Solving Problems Vs. Creating Solutions - A Mindset Context Switch

With all that has been going on in my schoolroom this year, I have had to change my mindset.  In fact, I've decided to take on the slogan of the Robinson family from "Meet the Robinsons."

Slogan of the Robinson Family - Keep Moving Foward!

Let me ask you this...Are you a problem solver or someone who finds creative solutions?

I have always considered myself a "problem solver."  While that might be a great title to have, I think it might be determental to my kids if their teacher is constantly trying to solve problems in her school.   I now try to actively seek creative solutions rather than focus on solving problems.  Why?  Creating solutions and problem solving involve very different states of mind. Creativity activates positive thoughts while problem solving is focused on what is negative. Creating is forward focused; it’s building toward the future. Problem solving is focused on the past.

I've had to make a context switch.

When I tell my kids "we have a problem" it casts a dark tone over the day and the person to whom this message is directed.  What if, instead we said something like, "Wow!  We need to find a new way to do this!"  I don't know about you, but my kids much prefer the later.  

What does creating look like?

There are five steps in the creative process from Robert Fritz, which are types of action, not a formula. These steps are:

1. Conceive of the result you want to create. Creators start at the end by knowing what they want to create. (By the way, this is the way Right Brainers think all the time.  We start with the end in mind.)
2. Know what condition or situation currently exists. If you don’t know what has already been created or done, it’s impossible to know what to do next. (This is where most people stop!)
3. Take action. When you know what you want and what you currently have, take action. Creating is a learning process, so every action may not work. When actions don’t work, readjust. (Take a lesson from the Military - do an After Action Review.  Figure out what worked and what didn't so you don't have to redo it again.  Keep moving forward!)
4. Learn the rhythms of the creative process. There are three phases: germination, assimilation, and completion.  (Listen to the niggling voice in your head...ideas come in the strangest places and at the strangest times.  Most of mine come after 11pm when talking with my husband.)
5. Create momentum. Professional creators create momentum. The seeds of their next action are planted and  germinate in their present actions.  (Keep improving and keep talking about your changes with someone.  Sounding boards have a good way of keeping you in check and moving forward.)

The comments in parenthesis above are mine.  According to Robert Fritz, when talking about problem solving in a particular scenario in the corporate world, "The problem led to action to solve the problem. The action lessened the problem. Less action was needed to solve the problem. Less attention was given to the problem, and the problem resurfaced. Problem solving," Fritz explains, "provides a way to organize our focus, actions, time, and thought process. Designing solutions to problems gives the sense that something important is being done."

He adds, “…it’s an illusion.”

What’s the alternative if designing solutions to problems doesn’t work?  It is in finding creative solutions.  Now, you might say, "That is in the corporate world!  I am a home educator. When my kid has a problem, I need to find a solution!"  I can tell you that after years of trying to fix my son's dysgraphia, I realized that I needed to find creative solutions to the problem rather than to fix him.  He wasn't broken.  He just wasn't able to do what I was asking him.  Poor kid.  I am astounded at his resiliancy given I kept trying to fix him.    

So, the first thing you need to do is change your language.  Notice that the word “problem” is not present in the five steps above. The tone is positive and growth oriented.

What do you think could happen if instead of telling your child "There is a problem" to changing your approach to "Let's find a better way?"
 

Dysgraphia and Creative Writing

Dysgraphia is a learning disability in which writing is difficult.  This is more than just the inability too legibly create letters and words.  It extends to the inability to spell and properly organize thoughts on paper. A child that is dysgraphic gets hung up so much on how to form the letters, that their brain often loses track of what they were trying to spell or write. 

Here's a picture of the process for the visual learners...

When my son was diagnosed with dysgraphia in December, it came as no surprise to me.   I have spent much more time on handwriting, spelling and sentence building with him than with any of my other children.  When he practices a lot, his cursive is nice and legible, but it requires so much work and effort on his part, he is unable to write spontaneously.  He can do copy work very well.  He can't easily write what he thinks. 

