Collaboration & Team Work
- TalkingCircles
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
What does it take? Is it just the person who gets all the spot light or is it everyone who makes a great feat possible? A discussion at the Young Writers' Club (Jr.)
Who was first man to land on the moon?
Anyone can answer that question without batting an eyelid.
"Did he do it alone? Who else were with him on that spacecraft? Now that requires a little thought, doesn’t it?"
When the tweens were asked the question, there was silence and then one child said after some brief thought,
“I know. Buzz Aldrin and John Collins.”
While he was nearly right, the other person was not John Collins but Michael Collins.
Was there a team that worked together to make this feat possible or was it all only Neil Armstrong?
Moments before the spaceship landed on the moon, were tense. Neil Armstrong was chosen to be the first man to land. Must have been the most scary part of the mission. Any thing could go wrong. If everything went right, he would be known forever while the others will not get all the limelight. Could we agree that pretty much that’s how history remembers this iconic mission to the moon? But the fact remains that this feat would not have been possible but for the extensive work done by a large team of people with different types expertise and strengths. It must have taken immense amount of collaboration, clear communication and mutual support to pull off something so big and important.
But the fact remains that this feat would not have been possible but for the extensive work done by a large team of people with different types expertise and strengths. It must have taken immense amount of collaboration, clear communication and mutual support to pull off something so big and important.
Humankind has seen a number of achievements, many of which are results of collaboration between many people, contributing in a either a big or a small way, based on their unique strengths. Yet, many a time when the project is a success, the face who finally achieved the big feat is remembered. The truth is that this person could not have been able to achieve what was thought impossible with out the support of a team. Different people bringing to the table their unique strengths, respecting one another, managing ego clashes, working towards a common goal, takes effort. Above all it takes recognition of the fact that teamwork means no contribution is big or small or less important. Everyone’s contribution is like a working component in a car. They all have to work together so that the car can function smoothly.
Team work in action
We watched a few funny animated short video clips to analyze teamwork in action.
As we watched each little story in the video, we discussed the following:
Is their equal distribution of tasks/duties
Is being a leader easy?
Did a common goal help them to work together?
How good was the communication between them?
Did any character seek help from the team to achieve something? Is asking help from a teammate wrong?
Several observations emerged.
The young writers observed and pointed out to instances where it seemed like there was unfair distribution of tasks.
The ant story led to a discussion on the leader’s predicament. In this video clip, a colony of ants were being led by a leader. All the tweens agreed that without the leader giving instructions, there would have been chaos.
What seems like just another day in the life of an ant, an ant eater appears on the scene and uses its power of suction to pull an ant towards him. The leader could either run with the rest of the colony and let the sole ant sacrifice his life for the colony or they could work together and incapacitate the enemy. Which option should he pick? The first option seemed the most intuitive. But one of the writers took a different stand and convinced the group that working together they could save that lonely ant too.
We later watched the Minions upto their usual antics. But in the process we learnt that by asking help, finding the right kind of help, a goal can be achieved. It is important to recognize everyone’s contribution, as when there is success, the person at the top gets all the recognition from outside. Recognizing and appreciating a team member’s effort, goes a long way in keeping up team morale and gearing up for success.
It is easy to get carried away with one’s own aspirations and be proud of one’s strengths. Working together in a team containing different types of people is different. Learning to notice others’ contributions, actively listening, ensuring correct communication, setting aside ego…the list goes on. This session strived to set the young writers thinking about how important collaborative work is and how effective team work goes a long way in guaranteeing success.
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The Young Readers' Club is a book club for the 8-12 age group. We also do vocabulary building activities and mini writing lessons for a little variety!
Writing programs for the 9-12 age group- Young Writers' Club Jr.
The Young Writers' Club program for the 13-16 age group offers a weekly platform to read and discuss curated articles from the news, observe writing approaches and practise one's writing skills.
NEW! Tween Tribune is an online magazine for the Young Writers' Club (Jr.) program for tweens. Weekly updates of our discussions are published. Once in 6 months, the best of writing by the tween members is made available to read.
NEW! Musings from the Young Writers' Club is an online magazine showcasing the work we do at the Young Writers' Club.
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