We started the week with a journal reflecting on Friday's activities at Granite rec. We talked a little about the good and the bad from that experience to try and improve on future Friday activities. A lot of groups seemed upset that groups 8, 9, & 10 finished 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, and the word "cheated" has been thrown around a lot. This Friday we heard more of it. It bothers me that so much energy seemed to be focused on cheating.
After discussing Friday, we went over my syllabus, website, and various links. We watched some of the videos from Friday. We also discussed my expectations a little more.
The second part of the week was spent preparing for the Graduation Project and reviewing The Essential 55. We wrote a journal about three things we liked, then we created a chart with at least three research ideas and products that could be done. We spent quite a bit of time answering questions and brainstorming research and product topics.
From there students were grouped by tables and assigned a group of rules from The Essential 55. They are preparing creative presentations to refresh our collective memories about what the Essential 55 are. I also pulled a few students to record video updates that talk about what's been going on in their classes and what's coming next.
Friday was an adventure to say the least. Students were split into 18 groups of 4. Each group was given an envelope with a picture in it. The pictures were taken in K building and Redwood Park as well as the path between the two. What should have happened was that groups would find their first picture and then find another envelope with a different picture. They would follow this trail collecting pictures as they went. At four places along the way they would run into their teachers who had challenge puzzles. Once they successfully completed the puzzle, the students were given another picture clue and a puzzle piece. At the end each group would collect 33 pictures and 4 puzzle pieces. When all 72 puzzle pieces were put back together, the students would "find their place" putting together a group picture of them.
Unfortunately, it didn't work so well. First when the teachers met and decided on how many pictures should be on the trail, we all thought that 33 could be found by lunch. We were wrong. We may have made the course too tricky. But that factor was the smallest. All teams were told to stay together and follow their own trail. Some chose to pick up any clue they saw rather than follow their own path. Some chose to leave group members behind. Some group members chose to wonder off from their group. Some even claimed to be ditched when really they had done the ditching. And the worst part was that someone chose to take envelopes with clues. By doing that, they left holes in the trail that made it near impossible for some groups to finish.
This was by far the biggest disappointment all day. I had made a point of explaining that the only way to win would be for all 18 teams to finish and bring back their puzzle pieces, and yet some people were so hung up on winning that they ruined the game for others. I hope we learned some valuable life lessons, but I fear that some people missed the point altogether.
As we journey this year to "Find My Place", I hope we can return to the memories of Friday and remember that we may face obstacles and we may indeed run into people who don't want us to be successful but at the end of the journey, it's really up to us to make the most of our journey!
