My dog Lobo has tried to pull a crow out of the air on several occasions. Oftentimes this happens on morning walk when I’m half asleep. Nothing starts the day better than all of sudden having your arm yanked to the limits of the shoulder socket when your dog launches himself into the air as a crow flies low over the parking lot. Lobo has some hops but he never comes close. And yet, every time he lands Lobo beams with a look of accomplishment that says, “Dad, did you see that!”
I’m never sure how to respond. Do I tell him he’s participating in an exercise in futility? Do I create a training plan to help jump higher? Or, do I stay quiet and let him have these moments for himself? If I’m tired my first inclination is to tell him there’s no chance of him succeeding, but I suppress that negativity. However, the teacher in me wants to support him as he works towards this almost impossible goal. Perhaps we should brainstorm ideas. Most days I stay quiet, laugh, or just readjust my delicate flower shoulder socket.
Then I started to wonder, how would a teacher respond to Lobo’s interests as a student in class? The idea that his school might dismiss Lobo’s efforts and stymie his creativity got me wondering about why schools don’t support moonshot thinking.
I classify Lobo’s crow project as moonshot thinking. Some describe this way of thinking as audacious. Others might say crazy. Teachers do not usually support audacious or the seemingly crazy. Many in the business world say that moonshot thinking drives innovation. Schools are not exactly bastions of innovation.
Lobo, a three year old rescue dog (#MexiMutt), is part Belgian Malinois and part goofball (Lab). Often his behavior resembles that of many middle school boys - tough facade but anxious and insecure underneath. Feathers and flapping bags send him into the dog version of the fetal position. He’s curious but wary of things. In general he views squirrels and crows with great disdain (much like my grandfathers viewed rock n roll, long hair, and Red Sox fans). Lobo has gotten pretty good at running up trees after squirrels or throwing himself into the air to avenge any perceived wrong by his various nemeses. His crow fascination took the summer off (which my shoulder greatly appreciated). However recently one afternoon a squirrel talked smack and he was having none of it. Lobo chased the squirrel to the edge of a building and as said squirrel climbed the building Lobo ran up the wall and leaped up after the beast. When his paw caught the squirrel’s tail I’m not sure who was more surprised - me, Lobo, or the squirrel. Fortunately the tag occurred just as Lobo reached the limits of his upward trajectory. The squirrel scampered on up with a “that was close” look on their face. Lobo landed, beaming with pride and said to all “next time.” This reignited his interest in Operation Crowbo. Since then, the leaping or his new jump and spin move have become a regular feature on most walks. Thus after a delightful respite from Leaping Lobo and the Crows of the Complex, he seems motivated and confident in his goal to land a flying bird. I have decided not to mention the odds of things working out in his favor.
I don’t share this so you can marvel at Lobo (although you should), but because this scenario plays out in schools (and companies) across the country all the time. Lobo’s crow plan represents his version of moonshot thinking. This means a way of thinking BIG, that anything is possible if we ask the right questions and apply the best methodologies to solving the issue. Google X often gets credited with pioneering this perspective in corporate America and other companies have adapted moonshot thinking to their communities.However, moonshot thinking gets dismissed too often in education. Schools and teachers don’t encourage and often demean BIG thinking. Too often when a student approaches a teacher with a big idea, the teacher responds with a version of “That’s impossible” or “ We don’t have time for that.” Deep, creative thinking has been stripped from the educational experience of students. It just doesn’t fit with the cram it all in, assembly line model of the American education system. Even schools that seem receptive to creativity and big thinking usually can’t or won’t support big thinking. As a result schools too often prepare students for a future that resembles 1985 not 2025.
OLD TEACHER TRICK: What makes impossible possible? An apostrophe and a space (Impossible -> I’m possible).
How can schools support and encourage moonshot thinking? Some companies allow their employees to allocate 10 - 20% of their time at work to pet projects while other companies follow the Let My People Go Surfing Model. Schools could do the same (some, I’m sure, already do). But there’s no time, you say. To that, I say, if you cut all the bloat from your curriculum and restructure your academics, there would be plenty of time. Others will talk of passion based education… to that I say, please… just no. I can’t (I had a really bad experience with PBL). Now, if you want to encourage students to explore their curiosities or interests, I’m in, but please don’t mention the ‘P’ word. Here’s what I imagine. Schools having a Big Thinking lab. Students set out to create or design a solution to an issue. Maybe the teacher comes up with the issue or question or perhaps the students do. Perhaps, it is a whole class or small group project. Maybe, individuals investigate their own issue. Entire grades or schools could have a theme to frame the big thinking. Project based schools could maybe pivot a bit easier. You know what, nevermind, it doesn’t have to be that complicated. All it would take is for a teacher to say to a student when they approach with a BIG idea, “Ok, what would they look like.” At least this way, the light in the student’s eye, that flicker of possibility, won’t be extinguished. The point is, schools could support moonshot thinking in a variety of ways if they could free themselves of the more = better system that dominates education.
Schools already lack purpose and meaning for many students. The pandemic, etc. has dulled the allure and promise of schooling across almost all levels. If we brought moonshot thinking into classrooms just think of the possibilities for what students would create or explore. If nothing else, students might engage with school again.
As for Lobo and his crow dilemma…I think I will support and encourage his dream. Maybe for now we will focus on the crows that congregate on the overflowing dumpsters on Monday mornings and work our way up to the rows on the parking structures. However, if a crow flies low, well he’s got a green light to take a leap. Truth is, it doesn’t matter what I think about it. If he’s psyched and focused, well who am I to get in the way of his impossible.
As for the rest of us, maybe more of us should think big and leap for our own crow.