We spent some time yesterday talking through this idea — what makes a project “real” — and it was fascinating how well the students have internalized the language of project design. More importantly, and it will be the focus for this morning’s circle, is the question of what makes a project real for an individual and what makes it real for the rest of the world? This distinction is important because it’s the difference between a project as a school thing and a project as a world thing.

We’re going to take the following statements and sort them into two categories:

A project is real when:

the person knows the deliverables (LS)
a person truly cares about the work they do and the outcome is worth doing (CB)
you can see that the person or people put their dedication into it (KH)
you come across problems and have to fix them (MT)
others learn or build from your project (KM)
other people are able to see it and feel it (TC)
the project lives on, people are inspired by it because it’s memorable (IJ)
when it makes people want to do something like that on their own (EG)
if you puts as much effort into thinking of a project as you would building it (SH)
if you are doing something that matters, like a #blacklivesmatter project. Or something (AM)
if you’re fixing a real world problem (DD)
if you learn something new or get better at something (DD)
if you can explain why the project is real (birthday girl)
if you understand the purpose of the project (KS)
if it’s challenging. (AH)
if you are aware of the work process (HG)
it touches people, benefits people, makes them look at something differently, solves a problem, and connects with them (HG)
your ideas come to life (DW)
the person’s dream and passion are behind the project (MH)
all the components are done (AR)