| Author | Message | ||
| Noel (Noel)
New member Username: Noel Post Number: 2755 Registered: 7-2009 |
While leading a summer camp about architecture this summer, something happened that I would ordinarily find extremely frustrating. This time, though, I could not have been more pleased. Explain. | ||
| Doriana (Doriana)
New member Username: Doriana Post Number: 1767 Registered: 12-2010 |
I = you, Noel? Are the camp participants adults? students? teenagers? Is it relevant that it was about architecture? Is the location relevant? | ||
| Noel (Noel)
New member Username: Noel Post Number: 2757 Registered: 7-2009 |
I = you, Noel? yes Are the camp participants adults? students? teenagers? ages 11-13 Is it relevant that it was about architecture? yes Is the location relevant? No, with a possible teeny, tiny -ish. It was in the US, near Atlanta | ||
| Balin (Balin)
New member Username: Balin Post Number: 14190 Registered: 4-2010 |
Are a large number of participants relevant? Just a few? Just one? Any at all? Is the massive heat wave relevant? | ||
| Noel (Noel)
New member Username: Noel Post Number: 2759 Registered: 7-2009 |
Are a large number of participants relevant? all of them (16, I think) Just a few? Just one? Any at all? Is the massive heat wave relevant? no | ||
| Balin (Balin)
New member Username: Balin Post Number: 14195 Registered: 4-2010 |
Did something break? Did someone get sick? | ||
| Noel (Noel)
New member Username: Noel Post Number: 2761 Registered: 7-2009 |
Did something break? Did someone get sick? no to both | ||
| Solitiare (Solitiare)
New member Username: Solitiare Post Number: 101 Registered: 7-2011 |
Is one of the activities at architecture camp going around and looking at buildings? And you and the kids got lost? but saw more interesting things than if you had not? | ||
| Noel (Noel)
New member Username: Noel Post Number: 2763 Registered: 7-2009 |
Is one of the activities at architecture camp going around and looking at buildings? yes, but irrelevant And you and the kids got lost? but saw more interesting things than if you had not? Very good guess! But unfortunately, completely OTWT | ||
| Balin (Balin)
New member Username: Balin Post Number: 14208 Registered: 4-2010 |
Is the actual building of...well, anything...relevant? | ||
| Shez (Shez)
New member Username: Shez Post Number: 1495 Registered: 2-2011 |
did all of them do something frustrating? was it something that happened during the content of the course or during their personal time? did it happen just once and then it was over? or was it something which went on continuously? did it happen indoors? outdoors? | ||
| Noel (Noel)
New member Username: Noel Post Number: 2766 Registered: 7-2009 |
Is the actual building of...well, anything...relevant? I *think* you're asking about the physical process of building, right? If that's the question, then the answer is no. did all of them do something frustrating? yes (at least, they all did something that would have been frustrating under different circumstances) was it something that happened during the content of the course this one or during their personal time? did it happen just once and then it was over? this one or was it something which went on continuously? did it happen indoors? this one outdoors? | ||
| Rbruma (Rbruma)
New member Username: Rbruma Post Number: 1674 Registered: 9-2009 |
Were you pleased because what they've done proved to you that they understood an idea being presented to them? A concept? a technique? | ||
| Noel (Noel)
New member Username: Noel Post Number: 2767 Registered: 7-2009 |
Were you pleased because what they've done proved to you that they understood an idea/concept being presented to them? no, but explore a technique? no | ||
| Solitiare (Solitiare)
New member Username: Solitiare Post Number: 103 Registered: 7-2011 |
Are building blocks involved? Legos, that sort of thing? Model buildings, or the making of them? You say Atlanta is relevant-ish. If so, the ante-bellum architecture? | ||
| Noel (Noel)
New member Username: Noel Post Number: 2768 Registered: 7-2009 |
Are building blocks involved? Legos, that sort of thing? Model buildings, or the making of them? none of the above You say Atlanta is relevant-ish. If so, the ante-bellum architecture? no specific style of architecture is relevant. | ||
| Fionakelleghan (Fionakelleghan)
New member Username: Fionakelleghan Post Number: 276 Registered: 7-2011 |
Is your puzzle specifically about the people involved? Were you pleased because you encountered a famous architect or other designer? who was willing to chat with the group? Were you pleased because one of the kids: was blind and said something brilliant? was ignorant of the subject and said something brilliant? (or something similar?) Because parents were there and thanked you? Were field trips a usual thing during summer camp? Were you usually frustrated because of: the kids in camp? parents of the kids? lack of municipal / cultural help from your community? | ||
