STEM EducationTitle of article: “‘Star Wars’ STEM Class Captures Kids’ Imagination”
A recent article that was published on February 17, 2017 was published by associated press and talked about a project students had created and about the topic of STEM. NIU’s STEM program offers many classes throughout the year that are interested in science, technology, engineering, and math. One of the educators that teaches these at these programs said that the Star Wars theme made it to one of classes. This got a second grader at North Grove Elementary School in Sycamore, Amelia, to program her own robot. According to the article, Amelia said “I've always done lots of STEM things, and I like Star Wars. I’m having such a great time, and I can't wait to build and design the light saber.” The class that Amelia had gone to had been sold out on January 28th and held 20 students. Other kids by the names of Vincent Tripoli (9), Joseph Brown (8), and Adam Hearnsberger (10) have taken classes similar to the ones Amelia had attended to and some already know that when they grow up, they want to proceed to be an engineer. Another educator by the name of Jeremy Benson said that “there are a lot of emerging jobs in STEM fields, and it's a good idea to be literate of science and technology in general.” Classes like these are helping children thrive and will continue to do so. I am so thankful that there are people out there that create environments like this just for the child tolearn and to set them up so that they will do great things in the future.
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Is Genius Born Or Can It Be Learned?The question of how a genius is created, is it genetically inherited or products stimulating and supportive homes create a genius, has been a question that has been asked for several years. Dean Keith Simonton, a psychology professor, believes that it takes a combination of good genes and good surroundings to create a genius. The author of this novel, John Cloud, wrote this article on February 13, 2009 to show his audience Simonton's point of view and how to create a genius. Simonton writes in one of his books that geniuses tend to be “open to experience, introverted, hostile, driven, and ambitious.”Gladwell, a revisionist, concludes one of his books by saying that we need “a society that provides opportunities for all”.
I would like to become a genius when it comes to my genius hour project. My goal is to fix all of the problems that have came up and that have stopped me from achieving the goal that I have set. In order to do this. I have to become a genius. According to this article, being a genius is not impossible. I will continue to try harder and be more driven in my work. I am glad that my teacher gives each of my peers the same opportunities that way we can all thrive. What’s in a TED Talk? After watching Ken Robinson's video about TED talk education, I had to think about how it related to Genius Hour. I came to the conclusion that the reason that Mr. Robinson's video corresponds with concept of Genius Hour is because each have a goal. Mr. Robinson's goal is to help the education grow in America and he gives informational speeches to others so that they are educated about the problems of education as well. Students create a goal and learn how to present it to others during their Genius Hour time. Mr. Robinson's views agree with my personal views as well. Mr. Robinson, for example, says that America spends more money on education than any country on Earth and has one of the smallest class room sizes as well. However, all of the money that is being put into education is being put into the wrong places. He states that there are three principles on which lives can flourish. Those three principles are being contradicted by the culture of education in under which most teachers have to labor and students have to encounter.
While I was watching the video I also studied the way he presented his TED talk. Mr. Robinson was very knowledgeable on his subject and possionate as well. I learned many things from watching his video that can help me in the future for when I present my TED talk to my peers. I learned that I need to know as much information that I can that will help people and encourage them to learn more about my topic. I need to use visualization as well and try to be as passionate of a speaker as Mr. Robinson was. I plan to re watch this video again before our TED talk assignment is presented to us so that I can regain the pointers that he showed his audience and myself. How do Geniuses Think?The author of "How Geniuses Think", Michael Michalko, has a different definition for the word genius than most people. He believes that being a genius means that you are creative. He says that an "genius is not about scoring 1600 on the SATs, mastering fourteen languages at the age of seven" or "finishing Mensa exercises in record time". Being a creative person is not the same as being an intelligent person. Others, however, will describe a genius as an intellectual, clever, and a brilliant person.
To be a genius means that you have to be able to use some strategy. For instance, geniuses look at problems in many different way, they make their thoughts visible, they produce, make novel combinations, force relationships, think in opposites, think metaphorically, and prepare themselves for chance. After going through these strategies, I realize that my Genius Hour project encourages me to use some of them. After failing to overcome an obstacle that is keeping me from my overall Genius Hour project, for example, I have to look at the problem that I have in many different ways in order to solve the problem that I need to overcome. What Can Be Learned From Failure?I read an article from CNN.com that had talked about what kids can learn from failure. In the article, it was mentioned many times that with "genius hour, failure is an acceptable result and the emphasis is in learning from failure." The article summarized about students and their genius hour project. All of the students had failed once or twice but had learned from their outcome and then made their genius hour project better than their last.
From my reading, I have learned that I will eventually end up failing along this journey. However, I know now that its okay to fail because I can learn from the mistakes that I have made and grow from them. I will also be able to fix any problem that I have and learn to overcome obstacles that will be in my way. My genius hour project is a lifelong project and will be hard for me to keep my stamina up but its worth it in the long run. Making a PlanI plan to accomplish my goal of speaking in front of over one hundred people about God before the deadline of January 10, 2017. The date on which I will be speaking is October 12, 2016. I will be prepare myself for this event by doing a little research, talking to some of the church members that go to multiple churches, and praying about what I should say. I am extremely nervous, however, I know that God will get me through it.
Part of what is going to be said on October 12, is going to be about the 21 day challenge. This is more of a personal goal that I have. The 21 day challenge is reading a chapter a day in the book of John. I am challenging myself to read all 21 chapters without missing a day and I'm challenging my friends as well. I will contact my friend every day to hold them accountable to the task that they have chosen to take on and they will do the same for me. My third goal that I plan to complete by January 10, 2017 is to make sure FCA doesn't lose their fire. After the big event that is happening on October 12, I will make sure to hold meetings and suggest other ways we can give back to the community. I plan to ask around and see what things people need and what we are able to give them. I will suggest to host parties or movie nights so that people can have fun while still being in the presence of God. |
AuthorMy name is Brianna Robinson and I am a senior at Kingsford High school. I am currently taking English 12. Category:I am blog posts for my Genius hour project. Enjoy!
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