spread all across Petaluma City Schools, but we are all just a click away.

The first few weeks are in and I have learned a lot thus far. 1) Think big and question the status quo. If people aren't saying, "I don't know about that - seems a little out there" I'm not doing my job in trying to push and innovate to change education. 2) Make the vision as visible as possible. I love carline. I love being out front and surprising families as I open the door with a smile. I love when I look over and staff members are doing the same. Smiles are contagious and make learning better. 3) It's all about the kids. Sounded cliche months ago, but I have had the opportunity to say 'yes' and 'no' to several ideas based on the needs of all our students. When it's all about the kids, tough conversations and decisions are a little easier to handle.

There will be more learning each day at McKinley School, and, probably some failing. That's ok, we try our best to 'fail up', so that no experience is ever devoid of learning.

My Last Email & New Adventures

I've been a little busy, focusing on learning, growing as a professional, interviewing and ultimately getting an amazing new position as an Intern Principal in Petaluma City Schools. Below is my final email to classroom families. It was my way of saying, 'thank you', reflecting and acknowledging the hard work that each child took part in throughout the year. I may or may not have shed a tear while writing...

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What a wild ride. A huge thank you to Jessica and all the families who helped make today happen, but also for helping to make all the days even more bright for the kids. Field trip drivers and chaperons, volunteers, general helpful people and coffee bringers helped make our class a very special place. 

A few reoccurring thoughts came up during our last appreciation circle: 

1. The kids liked being pushed academically, with Maker and Project Based Learning.

2. They really appreciated each other for "being there for me" and "being helpful when I needed help". There was an overwhelmingly strong sense of community.

3. Many kids mentioned they were grateful for their families. 

Evie said it well when she said that, "It just doesn't seem like it's over." A few tears were shed (me), but for this group of kids, it's not over. Learning never takes a summer vacation. Just because it's break, learning doesn't stop, it's just another day in June. Stay curious, always. 

I mentioned that this group of children were the testers, rather than kids that were tested upon. Each child had the chance to test the curriculum, test how they learned, how they thought about challenges and how they worked with each other. They are beta-testers, always excited to ideate with post-its and move along to the next big idea. They are an action-biased group, not over thinking a problem or solution, but ready to try and fail, learn and move on. "Done is better than perfect" became a montra in the classroom. 

This is a special group of children who need to nudge future teachers and ask, "When is our first Maker time? What about PBL? When do we get to collaborate with another classroom??" I've been sharing with the kids all year that I think education is ok, but it needs to get better. This is where the kids come into play. They get to be the change agents. I'm going to let Dr. Seuss drive home the point better than I can- "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." (The Lorax) 

Thank you for all the love, support, smiles, tears and hugs. 

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This class was incredibly special to me and each other. They taught me to "fail up", practice compassion each minute of the day, focus on growing as a learner and to really enjoy and love what I do. 

#teamkid #studentfirst #petk12 

Communication, Listening and Relationships

Phone? Email? Remind 101? Text? Messenger Pigeon? Face to Face? Chat? What do you do and when??

In the last 36 hours I've been thinking big about communication and had several thoughts. These thoughts came both from my masters classes, reading Michael Fullan, The Principal, 3 Keys to Maximizing Success and Gardening in the Minefield

Email is great. It's fast, mobile, to the point. Not very emotive. Probably should be used less frequently and as a conveyance for information, rather than as a way to communicate. 


Remind 101 (and similar) is quick, mobile, one way, easy to use and perfect for a blast to a group. Not going to send a Remind about Suzy chipping her tooth, but for whole group info, it's solid

Text is also quick and very convenient to use when sending a Yes or No message to a family or colleague. Watch what you type, especially if you have big thumbs. 

Phone home for really good news, not just the news you don't want to email. Kids should be excited about getting a call home from an educator who wants to brag about how awesome that kid was in class. 

Messenger Pigeon sounds silly, but really, sometimes a hand written note is just the thing. A parent went above and beyond to help at the school, send a card. A kid went out of her way to help the school with a big project- send a card. 

We are a #GAFE school, so we all have access to GChat. Imagine if everyone on staff sent a chat to ask if they can borrow that one dongle instead of an email? One less in the inbox is a victory. 