| Noel (Noel)
New member Username: Noel Post Number: 2770 Registered: 7-2009 |
Is your puzzle specifically about the people involved? I'm not sure I understand your question. Aren't all puzzles about the people involved? Were you pleased because you encountered a famous architect or other designer? no who was willing to chat with the group? no Were you pleased because one of the kids: remember, I said all 16 kids were relevant was blind and said something brilliant? no was ignorant of the subject yes and said something brilliant? but no (or something similar?) Because parents were there and thanked you? no Were field trips a usual thing during summer camp? irrelevant Were you usually frustrated because of: the kids in camp? FA. If I were frustrated, it would have been because of the kids in the camp. But the usual frustration has nothing to do with this particular camp or these particular kids parents of the kids? no lack of municipal / cultural help from your community? no | ||
| Fionakelleghan (Fionakelleghan)
New member Username: Fionakelleghan Post Number: 294 Registered: 7-2011 |
"Is your puzzle specifically about the people involved?" I'm not sure I understand your question. Aren't all puzzles about the people involved? Ooh, and Fiona gets a deserved smackdown! Lol! Sorry. Of course you're right, and I was silly to assume that you could read my mind. I meant to say: I think I should focus on whomever you were "leading a summer camp about architecture this summer" - all 16 kids - and did you find that the kids: did know a little about what you wanted to teach or show them? did they know pieces of history or places or received wisdom because they, like, play computer games? Noel, you also wrote: "This time, though, I could not have been more pleased." So there was something different. Something changed? Something changed because you made the change? Bcz technology made the change? I had an idea, and then I lost it, but I'd like to say, regardless of the puzzle: I think it's wonderful that you take care of camp. A lot of us don't have the temperament. I really admire you and folks like you. All best from sleepy Fiona in Miami... | ||
| Noel (Noel)
New member Username: Noel Post Number: 2774 Registered: 7-2009 |
I think I should focus on whomever you were "leading a summer camp about architecture this summer" - all 16 kids - and did you find that the kids: did know a little about what you wanted to teach or show them? yope did they know pieces of history or places or received wisdom because they, like, play computer games? no Noel, you also wrote: "This time, though, I could not have been more pleased." So there was something different. yes Something changed? yesish Something changed because you made the change? no Bcz technology made the change? no I had an idea, and then I lost it, but I'd like to say, regardless of the puzzle: I think it's wonderful that you take care of camp. A lot of us don't have the temperament. I really admire you and folks like you. I only do one one-week camp a year, so it's fun. I don't know if I could handle a whole summer of it, either! | ||
| Noel (Noel)
New member Username: Noel Post Number: 2790 Registered: 7-2009 |
HINT: You've already ruled out buildings and architectural styles. You've also found out that the kids were not building or drawing anything (models, etc.). What else would you expect an architecture camp to include? | ||
| Solitiare (Solitiare)
New member Username: Solitiare Post Number: 113 Registered: 7-2011 |
Architecture without buildings?!? Can't picture it. Unless it's animal architecture, bird's nests or beaver dams? | ||
| Noel (Noel)
New member Username: Noel Post Number: 2794 Registered: 7-2009 |
Architecture without buildings?!? Can't picture it. Unless it's animal architecture, bird's nests or beaver dams? No, sorry to mislead (though last year we did talk about buildings inspired by nature, including a totally cool hotel in the Middle East somewhere with no AC that keeps cool by mimicking a termite mound's cooling system...but that's completely irrelevant). I didn't mean that the puzzle is about some weird building-free branch of architecture. =) I just meant that the activity/lesson in which the kids were involved was not centered on looking at or doing anything with a specific building or type of building. | ||
| Solitiare (Solitiare)
New member Username: Solitiare Post Number: 116 Registered: 7-2011 |
Something more abstract then? like learning about the different classical orders (does anybody do that anymore?) or learning how to do scaled drawings - anything like that? | ||
| Noel (Noel)
New member Username: Noel Post Number: 2795 Registered: 7-2009 |