I have always encouraged my son to type assignments.  He has had his own laptop since he was 10 because of the difficulties he has always had with writing.  He is not a proficient writer, but he types faster than he writes.  He has also learned to rely on the spelling and grammar checking, and I am okay with that.

Obviously because of his difficulties, I will not give up on teaching him the elements of writing (five paragraph essays, in particular), formatting (MLA mostly), and grammar (via intense Latin study and an extremely rigorous grammar program).  We've also come up with an editing process that I found out is used often...just didn't know it already existed.  It's called the power method and it uses an acronym which makes the process easy to remember:

P-lan
O-utline
W-rite
E-dit
R-evise

Now, that may seem obvious, but it is not to an ADHD kid, especially one who hates the writing process.  I have always tried to get my kids to plan out what they are doing BEFORE they write.  They have begrudgingly done it, sort of...however, it wasn't until we were working through Essay Voyages by Michael Clay Thompson last year that they saw the power of the outline.  I gave the four kids I was working with an assignment.  Within the book, there was an outline of an essay.  Their job was to write their own essay, using all the things they had learned thus far from that outline.  They were all astounded at how easy it was when they had a good outline!  From there, the editing and revising was actually easy.  Handwriting aside, the process seemed easier.

However, I had never spent much time on story writing.  I didn't feel I needed to because my kids have always been good, not only at narration, but at making up their own imaginative stories.
One babysitter told us, after watching my children play, that my eldest son would make a good scriptwriter and director.  He would orchestrate elaborate stories into their play sessions.  Not only would he tell everyone what to do, but also what to say.  All the kids would follow his instructions because his stories, created on the fly, were fantastic.  Somehow, it occurred to me last year that my son needed to work and further develop that skill. 

One thing I have learned (listen up curriculum developers) is that the assignments need to be engaging  The premise behind TJeD is to let kids follow their interests and they will learn what they need to learn.  Inside my kid is a story teller without a way to get it out.  I decided that I needed to take things into my own hands and figure out a way to get him writing creatively.  So, given his interests - Star Wars, weapons, adventure stories, games and role playing (although he'd never played an official RPG), I took a lesson from Joseph Campbell and great ideas from George Lucas, a student of Campbell, and put them all together.

Last year, the idea started niggling and I bought some Star Wars books to thumb through.  Of course, my son thought that was divine.   Then, I had to take some time and learn what RPG was all about.  I guess I hadn't realized that Dungeons and Dragons (DnD) is a role playing game.  I never played it, but my friends in high school (yes, almost 30 years ago) did play it.  So I did have exposure, just not experience.

What I ended up with was a writing class for reluctant writers based on the Star Wars universe using role playing games as a way to a create the story.  While I wrote the class for my son, I knew he would not be interested in doing it by himself.  That is where the RPG comes into play.  I knew that if he had to share the story with others and that others would be involved in the story with him, he would work hard.  What an incentive!  So, we invited 11 of his friends to join us.  I used Joseph Campbell's The Hero With a Thousand Faces to teach the boys what makes a good myth.   One young man dropped out, but the older brother of another participant requested to join when he saw how much fun it could be.  These young men, aged 11-14 voluntarily joined us six weeks over the summer to write five 8-10 page stories.  And yes, my son came up with five 10 page stories.  I typed much of it for him because his ideas came so fast, he couldn't capture them all.  We're now working on using Dragon Dictation so he can hand it by himself.

Here is what I found.  The boys loved the themes, character development and structure.  But I think I was the big winners because I learned so much in those six weeks about boys, the writing process, RPG, Star Wars (did I really need to know more???) but most importantly  I also got to know these 11 young men much better.  It was especially funny to see how they would include each other or me in their stories, either by killing them off (not me) or buttering them up (most often me) so that others would include them in their stories.

My daughters, age 9 and 12 at the time, sat in hiding close to our school room enraptured as they listened in as the boys told their stories.  I am now working on the same process for girls, but the story lines will be much different.  In fact, we're toying with either a time travel element or putting the entire story in a particular period of time...not sure yet about that one.  Perhaps...



