| Sarah and Maria Solve a Problem | |
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| The problem, part 1 | Sarah found a small black volcanic-looking rock on the playground; it looked very interesting.She loves science and loves to collect interesting natural things, and she thought that the rock was exceptionally “cool.”
She showed it to her good friend Maria who also liked it a lot, so Sarah (impulsively) gave it to Maria. But then Sarah. had second thoughts. When Sarah asked for it back, however, Maria said no, she wanted to keep it. Maria said when you give something away, it isn’t fair to ask for it back.
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| The problem, part 2 | The teacher intervened, and after the girls described the problem, she initially proposed a simple solution: find another rock together and keep searching until they found one that Maria. liked. Maria did not like that idea, and the teacher realized this was a problem that would take time to resolve
The teacher asked the girls to think of problem-solving ideas, and more ideas were floated: Find a new rock for one of the girls Because neither of them wanted to give up the original rock, split that rock in half. But since that might be too difficult, the teacher suggested keeping the rock in the classroom for everyone to share. Once again, however, neither girl wanted to give up ownership of the original rock. |
| Reaching an impasse | The girls argued back and forth and realized that they would not be able to come to an agreement quickly and they needed more time to think. (The closest they came was to take turns taking the rock home at night.)
Tears were flowing!!! The teacher asked them to summarize what had happened so far Sarah said they had discussed several alternate solutions but none were acceptable to both of them The teacher said that a “satisfying” solution did not mean that everyone had to be 100 percent happy, and suggested that some problems need more time to be solved and that this might be a good problem to “sleep on it.” The girls decided on a secure spot on the teacher’s desk where the rock could be kept until the next day. They agreed that they would think hard overnight on a solution to the problem. |
| Tomorrow is a new day | Sarah and Maria tried several times in the morning to get together with a teacher to discuss their problem, but it is not a good morning at the school! The teachers have some other immediate problems that need attention. They talk with the girls about “priorities” and the girls understand.
Sarah and Maria were very patient, and continued to talk during the morning activities. Finally, just before lunchtime, they were able to sit down together and Sarah announced a possible solution to their problem.
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| Tomorrow is a new day | Sarah presented three things she had made at home that she thought Maria might like to trade for the rock, and just to be sure, made something extra specially new that she thought Maria would like.
Sarah made up some math problems on a piece of paper because she knows Maria likes math. She drew a glow-in-the dark butterfly and a picture of a young girl. Sarah also made a colorful flower out of popsicle sticks. Maria. really liked all of them and said she would accept any one of them in exchange for the rock. Sarah said she could have them all.
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| Final agreements | Maria then asked if she could hold the rock one last time.
The teacher commented on the obvious value of the rock to Sarah, given what she was willing to trade for it to get it back. Maria said she was very happy that Sarah still wanted to be friends. Sarah asked to keep the big see-through envelope she had brought the trade items in. Another (blue) see-through envelope was found so that each child had a secure place for their items.
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| Teacher reflections | It is important to
Identify exactly what the problem is, as often there is an underlying issue that is being masked by the incident. Give the children as much ownership over the process as they can developmentally handle. Give enough time to the process. Restate the children’s words as needed so everyone understands. Determine ahead of time that the grownups will accept the children’s solution, as it is often something the adults might not predict. |