As a teacher or administrator, talking Face to Face is the best way to create a relationship, the best way to share great news or bad news, and generally much more exciting than an email. Smile, listen, be honest and wise with your words, and listen. Did I mention listen?Schools, and really all organizations are all about relationships and the connections we foster. 

As educators and learners, we need to foster and cultivate positive relationships daily, and for me, this starts with effective communication and listening. Did I mention listening?

Lead Learners, Tech and Beyond (EDAD 713)

What is one of the best way to engage and lead a group of people who are being asked to change or transform the way they do something? Join them in the fray and lead. I recently read an article from Leadership, titled 5 Tech Leadership Lessons by Bobbie Plough. Considering this article is for my Masters program in Educational Administration, it seemed rather relevant. Technology in our schools is as important as ever, and strong leadership that is driving the use of technology is just as important.

Transforming a school from “industrial to digital” (p. 8) often comes as an after thought, but what if we turned that notion around. What if moving a school towards digital was an issue that was grounded in a stated purpose? Milpitas Unified School District created this purpose as they were pulling their school towards a blended-learning model. The purpose of all the spending, professional development and change according to the Milpitas Superintendent Cary Matsuoka, was to “increase student success by actively engaging all students in their learning, and inform teachers with data to improve instruction” (p. 9).

With this purpose clearly defined, leaders need to allow for autonomy within each school and classroom. Each school and teacher is ready for a different amount of technology infusion and there is no ‘one size fits all’ set of tips and tools. This autonomy will allow for teachers and leaders to “determine the best model(s) and implementation timeline for their individual school sites” (p. 9) and explore on their own to make this system work. Each teacher is ready for a different level of technology infusion, so why have one style of professional development? Leaders should differentiate these learning opportunities in order to honor each teacher's professional growth. Administrators should be ready to offer training and resources to teachers who are eager and ready to learn more, so long as these training sessions match the purpose of the technology push.  

Communication with stakeholders is always at the forefront of any organizational transformation. Superintendent Matsuoka made it a point to deliver communication that was well conceived and deliberately timed. Giving this information to the board, principals, parents, teachers and students was important. Each stakeholder needed to know what was happening, the sequence of events and what to expect next. A key component to communicating the transformation was for each leader to be part of it. This was a chance for the principals and school leaders to show that they were really the ‘lead learners’ of the schools. These leaders became “technology “pioneers” in tandem with teachers” (p. 9).

For a digital transformation to really work, the infrastructure must be in place. Leaders must hire staff who are capable of managing resources, growing ideas and growing the wireless capacity of the district. Milpitas went from “15 wireless access points to 650 in less than two years” (p. 10). Also, these tech leaders must have a plan to roll out new resources, manage devices and be ready to help in order to move towards the main purpose of the technology.

Suggestions for Future (and current) Educational Leaders:

• Foster curiosity and autonomy within staff. People want to attain mastery in their chosen subject area. Curious staff ask questions to push their learning. This drive to grow will lead to more success for the individual and the organization. Watch this video by RSA Animate featuring Daniel Pink explaining how autonomy, mastery and purpose will lead to a driven individual.  

• We differentiate for our kids, we need to differentiate for our staff, too. Professional development should be timely and specific for each staff member. This could mean youtube videos, magazine articles or an EdCamp style professional development.
• Give the change a purpose. Call it a vision or a purpose, but make sure the technology infusion is backed up by a solid understanding that these purchases will support student growth, engagement and achievement
• Communicate with all stakeholders in a timely fashion. Share with a clearly planned effort and timeline. Since we are growing a tech model, perhaps a podcast, youtube video or AudioBoo.
• Hire the right people who believe in the mission. Get the infrastructure plan in place, both people and hardware.

"Leadership magazine Jan/Feb 2015 V 44 No 3 - Page 5." 2015. 3 Mar. 2015 <http://www.joomag.com/magazine/leadership-magazine-jan-feb-2015-v-44-no-3/0783907001420484509?page=5>

Post #gafesummit Thoughts and Tinker Time

I love these weekends. I love being in a place where everyone is fired up. I love being in Napa. I love hanging with old friends, meeting new friends and secretly planning on creating our own sweet new school. A few quick thoughts from GAFE Summit Napa...
The main takeaways:

1. Engage children all the time.
Each session I was in as a learner, this concept came up. Engage them from the moment they enter the classroom. Better yet, engage them the day before for the next day. Get your students to try and break in your door, then you're good. Move forward from here with excellent content and high quality teaching and we are on the right track.

