Fresh Approach to Old Challenges

Amelie Anne B. Santos

Learning to think outside the box has been THE favorite call-to-action of most managers from all industries for many years now - so much so that the phrase itself is already its own cliché. In the field of education, it is tempting to simply give a laundry list of the obvious answers and call it a day: flip the classroom, encourage the use of apps, gamify classroom activities, and on and on. But as a history teacher, I feel it will be remiss of me not to turn to a handy vault that I believe already contains all of the answers to life’s questions: the classical civilizations of Greece and Rome. Particularly, this one important phrase written by arguably the only philosopher-king the world has ever known - Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. According to him: "The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way." New York Times bestselling author Ryan Holiday gave it a modern spin: "The Obstacle is the Way". Whichever iteration you prefer, I believe the argument stands. The surest path to innovation is TOWARDS the obstacles, problems, and challenges, not away from them. When faced with a difficulty, resist the instinctive reflex to complain endlessly or worse, be paralyzed by fear. Instead, approach it with objectivity and level-headedness. Developing new ideas and novel ways to solve problems stem from a disciplined, pragmatic approach. Whatever obstacle you may be facing - be it classroom management, use of technology, etc. - it is important to control how you perceive the problem (I can, NOT I can't), control how you react to the problem (stop complaining - it can be toxic not only to you, but to everyone else who hears it), believe in your own power (because if you don't, no one else will) and above all - persist.

I believe this unconventional approach to problem solving is an important lesson to pass on to our students as well. For over a year, they have had to face the often painful and challenging entry to early adulthood – already a difficult undertaking in the best of times – in the middle of a global health crisis. They had to attend high school – the act of which is an indispensable agent of socialization – while “stuck” at home. And yes, while the word “stuck” may have a tone of ingratitude considering what a lot of people had to deal with during the pandemic (loss of jobs, loss of life), I think the word is apropos for teenagers, many of whom may have felt ignored and held hostage in the midst of this crisis. They need help coping, too, and we can do so by teaching them to develop new tools in dealing with the difficulties the pandemic has wrought. These tools may come in the form of controlling how one reacts to the problem, believing that the problem – whatever it may be – has a solution, persevering even when everything seems hopeless, and most importantly: being grateful for the opportunity to face these problems. After all, what is out-of-the-box thinking if not the product of consistency, patience and persistence?

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I at Pampanga High School