Sorry if this seems a little off of my usual topic, but I had an incredible experience today that I felt deserved sharing. Today, my school took a day off of a regular learning experience and engaged in an All-School Workshop we dubbed "Spartans Connect." The basic idea was that students and faculty would all come together as equals and share our passions. You could sign up for 45 or 90 minute presentations on someone's passion or expertise. There were presentations on things from travel to cooking to parkour. It ended up being a really fantastic experience, but I took away something really cool that made me think about my blog as well. In high school, you're judged daily based on what you wear or who you're perceived as. People see you wearing all black one day, they assume you're a goth. They see you carrying around a lacrosse stick, they assume you're an athlete. But what if you were just wearing all black because you thought the outfit looked cute, but you're really into painting. Or what if you were just carrying a lacrosse stick for a friend, but you're a fantastic poet? This Spartans Connect All-School Workshop allowed for students who normally wouldn't be able to indulge in their passions to do so, and it also allowed for students to find new passions. Even the teachers who were supposed to be chaperoning the sessions ended up taking a lot away from them, and I think that was a valuable aspect of this All-School Workshop. I'm so excited to see what my school does with this in future years (even though I won't be a student there anymore). This is a really interesting concept that is another way to go about educating our youth.