2. Push towards inquiry based models whenever possible.
Leave the kids hanging. Ask them what they wonder, what they are curious about, what inspires them. Inspiring curiosity through questions, content and media is a good thing.

3. GAFE Summits aren't all about technology. It's mostly about people, ideas, friendships, learning and students. Yes, the WiFi is important, and I tweeted all afternoon, but that wasn't the point. The point was to open up old eyes to new tricks and new eyes to what is possible. Sergio Villegas (@coach_sv) and I were chatting at lunch, "two years ago people didn't know or care about a lot of these big ideas," he said. "Being more connected has opened people up to big ideas.

Tinker Time

I am fired up to get back with my students and share new ideas with them. We will sketch, build, design, iterate and explore. We will also be using Makey Makey's for the first time ever. More on this in just a few hours.....

Genius Hour to Maker Ed

This has been a crazy, amazing, exhausting and exciting year, and it's only been 70+ days! My kids and I began the year working on Genius Hour projects, feverishly polishing up research and getting presentations ready. It was good and it was how I envisioned the beginning of my year. However, I knew it wasn't going to stay the same for long. What if there were tools and wood scraps? What about a hand saw? What if there was tape, cardboard, MakeDo Kits, tubes and marble run walls? And, what if this was all tied together with Design Thinking? What if Genius Hour was really Maker Time in room 26?







The Start
Getting the kids amped about working independently on a project of their choosing was more difficult than I thought. I jumped from 1st grade to 3rd grade and the difference was noticeable. After some work thinking big with a WonderWall (huge thanks to @bertoson81 for the inspiration) the kids started to get that when I said, "Go forth and learn about anything" I meant Anything. Like all Genius Hour's, some were great, like a perfect cup of coffee in the morning. Others, were not so good (gas station coffee?). Guiding 3rd graders through a less than structured learning process is hard work, but can be done when high standards and expectations, mini-lessons and check-in meetings are put into place.


Starting to Change
"If you don't like change, you're going to like irrelevance even less."
—General Eric Shinseki, former U.S. Army Chief of Staff

I will admit, the move to MakerEd was strategic. Our district had raised money for a Maker program and I was excited. I was totally on board. I had no idea where Maker would take my class, but knew it was an idea that would lead to countless learning opportunities for my students. It was hands on, engaging, a little messy and "mostly safe" (@pgoetz6). I couldn't pass it up. So we made stuff.

We started with the Design Thinking approach and made some Maker Journals to start. Then the kids started getting into cardboard prototyping (cheap and fast model that functions). We crushed tape- it was ridiculous. (We got Make Do kits and life has been better ever since).

We made a lot. There were planes, a stool, a chair, wrecking machines, boats, stuffed animal houses. The room was messy, but learning was taking place in each nook and cranny. (How did I know? This blog will have to be next up.)

The Big Shift

About a month ago I had the privlege of visiting the The Cove School to see what we might want to copy/steal as we move forward with a bond. (Watch a video about the school here). While there, I learned about the Making they are trying to implement with their students. Tinker. Make. Do. While Tinkering, students are playing with materials, experiencing and experimenting with motion and force, adhesion, overall design or aesthetics. When Making, students are actually creating something. This can be a prototype, or an actual functioning thing. Do- this is where I'm a little foggy, so I just made this up with my students to fit our needs and classroom culture. If you are Doing, you are focused on a big project, perhaps writing a play, researching Ice Cream (back to Genius Hour) or how planes fly. For me, this was a big "ah ha". I can offer my students a developmentally appropriate Maker time that includes hands on learning, collaborative problem solving, highly engaging work that each student chose to tackle, very rigorous standards of completion and high expectations. 

This Scooter rack filled a need at our school. Created by students.
Note the prototype in green. Fully functioning as I write this. 

Making the Maker Ed program for a classroom or school is never really done. The iterative step in Design Thinking allows for testing and retesting, always looking for a better way to learn, teach and think. I leave school most days thinking about change in big and small ways, searching for new ways to engage students and create more and more learning opportunities. Putting Maker Ed and Genius Hour together seems to work, so I suppose that won't change for now. 

