SPARK Students' Interests by Bringing in Community Members

What better way to spark student interests than bringing in parents and community members!? 

We did just that at our school. I have always been inspired by Ted Talks, like these:

The Key To Success: Grit by Angela Lee Duckworth

Do Schools Kill Creativity? by Ken Robinson

• Success Through Effort (Okay-Not a Ted Talk but still great!)
• Why You Need to Fail

I was inspired by Ignite Chicago's version of Ted Talks where people are tasked with the following:

I decided to bring it to our school. The plan was to have parents and community members come share short presentations (20 slides that advanced automatically every 15 seconds) to spark new interests in our students (see what I did there?) for Genius Hour! Andddd....it was AMAZING! We had 11 volunteers come share their passions, hobbies, and/or careers with our students. After about an hourlong presentation, I heard gaggles of students (and teachers!) say things like, "I want to be a pilot!" and "Maybe I should be a rock star?" and "That was SO cool!"...and it was! The plan is to turn it around and have some of our students do the SAME thing after their genius hour projects. Not only is it engaging, but it's incredibly challenging!

Our SPARK event was even featured in the Chicago Tribune! Check it out here: 5 Minute Lectures Highlight Careers

Here's the quick how-to:

• Check with your principal and teachers. (We did 3rd-5th grade at our school.)
• Create a quick poster like this:

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• Share it EVERYWHERE: Twitter, School newsletters, and more! I searched local businesses and even our local mayor's office (Yes! He came!) for contact information and sent out the flyer. We had a great response!

• Make sure that all schedule changes (for Specials/etc.) are made.

• Check with secretary about signing in procedures.

• Get all the tech ready, including microphones and projectors!

• It's SHOWTIME!

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• Have kids write thank you notes afterwards.

• After students complete their Genius Hour projects, look for volunteers who are ready for the challenge of presenting this way!