We face them every day in our lives and in our MicroSociety, those obstacles and challenges that arise and don’t have an easy, one-size-fits-all solution. A venture cannot make payroll. A manager must choose between her best friend and the strongest applicant for the job. The newspaper uncovers election fraud. Problems like these can create anxiety in both children and adults. But what if solving them was fun and viewed as a great way to learn, precisely because no one solution satisfies? 

“Messy Problems” bring authentic opportunities to apply standards and impart reading, writing and math strategies. Moreover, with a combination of HEART and scientific analysis, they offer rich practice in critical thinking, creative problem solving, persisting through challenges, finding value in mistakes, and inventing solutions with the ability to catapult a society forward. In other words, these dynamic dilemmas are teachable moments of the highest caliber. We educators must help students look beyond a specific event to the process behind it and figure out how to reshape an undesirable outcome. In this session with MicroSociety Training Consultant Patti Grossman, we will identify and explore the possibilities hidden within these gems.