*Disclaimer: As far as I know, penguins are neither cannibals or bionic. I do not mean to confuse with the clever title! This post is not about the secret lives of penguins!*
Over the past couple of weeks, I've been coaching a group of
fifth graders for an upcoming robotics program at BYU. One of my favorite
things is hearing their conversations, since they are always off the wall, out
of the box, and completely different than anything I've heard. Today’s topics
were completely random, changing at least five times a minute, and the kids
were bouncing off the walls, something I attribute to the snow. Some of my
favorite comments include:
“I bet you can’t eat with maracas.”
“I’d rather eat a penguin than a lamb, because lambs are
cute.”
“What if we gave it laser beams and had it destroy the
entire school?!?!”
I love these kids to pieces, not only because they are
hilarious, but also because they are smart. Each of them are at least
bilingual, thanks to several immersion schools in the area, but also working on
a third or fourth language. Two kids are have built or are in the process of
building their own computers, one already is learning C++, and the only girl
was a young fourth grader, but skipped up to fifth grade. These kids use terms that
I haven’t even learned yet, and when they list their accomplishments, I wonder
what on Earth I was doing when I was a fifth grader, other than reading like
crazy.
But other than just making me feel like I didn't do anything
as a fifth grader, these kids are teaching me important lessons. Already the
group roles have been defined. We have one outspoken, somewhat eccentric,
headstrong builder; one who is content to not work with the group and do what
needs to be done; one who brainstorms; one who conceptualizes the actual
design; and our bouncer, who is content to go where ever she is needed. They've
taught me that over time, we all fall into our own roles. More importantly than that lesson is one that
I was taught today. It reminded me of a situation in the Book of Mormon as
well. Here’s the story:
In Helamen 1, we’re told of a father who died, leaving the
three eldest sons to decide who should rule. Now, it was customary in those
times to put it to a vote, and the eldest brother won. When the middle brother
found out, he rallied his followers in support of the eldest, however, the
youngest plotted and worked to get the eldest assassinated.
While there was no murder or plots of murder with my kids
today, there was still the same basic story. The kids were trying to decide on
a new team name. The majority went for the name “Penguins,” and the only thing
left was what type of Penguins we were. The outspoken student realized that no
matter what, we weren't going to go with his team name, so he talked as loud as
he could during the entire meeting, calling out “Cannibalistic Penguins!!!” On
the opposite side, the quiet-sit-in-the-corner-and-work individual decided to
make the executive decision and end all votes.
This lesson really resonated with me. I’m not too much of a
team player, and I had to reflect and ask myself which of the two brothers and
two students I acted like when I was voted down. I believe that this is an extremely
important lesson for everyone to learn, not just Mormons or students, but every
single person, especially our politicians. *wink wink* Next time I’m in a group
setting, I’ll make sure to decide who I should be: Cannibal or Bionic Penguin?
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