Wettrick paid a visit to Curtis Elementary on Tuesday morning – at no cost to the District – where he talked with teachers and students about “Genius Hour” and the art of innovation.
“Not everyone has an opportunity to learn like this,” Wettrick said. “What these students and teachers are doing is definitely relevant.”
Wettrick, who currently teaches at Nobelsville High School just outside of Indianapolis, Indiana, spent about two hours on the Curtis campus. He also visited classrooms ranging from kindergarten to sixth grade where he asked students about their creativity and innovativeness.
“My mantra is that learning opportunities are everywhere,” he said. “We just need to look for them.”
Wettrick’s book, “Pure Genius: Building a Culture of Innovation and Taking 20% Time to the Next Level,” uses 21st Century Learning techniques primarily tied to innovation.
“Innovation uses a fresh approach to solving real problems with the resources you have and finding clever ways around the resources you don’t have,” he added.
Wettrick was very impressed with the Maker Space and Media Maker Space located in the Curtis Elementary Library, and used Twitter to promote the learning opportunities he saw.
“We don’t want to just show people in Weatherford the cool things that are going on at school, we want to show the world,” he said.
Although Curtis Elementary has been holding “Genius Hour” for about two years now, other campuses throughout Weatherford ISD also have implanted their own “Genius Hours.”
The Genius Hour Project is based on Google’s 80/20 plan where workers are “on the clock” for 80 percent of the time; and they spend the other 20 percent doing things they are passionate about.
“Don is going to help us move to the next level,” Curtis Elementary Principal Racheal Rife said. “Although we have our ‘Genius Hour’ about once a week, he says that we need to spend even more time letting students innovate.”
Wettrick finished his visit to Curtis by visiting a group of fifth graders in the library.
“You have a chance to change this school,” he said. “Share your experiences with other students and get them involved as well.”