Three Allen STEM Magnet School sixth-graders are world champions. Let that sink in.
David Johnson, Cannon Loepp and Aarav Patel—collectively the Mavericks—won the middle school division at KidWind Worlds last week in Wisconsin. It’s a wonderful achievement, something for them, their families, their school, the school district and the community as a whole to celebrate.
We also want to celebrate that they got to compete to begin with. Independent of their victory, participating in KidWind gave them practice skills that will be valuable for the rest of their lives, regardless of whether they touch a wind turbine again.
They got hands-on experience with the scientific method: develop an idea, test that idea, adjust based on the results and try again. They got practice with math, engineering and physics. The season also gave them practice with “soft skills,” like public speaking, time management, cooperation and perseverance.
KidWind is far from alone in providing valuable hands-on experiences for youth, both in schools and in the community. From 4-H to scouting and everything in between, there are so many organizations and programs offering hands-on experiences to young people that can help them be better prepared for the world and become well-rounded people.
A common theme among these sorts of programs is that they let young people make their own decisions while giving them structure. These programs and the adults who organize them can offer goals, deadlines and coaching, but the kids get significant freedom in how to achieve goals and meet deadlines. (There is also a lot of value in youth sports, but those tend to balance more to the structure side of the scale.)
Again, championships and awards are worth celebrating, but the value of youth programs isn’t measured in trophies and medals. It is measured in kids practicing life skills, developing confidence to do things for themselves and learning perseverance—realizing that they can pick themselves up after failing at something, learn from it and try again. We heard from the Mavericks about how things didn’t go smoothly for them at KidWind Worlds, but they kept working at it and overcame adversity.
These sorts of programs don’t happen on their own. They take adults—parents, coaches, sponsors and volunteers—who give their time, attention and effort to keep things running. And they take financial resources, whether via school budgets, fundraisers, grants or the support of other community organizations.
We applaud the Mavericks as world champions, and we call on our community to support the kinds of programs that help prepare young people to be champions in life.
– The Hutchinson Tribune Editorial Board