Did you ever succeed in getting a group of five-year-olds to stay out of breathing distance from their friends, or try this while they’re eating lunch, or while getting them to talk in turns? Or, run a coffee shop/restaurant where people come to congregate but are now forbidden by coronavirus restrictions? Or, have a dream about spreading smiles during a pandemic lockdown? It takes an extra big helping of creativity to meet these challenges. But The Capturing Wisdom Writers have located just such inspiring individuals who have risen to the occasion.
The Creative Kindergarten Contagion of Christie Dickerson
as told to David Dirlam
I had the delightful task of writing about Christie Dickerson, a kindergarten teacher at Lincoln Heights Elementary School. Ms. Dickerson had been in the high-tech industry for 20 years while raising her three children, until she got the bug to teach. After just three years in the classroom, her creative energy and love for the special challenges that come with growing humans are written all over the room. Ms. Dickerson had to re-think every single moment of every day. Her thoughts can be a blessing for any parent COVID-caught at home with young children.
Good thinking needs to start by framing the problem. First, she wanted to create lifelong learners. To do so, she needed fun, engaging activities where the children feel valued and loved. Second, she wanted to start the children onto a lifelong path of discovery—they needed to be able to fail without fear and love discovery more than rote learning. And third, creating genuine community, which is being hampered by the sneaky virus. It exploits our human closeness so that we have to find creative ways to commune at a distance.
The next step in the creative process is envisioning solutions. As Ms. Dickerson put it, “I think what is engaging first, then I ask how we are going to do it.” She started her distance-keeping design by imagining her pupils eating lunch at a picnic.
Vision is not yet solution. Something is needed to make the vision real. For many, the first item that gets packed for a picnic is a red and white checkered tablecloth. But having tablecloths still is not enough. Creativity requires preparation—people need to know what to do with their materials. Ms. Dickerson spread the cloths, not on tables, but on the floor, none overlapping with another. She turned the floor into a map with each cloth marking a territory.
Finally, the room was ready for what designers call implementation—in this case, for quick learning by the children. Each tablecloth-map became a territory of the room map where each child could have her or his own space to eat, out of breathing range of the other children.
But what about everybody talking at once? “Restorative Circles” not only cut down on bullying, but also teach collaboration at an early age. A brief overview outlines seven steps for facilitating restorative circles. The first five make the crucial last two steps possible.
Everybody in the circle co-creates a safe place.
Circle leaders prepare themselves with rest, calm, and focus.
Everyone in the circle decides together on an interesting topic.
Leaders encourage group members to connect to the topic by relating it to stories of their own experience.
Leaders acknowledge every member’s contribution with a summary to show they are listening.
With that preparation, the real work of restoration becomes possible. Design educators taught me that their students do not begin to collaborate until they understand what others know that they do not. A musician taught me that potential ensembles lapse into withdrawal or “cat fights” until they learn to compete comfortably, or at an even more mature level, give up their egos in service to the music. Restorative circles can start this process at kindergarten.
In steps (6) and (7), teachers help pupils to become allies by helping them contribute to each other, and they help all in the circle to understand their common environment.
But how do you teach alliance and common challenges if everyone is talking at once? To do so, Ms. Dickerson used another innovation. I cannot keep from connecting it with flashbulb memories, ideas being lights, and helping each person’s light to shine. She gave each child a little candle-like flashlight and taught them the rule, “Turn on your light if you want to interrupt.”
All the design steps in one sweet outcome: frame the problem (teach children how to listen), envision the solution (lights are memories and ideas), specify what you need (a light for each child that they can turn on), prepare (turn on the light to interrupt), and implement (first circle restorative).
Ms. Dickerson has created slide shows to let parents know about their child’s setting, visual schedules that parents print out and check off what is finished, a class unconnected handshake, a hedgehog hangout to show leadership and respect for animals, and overall a back-to-school system that is not open to parents face-to-face. It includes a virtual open house, a bucket-a-day system and colors for grouping kids, safe but real books, a travel guide to letters and numbers, and much more. Her room is a place to begin lifelong learning, lifelong discovering, and genuine community. The world needs more such lessons.