Maker Project 1- The Wrecking Machine

Over the summer I had the unique opportunity to create some maker curriculum for my district (Kentfield School District). I was really intrigued with the NGSS and knew that I was going to start the curriculum by touching on some of the new standards, but also knew that my district was ok with some freestyle making for the sake of making. So, off I went into my own personal workshop (garage) to play and experience some making of my own. I build a desk. Tried to build a table and I visited Lighthouse Charter School in Oakland to learn how they do what they do (If you get the chance, go to one of their PD's). This all culminated with my colleague, Beth Espinoza, and I ordering maker carts and materials for our school (shout outs to Peter Goetz and Peter Zingg). We were fortunate enough to benefit from fundraising that our fundraising machine (KIK) raised and PTA donated to better fund these carts. 

Fast forward to the beginning of school and kids are finally getting their hands on the materials and curriculum. I even had parents making things during Back to School Night for their kids! We played with the Marshmallow Challenge to get us started, which resulted in total failure from all groups. No sweat, we will be coming back to this in a few weeks to apply what we are learning. 

Yesterday the kids took on their next big Maker Challenge- Make a machine that can knock another object down. In this case, the 'other object' was a wall made of wooden blocks, and the machines were as varied as the kids themselves. They used fabric, styrofoam, cardboard, clothes pins, dowels, wheels, corks and string, to name a few materials. Initially, they got organized by making a quick sketch and creating a shopping list. Once at the maker cart, they loaded up their carts with goodies (careful not to overdo) and were engaging with peers about possible designs during this time. While in the midst of the build process, the kids were able to prototype and refine continually, going through the iterative process throughout the 50 minutes they had to create this contraption. They were collaborating like mad with classmates, both within their group as well as crowd sourcing ideas to gain a creative edge.

In the end, only one group was actually able to knock down the wall, but each group was successful in design conversation and engaging with peers to problem solve, rapid prototyping and gaining a great understanding of force and motion. Each group also came away with a new plan for the next build, now with a further understanding of creating something that is heavier and larger in order to generate more force to knock down the wall. 

Next week, more walls will come tumbling down in room 26.        

What Did You Do This Summer?

What Did You Do This Summer?

For one bright and driven nine-year old, the answer to this question is different than one might expect. Generally, teachers get a response anywhere from Hawaii to camping to nothing. However, Hollis can answer this question in a variety of ways. She might send you to her YouTube page, or perhaps her WordPress blog. No, I bet she would recommend you check her Facebook page to better understand what she's been up to this summer. Hollis has spent her entire summer juggling her soccer ball to raise money for St. Jude's Children Hospital.



After only one month of fundraising she has raised $11,000. Yes, $11,000. This is not some little bake sale; she is crushing fundraising and is nearing her goal of $20,000 for the summer.

I had the chance to chat with Hollis this evening in order to learn more about what she is doing, why she's doing this and how social media has helped her in her efforts.

Mike: How did you come up with this idea? 

Hollis: I got my juggling skills from soccer. I've been practicing juggling for a while and putting some of those videos on YouTube. My mom heard about St. Judes Children Hospital and what they do for children and suggested that I combine my soccer skills with the opportunity to help children. It's good for kids at the hospital and good for my juggling skills.

M: Why did you choose to use social media to spread the word?

H: I became familiar with it (social media) because my mom would post pictures or videos of me- soccer, juggling or dance. Now it’s fairly normal. For Juggling for Jude, my mom spreads the word with Facebook and Twitter (I’m not old enough yet) and I also blog with Wordpress. Using Facebook allowed more people to donate and help. It spreads the word to more people and that helps kids. (editors note: Social Media increases reach- make sure positive thoughts are reaching farthest.)

M: Any experience with Social Media before J4J?

H: Not at school, but I made some videos of me juggling earlier this year and my teacher saw it. She was impressed and shared it with some other people. I like using YouTube. The video always stays there. Mom immediately takes my score and puts it straight to YouTube. It's a great way to spread J4J around to other people.

M: Did you learn about Digital Citizenship during the school year?

H: I’ve seen some magazines and articles on social media and Digital Citizenship. Some friends at school had an Instagram account, and their parent's didn't know it was a public account. WHAT!? We were like, you've got to make that private. They had to switch it to a private account because their account wasn't for a good cause. This is different because it is helping kids. (editors note: This Social Media usage has purpose!)