Something more abstract then? no like learning about the different classical orders (does anybody do that anymore?) so no or learning how to do scaled drawings - anything like that? no, nothing like this (though of course the camp included this). | ||
| Galfisk (Galfisk)
New member Username: Galfisk Post Number: 4109 Registered: 9-2009 |
Building materials relevant? Construction techniques? Computers? Calculations? | ||
| Noel (Noel)
New member Username: Noel Post Number: 2798 Registered: 7-2009 |
Building materials relevant? Construction techniques? Computers? Calculations? none of the above | ||
| Shez (Shez)
New member Username: Shez Post Number: 1563 Registered: 2-2011 |
was this actually in a class? workshop? was it non-architecture related? was it something they do before or after classes? roll-call? oath of allegiance? prayers? recreation? lunchtime? | ||
| Noel (Noel)
New member Username: Noel Post Number: 2802 Registered: 7-2009 |
was this actually in a class? workshop? It was at a camp, but it could have just as easily happened in a class at school. There would be no difference. was it non-architecture related? The specific situation/subject matter was architecture related, but the "something" that happened could have happened in numerous other settings that could have had nothing to do with architecture. was it something they do before or after classes? roll-call? oath of allegiance? prayers? recreation? lunchtime? none of these | ||
| Galfisk (Galfisk)
New member Username: Galfisk Post Number: 4150 Registered: 9-2009 |
Is an object involved in what they did? Or did they say something? Or misunderstand something? Or not understand something? Were you trying to explain something to them? Were you pleased because you got an opportunity to do something? Or say something? Anyone else relevant present, except for you and the kids? | ||
| Noel (Noel)
New member Username: Noel Post Number: 2808 Registered: 7-2009 |
Is an object involved in what they did? no Or did they say something? no, and this is relevant Or misunderstand something? no Or not understand something? yes! Were you trying to explain something to them? yes Were you pleased because you got an opportunity to do something? no Or say something? no Anyone else relevant present, except for you and the kids? we were the only people present, but... | ||
| Galfisk (Galfisk)
New member Username: Galfisk Post Number: 4169 Registered: 9-2009 |
Was there something else different about this time? Were you being filmed? Recorded? Otherwise made available to a larger audience? | ||
| Noel (Noel)
New member Username: Noel Post Number: 2815 Registered: 7-2009 |
Was there something else different about this time? what do you mean by "something else"? Were you being filmed? Recorded? Otherwise made available to a larger audience? no, none of these | ||
| Shez (Shez)
New member Username: Shez Post Number: 1651 Registered: 2-2011 |
did someone else walk in? you were trying to explain something? and they didn't understand? did someone else entering illustrate your point? | ||
| Noel (Noel)
New member Username: Noel Post Number: 2821 Registered: 7-2009 |
did someone else walk in? no. As I said, no one else relevant was present, but... you were trying to explain something? yes (the teacher in me is going to get picky here and say "describe" is more accurate than "explain") and they didn't understand? yes did someone else entering illustrate your point? no | ||
| Shez (Shez)
New member Username: Shez Post Number: 1655 Registered: 2-2011 |
did someone outside make their presence felt? were they making a noise? did they knock to come in? | ||
| Noel (Noel)
New member Username: Noel Post Number: 2823 Registered: 7-2009 |
did someone outside make their presence felt? were they making a noise? did they knock to come in? no to all | ||
| Galfisk (Galfisk)
New member Username: Galfisk Post Number: 4210 Registered: 9-2009 |
Are other people relevant at all? Is one kid especially relevant? Any parents relevant? Relevant how you were trying to describe it? Were you using an analogy? | ||
| Noel (Noel)
New member Username: Noel Post Number: 2826 Registered: 7-2009 |
Are other people relevant at all? YES - one Is one kid especially relevant? no Any parents relevant? no Relevant how you were trying to describe it? no Were you using an analogy? no | ||
| Galfisk (Galfisk)
New member Username: Galfisk Post Number: 4212 Registered: 9-2009 |
Other person: H? A? M? Present? Architect? Engineer? Parent of the kids? Did you get an opportunity to talk about that person? | ||
| Shez (Shez)
New member Username: Shez Post Number: 1661 Registered: 2-2011 |
was the other person outside the room? did he hear the kids? were they making a lot of noise? | ||
| Noel (Noel)
New member Username: Noel Post Number: 2830 Registered: 7-2009 |
