Problems with Infinity

By Kathy In Citizenship, Student Success Stories On February 16, 2015

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Jasper’s Ability to Work in Groups

Jasper came to me after class one day saying she thought we should have a group meeting because of the conflicts that come up around Infinity. Infinity is the word we coined to describe the time when class is over and some students haven’t been picked up yet. We have two computers. The first people to call “Infinity” at the end of class get to use the computers until their parents arrive.

Her idea was to have a monitor who would pay attention to those who hadn’t had any chance to get a computer that day and give them the first opportunity to claim one. We called a class meeting the next time the class convened. Most of the children weren’t interested in Infinity so they went back to work in the studio. The four remaining became the decision making committee.

The committee acknowledged that there was a problem but came up with reasons why Jasper’s idea could have problems with favoritism. There could be problems with  It was ultimately decided that I would get an alarm clock and that one of the four participants would set the clock for the end of class on each of the four days of class per week. Everybody would hear the signal and have an equal chance.

I later asked Jasper how she felt about the meeting’s outcome when it didn’t turn out the way she had envisioned it. She thought it was a good meeting. People brought up things she hadn’t thought of and that Infinity would be better in the future. And it is. I’m impressed by her lack of attachment to her ideas.

 

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