Since September Peyton Newell took one hour of five each week to look ‘outside the box? during her daily advanced placement English classwork.
By June there was plenty to see.
‘I just love fashion,? said Newell, 16, who will be a Brandon High School senior this fall. ‘Seven months ago Mrs. Kelsey asked us to pick something we are passionate about and each week we could work on that project. It was our choice. I want to attend FIDM or Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in California. So I spent my time developing a college portfolio for early acceptance to the FIDM in apparel industry management. I really don’t have an interest in science or English, but I do fashion.?
Newell is just one of about 100 Brandon High School students that participated in an innovative idea spawned by internet giant Google’devote 20 percent of daily working time to independent projects of your own choosing. On June 4 and 5, near the end of the school year, Kristen Kelsey and her students showcased what they with that 20 percent of their time.
‘We called it, ‘Genius hour,?? said Kelsey, in her eleventh year at BHS. ‘The Google project was for a large company. We took that idea and used it for education.?
So, Kelsey, a Central Michigan University graduate who teaches 25 freshman honor students and about 75 advanced placement juniors provided the time to work on whatever they wanted for one hour each week.
‘The project is a radical departure from the traditional classroom,? she said. ‘For some it was a great learning experience and they really thrived. For others it was very stressful. It was difficult to think out of the box and some had problems because of the freedom. It was as if they were never asked what they are passionate about. To help the students I’d ask them, tell me something you love, or tell me something that really bothers you.?
‘With certain parameters the students had a choice in what they were learning,? she added.