template_post
Articles
|2008
|
"These are the kind of kids that you want to hire," Turner said. "They're learning how to tackle things on their own. They will make better leaders, better team leaders."
"How they come up with the solutions to these problems is just incredible," said Allan Lehmann, principal of Washington Charter School. "The valley should be very proud of these students."
"(Judges) want to know who can creatively answer a problem," said Susan Doran, who helped coach the Division I first-place team at Thornell Road Elementary School. "It does teach (students) not to be followers. You'd be amazed at what they come up with."
The Northwest High Odyssey of the Mind team thought their invitation to a world-wide 20th Anniversary Odyssey competition in China earlier this month was an act of generosity.
The competition requires students to overcome obstacles and meet challenges, according to Hughes, who has "coached" many students throughout the years, providing guidance as they attempt to solve problems to which there seems to be no easy solution.
"You learn a lot from Odyssey, going to meetings and meeting people from around the world," Graham said. "It's a great experience, whether you come in last place or first. Just getting there and building up for it (for so) many hours and days on end where you are frustrated and can't find a solution ¡X to finally see the finished product is an amazing accomplishment."
"They learn to look at problems in different ways," Bishop-Pullan said. "I'm so proud of them when I see what they start with and what they come up with here."
As a Calusa teacher, she is thrilled by the difference the competition has made in the lives of her students.
"Odyssey competitors learn to think on a higher level," she said. "They're more creative, more able to think on their feet. They work better with others, and their writing samples are better."
"They were exposed to a level of critical thinking that is not often easily realized within the context of the school day," Gross said. "They went off to the regional competition in March, and, by all accounts, represented Afton Elementary School and the Pennsbury school district exceedingly well. I'm proud of all three teams."
Pound said they decided to feature rock music stars traveling the world to find what they need. Their presentation includes a "Mount Rockmore," featuring the faces of Elvis Presley, James Brown, John Lennon and Mick Jagger in three-dimensional images. They will compete in Division 2 for students in grades 6-8.
"I think the fact that they placed first in the state is a pretty good indication about how creative the solutions are.... Odyssey of the Mind has been described as Mardi Gras, Halloween and a science fair all wrapped into one. For instance, our tag em' problem, it's just not the mechanical solution, there's another aspect where you have to present a play along with it."
"Odyssey of the Mind is great for students because it teaches them skills businesses are looking for," said Joan Coates, association director for the Kentucky chapter. "Teams learn to work together to problem solve ... and they learn to look at the big picture. It's not your typical academic competition."
New Lothrop team member Chet Birchmeier hopes having the event so close will also give people an idea of how large and popular the organization - and the world finals - actually are.
"People who don't get to go to world finals and don't have any idea of how big it is can come and see," he said.
Rasmussen said she was initially attracted to the open-ended nature of the competition. Students are given a challenge and are free to resolve it however they want.
"The unofficial motto is that if the rules don't say you can't do something, then you can," she said. "You can really think outside the box."
Douglas insists he is "delighted to be participating in this creative event to help Waterbury's Odyssey of the Mind students raise funds for their trip to the World Finals."
"I'll gladly kiss this cunning ham if it will help these young Vermonters achieve their ambitious goals," the governor said.
"It is so good for all students to work together as a team," she said. "They think of ideas then work together as a team to see those unfold; it's a great opportunity."
For senior Jeff Abraham, it was an emotional performance in Binghamton. He said the team members worked hard to do well because they wanted one last trip to the world competition.
"We're going to the worlds. That's pretty cool. It's a great honor," Abraham said.
"I've loved it. I've really enjoyed watching them grow from Division I to Division III. I mean, they're adults now," she said. "Odyssey is just very unusual - once it gets into you, it's hard to let go. As soon as the one year ends, you're thinking about next year. And when can we start!"
"I am so proud of these kids," said Superintendent Sandra Cooper. "They came into town with a fire truck parade, as we have for all our champions."
