Nuturing Genius | Angela Maiers, Speaker, Educator, #YOUMATTER

26th Jan 2011 Posted in: 21st CENTURY EDUCATION, HABITUDES, MILLION DOLLAR CONVERSATIONS, PASSION DRIVEN, STRATEGIES THAT WORK, TEACHER INSPIRATION

Imagine if your day started with these words when you walked into school, a staff meeting, or your office.

How would you feel?
How would you perform?
How would that impact others around you?

Could speaking these simple words to our students, colleagues, employees really make that much of a difference?

You know my answer, but just in case your don’t quite yet believe me, check out these classrooms.

According to Mrs. Sigler’s students, a genius was probably a smart, cute, kind scientist, but they were not exactly sure. They decided to check out how the rest of the world defined ‘genius’. They found words like curious, playful, imaginative, joyful and inventive.

Mrs Sigler then asked her kids to tell their fellow classmates and the world why they were a genius, and here is what they are willing and ready to contribute:

Here’s what, Mrs Voyle, 7th grade teacher noticed:

Today I’ve experimented with using some different language. I have started calling my students readers and writers and learners. I have known that the language that I use with my students is so very important and today using these labels really worked for me. I have a student who is working with me to recover most of his 7th grade year. This is a student who has really struggled in all aspects of school including with me. Today was no exception. After having a really rough day together, I decided I needed to try something different. We discussed the learning that I had done the week before. I told this student that I learned that ALL students are genius. After a little more discussion the student grabbed a post it note and made this sign:

Not only did he just make the sign, but he showed me his genius the whole period! He worked so hard and I was so proud of him. At the end of the day he took off his sign and said, “I’ll leave this here so I can save my genius for tomorrow”. All from a difference in language!

These amazing students have identified their genius: Feeding the world, tending to the ill, providing art to the masses… What’s YOUR genius? And, most importantly, what will you do about it?