Genius Week further explained

Genius+Week+further+explained

Kailey McComas, Contributor
April 28, 2016

In order to help students have a more clear idea of their future, Genius Week will be a time set aside to create a project on a subject in which the student(s) are most interested.

The Big Questions

Q: When is it?

A: May 2 to May 5

Q: How will the project be graded?

A: The English teachers will be grading the projects. There will be set dates used as checkpoints. These checkpoints will show the progress students are making. Students will submit this progress through Canvas. It will be a major grade when the final product is turned in. The grade will go toward all English class averages.

Q: Where will we work on the project?

A: Every student will be assigned a class with three different teachers. Students are to meet there is the morning and have the choice of working in that classroom or working elsewhere as long as one of the teachers knows. Where students work depend of their choice of project. If students are not working in that classroom, they must check in with teachers after lunch.

Q: What about AP testing? EOC testing?

A: Students who are testing next week will still test and review as planned. These students will have less time to work on their Genius Projects. Freshman will have the biology and algebra EOCs. Juniors and some sophomores will have AP testing.

“It is an opportunity for all the kids to discover their passions and really dive into whatever it is they like,” Terri Weaver, English teacher, said. “You have complete control over what you choose to do.”

Genius Week projects are virtually unlimited within reason. Many do not know much about the project, but those who do have already begun planning.

“I think I’m just going to cook for old people,” Eden Bates (9) said.

Not everyone views the week as purposeful. It is meant to be an extra push towards a successful career, but some students do not think it is necessary. One of these students is Grace Neill (9).

“It is a very big waste of time because we already have electives that we are encouraged to take over what we want to do when we get older, so why give us a week of the exact same thing we do every day,” Neill said.

Not everyone sees eye-to-eye on the idea, but it is a trial to see if it is something worth continuing. Not every student will be able to participate all week due to testing, but all students must participate.

“Mostly Genius Week is meant to plan out a final project, so you may not end up having  a final product by the end of the week, but you will have a plan,” Weaver said.