one of the really important things in
computer science is that there are still
a lot of problems
that no one has solved yet
so like in school you know when you're
adding two plus three
right people have done that before right
so how thrilling is that do you feel
like you're an explorer and you're an
innovator and you've discovered
something new
no
but the truth is
that when you're exploring
and you're innovating
things get really really hard sometimes
because sometimes you come to a place
where there are problems and there is
nobody
that knows how to solve them
and you have to try and figure it out
all by yourself
so what happens
if you get to a problem
that no one is solved yet
and you just go
ugh darn it no one solved this guess i'm
done
will you ever really invent anything no
no will you ever really
create something brand new
no you'll explore things and sometimes
you'll explore things and you don't know
what they do
and to keep yourself safe
you have to know
what steps you need to take to explore
something right yeah
so that's what this lesson is going to
be all about it's going to be all about
creating something new
and knowing that there are going to be
times when there you don't know
something
and i know you don't know it
and i know it's going to be hard
but you guys are going to have to keep
working and try and figure it out
so what what are the things that you
worry about if we are doing something
and you don't know how to do it
what are some of the things you worry
about
if i'm doing a timed
multiplication test i'm worried that i
won't finish it
in time
so if you don't know something very well
you might worry that you won't finish it
in time
or that you won't be fast enough
so how do you think you would feel if
you're working on a project and you're
working on a project and it didn't work
so you try again and you try again and
it still doesn't work
and then you try again and you try some
more
and it still doesn't work how are you
gonna feel
a little bit bad a little bit bad
distressed you might feel in distress
frustrated frustrated that's a really
good word
these are all really good words to
describe the feelings that we have when
we're trying something new but you know
what's really important is if we
understand that we're going to have
those feelings
and we understand that everybody is
going to feel something kind of like
that
then it gives us permission
to say well i know i feel like this but
i'm going to keep working anyway
and so if you've been not getting it and
not getting it and you're frustrated and
you're stressed and you're in distress
and then you get it and it works
and then you feel amazing and wonderful
and happy
and you know
and panda
and you need those feelings of of oh no
i'm afraid before you break through to
those feelings of yay this was amazing
and so now every time you feel oh this
is scary
oh i feel bad about myself
oh
i feel in distress
i want you to tell yourself in your head
that means that when i persevere
and i figure it out
i'm gonna feel
excited happy right
that's
really really good so that's what this
lesson is all about
i'm gonna give you a challenge and it's
gonna be hard i'm not gonna lie to you
it's supposed to be hard it's supposed
to be challenging
and it you'll you can work you'll work
in a team but you'll all be building
your own structures okay
and you're supposed to feel a little bit
of frustration because it won't work
right away and that's okay
i want you to keep working until you get
it
and you guys are gonna go
miss cakey miss kiki can i have some
help and i'm gonna say
nope
and you're gonna say miss kiki miss kiki
i don't know how to do this and i'm
gonna say
i know
and you're gonna think miss kiki is
really mean sometimes
but then
when you guys get your thing to work
and you did it all by yourself
you won't think miss kiki is mean
anymore then you'll understand what i
was trying to do okay
okay you each get your own supplies
all right don't eat them
you need to make a structure
that is at least as tall
as the cup
and it has to be strong enough
to hold this book
i'm not kidding
and
you can only use
the tools that are inside the cup
so you don't get any more if you break
them or eat them
then you're making it even harder for
yourself
teachers have said that if you get spice
drops instead of the fruit flavored
gumdrops the kids are much less likely
to eat the supply
this lesson is difficult for the
students but it's supposed to be
difficult for the students
once you tell them that you're not going
to interfere with their lesson
don't interfere with their lesson it's
really important
this activity really will change the
thinking of your classroom and you'll
find that when you refer back to it kids
are more likely to persevere just a
little bit longer in almost anything