Patsy Fegenbush, coach of the Gray Middle School team, said Odyssey teaches kids to think outside the box, a skill that comes in handy in "the real world" when students begin looking for jobs.
"They're looking for people who can think on their feet," she said.
Creativity, hard work required of about 500 student participants
Isaac Bowen, 10, of Stove Prairie Elementary, said he enjoys Odyssey of the Mind because of the difficult aspects.
"I like it because it's a challenge from the beginning," Bowen said.
Odyssey of the Mind competition encourages students to be inventive.
"I think it's just helped them tap into levels of creativity and imagination they didn't know they had," said Laura Workman, a parent who volunteered to be the Sequoia Union coach. Workman said it's been exciting to see the team -- five fifth-graders and a fourth-grader -- build confidence.
Statewide competition draws 4,000 to BU
"Sports are a big thing at our school, but a lot of kids can't do sports. This gives them a chance to use their minds and be creative," said the 12-year-old seventh-grader from the Plainview-Old Bethpage team.
Knuckey said Odyssey fills a void in education.
Parents tend to take over endeavors such as science projects that are supposed to test kids' ability to innovate, Knuckey said.
Odyssey forbids parents from becoming involved in children's work, meaning students are able to exercise their creative energy, she said.
BU has hosted the state tournament for more than 15 years, spokesman Ryan Yarosh said.
"This is an event we are proud to host year after year," he said, "and the entire campus community pitches in to make sure everything runs smoothly."
"It's to develop their creative thinking," said Carrie Craig, assistant coach of the primary team at Laurel Elementary. "Instead of looking at something in black and white, they look and see what else it could be."
Those who think Odyssey of the Mind is only for future scientists and engineers need to think again. A crucial part of the competition involves the dramatic arts as well.
"I am like so excited," Brent Holbrook said. Many were proudly wearing their award ribbons on Tuesday at school.
If "seasoned theater professionals" means third-, fourth- and fifth-graders and "big time" means middle school, then that perception would be correct when applied to a group of local youngsters.
"It allows creative kids, there's so many kids that are creative, and the academic kids, and there are a lot of academic kids, but they're not always the same kids, and it makes them come together and realize they need each other," says Lisa Cottrell Schindler, the team coach.
Students work on their own. Coaches cannot help by making suggestions.
"We can only help them develop their creativity and learn how to brainstorm ideas," Priebe said. "They do all the work including making the props, costumes and designing the play without outside assistance."
Odyssey of the Mind is welcome diversion for those hit by '06 flood
More than just competing, Black hopes team members take away the lesson that "nothing is impossible. They can do so much with what they have."
"A lot of these students are very goal-oriented and competitive and, in general, enjoy challenges," she said. "So this is a challenge for them."
While the judges got to see the final product, Sheridan spoke from the perspective of someone who'd observed the students behind the scenes. She noted the commitment this year's crop of students demonstrated, as they juggled drama and sports activities, as well as personal schedules to attend to construction and rehearsals.
The regional Odyssey tournament challenges students.
"It's a lot of work," Edwards said, "but when you get to competition and you see the excitement, it makes it all worthwhile."
"It's a whole different type of sport," said Diane Albright, whose daughter Laura was a member of the St. Thomas Moore team. "The kids love it."
Jennifer White, 15, has been a part of Odyssey of the Mind since she was in kindergarten.
"I think it's a really good experience. You spend time with friends and have fun ...," she said.
"It's neat to see kids of all different personalities and all different sorts of talents come together and work as a team. It's the ultimate creativity."
I've spent many a Saturday hanging around schools that buzzed from the collective brain power of gifted and talented students as they worked out brain-twisting problems I certainly couldn't handle when I was in school.
Heck, I couldn't handle them now. I don't know how to build a robot or a catapult or a balsawood bridge that can support hundreds of pounds of force. I probably never will.
Working over several months, participants in divisions from kindergarten through college learn how to think critically and creatively, how to devise non-obvious approaches for overcoming obstacles and how to work as a team.
