yesterday's socratic seminars

Thanks to everyone who participated in the discussion yesterday. Periods 1 & 2 handled the conversations very differently; both were extremely productive and generated a lot of good ideas. Following are my notes-- they're organized by period but all ideas are open to anyone, and you're welcome to change/create new possibilities. If you have any additions or corrections please comment to this post. We will be continuing the conversation and developing your ideas into paths of inquiry and projects next week.

PERIOD 1

• Self-expression is key
• each individual has something important to contribute
• each student is living a learning life
• No rules
• community/network standards of excellence are more important than authority-based "do's and don'ts"
• remove "one size fits all" limits so each person can re-establish their personal sense of self and identity
• our work shows who we are and what/how we think
• Idea: "Sh*t students say" video
• challenge: learners want to step outside the box without playing to stereotype of lazy, goofy teenagers
• lots of interest/discussion around video idea-- students can record their own message/s, upload, and use in a variety of ways
• Idea: letter to ourselves with a goal, inspirational message, action plan, reminder of who we are today
• We need to do something--individually and as a community-- that blows expectations away
• Idea: end-of-semester presentations of our learning journeys
• Idea: watch "Pulp Fiction" as example of postmodernism

PERIOD 2

• Students want to learn about authors & why they chose to write the way they did (especially the American postmodernists)
• Learning is personal
• Students weren't sure about outcomes yet, decided to go around the room and start with interests:
• Analyssa: photojournalism
• Rudy: music
• Easton: creative writing
• Mia: teenage lives & culture
• Ashley: academic essays & decision-making/goal-setting
• Adam: improving blog design and content
• Uri: music, specifically creating & critiquing electronic music
• Des: music/vocals
• Christian: sports and how they teach us about life off the field/court
• Austyn: Greek mythology
• Chase: resumes
• Andrew: scholarships for college
• Eli: SMART goal (in pursuit of a career in engineering)
• Whitney: ideas communicated in different media/idiom/metaphor
• Sarah: world cultures (geography, language, social norms/behaviors/beliefs)
• Jon: acting
• Kristian: literature from other cultures
• Erick: music
• Jared: hack school as a cultural anthropologist ("I was watching people during the passing period, and thinking...")
• Francisco: music as literature
• Lissette: watch the new movie version of Gatsby and leave QR codes all over theater
• Ricky: drumming/skateboarding-->transcendentalism
• Nathan: figuring out what I want to do now that I know what I don't want to do
• Malik: coding/gaming