M: You realize this is uncommon for young people to do with their summer, right? Ever want to take some time off?

H: (Laughter) Yah, there have been times when I didn’t want to juggle. I had to fight through it- focus on the fact that I'm helping kids. Even when I was on vacation in Hawaii. I’m tired, I’m on vacation, but my mom reminded me that kids in the hospital don’t get vacation. (note: Hollis ended up with a then new record of 216 juggles while on vacation. And that video has been seen 499 times).

M: Any goals for the Fundraiser?

H: Yes, somewhere around 400 juggles and the fundraiser ends on August 31st. (note: at this point, I realized that I was unclear with my question, but it also illustrates how adults think compared to children).


There are a few important take-aways that make this a great case study for teachers and adults.
1. Social Media, when used appropriately and with the help of responsible adults, can enact change on a variety of scales. Hollis started by sharing this with her family, then the community that her family works with (TJ's Gym, San Rafael).

2. Hollis recognized something that many adults need to look at more closely. Using Social Media for a good cause is great. We all love cat videos, but let's keep things positive and maybe take some time to help a few people, or share an idea or offer inspiration. Being a creator of internet content and not just a consumer is something that we can all try to do more often, and it is a skill we can all share with our students.

My hope in writing about this is to spread the word and help this kiddo, but more importantly I hope this will inspire others to use Social Media in a positive way, for a good cause and with positive content that might even help a person or three. So, when you ask your students what they did this summer, keep Hollis in the back of your mind....

Marin Edcamp & Summer Institute

This past Monday and Tuesday I had that chance to spend some quality time in Fairfax (Westish Marin). If you haven't been, it's worth a drive down Sir Francis Drake to see the redwood trees meet the oaks, and the blue sky meet the grass. Tucked in deep within a canyon is the newly remodeled White Hill Middle School. All of this added up to make for one heck of a two day event with new friends, fun, some shenanigans and some big take-aways.

1. Communication Across Multiple Media
Each session I attended at either the Edcamp or the Summer Institute had a thread of communication. This could be peer to peers, teachers to students, parents, admin to student. Also, communication around a school can and should take place by way of  different means: Social media, blogs, face to face, hand written notes and letters, Audioboo's, airplane writing (we don't see this enough anymore). When the means of communication are examined deeper, being a kind communicator who contributes to the conversation and acting like a positive citizen, digital or not, was a part of many conversations. It was good to hear this resonating amongst K-12 people. A specific nod to Eric Saibel for bringing up the idea that expecting solid digital citizens in high school without proper foundation during elementary is off base, and that it is our responsibility to teach these foundational skills with enough momentum to carry forward well beyond elementary.

2. Aha!
"Don't steal the kid's aha! moment." Eileen Smith is a dynamo of a presenter and I'm guessing she brings this same enthusiasm each day as a principal in Novato. While my colleagues and I were trying to understand a 4th grade math problem enough to share out our thinking with peers, she was on ice skate jamming throughout the room. She had questions, ideas, small tips, but not an answer. There is discovery in learning. We should remind ourselves of this daily and wait for our students to yell, "AHA! I know how to do this!"

3. Fail up. Learning is messy. Honor process. A Growth Mindset Grows. A Fixed Mindset is Fixed.
Process above all else is going on my wall next year as a reminder that we will get there, but the route we take might be different. Probably a bit messy, usually loud but fully engaged. From each miscue or failure, we will learn and move forward. I'm a pretty good model of the fail up method... "This didn't work, it fell apart. No sweat, let's look at this concept or idea." I might have failed at that one small moment, but I'm not a failure for the hour, day, week, month... If we can teach and model to our students that their ability to grow, learn and change is a capability they are have learning will improve. A growth mindset allows children to see the process as having benefit. Everyone likes to win, but there are only 8 lanes in the 100m final at the Olympics. Someone's going home sad... (that is actually a direct quote from my UC Davis Track coach, Deanne Vochatzer. She is awesome). However, if we can see that all of my hard work made me a better person, more fit, stronger and more resilient, than I have succeeded. Transfer this concept to learning in the classroom. Maybe little Johnny didn't ace the math quiz, but with his growth mindset he looks at where he went wrong, ask questions about how to get better, find more connections with previous work and applications of these skills, all the while improving his learning through the process. His end product is ultimately better, too, through effort and smarter studying.

