In the last several years, Triton Public Schools and our community members have come up with qualities that we want every Triton student to embody in their everyday lives and especially upon graduation. We call this the Triton Profile of a Graduate or the Cobra Compass. There are 8 traits on this compass: self-awareness, integrity, critical thinking, dependability, problem solving, resilience, work ethic and communication. As a school counseling and social work team, we’d like to explain a little more about these traits and how they can relate to mental health and/or social emotional learning. Our students are learning about these characteristics each month as well.
January’s Profile of a Graduate focus is problem solving. After our monthly lessons, we hope that students will be able to recognize how valuable the skill of problem solving is. Problem solving is a big part of our everyday lives. All day long we are solving problems. Some are as simple as “what will I wear today?” but other problems we encounter do not always have a quick and easy solution. These tougher problems require critical thinking, time, and patience.
Here are some steps we can take when approaching any problem that we need to solve: First, identify the problem. Next, brainstorm possible solutions and consider what the alternative solutions may be. Once you have your possible solutions, decide which solution is best. Finally, implement that solution and evaluate the outcome. Evaluating the outcome of the solution can help determine how to solve any similar problems that may arise in the future. As adults and parents, we can help our students build their problem-solving skills by encouraging independence. Rather than solving all of their problems for them, we can model our own problem-solving process. Ask direct questions and provide helpful suggestions as needed but encourage students to work through their problems on their own. Practicing problem solving for difficult situations is hard even for adults, and it can be helpful to remind students of this. It is okay not to have an instant solution and working your way through the problem-solving process is often more important than finding an immediate answer.
Ashlee Koll, TES Counselor
Tricia Johnson, TMS Social Worker
Christi Runnells, THS Counselor
Diane Meyer, TPS K-12 Counselor
