So, today, I asked them to group themselves and brainstorm ideas on a topic: How to make 2T6 (their class) more fun. They then came up with the following ideas below:
It was then time for recess. After recess, I picked up from where I had left. I gave each student a Post-it note and asked them to choose one idea from the whiteboard. Subsequently, I got the Vice Chair-man to group similar ideas together.
It turned out that movies was their most preferred choice. Here lies the quandary. My wife is the one who subscribes to Netflix, but I don’t think she will share her password with me. So, I can’t show them current movies in class and get them to talk about them. If I am to make their wish come true, I got to lean on YouTube, which may feature outdated movies that they wouldn’t like.
My Chairman was absent today, so I texted him as such:
This 14-year-old doesn’t have any movie suggestions. So, I guess I am not gonna overthink things. The first movie I thought of was Coach Carter. I checked YouTube; yup, the whole movie is available. I’m just gonna show them Coach Carter and pivot accordingly based on their responses. Anyway, the whole point was to demonstrate an example of a problem-solving procedure for them:
- Brainstorm ideas
- Give each participant one vote
- Go with the majority vote
- Implement an idea promptly and see how things go
Today felt fulfilling because I thought I was doing my part in nurturing thinking individuals. Hopefully, I will be able to initiate further iterations and sharpen their problem-solving skills.
