63 & 17 - FREEDOM, CHOICE & TIME

Time is one of the most valuable commodities that most of us tend to take for granted.

What happens when a group of High School Seniors are given time?
Add to that Freedom and Choice to the mix.  Two very valuable aspects of our lives.

For some that time and freedom becomes a pathway to an amazing journey of self discovery and production.  For others those jewels become a frustration highway for reflection and recognition of weaknesses.  While still others become handcuffed by the lack of regiment created in most aspects of their lives.

The time of our Innovations Journey is quickly passing and we are up against the deadline of 63 days until final presentations which translates to only 17 class days in our block schedule.

For Seniors in the Innovations class the reality of first quarter grades, SAT/ACT testing, college apps, homecoming, winter formal etc, etc... has begun to takes its toll on the enthusiasm that drove the beginning.

Motivation now must be at it's peak as these innovators begin to produce the pieces of their creative endeavors.  Energy is at a premium as these students are weighed down by the burden of six other periods that demand that they follow directions, meet deadlines, take tests and read the book.  A class based upon the FREEDOM of CHOICE and TIME is easily the sacrificial lamb for the relief of stress.

The most critical aspects of this course thereby become the possible weapons of destruction as students try to balance the expectations of a college prep world based upon chasing GPA.  However, it is these very aspects that will be the deciding factors for these very students when they are asked to be productive members of the community at large.

FREEDOM, CHOICE & TIME, tools for success or creative destruction.


  

This is Genius - Freedom with Expectations

I share the YouTube video This is Genius with my classes as an invitation for my students to demand more from their education.  To expect the opportunity to stretch their minds and think beyond the basics set by the standardization of the alphabet world of acronyms set byDepartments of Education and the Educational Testing Service, CCS, NGSS, HSPT, ISEE, SAT, ACT, LSAT, GMAT, etc....

"It seems that high school is about putting you in a box so someone can tell you what to think and how to think it."  A quote from one of my @LSinnov8tions students as he worked through brainstorming his project to 3D print and build a drone.

The problem, meeting the expectations of a system built on controlled compliance built on an industrial model efficiency comes from standardization. The model of efficiency often mimicking a militaristic model of lines, rows and columns to keep order. Leader in the front and response compliance as the expected outcome.  Don't think react based on what you have been told to think.

What happens though when the course provides for thought?  What are the expectations that come with freedom?  This is the struggle that most students have the most difficulty with.  It is so much easier to simply follow directions, do what your told and repeat what you have been told.  The responsibility is with the teacher or leader and the possibility for success and failure are directly related to their control.

The FREEDOM that is provided in the @LSinnov8tions course comes with expectations that are so much more demanding than the standard academic course. To quote Ben Parker from the Spiderman franchise, "With great Power comes great Responsibility." Likewise with great Freedom comes great Responsibility. Responsibility to use time wisely, to meet deadlines, to utilize your talents, to share outcomes, to create in order to share and to make a difference. 

This innovations course and the ability to work on a Passion Project comes with the expectation that this is a endeavor that you would doing if you had the time outside to get it done.  The focus is not about accumulating scores or checking off the steps of a rubric, but in the actual LEARNING that takes place when you do something you enjoy.  Seek your Motivation, Discover you Drive and Unveil your Passion and allow the ingenuity, and creativity that have been boxed in by courses of compliance.  

The choice is yours, value the freedom and the demands of greater expectations, because the LEARNING is yours.