Think! Learn! Change!

 "Think Big! Do Something Awesome! Change the World!" This collection of statements came out of frustration years ago with a class of juniors who said “How can you expect us to choose anything we want to learn about and research it? We have never done that before!” I was stunned.  While they may not have been the hardest working group, I thought giving them the option to learn about anything they wanted would fire them up rather than lock them up.  This has become a mantra with which we begin each Genius Hour session. It is easily chanted or repeated as a class, but each part has to be undertaken with equal vigor. There were semesters or years where we missed the mark because students focused on the third part and felt they had to raise money rather than doing something they are truly interested in doing. They may learn about a topic, but most of their time was spent in doing the logistics of an event. It doesn't come off quite as pithy, but using Tim O'Reilly's lines "Work on stuff that matters," and "Create more value than you capture" could create more of the vision we are seeking for what has become one of our signature events (Ferris 221). "Think Big" stands on its own, because we want students to challenge themselves to do something beyond what they may have done before. Thinking big is about giving themselves confidence in their capabilities--and maybe even swagger.

"Do Something Awesome" was not a self evident statement. Doing something awesome could mean playing a video game that is awesome, watching a video that is awesome or hang out with friends, which may be awesome as well. The revised phrase should be "Learn Something Important" In the past, we have begun the semester saying those words, but lately haven't directly defined what we mean by each sentence. The whole goal behind Genius Hour is to pursue a topic that has always been intriguing but has never been a priority, or maybe it has been and they want to delve deeper. It may be a problem that exists in the world that the student wants to solve, or something else. Once a topic is identified, the first charge is to learn as much about it as possible. That will involve reading, experiencing it first hand and interacting with experts among other things. They should be able to explain why it is important and to whom it is important. That will lead to the third part, which recently has been the stickiest.

Where they become most confused is with "Change the World." "Change the World" does not mean raising money. It means take what you have learned out into the world and do something that matters. That is where they can "create more value than (they) capture." Taking their learning and giving it to the world in a way where it will benefit others at a magnitude greater than 1 is the goal. If, after doing the learning, a person is twice as good at something, the good they do for others or the learning they give to others should be greater than twice as much. That may mean it benefits one  person. It may mean benefiting many more. It does not mean benefiting 7 billion people, but it may. Making others' lives better is not directly correlated with a dollar amount.

Genius Hour, Think Big, Do Something Awesome, Change the World, Learn Something Important, Arete Academy

Ferriss, Timothy. Tribe of Mentors: Short Life Advice from the Best in the World. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 2018.

Who is the Arete Academy?

 In Arete, we prepare students for a future that does not yet exist; a future that is continually changing.  Twenty-first Century life calls for us to expect the unexpected and in Arete, we prepare students with skills to succeed in a future that cries out for leaders who can think critically, creatively and analytically, solve complex problems, persevere through challenges, and strive for excellence as they design their way forward through life.

In Arete, we bring classes to life when we build and overthrow empires, create a class government, grow plants, plan events, take trips, and build structures. We take learning to the next level by giving students meaningful opportunities to apply their learning to their passions, to help others and to solve local problems. Students create lasting memories through multisensory active learning in English, math, science and social studies classes and through public exhibitions of work. 

In Arete, students learn about themselves: their skills, passions, interests and roadblocks. We help students expand horizons and develop grit as they learn to be more comfortable when outside of their comfort zone. Developing grit enables students to climb higher, dig deeper and finish stronger. It is by learning strategies to push through discomfort and the encouragement of fellow classmates which allows students to find their success trajectory. 

In Arete, our focus is on depth of knowledge by combining learning from multiple classes in new and interesting ways.  Deep learning is “sticky” learning and leads to application in a real world setting. Opportunities in life don’t always come packaged in single subject boxes, and neither should education.

In Arete, students learn the value of teamwork through active contribution, reflection and discussion. We live in a world of connection where communication, listening and thinking are valued more than rote memorization.  Being remarkable is far more important than being a mindless follower filling in a test bubble. Making our lives matter is of utmost importance.  That is where the gap lies: between what students know and are capable of and what they are doing right now.  We designed the Arete Academy to help talented students close the gap. The Arete Academy is built to give each student an opportunity to stand out, seek change and leap.

Think, Learn, Change

"Think Big! Do Something Awesome! Change the World!" I created these statements out of frustration six years ago with a class of juniors who claimed it was too hard to research anything they were interested in and do anything they wanted with it, has become a mantra we whith which begin each Genius Hour session. It is easily chanted or repeated as a class, but this year it is evident it missed the mark because people seem to focus on the third part and feel they have to raise money rather than doing something they are truly interested in doing. They may learn about a topic, but most of their time is spent in doing the logistics of an event. It doesn't come off quite as pithy, but using Tim O'Reilly's lines "Work on stuff that matters," and "Create more value than you capture" could create more of the vision we are seeking for what has become one of our signature events (Ferris 221). "Think Big" stands on its own, because we want students to challenge themselves to do something beyond what they may have done before. Thinking big is about giving themselves confidence iin their capabilities--and maybe even swagger.

"Do Something Awesome" was not a self evident statement. Doing something awesome could mean play a video game that is awesome, watch a video that is awesome or hang out with friends, which may be awesome as well. The revised phrase should be "Learn Something Important" In the past, we have begun the semester saying those words, but lately haven't directly defined what we mean by each sentence. The whole goal behind Genius Hour is to pursue a topic that has always been intriguing but has never been a priority, or maybe it has been and they want to delve deeper. It may be a problem that exists in the world that the student wants to solve, or something else. Once a topic is identified, the first charge is to learn as much about it as possible. That will involve reading, experiencing it first hand and interacting with experts among other things. They should be able to explain why it is important and to whom it is important. That will lead to the third part, which recently has been the stickiest.

Where they become most confused is with "Change the World." "Change the World" does not mean raise money. It means take what you have learned out into the world and do something that matters. That is where they can "create more value than (they) capture." Taking their learning and giving it to the world in a way where it will benefit others at a magnitude greater than 1 is the goal. If, after doing the learning, a person is twice as good at something, the good they do for others or the learning they give to others should be greater than twice as much. That may mean it beneifts one other person. It may mean benefiting many more. It does not mean benefiting 7 billion people, but it may. Making others' lives better is not directly correlated with a dollar amount.