2/2 marshmallow challenge

     Today we did an interesting activity called "marshmallow challenge" which you get in groups to build a tower with spaghetti to support a marshmallow on top within 18 minutes. This challenge shows how your creative skills, leadership skills and cooperative skills. Our team's plan was to create a secure tripod and then put a long rod of spaghetti on top of the tripod. I thought our plan would succeed, but the marshmallow was heavier than I guessed, and the tower collapsed in a second after we got our hands off it. The key point of this challenge is to check the rules more carefully. Mr Paterson didn't say we weren't allowed to search how to build a stable tower or to ask for more resources. However, we all assumed that that would be cheating. In the TED talk about the marshmallow challenge, the speaker said that it's better to learn by doing and refining your prototype to create a better tower. The video mentioned that kindergarteners did better than business school graduates, and that is because the kindergarteners actually moved their hands, on the other hand, the business school graduates started by discussing who should be the leader.

    In Japan, there's a culture of "not doing anything until being permitted". I was once in big trouble because I broke this rule. However, I have an impression that in other countries, it's the opposite of this: a culture of "doing anything until something's not permitted". I think most Japanese schools and companies lack this culture of allowing people to be creative. I found today's lesson very interesting and fun because creative skills are important, and modern society values them.

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