Some days you have it, some days you don't

Yesterday was one of those days in which i felt like a superstar teacher. I communicated my goals and expectations clearly, got the students working on a group project, and worked with small groups on getting them set up to on the computers and ready to use My Big Campus.  It really was amazing! Students working and completely engaged and excited about what they were doing. I only wish my principal could have seen it because I would have instantly been given the title of "Teacher of the Decade!"

Today was a different story. The students were working on their genius projects on the computers and everything seemed to go wrong. Several kids were having troubles signing on to the computers while others were having troubles getting on My Big Campus. I had several students who felt that they needed to come up to me while I was helping another students instead of raising their hands and waiting patiently for their turn.  And, in the end, I was completely frustrated with their work and progress.

I spent the summer reading, learning, thinking about, and planning for this day. The day I introduced the genius project to my class.  I had visions of students coming up with ideas that would not only inspire them and give them a drive to learn and better themselves, but would also better our community and change the word!  Students were supposed to be singing my praises in the hallways after class.  Instead, when I asked my students what they were passionate about and what they would really like to learn about they listed, dolphins, cougars, a video game website, and famous volleyball players.  Rather than students creating robots that can pass out milks at lunch, four wheelers that run on vegetable oil and gets 250 miles a gallon, or even the best tasting vegan cheese burger in the world I see trifold posters, power points, and dioramas in my future.

Reflecting on my first day of Genius project I see a few things that I didn't do well.  First of all, we didn't brainstorm as a class about ideas. Secondly, I didn't do a good job getting the kids to think about what they like to do, what they love to do with their free time, or what they would do to improve the world.  I think my mistakes could be summed up as simply asking them what they wanted to learn about and not spending time with the above questions and giving examples of what I was really looking for.  

After reviewing my mistakes I am going to spend a little time asking my students questions about their activities, secret talents, and hopes and dreams.  From here I hope to help them see that they can improve their lives through learning, and maybe even change the world.  I may not get is completely right this time, but I am going to work hard and try my best to make this a great learn experience for my students.  They don't have to write songs about how gear Mr. rooks is and sing them in the halls of the school, but I hope that when they leave my class they will say, "man, I really enjoyed that class and learned some cool stuff from that Mr. Brooks!"