Problem Solving

What we’re saying today is that you’re either part of the solution or you’re part of the problem.

~Eldridge Cleaver

90% of your time on solutions and only 10% of your time on problems.

~Anthony J. D'Angelo

• • Students and staff should feel excitement when resolving difficult problems. When resolving problems, people should think, communicate, cooperate, learn and analyze. The process may include steps like brainstorming, problem identification, brainstorming solutions, evaluate possible solutions, create an action plan, and develop criteria to evaluate the solution. Please note how many stages went into identifying the problem and possible solutions. Administrators should not rush to present "the solution" but to take time to analyze the issue first.

  • It is important to grieve for a short amount of time when things go wrong, and then it is important to quickly move on to finding a solution to the problem. As the quote above states, effective people and administrators should take on the role of finding solutions and not just wallow in the problem.

  • Some problems don't have solutions but lessons to learn. A careful reflection on their history can help us make better choices in the future.

  • Conflict resolution and peer mediation empowers those in conflict by directly involving them. Extensive training for the mediators (teachers and administrators) is needed to ensure success with this approach.

• As administrators, it may be useful to delegate some problem solving to the staff. If they feel part of the process in first recognizing the problem, then helping to solve it, they may prevent similar problems in the future.

It's so much easier to suggest solutions when you don't know too much about the problem.

~Malcolm Forbes