What Did you learn from Perusing the blogs of other students participating in Genius hour/20 time?In perusing other students blog posts, I learned what is important to kids in America. And it surprised me (in a good way) to see that most were extremely creative. For example, one girl literally created her own 5k race in her town. That, I might say, is definitely genius. Reading through her blog posts were super inspiring because no matter what happened, she never let anything drag her, or her spirits, down. In the end it turned out great. How can you use what you have learned to impact your own Genius Hour project/ Ted Talk?One thing I learned was that you can't give up. No matter how little progress seems to be happening, giving up is NOT an option. In my Genius Hour project, it seemed that I was barely getting anywhere. Everything just ended in me getting frustrated. But I kept doing it: going to jazz band those frigid mornings, religiously going to guitar lessons, and now it's finally starting to pay off. Chords are becoming easier to play. My fingers automatically fly to a fret whenever a note appears, all without me even having to think about it. One thing I still need help with, however, are solos. I just need to conquer my fear and do it. Easier said than done, but I am not giving up.
What kinds of ideas about presentation skills did you think about as Sir ken robinson presented his ideas about education? How could you incorporate what you saw into your own TED talk?In Sir Ken Robinson's TED Talk, I learned many valuable lessons about presenting in front of an audience. For instance, you have to relate to them; lighten the tension, make them laugh a bit, all while clearly getting your information across. He clearly knew his material and was extremely comfortable in front of people (something I dearly need to work on). I could incorporate what I learned by becoming so familiar with my topic that words just flow out of me. Thankfully guitar is something I can talk for hours about! How did sir ken robinson's talk resonate with you? How might/might not genius hour support ken robinson's ideas about how to change education?Sir Ken's talk resonated deeply with me. Recently, I read a book entitled "The Smartest Kids in the World: And How They Got That Way. In this book, it describes a test--PISA--developed to test children's ability to critically think. The author followed three completely different students in their foreign exchange programs for a school year. One girl went to Finland--THE smartest country in the world. One boy, Korea, and the other boy, Poland. It side-by-side compared America's way of going about education and the other countries. I'll leave at America really needs to get with the program.
Genius Hour teaches children to critically think. In America, most kids are lazy. Most teachers are lazy. Don't get me wrong, there are the stellar teachers, but there needs to be more. We need to teach our youths to think for ourselves, not just copy answers from one sheet of paper to another. I'll admit it, I'm guilty of not doing all of my work because I'm too tired, or too busy. In the end guilt takes over and I do it, but I wish all kids in my school--in my country--were like that. Genius Hour, especially these blog posts, teach children to actually use their brains and catch a glimpse of why other countries are rising in education while we are falling. Describe the most useful resource you have found to help you develop your genius hour project.My most useful resource I have found to help my Genius Hour project is most definitely my guitar teacher. He has been my teacher since the day I began playing guitar and has taught me 96.387% (kidding, I didn't actually do the math on that) of what I know. Without him, I most likely would not be playing guitar, let alone jazz guitar; and without that this Genius Hour page wouldn't exist (a shame isn't it?)! What is teaching without fun, right? *nervous laughter* From personal experience, the word "fun" is not part of most teachers' vocabulary. Thankfully, however, it is part of my guitar teacher's vocabulary! Thomas, or Sir Teacher Thomas as I call him, makes every lesson fun. Our motto is, "The best half hour of the week!" And it's true. Even the toughest of songs we find a way to do without the extreme frustration I would normally experience. From the get-go, I knew jazz guitar was going to be my toughest challenge. We started by simply "putting out fires" and learning the chord progression of one song at a time. Then we graduated to learning some chord progressions, still however, putting out fires. This year was a wake-up call for me. I auditioned and was accepted into the infamous Kingsford High School Jazz Band--the good jazz band, that is. I realized that I need to be able to look at a chord and produce it right on the spot, something difficult to do for an inexperienced jazz guitarist like me. However, Sir Teacher Thomas is there for me every step of the way, making me memorize chords and occasionally putting out fires! How could you use your genius hour time more effectively?It would be quite difficult, not to mention annoying to most, to drag a guitar into class every Friday for Genius Hour, which is precisely why I don't. However, I'm sure I could be using time a little more effectively. When I came up with this idea, I was unaware how difficult this actually was. Thankfully, its something I love, making it easier to do.
My main priority is finding out the history of jazz guitar. I can use my time more effectively by researching more on the subject. I can also go deeper into my research by trying to better understand where the author(s) were coming from when they wrote it. My time can also be spent more effectively outside of class by practicing more. It is clear that spending more time will only make me better at playing jazz guitar. If you had an unlimited amount of time and funds to make my genius project all it could be, it would look like:If I had an unlimited amount of funds my genius project would be, in my opinion, the greatest ever! My brain cannot yet comprehend how much I could buy or how much time I could put in to my project. Infinity is quite the large number, and fairly hard, if not impossible, to grasp its reality.
I would start with a shopping spree! But not just any old shopping spree, a guitar shopping spree. I would take a trip down to Memphis, Tennessee to the famous Gibson guitar factory. Beale Street would also be my main point of interest while in Memphis. While strolling down I suppose I'd have to duck in to the Hard Rock Cafe (Home of the Legendary Burger) and grab a bite to eat. I would continue with lessons and go to many jazz concerts to see all the different styles of playing the guitarists use. Who knows, maybe I'd even get to meet some famous jazz guitarists! There is so much more I could do, I literally can't even think of all the possibilities out there! What excites you most about your Genius Hour Project?I am very excited about my genius hour project. The thought that I will become a better jazz guitar player is very encouraging. I am thrilled at the idea of being able to research old, beautiful jazz guitars and all the amazing jazz guitar players from the old days. What concerns you most about your genius hour project?I have few concerns about my project. My main one is my time management--as in when I will have time to work on my skills outside of school, however I have always found the time to sit down and play before. My other concern is my ability to learn the music successfully. So far, I have not received any music to practice with, and jazz chords are not like the other, standard, kumbayah, campfire chords; they are much, much more complicated. What progress have you made so far with your project?I have not made an immense amount of progress with my project. I have not had the time or music to play, aside from jazz band and combo three times a week, but even then, most of the time I don't get to play in there. More progress will be made in the near future.
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February 2015
AuthorYogi and handstand princess! Boxing, food, guitars. Categories |