So, I'm curious.  Would it make sense to run the Star Wars class again?  Would there be interest?  I know the boys that took it enjoyed it, but I don't know if they will join us again.  By the way, I only charge for the cost of materials for these classes.  I am not interested in making money on it.  Last year, the boys paid $30, which covered all the class costs as well as snacks, materials, books, etc.  Let me know if you have someone interested.  My son would be...

The Motivation Myth

I want to thank the Church of St. Paul for having me speak at their Home Education Ministry meeting this morning.  It was gratifying to finally share all the reading I've been doing in the last six months with parents who understand and want to inspire their kids.  What a wonderful group you have!

If you are curious about the talk, there are four parts:  Motivation, Mentoring, Mindset and Methodology.  The gist of the talk is that we can't motivate anyone for the long term.  Extrinsic motivators really don't work.  I think, deep down we all understand that.  Moreover, understanding that human beings, made in God's likeness and image, do not like to be controlled or manipulated.  We do our kids a disservice telling them that they have to do things "because I said so."  That's motivation (extrinsic), and in the long run, it just doesn't work.

Speaking of mindset - For the HEM group:  I spoke about Brainology, which is an online class kids can take to help them move from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset.  Right now, Brainology is available for $39.95 through homeschoolbuyersco-op.org  which is 50% off the retail cost.  My kids have started it and after just a few classes have seen a difference in themselves.  I have seen the difference, too.

I could have spent another two hours talking about how the book clubs, spelling team, Junior Classical League (Latin Club) and our on-line co-schooling have motivated my kids.  However, I ran out of time!  Just remember that as our kids grow older, they need fellowship (as do we).  That fellowship, working on a common cause (book club, co-op class, etc.) might just be all the motivation our kids need.    Social contagion, the scientific term for people doing things because others are, can be used for good.

I will, over the course of the next few months, feature some of the books that I loved reading regarding this topic.

Learning to Mastery

 

First of all, my apologies for my long absence.   I've been working on a presentation called "The Motivation Myth" that I will be doing for a homeschool group on April 20.  After reading about fifteen different books, I've put together a presentation that talks not only about Motivation, but also Mindset, Mentoring and Methodology.  Sorry.  I couldn't think of any other M to go with that other than Methodology.  That section is about ways to inspire.

If that wasn't enough, I've been doing research about right-brain learning and how the brain works in general.  I'm particularly interested in how right-brain learners have difficulty memorizing things. I'm trying to bridge the gap between what I know is required in a Classical education and that which right brain learners are capable of doing.  They don't match up.  So, I've been doing a tremendous amount of research on memorization.  Not just regular memorization, but memorization to mastery.  I'm especially keyed up about it since recent studies on the brain show how important memorization is for our kids.  Books like The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle, Brain Rules by John Medina and The Genius in All of Us by David Shenk all support how very important memory work is for everyone.  And then other books like Right-Brained Child in a Left-Brain World, Upside-Down Brilliance, Teaching for Two Sides of the Mind and The Gift of Dyslexia say how hard it is for right-brained kids to remember things, especially words for which it is difficult to find a picture.  So, for my right-brained kids at home, I'm trying to bridge that gap. I was a very strong right-brained learner in elementary school.  School trained it out of me.  I now test as a whole-brain learner, which means I don't have a side preference any more.

Do you have a struggling learner?  One who has trouble with things like reading, memorizing, attention?  Chances are they aren't struggling.  They are just right-brained.   I'll be writing a lot more about right-brained learning next week once my deadline is over for my next talk as well as the Jesuit method of memorization.

Some excerpts from other books on Motivation...

