By Kristen Shepard
Editor in Chief
With crafts, dancing and art projects strewn throughout the school, Cottonwood Creek Elementary looked like a miniature zoo on Friday. However, the perceived chaos that is Cottonwood Creek’s Genius Hour proved to be, in actuality, an innovative system for students to take their education to a new level by participating in activities that are catered to their individual interests and passions.
During Genius Hour, elementary school students are given free reign to work on a project or participate in an activity they are passionate about. The fundamental idea is that through Genius Hour, students can take learning into their own hands.
“In a Genius Hour, students are allowed the freedom to work on a project that interests them,” Cottonwood Creek Principal Dr. Andra Penny said. “The things students are doing will simply amaze you. Just walk up to a group of students, and ask ‘What are you working on?’ and they will be happy to tell you.”
The hallways were bustling with all sorts of activity from guitar practice to bike riding to cheerleading. Each activity has a deeper importance to both students and the community. One fifth grade student was working on developing an app for the app store. Another fifth grade student was teaching a special needs student a dance routine. Even students as young as 6 made friendship bracelets on a Rainbow Loom to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of North Texas. Not a single student let the hour go to waste.
“We have almost no tardies on Friday’s with Genius Hours,” Penny said. “Students simply do not want to miss them. We also have not had any disciplinary issues. Students know that if they misbehave, they might lose the privilege of participating.”
During a Genius Hour, almost every classroom is open to students. For students who are passionate about fine arts, the art and music classrooms are open for learners to paint set backdrops and give piano lessons to their younger peers.
“The [art classroom] is open to students, and they are open to work on whatever projects they want,“ art teacher Lynda Harris said. “What I have noticed is that attendance varies, sometimes five students come in and sometimes 15. I am taking this to mean that passions are developing.”
Harris has already seen how the Genius Hour is reforming traditional education.
“For myself, I am way more cognisant of what the children have in their minds of wanting to create since we started the Genius Hour,” Harris said. “I used to think that students came in as a blank canvas that I could paint on and help develop. Now, I think of them as more a canvas that already has thoughts and ideas on them, and I come to coalesce them and bring these thoughts together.”
Students were eager to share with visitors about their passions. During the 60 minute workshop, teachers not only monitored students, but also helped students turn their own ideas into actions. Serving as mentors, teachers and Cottonwood Creek staff helped students research their respective topics and learn ways to improve their ideas.
“Me and my friends are trying to help the North Dallas Food Bank. Our goal is to collect 100 cans of food, so we are trying to make a commercial, and we are going to put it on the morning announcements,” fifth grade student Riley Glowacki said. “I really like helping people because I see a lot of people on the street, and I really to help those people in need.”
Students polish their skills and expand their minds every time a Genius Hour takes place. Last year, when the hour existed under a different name, a student with a passion for guitar started playing his guitar in the niche between B and C halls. When another student saw this boy playing music, he wanted to take part in the performances. They boys worked together to learn to play guitar, and by the end of the year, the students were eager to participate in annual Cottonwood Talent show.
“The crowd at the Talent Show was blown away by these boys,” Penny said. “At the beginning of the year, one boy barely knew how to hold a guitar, but through their time together, they made incredible improvements and shocked their classmates and their parents.”
Though this is the first year for Cottonwood Creek to offer a Genius Hour, the idea for a Genius Hour was not a recent development. The idea has been evolving and shaping for over five years, since it began as “Colt College”. During Colt College, students are given a “course guide” of different seminars to attend, each taught by a different teacher. From cooking to choir to crafting, students were allowed to sign up for a course that interested them.
“We found out that our approach to the idea was backwards,” Penny said. “Teachers were teaching their hobbies, and [the teachers and administration] really did not know what the students were interested in doing. This became a hassle to the teachers who had to come up with a new mini-lesson every week. Now, the students come to teachers with the ideas.”
After reading “The Passion Driven Classroom” by Angela Maiers, Dr. Penny and the Cottonwood Creek staff reformed their original system to better allow students to participate in activities they are passionate about.
Whether it is music, service, teaching or football, passions come alive through Cottonwood Creek’s Genius Hour, and an eager and supportive staff is energetic about the project’s future.
