During the first week of Session 5, the Falcons chose between two options for Genre: to participate in E-Ship or to write a Medical Funding pitch.
The learners who chose E-Ship spent most of their time exploring their passions and gifts (so that they can connect those to what they might want to sell at the Children’s Business Fair). They designed a survey with questions that would help them to learn more about themselves (e.g., “What do you think are my strengths?”), and then asked three different people to complete it. They also participated in two exciting Hero Visit: Sunny Barnes (Ray’s brother), who talked about his entrepreneurial experience from a young age (10 YO!), and Chrissy Peterson, who spoke about her business as a chiropractor.
The learners who chose the Medical Funding pitch dove into exploring the fascinating world of medical discoveries made by young people. By the end of the week, they had to select the three main options for their pitch.
For Quest (medical biology), the learners explored the fascinating world of the human body. They were challenged to learn about the Nervous, Circulatory, Respiratory, Digestive, Excretory, Skeletal, Muscular, Immune, Endocrine, and Reproductive systems. They watched videos and took notes to understand the primary function of those systems in our bodies.
For Civ, the Falcons listened to the first chapter in the series, “Guns, Germs, and Steel.” In the first chapter, they learned about the roots of farming and discussed this question:
Imagine you want to find a new civilization but only have limited money. What is most important to you:
picking a location with great weather, resources, or on a trade route;
crafting a freedom-friendly constitution with protection for individual rights and property;
attracting skilled workers; or
investing in advanced technology?
All of the learners began working on their “passion projects” this week. We had some great selections, including seed planting, sewing scrunchies, and watercolor painting. Watching the Falcons so engaged and excited about their passion projects was exciting.
Lastly, just before break, one of our Journey learners (Carson) finished his first apprenticeship! Carson chose to work with Betsy Jewel (creator of the High School Hamster Wheel) in order to learn more about the world of podcasting. Here is the link to the episode they created together: https://highschoolhamsterwheel.com/116/. Enjoy listening, and congratulations Carson!