"When people talk about teams moving on, no question it's fun to win but in the long run they really get a sense of who they are and self worth," she added.
"It's like a completely different problem every year, so you just have to start fresh every year," said eighth-grader Esteban Socarras, 14.
Tomorrow's workers -- and today's students -- need to be adaptable in a new kind of world, the authors wrote. "It is a world in which comfort with ideas and abstractions is the passport to a good job, in which creativity and innovation are the key to the good life, in which high levels of education -- a very different kind of education than most of us have had -- are going to be the only security there is."
"The kids make their own props, they design sets, they design everything related to the problem," said Kathryn Martin, a longtime event volunteer and a 2006 judge. "They make their own costumes or trees or boats -- whatever the problem calls for. They're limited only by their imagination."
As their classmates acted out a skit in "Literal Land," Sean Albright and Tom Jubon gingerly slid barbell weights down on a small metal pole and piled them on a box. Inside that wooden box, their tiny frame box of balsa wood, weighing less than 18 grams, was enduring the increasing weight.
"I learned that you can achieve your goals if you keep on trying," Ja'lexia said.
Their play may have been called, "Around the World in Eight Minutes", but these students say their education can keep them on top of the world forever.
Aubrey Johnson's face lit up the moment she heard that her school had qualified for the state final of the Odyssey of the Mind Tournament in Orlando next month.
Aliens, children with multi-colored hair and bright costumes roamed the halls of Dalton Middle School Saturday as students participated in Odyssey of The Mind, a national program designed to nurture creative thinking.
"I couldn't stay still before we got on stage," jittery 9-year-old Sarah Kogelschatz said after the performance. "You get tons of teamwork and you get life skills out of it, and you get to do fun things like build stuff."
"This is our first year and it's a wonderful experience," coach Polly Malik said. "I saw the kids grow not only in what they were doing for problem solving but as friends and teammates."
Groups of kids and parents in matching T-shirts milled in and out of the school's doors, toting an unusual array of belongings--boxes of balsa wood pieces and otherworldly creations of poster board and paint.
Through solving long-term and spontaneous problems, students learn life-long skills such as how to think critically, how to overcome obstacles, and how to rise to meet any challenge. Because their solutions to the problems are based on creativity, rather than rote learning, students learn to think divergently and are encouraged to express themselves without fear of criticism.
One activity that helped Mr. Lastoria develop his problem-solving skills was his involvement in Odyssey of the Mind.
"It is a great way to see which students have that (problem solving) characteristic and which ones don't," he said.
"It's a creativity competition, and you're encouraged to be as creative and unusual as possible. But you have to know what you're talking about," said Hackney, who likened the competition to the television show "Whose Line is it Anyway?"
Creative problem-solving skills and outside the box thinking are some of the things students learn to develop while participating in the Odyssey of the Mind competition.
It doesn't matter what you look like or how tall you are if you want to participate in Odyssey of the Mind.
What matters, said some of those involved with the program, is what goes on inside your head.
It lacks the large medical or chemical words of the science fair, the long quadratic equations of a math competition or the waxing poetics of an oratorical competition.
"It's all about creativity," Kwasnik said.
Armon said it was worth making the long drive because while practicing with classmates before the competition, her daughter had the chance to make new friends at a new school.
Said Armon: "It's helped her a lot in being part of something."
Seven-year-old Amelia Lindsay is walking around in a circle, repeatedly honking a bike horn. Jack Mead, also 7, is struggling to lift a flattened cardboard box that is five times his size. Meanwhile, 7-year-old Melody Stone enjoys a juice box, and Nitin Sakhamuri, 6, is explaining why he wants to be president.
Anderson began collecting duct tape about two years ago when his Odyssey of the Mind team traveled to Maryland for the World Finals.
Parents helped provide the materials, but let the boys work out the problem on their own.
"That way, kids become more invested in their own learning. As a parent, you don't just teach the lesson. You teach why," said Miklus, a Washington Township resident.