Chapters 1-3 Reflection Schlenker

From Jared Schlenker 

Chapter 1:
** Is the reason schools haven't changed in over a century because the ones who are in charge of it were "good at school" themselves? Superintendents, principals, teachers...we were all good at school, and it worked or us, so why would we want to do anything differently? Discussions such as the ones we had at the Bean are what can eventually transform education: site-based decisions to make valuable adjustments to our current practices.
** Simon and I were talking yesterday about what he wanted to be when he grows up. Of course, like many students in the Minecraft age, he wants to be an architect. It was fun to be able to bring up how the future job market will be based on independent workers, which would fit well with that type of profession.

Chapter 2:
** This chapter reminded me of when I supervised a field trip of seniors from Dakota Prairie to the Microsoft facility in Fargo. This was about 8 years ago, but the company was incorporating innovative practices into their workday as well. Employees were able to come to the job site if they had work to do and could leave when they were finished. They had a game room, a napping room, and other entertainment options within the building. The DP students who were there were obviously impressed with this setup, but what they needed to understand was that in order to be a part of this type of work environment, they would have needed to be a highly sought after programmer. Juliani brought up "Grit" and the "Growth Mindset," and students would need to understand that hard work and initiative is what will allow them to attain this type of position.

Chapter 3:
** "No one forces true innovation"...this to me will be a challenge of implementing Genius Hour. Inquiry and innovation are the supreme ideas of education, and experiential learning has been encouraged since the time of Dewey. I love that we are starting slow with the idea of 20% time at the middle school with a pilot elective that will provide an opportunity to see it in action before we expand. Just like any new "initiative" we need to be careful for it to not come across as a mandate or flavor of the month, as we have all seen in education.