4. Friends
It was so nice to chat with Peter Goetz, Tracy Walker, Elizabeth Espinoza, Eric Saibel and finally to meet Craig Yen who is a master PLN builder/sharer and tweet ninja.

Keep learning my friends.

The Day the Kid Threw the Lego Spaceship & 61 Tries

April 23rd- This was one of the best experiences of my teaching career. Granted I've been teaching for 7 years and hope to have more moments like this and better, but this one was special. Genius Hour has created a developmental divide in my class where some children are investigating bugs and Capoeira, and others are tinkering away and creating. I have enjoyed watching this evolution happen and feel confident that deep learning is happening at both ends of the divide. Some need to make and build, others need to create, some start a movement and others want deep learning.

For the builders, a hot topic has been rapid prototyping and the test-retest cycle of iteration. JR took some time to create his spaceship model and claimed he was 'done'. "Great," I said. "Test it." He wasn't quite sure what that meant. It can't fly to the moon, this was obvious, but it did have to be quite strong to make a possible journey. So, I suggested he do the throw test. It's a pretty simple test for strength. Step 1) take object/ship/thing. Step 2) throw in a safe direction. Step 3) assess damage and rebuild to address weakness. The thing is, I can't believe he actually chucked the thing! He had so much pride in his initial build, I was sure I'd get some flack. But he has trust in this process and he has trust in the class culture of creating and innovating.

I'm coming to realize that Genius Hour isn't a thing or a kit to be made available. There isn't a formula for all. Rather, it is a frame of mind that a curious educator can embody. This is a time and place for educators who believe in self-led learning, wondering and creating to show trust in their students ideas and passions. Teachers can learn with students, coach their efforts and help them to make their learning or creation the ideal of what the students wants.

The girls tried 6 more times. 

April 30th- LP and EL worked together today to perfect a chain reaction using dominoes and a few other items. They worked feverishly and carefully for over 90 minutes, continuously knocking their reaction down accidentally (or not). When all was said and done, they didn't have a thing to present after Genius Hour came to a close, instead, they shared their experiences and wisdom after failing so many times. What did they come up with? Rapid prototyping worked well, they figured out what worked (some dominoes) and what didn't (too many is a problem). They wanted to use clay next time as well as more marbles. They shared eloquently and with some frustration. They were loud and proud. The class was proud of them, constantly telling the girls, 'we saw it or heard it work', as if to say- we've got your back, it's happened to us, too. If this isn't grit x perseverance= awesome, I don't know what it...

Kids, Learning and Compassion

This past Wednesday, I had some big takeaways from Genius Hour. I usually set up the work flow by asking kids Who their partner will be, What project do they want to undertake, Why this is important to them and whether they intend to inform, persuade, entertain or, new today, Share some love and compassion with others. To my excitement, two girls paired together to create a poster for friendship, complete with original art, a detailed handshake and a story to go with it. The whole class is very proud to have this on display and hopefully make a difference for someone who needs a friend or compassion.

 

The Power of Cross Pollination

One never knows where a great idea will come from. It could be that a certain cloud inspires an idea, or a cut in a block of wood lights a fire in an old project. If children and teachers don't share ideas with one another, how will these smallish ideas become great ideas that lead to learning opportunities? A parent approached me after school and mentioned that her son has been building more and more these days, and that if he's not building, he is explaining his ideas and the process he followed. I was trying to keep my excitement contained, but was so excited that I couldn't help myself. This is a quiet guy, who has great ideas often, but they usually stay in his on mind. He is finally sharing them out and inspiring others- gotta love First Grade and #teamK12.

Another story about cross pollinating. Last week several of my students put on a performance during Genius Hour. This featured The Cat in the Hat and some other stuffed animals. It was a hit, we all laughed with each other. Today, several boys did a similar show, but this time included music and dancing (same stuffies). After the performance, one of the children who had the original idea came to me and said, "They are doing what we did, but a little different. Awesome!" She was proud, excited, and happy knowing that her idea was so well loved that it had become the passion of another.

Pretty cool stuff happens when ideas are shared. Keep sharing.

MT