Other person: H? A? M? yes to all Present? no Architect? this one Engineer? Parent of the kids? Did you get an opportunity to talk about that person? yes | ||
| Noel (Noel)
New member Username: Noel Post Number: 2831 Registered: 7-2009 |
was the other person outside the room? did he hear the kids? were they making a lot of noise? no to all | ||
| Galfisk (Galfisk)
New member Username: Galfisk Post Number: 4229 Registered: 9-2009 |
So to recap: you were trying to describe something architecture-related to your students, and they didn't get it. Ordinarily this would frustrate you to no end, but this time you saw an opportunity to speak about an architect, and was very pleased. All correct? Did speaking about the architect make them understand? Is s/he a well known architect? Has s/he designed any well known buildings? Or other structures? Relevant? Do we need to find out: who the architect is? What your students didn't understand? | ||
| Noel (Noel)
New member Username: Noel Post Number: 2834 Registered: 7-2009 |
So to recap: you were trying to describe something architecture-related to your students, and they didn't get it. yes Ordinarily this would frustrate you to no end yes, but this time you saw an opportunity to speak about an architect,no - I was already talking about the architect and was very pleased. yes All correct? see above Did speaking about the architect make them understand? FA Is s/he a well known architect? not to the average person, but well enough to make about.com's list of important architects Has s/he designed any well known buildings? The architect is J. Max Bond, Jr. He designed, among other things, the MLK, Jr., memorial/grave site in Atlanta, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, and the museum portion of the future 9/11 memorial at the World Trade Center site Or other structures? Relevant? yes, tangentially Do we need to find out: who the architect is? no What your students didn't understand? yes | ||
| Noel (Noel)
New member Username: Noel Post Number: 2835 Registered: 7-2009 |
And PS - While I did expect this to be a hard puzzle, I did NOT think that figuring out that kids at an architecture camp would be learning about famous/influential architects to be a hard part of the puzzle! Shows what I know! | ||
| Shez (Shez)
New member Username: Shez Post Number: 1704 Registered: 2-2011 |
did they not get how good he was? sorry to be so dense - I'm only just finding ot what goes on at a camp! | ||
| Noel (Noel)
New member Username: Noel Post Number: 2838 Registered: 7-2009 |
did they not get how good he was? no - their opinion or understanding of his ability level is irrelevant. By the way, you are welcome to Google J. Max Bond, Jr., although it shouldn't be necessary to do so to solve the problem. | ||
| Galfisk (Galfisk)
New member Username: Galfisk Post Number: 4286 Registered: 9-2009 |
Relevant exactly what you were saying that they didn't understand? Were they not understanding something you said about the architect? About his work? History? Achievements? Mistakes? If you had spoken about another architect, would you have been pleased then? | ||
| Galfisk (Galfisk)
New member Username: Galfisk Post Number: 4287 Registered: 9-2009 |
Max Bond adhesive relevant? Is his name relevant? | ||
| Noel (Noel)
New member Username: Noel Post Number: 2844 Registered: 7-2009 |
Relevant exactly what you were saying that they didn't understand? very much so Were they not understanding something you said about the architect? yes About his work? noish History? mostly this Achievements? noish Mistakes? no If you had spoken about another architect, would you have been pleased then? Good question! I only know for sure that the exact circumstances happened to him, but the number of architects it might also have happened to at some point is very, very small relative to the total number of architects in the US. | ||
| Shez (Shez)
New member Username: Shez Post Number: 1753 Registered: 2-2011 |
is it something to do with being black? | ||
| Noel (Noel)
New member Username: Noel Post Number: 2852 Registered: 7-2009 |
is it something to do with being black? yes | ||
| Shez (Shez)
New member Username: Shez Post Number: 1763 Registered: 2-2011 |
did the students not know he was black? | ||
| Noel (Noel)
New member Username: Noel Post Number: 2854 Registered: 7-2009 |
did the students not know he was black? they did after I told them. They didn't know anything at all about him before that, so they wouldn't have known he was black until I told them about him. | ||
| Shez (Shez)
New member Username: Shez Post Number: 1776 Registered: 2-2011 |
so was the frustration that they had never heard of him? | ||
| Noel (Noel)
New member Username: Noel Post Number: 2856 Registered: 7-2009 |
