Creativity in Lessons

It’s been a minute, or two.

The start of 2024 has been full of change. With a new administrative team at the helm of my campus, things have started to shift. There is accountability and a new cohesiveness on our campus.

With change comes challenge. While it has always been challenging to work with the younger high school population this school year, the change this semester has heightened this challenge.

When expectations are set, that’s what is ingrained in young and impressionable minds. Everyday is a fight, an uphill battle.

I will say, though, the challenge has pushed me to tap into my creative side. In past years, I had the content to guide me. I knew what my lesson would cover that day and the activities that go with it. I had some idea of how my students would respond to each lesson. Without a curriculum, without a guidepost or a textbook to give me some idea of the path I need to go down, I have felt lost. I have spent many days simply telling my students that the lesson for the day is to practice time management and goal setting.

Write a S.M.A.R.T. goal.

If I don’t hear that again for the next five years, I think I might be okay.

The other day, though, frustrated with the inability of the teenage brain to grasp abstract concepts like time management, I went on a search of the internet for ideas. Of the many I came across, the one I picked was to equate time to money. I adapted the activity and I would hope that my mini lesson on time had even an inking of an impact.

The activity was simple: Here is $86,400. Spend it all in 30 minutes. Use words, illustrations, or a combination to identify where the money would go. Account for every cent.

I had some questionable looks and a lot of excitement. I heard a lot of my students buying cars, looking for beach houses (not having any concept of how much things actually cost in the world), and starting a Wing Stop franchise (or three). At the end of 30 minutes, I told the class to stop. Some wanted to keep going but I insisted they had to stop. Why?

You cannot stop time. You cannot keep the extra time you have in one day and tack it on to the next day. Time is valuable. Time cannot be multiplied or saved. Use your time wisely, for you don’t want to end up with regrets. The decisions you make today will impact you in the future, whether you like it or not.