The Mystery of the Missing Actor

In our previous episode of Problems as Homework, P. A. Rant dealt with Lesson 2 of elementary problem solving: Turning Subjective Values into Objective Goals. But P. A. has not finished learning why children need help in solving problems.

Take, for example, the apparent goal offered by the child:
“They should make it more interesting.”

P. A. may have some ideas about how the homework could be made more interesting to this particular child. But that would only teach the child that complaining about a problem will get somebody to fix it.

Complaining really does work for children. “They” (the parents) will try to fix things. “They” (the parents) may also be hoping that the child will outgrow complaining and grow into fixing. Otherwise, “they” (the parents) will start complaining about how the kid always expects somebody else to fix things.

P. A. long ago discovered that complaining is easier that fixing. And lasts longer. That’s why P. A. is teaching the kid to do problem soling. Because otherwise, complaining that the kid doesn’t solve problems could last a long time.

At this point, then, P. A. is ready to take another step in showing the kid how to translate complaints into solutions. Back to the Semi-Structured Brainstorming sheet on the wall. Near the box labeled “MY GOALS.” P. A. marks in a new box: “WHO will do this?”

This is a theme I put in the Thinkerer as a Head Player, the Owl (that says “Who?”). The role is not big. Just essential. The language of complaint starts with they. The language of solutions starts with “I.” As in “What will I do?” (Intellectuals please note: this is Existentialism 101.)

P. A. also reviews the standard complaints brought out by the who question:

Complaint: I can’t do it all by myself.
P. A.: Of course not. So who do you want to help you? What you want them to do? How will you get them to do it?
P. A. writes these more specific questions in the WHO? box.

Complaint: I don’t know what to tell them to do.
P. A. You may need to figure out the route to the solution before you know that. You don’t have to finish the boxes in order. It is just like a puzzle. Sometimes the solution on one part tells you something about how to handle another part.

Complaint: I don’t know where to start.
P. A. Start by looking at how other people have handled the problem. Who can tell you how other people have handled the problem?
P. A. writes that question in the WHO? box. Then P. A. attaches another box to the WHO? box. P. A. gives this box the name: RESOURCES that could help me.

P. A. You can usually start thinking with your resources. That’s probably where you will have to start doing.

(To be continued)

Problems as Homework (2)

In our last episode, our imaginary parent, P. A. Rant, was demonstrating how to use Semi-Structured Brainstorming to work with a child on the problem of homework. You will recall that there was a big sheet of paper on the wall with 3 boxes.

The name of the first box was “PROBLEM : What’s wrong with homework?” It had a list of about 5 specific problems that the child wrote to go in the box. The name of the second box was “GOAL: How I could tell if the problem is fixed?” The child was going to provide at least one goal that matched a problem in the first box. (Lesson 1. of problem-solving: Watch the goal, not the problem.)

That was last week. Fortunately, Semi-Structured Brainstorming is a method for persistent problem solving. So the paper can stay there till the problem is solved. As P. A. expected, the child’s initial description of the goal was not clear enough to work on. It had the usual load of value terms.

Value terms, as P. A. wanted to explain to the child, are expressions that carry a judgment about how the speaker evaluates something. Since they do not provide a clear identification or description of that something, they confuse problem-solving by mixing ambiguity into the goals.

P. A. did not bother to try that pompous explanation on the child. The child would have responded with a value term such as, “That’s confusing.” Fortunately, people (except academics) can function quite well without pompous explanations. P. A. divides the GOAL box into two compartments and modifies the labels: The top part gets the label, “MY GOALS.” The bottom part gets the label, “HOW I EXPLAIN MY GOALS TO ANYBODY.”

The child can try out several candidates for ANYBODY. They can be the teacher, the principal, a favorite superhero, a favorite fictional character, or anyone else who does not know the child well. The purpose here is to break away from mind reading. Parents are skilled mind-readers. That lets children talk to them in value terms. Children can say things like:
“They should make it easier.”
“They should make it more interesting.”
“This stuff shouldn’t take so much time.”

These statements sound like goals. But you see immediately that they are not much help in problem-solving. In fact, since you don’t know the child, you could not interpret “more interesting.” The child can recognize what is interesting (or confusing). But the child does not know how to give a verbal description of what it takes to meet that goal. The purpose of the second box is to give the child practice in tuning subjective values into objective goals.

And, by the way, this is not something that the child can do easily the first time. P. A. will have to play the role of a slow-witted ANYBODY. Fortunately, P. A. is using a method suited for persistent problem solving. And willing to model the power of persistence for the child. And ready to point out that nobody could learn a sport if they had to do it right the first time.

Problems as Homework

Some parents (and some children) view homework as a problem. I checked with the Uns and they wanted me to try a reversal. Here is the reversal I found.

Teachers assign problems as homework. They expect the children to come back with the problems solved. Let’s assume, for the moment, that one of the main functions of homework is to give practice in solving problems. The practice is not just for solving those particular problems in the assignment. Those have already been solved many times and there is not much market for old solutions to old problems. Maybe that’s one reason why children don’t see much need for homework.

Homework must be practice for solving new problems. The kind the children will need to solve when the grow up. The kind they will solve as parents. For example, homework. Now that is a problem that some parents want solved. And some children want it solved, too. And it doesn’t have an old, used solution that everybody knows about.

So let’s take an imaginary parent. P. A. Rant. P.A has decided to treat homework as a problem rather than an annoyance.

(Annoyances, you put up with. Problems, you solve.)

P. A. starts with the problem: “I have to keep prodding my child to get homework done.” But P. A. knows that the place to look for solutions is not in the problem, but in where you want to be when it is solved. “I want my child to do the homework with little or no prodding.”

(If other people are involved in the problem, maybe you want them involved in the solution.)

Semi-Structured Brainstorming: P. A. hangs a large sheet of paper on the wall of the child’s room. It has one box labeled: “PROBLEM: What’s wrong with homework?” P. A. gives the child a pad of sticky notes.

The child’s first job, P. A. explains, is to think of five things that are wrong with homework, to write them on the sticky notes, and to stick them where they belong. P. A. further explains that when that job is finished, they will start solving the problem together. P. A. indicates that a good job on this may take several days.

Saying what is wrong it just a convenient way to get started. Anybody can say what is wrong. So P. A. starts with what the child can easily do. The next step in problem-solving is to shift the focus to the solution.

(Talk about the problem if all you want to do is complain. If you want to fix, talk about where you want to be with the solution.)

P. A. marks out another box on the paper. The label: “GOAL: How I could tell if the problem is fixed.” The child’s new job is to match at least one note in the PROBLEM box with a note that belongs in the GOAL box. Again, P. A. indicates that a good job on this may take several days. That big piece of paper on the wall serves as a reminder of the job.

To further clarify the job, P. A. marks a third box, labeled: “ROUTE: How I could get what I want.” P. A. explains that they are not working on the route yet, but that the box is there in case they think of ideas while working on goals. (The ROUTE box also teaches the child to distinguish between goals and methods.)

P. A. expects that the initial goal notes will need further work. But P. A. understands the power of yet. As in: “I have not solved this problem yet.”

(To be continued)