Problem Solving
As students matriculate through their K-12 school experiences, there are sure to be a number of instances where problems arise. Rather it’s an academic dilemma, an athletic challenge, or a social conflict, there are many opportunities for students to encounter situations that require problem solving.
Early learning steps may include social adjustments where one acclimates to sharing, taking turns, and not speaking out without permission. These first rungs of the ladder of academic success are critical for students to lay the foundation needed to develop the academic merit and maturation necessary for future endeavors. While some parents may lament the challenges faced as their young children struggle with behavior compliance, it is a critical first step. Further, children who resist acclimation to the school’s structure, even initially, risk being identified by their peers as a class clown or a behavior problem. These are labels that are difficult to overcome and often provide foreshadowing for the student’s entire academic career. At this junction it is paramount for parents to work collaboratively with their child as well as their child’s teacher to develop a symbiosis where the child’s academic and behavioral composite is nurtured. Many times this requires the parents and teachers work together to align their rules and consequences so that the child is given consistency with only one, similar set of rules and consequences, rather than a totally regimented environment versus a totally rule free setting.
As students advance through academia, the problems often become more complex. The challenges are no longer about taking playground turns or being the line leader, but rather about academic merit, athletic prowess, and social strata. These challenges require students to decide for themselves how to best utilize their time to maximize their academic outcomes. They must decide how much time they can devote to athletics and still have the time to produce quality scores in the classroom. Further, they must decide how many extracurricular pursuits are just enough without over-burdening their time. Finally, they have to decide which options best align with their talents and interests, independent of popularity or status.
Adolescents also face a myriad of complex social challenges in the matrix of 21st century communications. Rather it’s expanding one’s overall friend network, social sub-groups, or personal communications, it can quickly become a quagmire, the likes of which 20th century parents never experienced. Teaching problem solving in the world of cyberspace is definitely a challenge for all parties involved. It requires students to employ their developing cognitive processes to anticipate consequences before generating narrative, images, or responses. A challenge for adults, this can be an especially difficult situation for adolescents. However, as is often the case, sometimes it is best for parents to model the appropriate behaviors and discuss potential consequences of actions before having to structure a crisis response.
Teaching students in a pro-active manner to understand that their actions have reactions, is perhaps one of the best applications of Newton’s Third Law, which will also give them an everyday application of a future physics lesson. Since every action has an equal and opposite reaction, taking time to plan one’s actions, problem solving with thoughtfulness and preparedness, will likely offer the best academic, extracurricular, and social outcomes for students of all ages.
Dr. Angela Farmer is a lifelong educator, a syndicated columnist, and an author. As an assistant professor of Educational Leadership for Mississippi State University, she can be reached at asfarmer@colled.msstate.edu