We then reflected on each team’s success talking about communication, cooperation, and creativity.
Some teams were more successful than others…
Some comments made were:
“there were too many people trying to lead”
“there was a lot of talking and not much listening”
“everyone wanted to be the leader”
“they all had good ideas but they didn’t bring them together”
“there was a lot of listening and getting on with it quickly”
“everyone shared their ideas” (shared leadership).
Next we considered “what if we were to imagine we were a group of adults who organised school camps”. We thought about what our camp would be like, what our company would value, and had a go at writing some mission statements. Here are some of the catchphrases and statements we came up with:
“trying new challenges”
“jumping out of your comfort zone”
“challenging yourself with exciting experiences”
“improve your confidence”
“be the best that you can be”
“push your limits”
“adapt to new situations”
“learn to be confident”
“making friendships”
“we believe that you may be shy but you will come back home more confident”
“be safe but challenge yourself”
“work with a team”
“you get to work by yourself and you get to work with a team”
“have fun”
“trust others”
“lead others and be led”
“be brave”
THINK TANK: WHAT MAKES A HAPPY SUCCESSFUL ADULT?
As we thought about the values and wrote catch phrases for a possible school camp business we reflected on why it was important to give children and young adults experiences like these. We had a think tank discussion followed by some writing about what makes a successful happy adult. Here are some things we said and wrote about successful happy adults that we know.
“My grandma used to be a nurse in India. She did it because India is a very poor country and it has lots of diseases. I admire her because she is a caring and successful person, also because she is very unselfish and understanding. Her skills were to learn a different language, understand a different culture and live in a different lifestyle – stepping out of her comfort zone. She challenged herself by living and working in a different country”. Macey
Chevron talked about his dad and how he has lots of friends and enjoys playing rugby and being part of a team.
Alexander talked about his dad and how he helps people in poorer countries, he described him as ‘unselfish’. “I admire my dad because he thinks about other people, not just his family.”
Pablo talked about how his grandad knows all about native NZ species. He described his grandad as passionate about nature “because he loves being with it”. He also described him as quick thinking, being able to do lots of things really quickly, and witty because he always has an answer ready. He described his grandad as “very very resourceful because he knows everything to do if you are lost in a forest”.
Hugo talked about his Mum and Dad who own a catering business called Blue Carrot.
“Having your own business means you need to be smart, work on computers, share ideas, manage and look after staff, and be creative” Hugo.
Charlotte talked about her mum who is fit and enjoys sports. “my mum challenges herself by going on bigger runs that she’s never gone on before. She is very sporty and that is what she thinks is fun […] she’s a nurse so she’s very good with cuts like when my brother Albert cut his finger with a knife she knew just what to do.”
Noah talked about his dad: “when I cut my toe my dad, me, and Mila went straight to the cabin and my dad bandaged me up. He is a quick thinker. If someone ever needs help he helps them. My dad is resourceful”.
“I admire my mum because she helps children with things they struggle with, things like reading and writing, and also teaches them new things. She is kind and patient and is very creative. She makes the children more confident with their reading and writing. She is good at listening to the children’s ideas. She is happy because she can see the children do something that they couldn’t do before.”
Orla talked about how her dad enjoyed travelling to different countries all around the world. “My dad is generous because he goes to different countries and helps people”.
Alice talked about her mum and how she looks after other people’s children. She talked about how her mum needed to be responsible and reliable. “You also need to be arty and creative and you need to educate the kids. You need to be kind and caring to look after children”.
Helena talked about her mum: “my mum is a translater […] I admire my mum because she knows so many languages, she challenges herself with nobody telling her what to do. She is helpful to others. If there was a letter someone did not know what it meant she would translate it very well.”
After talking and writing about a successful happy adult that we knew we interviewed some of these adults on a panel (by getting into role) to find out even more information about what made these people happy and successful. In role as interviewers some of the questions we asked were: “what do you like about your job?”, “is your job challenging?”, and “what skills do you need to do your job well”. We had to listen carefully to the answers so we could think of more questions to find out more specific information, for example “how did you learn so many languages”, “how do you work and look after your family?”.
OUR PANEL OF HAPPY SUCCESSFUL ADULTS BEING INTERVIEWED
In role as her mum, Helena talked about having studied hard at university, having to be a good listener and enjoy talking with people, and how she enjoyed translating.
In role as his dad, Hugo talked about how he had to be responsible and reliable and had to go to sleep early and get up early for deliveries. He also talked about enjoying his work and being creative.
