IHC Journey

 Our students met with Dr. Fletcher this morning. No, not Dr. Ruth Fletcher, Dr. Chip Fletcher (her husband). Interim dean of UHM SOEST, he's clearly a busy guy but Dr. Ruth volunteered him to spend some time with our students and let us pick his brain.  What amazes me about some people (I'm referring to the Fletchers here) is you can throw out almost anything about almost any topic and they will have some insightful widsom to bestow.  Students in each group got to ask him questions that were plaguing their project and also environmental questions/questions about him as a scientist and a learner. Each time he had unparalleled advice to give. Our students brought their A game with their questions and wonderings and he was so encouraging and helpful. It really was a treat to have our students spend an hour with an expert in the field.  Mahalo Drs. Fletcher! 

 We've jumped into the deep end and there's no going back now. We are completely submerged in the pool water and we're swimming. Just keep swimming. I've truly enjoyed my time in the classroom each Wednesday hanging out with the 8th graders and getting to know them during this process. It's one thing to see them on campus and another to hear them discuss things in groups and get passionate about topics.  Trevor (the teacher implementing Genius Hour) exposed students to enviornmental issues and had them research problems before engaging in a socratic seminar and it was very eye opening to see leaders emerge and students speak. It's been my favorite session so far.  Technology is a hindrance and a help. Some days the scale is 10/90 and other days it's 50/50 and on some interesting days its 90/10. Well, pair that with the pandemic and us trying to keep kids separated with acrylic barriers does not assist in the 'group work' portion. Today I noticed the ...