23/04/2024
Hey parents! I just wanted to share a cool story with you that made my day.
I have a 13 year old student I'm coaching who approached me recently. He has been struggling severely with motivation and depression:
Him: "Why am I not good at anything?"
Me: "What do you mean?!"
Him: (in an ourburst of frustration) "Look at Dean! He is doing grade 11 physics, just because he is really interested in at and really good at it! Why can't I be like that?"
Me: "Whoa. Look man, we're all good at something. The only difference between you and Dean is that he has found something he really likes to do. He loves coding and robotics, so of course he is going to be really good at other things that relate to that. So, what is it that you really love DOING more than anything else?"
A few moments of awkward silence passed.
Him: "Playing Minecraft..."
My anti-gaming brain stood still, just staring at him, thinking: is there nothing productive you actually like doing? Deep breath.
Me: "OK. I know what Minecraft is. But I grew up playing with physical Lego. So tell me, how can you make a living playing Minecraft?" (Not particularly hopeful that he could give me a meaningful answer, and preparing for a very long conversation)
Him: "I want to become a world builder." (I see him smile for the first time.)
Me: "Uhm...OK. But how will you make money doing that?"
Him: "I don't know, but I see guys doing it all the time on YouTube. They get paid to do it."
Me: "Do you know how they get paid to do it?"
Him: "No. But I know you can."
I was stumped.
Me: "You know what, let's go to my computer. We need to figure out how this works."
After a quick Google search, we find a recruitment page for Minecraft world builders. We follow the link, and look at the requirements. To get the position. First requirement states that applicants need to be over 18 and have a portfolio of worlds they have built. His face drops.
Me: "The good news is, you now know you have 5 years to build a portfolio."
We do another search, and see that there is an open marketplace for world builders.
Me: "Or...not? You can actually start doing this right now...."
Him: "But where do I start? I don't know how to think creatively and out of the box like Dean..."
I jump back to the recruitment page and we have a deeper look at the job description: 'build worlds for client commission briefs'
Me: "Dude, it's 2024. We have tools that can help us train for exactly these type of challenges."
I open ChatGPT. I prompt it to assume the role of a client, and give us a random commission brief based on the job spec. As he reads through the generated brief, his eyes light back up.
Him: "This makes sense to me. I can do that. But I don’t know where to start."
We chat through the brief, linking it to things he already knows, and identifying areas he can explore in greater detail to help him generate his own unique ideas.
Fast forward to today, this is what he is currently learning about:
History and Culture: Researching and incorporating elements of Incan architecture and culture for the temple design, enhancing his understanding of ancient civilizations and their architectural styles.
Geography and Environmental Science: Creating an Amazonian rainforest environment, involving understanding the characteristics of tropical rainforests, including climate, biodiversity, and ecosystems. He is learning about the geography and environmental factors that shape these regions.
Biology: Designing the jungle with venomous snakes and a mysterious jaguar introducing concepts from biology, such as animal behavior, predator-prey relationships, and the adaptations of rainforest creatures.
Anthropology and Sociology: Developing the backstory of an ancient tribe of Incas and their customs adding depth to the map and allowing him to explore elements of anthropology and sociology, such as cultural traditions, social structures, and belief systems.
Physics and Engineering: Incorporating traps and puzzles within a temple requires an understanding of basic physics principles such as gravity, momentum, and leverage. He is also exercising problem-solving skills as he designs and builds these elements.
Literature and Creative Writing: Crafting a narrative for the quest and creating immersive descriptions of the environment, improving his storytelling abilities and creative writing skills.
Art and Design: Building the temple and jungle environment involves artistic skills such as spatial reasoning, proportion, and aesthetics. He is learning about design principles and techniques as he creates visually engaging landscapes and structures.
Technology and Computer Science: Working with Minecraft involves using technology and understanding game mechanics. He is also exploring concepts related to modding or plugin development for if chooses to add custom features to the map.
I am so excited to see him excited about learning, and can't wait to see his final product!
