‘I’ll never use this in real life!’
If you were ever a kid, you probably said these words about a subject in school you hated and if you’ve ever taught or tutored, you’ve probably heard them more than once.
I’ve often thought about the subjects and lesson from school that I use in the real world and have realized that the most worthwhile group I joined was Future Problem Solvers.
Under the guidance of sponsors like Celinda Jurney and Angelee Gibson, our groups would be presented with numerous articles about a single subject and a prompt about a related issue. Groups then take that prompt and come up with 20 problems that could arise, rank them and come up with solutions based on the realworld evidence provided in the articles.
While it may not sound like the most exciting thing in the world, I’ve realized that it prepared me for critical thinking about the news I read and how to successfully work with others to troubleshoot problems and come up with solutions.
While covering the Little Authors book signing Friday night (See story on A1), I was reminded of the activity except there were three-eyed cats and Mars colonization.
In July of last year, Little Authors’ Michelle Dummar and Carmen Andersen led a group of eight kids between the ages of 7 and 12 to write and illustrate a book for publication.
For those that think it was easier to accomplish this goal in a group, I will remind you of every time you had to organize a group project in high school or college, plan a vacation with friends or relatives or even figure where to eat when you’re visiting family.
Adding others into any decision immediately opens the door for debate and chances are good you could get to the goal twice as fast and exactly how you wanted.
The reward usually outweighs the risk though - a group can take advantage of the strengths of multiple members to create a better project; the weeks of planning and concessions mean you get to take a trip with friends and family you hold dear; agreeing to get tacos when you wanted pizza means you’re getting to share a meal with those you love.
These activities also prepare us for many of the decisions we have to make while living with the billions of neighbors we have on the planet Earth.
These neighbors, whether close to us or strangers, all h a v e different lives and world views. They must all be taken into consideration.
If viewpoints are ignored, we may miss out on valuable insight or even infringe on the rights of others.
My aunt recently quoted my grandmother’s wisdom, saying ‘My freedom ends where yours begins.’
I like to listen to music loud, but I’ll get a visit from police if I blare it in a quiet neighborhood. I like camp fires and fireworks, but they should be avoided at all costs in the dry, windy days we’re having. We don’t need any more grass fires.
On a smaller scale, we also need to take the feeling and values of our loved ones at home into consideration or we may end up hurting feelings and harming relationships. If we ignore the views of others at home, we may end up living lonely. If we do it in public, we may end up in trouble. Either way, it’s a problem we can solve by simply valuing others.
Paul Gaudette is the managing editor at the Dublin Citizen and can be reached at 445-2515 and publisher@dublincitizen.com.