Mind games
Assistant principal Scott Robinson oversees a new, informal club that requires thinking outside of the box. Pictured is one of his puzzles that students have to solve.
March 4, 2019
New assistant principal Scott Robinson has started an informal club that involves creative thinking to solve unique puzzles. These puzzles are created by Robinson himself and come in a variety of forms.
The reward is the satisfaction of solving something that has not been solved.
— assistant principal Scott Robinson
Some puzzles may be a double-sided maze or links that a student must figure out how to solve. Robinson offers no help but takes joy in watching the students figure out the special problems.
“Students are too much into being able to look up and Google an answer to something,” Robinson said. “There is a skill that can be developed when you are unable to just receive an immediate answer. There’s something about taking our frustration and being able to work through it. And if that takes you one day or two months, well, that’s a skill.”
Throughout these problems, students have to watch and listen closely, as tiny movements and even tiny sounds can provide clues that they’re on the right track. Once a puzzle has been solved, they do not bring it back out.
“The reward is the satisfaction of solving something that has not been solved,” Robinson said.
In order to solve these tasks, students try to discover the solution, but in order to, they have to first understand the problem. This is one of the core concepts Robinson is trying to bring to the table.
“I hope they learn not just how to be able to solve problems but how to be able to identify things that they didn’t know was a problem, so that they can really innovate throughout life,” Robinson said.
These mind games take place just about everyday in the rotunda in front of the 300 hall during C lunch. Anyone is more than welcome to join and think outside the box with these creative mind games.
