When I was looking for a Christmas present for my nephew Michael that didn’t involve video games, I came across some wooden model kits that had lights and moving parts. I sent him one that was a hand-cranked theater scene, and I bought a robot one for myself with a music box that plays a somber tune. Since I was asked to make something this week, I decided to finally put the model together. Here is a link to a short video of it.
How does this relate to my inquiry? Well, it took me a LONG time to finish this robot on my own. 3 nights of 2-hour sessions and lack of sleep compounded by the fact that whoever wrote the instructions did not speak English as their first language. But I persevered, and lo and behold my robot lives!
As I was assembling the robot, I was thinking about my nephew putting his kit together. He lives in North Carolina, and I’m lucky if I get to see him once a year. Because of this we are not particularly close. If we had a chance to compare notes, I’m sure he would have had some good suggestions as to the best way to approach assembly. If either of us had sections we stumbled upon, we could have used them as shared moments in which to get to know each other better. Assembling the kit gave me firsthand experience that I want to share. Although I sent him the video link, I have not yet heard anything back from him. His father called me not long after I sent the video and mentioned that Michael had put his kit together shortly after Christmas. Did it turn out great? mediocre? Somewhere in the middle? Did he get bored and not finish it? I have no idea.
The moral of this story is that we both felt comfortable working alone and thought it unnecessary to contact the other. This is what I want to try to prevent in my future classrooms: students who only get concerned about their own welfare. As human beings I want them to understand that they are part of multiple groups that all have vested interest in their successes as groups, not just as individuals. This dos not change whether we are speaking about partners on a project, classmates, kids from the same school, or even everyone who lives in a certain town. What is the point of attempting something if no one gets to hear about your successes or failures? I want my future students to be able to get peer validation. I also want them to not hesitate if they need to ask classmates for assistance, and I want their classmates to want to help them if difficulties arise. I want them to realize that it feels good to be part of a team and be able to be proud of the roles they played that lead to success.
Thanks for reading,
Eric L