Every parent wants to see their child learn and succeed in school. This translates to a happy child, as well as setting them up to succeed in the real world. The older, more archaic ways of learning are transforming in today’s classroom, leaving more freedom and opportunities for your child to learn the way they learn best, and not as a “majority rules” type of learning system. One such cornerstone of teaching techniques is the Genius Hour.
What Is the Genius Hour?
The Genius Hour is an hour-long learning opportunity for children in the classroom to explore what interests them the most, and to further their education or interest in the subject matter. It gives your child the freedom to step away from a regimented, outlined schedule and have time to explore what they’re most curious about. This allows the students the chance to select a topic that is meaningful or interesting to them and learn more about it, do something related to it or even accomplish a task centered around the topic. They are able to fully execute their curiosity without feeling alienated or punished as they are supposed to be following guides and rules for other learning opportunities. This gives children the freedom to find what they really enjoy, whether it’s learning based or career or hobby based.
Helping Create Creativity
For too long, classrooms have been a cemented way of learning that many children find hard to grasp and fully learn. Schools are highly distracting places, and for hours on end, children are expected to sit quietly in their seats and learn about subjects that can be hard to envelop and fully understand. They are then quizzed and tested on this knowledge, which does show a certain level of understanding but can also breed the learning mentality of simply learning information to then “spit it” back out onto tests, and thus not really learn anything in the long run. When given the chance to break away from traditional learning and focus on something that interests the students, it can make learning fun and more individualized for them. There are some children who really thrive on structure, and thus given a task where they can explore whatever they want may seem a little confusing. And although it’s still a highly creative part of the day, it is still technically a “requirement” during the school day and are being told to work on their interests.
For the majority of children, however, this is a great way to get them more involved and engaged throughout the school day, and get more excited to attend school with each passing day. Genius Hour still engages children to explore and research without abandon, which should always be involved when it comes to learning.
Katie Kyzivat