Scenius

                         Climbing Half Dome, Yosemite

 Scenius or “genius of the scene” is a term coined by Brian Eno to suggest the extreme creativity that groups or places can generate from time to time. Eno’s actual definition is, "Scenius stands for the intelligence and the intuition of a whole cultural scene. It is the communal form of the concept of the genius." Kevin Kelly, in his blog, “The Technium,” writes about some examples of scenius: Building 20 at MIT, Silicon Valley, the lofts in Soho NYC and Burning Man.

 One of the more interesting examples of scenius that Kelly describes is Camp 4 at Yosemite. Various climbers with experience in the Alps discovered the sheer faces of Yosemite in the 1930’s and established a permanent camp on the north side of the valley in 1941. As Kelly writes, “Over the next 60 years this scenius would invent most of the modern techniques of rock climbing, and many innovations that would later spill into outdoor skills and gear in general.” At Camp 4 (click here for YouTube video) some of the world’s best climbers lived and climbed together, always pushing themselves to be at the cutting edge of their area of passion. 

As teachers, are any of us involved in a scenius? If so, what does it look like? Who are its members and what are its best practices? If we are not involved in a scenius, what would a scenius in our school or division look like? What would the best practices be and what would student learning look like? Is offering the same reading text to all students including those reading at the twelfth grade level and the  ESL student at the fourth grade level a best practice? Imagine a school where teachers, students, parents and administrators are all passionately engaged at the cutting edge of learning!

 Kelly concludes his blog on scenius, 

“When it happens, honor and protect it.”