Quick tips from some other books I'm perusing:

• Some kids are not motivated to achieve in school because they do not value the outcomes of school, nor do they enjoy completing the homework.  To reverse underachievement that stems from an apparent lack of motivation, educators must first determine how to build task value into the student's scholastic experiences.
• Students must believe they have the skills to perform a task before they will attempt it...The term self-efficacy is the individuals' judgment of their capacity to perform specific activities.
• The way in which parents and teachers compliment students has an impact on how successful students perceive themselves.  (Read Mindset for more help on that one!)  Try "Good work!" rather than "You are so smart!"
• If a child attempts a task and fails, they may determine, after that one attempt, that they can never succeed at that task.  This logic occurs because they fail to recognize how abilities are developed.
• Biblio-therapy can be great for kids who lack motivation by reading stories about famous people who have overcome hardship.  (Also from Mindset.)
• Believe it or not, the lack of motivation may stem from the opposite problem - lack of intellectual stimulation.  This does not mean piling on MORE work.  This means finding work that is challenging and of intellectual interest to the child.

Book Review: Drive:The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us

Have you ever gone down a rabbit hole to find a treasure for which you were not looking?  I found this book while reading through the Amazon reviews for Mindset by Carol Dweck.  I had checked out the library copy and kept it passed the due date, incurring a fine close to the cost of the book.  I am fully convinced I needed to own this book because it is just so good.  So, while I was reading the Mindset reviews again, about to purchase the Kindle version, I came across this book.  But this is not a review of Mindset.  I've done that already.

This book is relevant to me because I am often asked at talks that I do or in helping other moms that are new to homeschooling how they can better motivate their children.  The ratings on Amazon for this book are very high. What caught my eye was this from one of the 266 reviews:

This is a great book for teachers. As an upper elementary teacher (I've taught 4th through 7th grades, primarily 5th and 6th), I've long struggled with the emphasis on extrinsic motivation. I think that and the enormous pressure to raise test scores, thus narrowing the curriculum, are doing great damage to our children. They are told what they must learn and how they must learn it every day of their education. Their curiosity and interests are not respected and they are responding accordingly with apathy. This book is a clear, readable summary of the research of motivation and clarified many things for me. It also made me think deeply about my classroom and my practice and what it is I want for my students, which is to be able to think for themselves and love learning. Thank you, Mr. Pink, for a boost before I start another school year!

It is that age group that I believe struggles the most with motivation.  And it is this time of year I need motivation. 

And so now my review.  I started this book this morning.  It is not a long book.  It is engaging, however, and my kids have enjoyed the day off due to the illness of one child (who is on the mend).  All of our book clubs and activities were canceled because he was contagious until today at 5pm.

The book starts out with the thesis that Carrot and Stick motivation is dangerous.  Study after study and example after example show the reasons why and the Seven Reasons that Carrots and Sticks (Often) Don't Work.  My favorite part of the book is the Type I Toolkit.  He spends one third of the book explaining how to create an environment that supports Intrinsic motivation over Extrinsic motivation. 
Perhaps the part that hit me hardest upside the head was this:

Control leads to compliance; autonomy leads to engagement...While complying can be an effective strategy for physical survival, it's a lousy one for personal fulfillment.  Living a satisfying life requires more than simply meeting the demands of those in control.  Yet in our offices our classrooms we have way too much compliance and too little engagement.  The former might get you through the day, but the latter will get you through the night.

I thought of this with relationship to my parenting style and homeschool environment.  While obedience is a good think, I want my children to obey me because they are motivated to do it, not because of fear of punishment.  I want my kids to learn because they are curious, not because they will get some "reward" for doing so or they will receive punishment if not successful.  I once heard someone say at a homeschool workshop that you only need to provide extrinsic rewards for a short while before intrinsic rewards set in.  I don't believe that works for my kids.  Daniel Pink also provided proof that indeed, that is the case - extrinsic rewards do not lead to intrinsic motivation! 

Please keep in mind this book is written more for the professional world, but there is really no reason the ideas he gives can not be used in the home and homeschool.  Perhaps what appealed to me the most was that he wrote this book from the perspective of a software release, which is something to which I can relate.

I am in the process of writing two new talks.  One talk is on motivation which has no title yet, but I was asked to put together for a homeschool group.  The other I'm writing because of the number of requests I have had from parents about Special Needs and Special Gifts.  This book will figure in heavily in the first talk and I can see it being extremely useful in helping our kids with Special Needs develop the mindset to grow and succeed even when it's difficult.