Genius Hour - Week 7 (Mod 8)

Reflection

The process of this Genius Hour project was both strenuous and rewarding. I was able to take something I am truly passionate about and educate myself more about it, as well as share my findings with my students, family, and friends. The last few weeks have opened my eyes to not only the grave truths of the hunger crisis in Cook County, but also all the efforts being made to alleviate the problem. Perhaps my biggest celebration with this Genius Hour is what is to come--on December 7, a group of friends and I are going to volunteer at the Chicago Food Depository. I’ve thought about inviting people to volunteer with me in the past, but if it wasn’t for this project, I’m not sure I would have ever truly taken the steps necessary to rally a group like this. To make it even better, they seem to be more excited than me--which is so awesome to see!

I feel so fortunate that I’ve already begun to take bits and pieces of my passion back to my classroom. I’ve been able to help my students learn about what food insecurity is, and how to help support the cause--whether it be through volunteering at our school’s food pantry or at various charity events, like Hoops for Hope, which our school hosted on November 14. I’m proud of myself that I committed time each week to researching and bringing awareness of this issue, and I’m so grateful this course gave me the opportunity to participate in my first Genius Hour project!

Genius Hour - Week 6 (Mod 7)

It's Showtime

Over the past few weeks, I spent time researching and spreading awareness for the fight against hunger across Cook County. Although my “final product” will not technically happen until December 7, I still feel a sense of accomplishment through this Genius Hour Project. (I rallied a group of friends to join me in volunteering at the Greater Chicago Food Depository on this date.)

Aside from the volunteer event in December, another product that came out of this Genius Hour was the opportunity to share information with my students at the junior high I teach at. It worked out that throughout the month of October and November, we had a school-wide initiative to educate our students on being charitable, and we focused on collecting donated items for the Greater Chicago Food Depository, as well as items for our own food pantry within our school.

Our school hosted Hoops for Hope, an event that took place on Nov. 14 where our students, staff, and their families participated in a series of basketball games and all the money raised that evening went towards the Greater Chicago Food Depository. While I helped work the event, I was able to have conversations with my students and their families about the cause and about the hunger problem in Cook County. They were not only shocked to know how many of our district’s students are food insecure, but also to learn that it is a significant problem across the entire county. These conversations then allowed me to let families know about our school’s food pantry and how to get connected should they ever need it as a resource.

Finally, about a week after the Hoops for Hope event, a smaller group of choir students (different from Club Unify) participated in a service opportunity in which they helped organize and stock our food pantry. I’ve included a photo of our food pantry below. This Genius Project couldn’t have happened at a better time. It allowed me to invest time and energy into something I am truly passionate about, AND share my findings and passion with the students and staff at my school.

Genius Hour - Week 5 (Mod 6)

We Are Learners

As I worked through this project, although at times it honestly felt a bit like a chore to devote 30-40 minutes each evening on it, I never felt “frustrated” by the process. Something I noticed about my learning while I researched facts and statistics on hunger, I realized my stamina is not very strong. Some evenings after getting home from a long day of teaching (and usually a meeting or two after school), I felt my learning was not always as valuable as it could have been. It felt like I had hit a wall and was no longer processing new information as I browsed websites. 

Something that I started doing was listening to soft music as I spent time researching and learning. When I was in college, I always listened to music while studying, so I had a feeling this addition to my routine would be beneficial. I also had to situate myself somewhere with limited distractions. I mentioned in an earlier post that my phone is an easy distraction, so I make sure to put it away (on silent and out of sight). Beyond that though, I also had to change up the location of where I worked on my project. I used to work in the living room--the common area my boyfriend would also use when he got home. He used to sit on the couch next to me and I’d update him on where I was at with my project. However, this week I realized this type of interaction actually slowed my productivity, so I decided on days when we were both home and I had to work on my project, I moved myself to the spare bedroom, shut the door, and truly devoted some quiet, isolated time to get some work done. Between the music and new location, these two adjustments to my routine has helped focus my learning overall. 

Something that I learned this week was actually part of an experience I was fortunate to have with some of my students. My school has an after-school club called Club Unify. The club consists of students with special needs, as well as “mainstream” student mentors. The purpose of the club is for these students to build friendships and support for one another while fostering acceptance of students with special needs. This past Thursday, the group spent an hour after school organizing the food pantry that is located in our school. This food pantry serves many families within our entire district, and it was so inspiring to see these 7th and 8th grade students work together to organize the pantry. I think it was a great chance for them to partake in something truly hands on and fulfilling.

Information from the District 54 Food Pantry:

Genius Hour - Week 4 (Mod 5)

Expect the Mutiny

This week, I took time to reflect on what is keeping me motivated with this genius hour project. Besides having a passion to help with hunger in Cook County--why else keeps me going? I kept coming back to this reason: my drive to educate. Being a teacher and educating people about what is going on in the world/in our community/in our school is something I do every single day, and raising awareness is doing just that--educating. 

The sentence stem of “Why do you want to…” also kept me pushing forward with this project this week. “Why do I want to spread awareness of the fight for hunger?” “Why do I want other people to care?” “Why do I want to learn more about it myself?” These types of questions kept me focused this week and confident that by sticking to this genius hour project, I can make a difference. 

Something I achieved this week that I couldn’t or didn’t last week was rallying together people for this cause--and in my case, these people were my students. This genius hour could come at a better time because right now our 7th and 8th graders at my school are collecting items to donate to our district’s food pantry and the Greater Chicago Food Depository. This past Tuesday, I gave a 30 minute lesson to my students about the hunger crisis in Cook County, I showed them an informational video produced by the Chicago Food Depository, and I hyped up our school’s charity event, Hoops for Hope, which is being held Thursday, Nov. 14. The event will be in our school’s gym and involves a series of basketball games where all our students, staff and their families are invited to play. We will be selling game cards, concessions, t-shirts, bracelets, and raffle prizes--and all proceeds go toward the fight for hunger. The students are getting more excited for the event as we get closer, and I had the opportunity to teach them about why the topic of hunger is so important.

Genius Hour - Week 3 (Mod 4)

The Elevator Pitch

Something I could do now that I couldn’t last week ties in with what I know now. I spent some time researching statistics about hunger and I expressed what I learned through an infographic that I designed and created. I tried to focus my research on the food insecurity data specific to Cook County, and I took a look at multiple website / sources. What I learned was quite eye-opening and honestly the information only heightened my passion to help in the fight for hunger. One statistic that I found especially concerning was that 65% of children in public schools in Cook County are eligible for Free & Reduced Lunch, and in Illinois, 1.4 million people are food insecure and one third of them are children. (http://www.advocatedocs.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Health-Hunger-Food-Insecurity-in-Cook-County-Across-Illinois.pdf)

I also learned about some of the physical and mental impairments that are caused by hunger, which just made me think about the students who sit in my class every day, and that some of them might be experiencing this struggle. Not only does hunger negatively impact students’ ability to concentrate and process information, but it is also linked to cases of depression and anxiety. Knowing that there is research to support the implications of hunger on children makes me feel more sympathetic and understanding of some of my students who may have behavior or academic challenges. There is always a reason behind our most challenging students, and it is possible hunger is one of those reasons--Just something to think about.

While I was researching about hunger and as my drive to do something about it grew, I decided to create the infographic below as means to help synthesize my learning and spread awareness.