I need to develop the higher-level aspects of Innovative Arts. There have been years of work to get the basics figured out… but not that much in terms of a capstone project to end it.

I’d love to have students diving into one of the six creator types and getting with other students of that type. Students who are writing stories can read each-others work. Designers can see the archives of past designers work. Engineers can undertake an extra challenging project with deluxe materials. This will help younger students see what is coming, get mentoring, and build community. Once this is in place, I expect we will be doing really amazing things in all directions at the same time!

Getting this off the ground will be a real trick though. For this to work, the basics have to be rock solid and I have literally hundreds of resources to create to do that. I also have to distill the essence of the 6 creator types into middle school level resources. This is a huge task.

On top of all of this, I will also need to start experimenting with grouping, meeting, and internally documenting the long term, awesome projects that the oldest students are creating. This is a tall order just by itself.

I’ve spend the last month working to revamp the class culture and routines. I need to finish that up and get back to the projects and resources. Too much to do. Tonight I am re-prioritizing and refocusing on the short term.

Thankfully, I have the persistence and support I need to have a real chance at success. Though, it feels like it will be years to get all of this really done.

On the other hand, this past year brought so much progress, maybe not.