Creative Coffee Shop Contagion at Ugly Mug Bean and Brew
as told to Valerie Macon
Jeromy and Amanda Macon own the family-run coffee shop, Ugly Mug Bean and Brew, in Clayton, NC. The shop is popular for its friendly atmosphere where folks like to gather, its fabulous selection of coffee drinks, wines and local beers, as well as a unique menu that includes delights such as the Adult Grilled Cheese (mozzarella, cheddar and apple butter on toasted bread). But when the COVID-19 restrictions were put in place, the owners had to quickly assess their operation and make some immediate near-term changes to stay afloat like shifting to online ordering, phone orders, and outdoor seating. They had other plans in the works that had to be altered, as well. They were at the front end of planning to open a second shop. However, with the uncertainty of COVID-19 stay-at-home orders, limits on capacity and other restrictions placed on restaurants, this plan was put on hold. They had to reinvent a way to sustain a living going into an uncertain future.
Jeromy was talking to a friend when an idea took root, a business model that piqued his interest, one that could thrive in the current Coronavirus restrictions that limit indoor dining. They discussed the ins-and-outs of starting a food truck business. With further research, this seemed to be an interesting and viable option for these times.
Jeromy, a fearless visionary, jumped right in and began talking to George at a business called Jack of All Trades that designs, builds and outfits food trucks to order. Although Jeromy and Amanda are brick-and-mortar coffee shop owners who have had no experience running a food truck, Jeromy notes they do have transferrable skills running the kitchen at the Ugly Mug. They also have experience designing their health-department-compliant kitchen at the shop. So designing their dream kitchen for a food truck was a road they’d been down.
It wasn’t long before they purchased a food truck and a heavy-duty pickup to pull it. George, who is a fan of the steam punk décor at the Ugly Mug shop, was excited about extending the theme to the food truck. Under the artistic and design guidance of Jeromy and Amanda, George began building the truck to their specs and “wrapping” it in a steam punk theme. And the well-appointed kitchen they designed rivals any high-end restaurant.
As for the menu, they wanted the food to be recognizable as Ugly Mug fare and planned to start with the same menu that has been successful at Ugly Mug, with a few tweaks. To start, they added a luscious chicken-and-waffle item and a tempting dessert waffle; and they plan to add seasonally appropriate foods.
The food truck was finished and delivered December 11, 2020. Jeromy and Amanda got busy planning logistics, lining up venues, stocking and staffing the truck. Last month they took to the road with their new food truck, a business that rose from the ashes of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, with a full lineup of venues, their new business model is proving to be the success they hoped for.
Contagious Triangle Smiles
as told to Nancy King
To Madelaine, a talented and engaging high school student, a beautiful smile is important in portraying self-confidence to the world. She feels privileged to have such a smile, but it has not always been that way. Madelaine had braces on her teeth during her early high school years and realizes what a magnificent gift her parents were able to give her. She knew at the time that not every kid is so lucky. Madelaine knew then that she wanted to help others find the boost she had experienced as a result of this seemingly routine process. For too many it was simply out of reach.
The onset of the Coronavirus and the restructuring of our daily lives gave Madelaine the impetus she needed. She states proudly, “In March of this year when everything shut down, with all the time I had, I just took a leap of faith and told myself to do it now!”
Do what, you ask? Madelaine set out to match kids in need of braces with orthodontists who would take them as patients – free of charge. Beginning in March she made a plan, by June was networking and finding resources, and in August created a Board of Directors and launched “Triangle Smiles.” Her vice president is a good friend who is well organized and experienced having been a part of the National Charity League for several years.
Together the two high school students interviewed applicants and built a board with eight fellow-student members who work with a current group of eight orthodontists and dentists in Holly Springs, Durham, Wake Forest, Raleigh and Knightdale.
Applicants must be low-income and uninsured and make a commitment to following through with appointments and dental care. Since its inception, Triangle Smiles can claim great success. Four patients are currently being served. Others are in the applicant and consultation stages.
“We are always looking for new patients and orthodontists to partner with,” Madelaine says. She and her team are in contact with dental clinics, refugee and homeless centers and other community organizations to help identify potential beneficiaries, generally between 8 and 21 years of age who want braces and the chance to improve their smile, for whom Triangle Smiles is the only option.
She is especially proud of an early recipient whose parents had been saving money for a long time in order to get braces for their son. When the Coronavirus crisis hit, the family had to spend their savings for food and shelter and braces were no longer in the picture. The family’s primary language is Spanish, so Triangle Smiles set them up with a bilingual orthodontist. In October, the young man was fitted with his braces and the whole family is smiling!
Triangle Smiles is awaiting approval of their 501c non-profit status with a goal of seeking donations for a community scholarship program. “When the braces come off, it would be so wonderful to be able to give a gift card or money to buy some groceries. We want them to know, you’re so much more than braces! You are a part of our community!”
Applications are available on the website, https://trianglesmiles.org or email Madelaine Castleman trianglesmilesnc@gmail.com.
