Creative Problem-Solving 101
September 26, 2007
Kids are a lot smarter than we give them credit for.
I was talking to a new principal recently about the purpose and value of smaller learning communities and found myself on a little bit of a rant about what we really want students to know and be able to do.
Perhaps it’s because of all the recent attention to apparent improvements in test scores in some states/schools. Perhaps it’s because more teachers than ever seem to be complaining about having to ‘teach to the test.’ Or perhaps it’s simply because this is the time of year, after all the reports that are due during the summer, that I get discouraged by what seems like the endlessly uphill battle we euphemistically call ‘school reform.’
Here, very simplistically, is what I think schools are for: To help students see the inevitable obstacles they’ll encounter as challenges rather than roadblocks and to arm them with the tools they’ll need to overcome them.
Easier said than done, you say? Consider this: Schools in Connecticut, and I believe nationwide, have essentially banned junk food. No more candy bars, chips or soda from cafeterias, vending machines or school stores. What’s a teenager to do? From what I’ve heard, the answer is: profit. Entrepreneurial teens are apparently taking advantage of the bulk candy rates at their local warehouse stores and re-selling the now contraband treats in school. Apparently it’s not highway robbery either. Most are actually selling their wares for less than they used to cost from the school’s vending machines, and still clearing a reasonable profit. It’s win/win for buyer and seller :)
So what can we learn from this? Kids are a lot smarter than we seem to think! Give them something they perceive to be a real problem, and they’ll find a way to solve it. (Those of us who advocate performance assessment have been saying this for years.) Then help them understand that that kind of creative problem-solving can be applied in any discipline – across disciplines – and they’re well on their way to success.
Before anyone jumps down my throat, I know there’s a whole bunch of skill-building that precedes this. I think that goes without saying (though I raised the foundational question, briefly, here.) But you have to start with the end in mind. The end isn’t test-taking; it’s living in the real world with a host of unpredictable challenges that will differ from student to student. Most kids actually already know this; we adults/educators are the ones who haven’t quite caught on.
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