Easy Solutions

This is an interesting video from Dan Meyer, a math teacher from Santa Cruz, CA (It was forwarded to me by a CGHS parent who discovered it being used informally as a resource at their company for "Take Your Children to Work Day" - thank you!).

The application for math and science classes is obvious, however I also like employing his theories to the problem of jumping to solutions-based thinking in leadership challenges on campus. When we have a problem at school, students and adults want a formula where they can plug in established solutions ("the way we've always done it") in order to arrive at an easy solution. Invariably, we arrive at the creation of a new policy (usually a clarification of an existing policy) precisely because it's an easy solution, and difficult to oppose. Rarely do those groups ask important questions, sift out non-essential information, or (most frustratingly of all) use their collective or individual intuition about what works and doesn't work.

Perhaps when we present leadership challenges, we need to not only be much more careful about how we present the problem, but also spend much more time allowing/encouraging/pushing groups to establish their own process.  My observations of group dynamics in leadership exercises reminds me that students and adults are much too willing to fall into already established processes, and we do them a disservice if continue to allow that thinking.