Success and failure -- these are two aspects of life that many people know quite well. Ms. Christie George, who teaches Discovery at Herbert Carter Global Community Magnet, helped her students grasp this concept during her class on Wednesday.
She asked them to take on the role of engineers. “When they came in, they had to plan and design the tallest possible tower with the cups they were given and then create it,” said George.
In an allotted time frame, her students created towers that sometimes stood strong and other times fell. George said, “They were going to make mistakes, and if they failed, I wanted them to keep trying. We’ve talked a lot about having a growth mindset, so we tied that in as well.”
Even though students did see their towers tumble to the ground at times, most of them worked together through the mishaps. In fact, one student remarked, “Things don’t always go as you plan, so people make mistakes, and that’s alright. It is OK.”
Students also used their skills of counting when constructing their towers.
This activity not only engaged students to utilize several different abilities but also empowered them to do what Ms. George dubbed “synergize.” All in all, this allowed students to excel in growing their mindsets as well as working together because here at Marion School District we strive to ENGAGE-EMPOWER-EXCEL every day.