so was the frustration that they had never heard of him? No. Remember, I was not frustrated. Quite the opposite. Whether or not they had heard of him before is completely irrelevant. | ||
| Noel (Noel)
New member Username: Noel Post Number: 2862 Registered: 7-2009 |
RECAP: While I was leading a camp about architecture this summer, one activity included learning about famous architects. When describing something about architect J. Max Bond, Jr., I was met with a reaction of utter uncomprehension from the campers. Normally, as an educator, I would find this reaction frustrating; however, this time I couldn't have been more pleased. Explain? You know that: The specific relevant detail for this puzzle has something to do with J. Max Bond, Jr.'s history, as well as with the fact that he was black. | ||
| Biograd (Biograd)
New member Username: Biograd Post Number: 1865 Registered: 6-2008 |
Did you make an error in your description? that they caught? | ||
| Noel (Noel)
New member Username: Noel Post Number: 2869 Registered: 7-2009 |
Did you make an error in your description? no that they caught? no | ||
| Redwine (Redwine)
New member Username: Redwine Post Number: 1096 Registered: 1-2011 |
Did the camper(s) say something anti - racist, what made you pleased? | ||
| Noel (Noel)
New member Username: Noel Post Number: 2873 Registered: 7-2009 |
Did the camper(s) say something anti - racist, what made you pleased? All you need to know about what the campers said/did is what you already know, which is that they demonstrated that they did not understand something I said. But something "anti-racist" is somewhat OTRT | ||
| Enjay (Enjay)
New member Username: Enjay Post Number: 1375 Registered: 4-2007 |
Did they seem not to understand the relevance of him being black? Or not to understand any difficulties that he faced due to being black? Which pleased you because it suggested that this generation are not seeing black people as any different from white people? | ||
| Shez (Shez)
New member Username: Shez Post Number: 1869 Registered: 2-2011 |
is it relevant that he ignored advice not to go into a "white" profession? that he worked in Africa? that he worked on several projects to benefit the black community? in Harlem? Alabama? that he had many interests outside architecture? education? civil rights? | ||
| Noel (Noel)
New member Username: Noel Post Number: 2875 Registered: 7-2009 |
Did they seem not to understand the relevance of him being black? Or not to understand any difficulties that he faced due to being black? yes Which pleased you because it suggested that this generation are not seeing black people as any different from white people? yes is it relevant that he ignored advice not to go into a "white" profession? yes that he worked in Africa? that he worked on several projects to benefit the black community? in Harlem? Alabama? that he had many interests outside architecture? education? civil rights? ****SPOILER**** When he was in college, an architecture professor pulled J. Max Bond, Jr. aside and told him to drop out of architecture and choose another major - not because the professor didn't like his work or didn't think he was capable of being an architect, but because the non-existance of black architects at the time led the professor to believe that Bond would never be able to find a job in the field. Bond chose to ignore the professor's advice and continued on to become a very successful architect who designed many significant buildings. I described this part of Bond's background to my middle school campers as an example of overcoming adversity, taking risks, and sticking to one's passions and beliefs. Their reaction was one of utter incomprehension. They could not understand how this situation was an example of overcoming adversity because they could not fathom why any professor would warn a student away from a profession solely on the basis of a physical characteristic. While normally I find it very frustrating when campers (or students) show complete and utter incomprehension during a lesson after I've described or explained something, in this case I could not have been more pleased. I saw it as a sign of how far our society has come. Whereas my generation at their age would have vehemently supported Bond's decision and felt anger towards the professor, we would still have known or known of enough vocally racist people that we would have understood why this was a difficult situation for Bond. These campers, on the other hand, so much took it for granted that a black person can do anything a white person can do that they couldn't imagine a reason or a time when a professor or a profession would have told a talented architectural student otherwise. Congratulations to Enjay and Shez for adding the final touches. This certainly wasn't an easy puzzle, so way to go to everyone who participated! |
