I am currently doing a spring break camp with my partner, James Abbott, through
Austin Tinkering School. I'd like to describe the path we took with this project, as a group of three to seven year olds and two adult guides. It was incredibly inspirational for me, and the kids were unbelievably engaged.
Today the kids destroyed half of cardboard city
and relocated the other half to the hillside overlooking the house.
The kids were not unified in their desire to destroy the town. They came to this decision during a town hall meeting in which they reached consensus about which direction to go with this project on the second day of its existence.
This is what cardboard city looked like when we assembled and painted it yesterday morning:
This morning, a couple of kids took to destroying the city, and excitedly so, with "evil" voices and 'heh, heh, heh' laughter. One wanted to see how quickly the cardboard would biodegrade. Needless to say, those that were not ready to be finished with the project were fuming. I called a town meeting to try to reach resolution before people got really angry. I pointed out that some people wanted to destroy the town and others did not think that was ok. They were then free to discuss. I used my limited experience with
consensus decision making to moderate the discussion, make sure every voice was heard, and keep us moving along in a timely manner. The kids really enjoyed it. Almost everyone wanted to speak up about how they felt about the issue. After a long, long while, James and I urged them to come to an agreement so that we could move on with the day (big projects planned!) We asked them how long they needed to reach a decision. 3 minutes. James and I left them to argue and discuss and then returned to inquire about their decision...
They would count the number of houses and divide that in half. One half would be moved to the hillside as the remaining town. The other half would be destroyed. The group reached consensus.
The destroyers even helped the preservationists relocate their homes.
The new town relocated to the top of the hillside by the chicken coop.
The old town was destroyed with water and might.
A rebel in the group started salvaging houses that weren't yet destroyed and moving them up to the new town.
A preservationist returned to the destroyed town to mark its existence with a green plant.
The beauty of this process for me was that the kids were able to work through so many issues together, and with a minimal amount of interference from adults. The kids created the town, and then when some wanted to change things by tearing it down, we worked together in a playful way and came up with a resolution- on their terms. The project grew into something that represented a way for everyone to have different feelings and desires, to be able to express them, and to reach an agreement and move forward together- on their terms. True collaboration!!!! So beautiful!!!!
