See a problem, fix it
Gary Moskowitz
NORTHWEST DISTRICT -- Diana Reynolds, a sixth-grade teacher at Luther
Burbank Middle School, said she and her students work in preparation for
the Future Problem Solving Event all year long.
“It’s very exciting,” said Reynolds, the school’s problem-solving
coach. “These kids will make decisions that affect us all in the future.”
One participant, Byron Weiss, finished first in the individual junior
cometition and will be representing California in the junior division at
the International Conference this June in Athens, Ga.
Reynolds and sixth-grade teacher Barbara Weiss coached their Gifted
and Talented Education students at the Future Problem Solving State Bowl
Saturday at Luther Burbank. The event is designed to educate children in
problem resolution.
“We develop skills for looking at problem solving in a systematic
way,” Reynolds said. “It’s great to see the students expand their
thinking to see a variety of ways to resolve problems.”
One of Luther Burbank’s teams placed second out of 12 in the final
round of the junior division. Team members were Misho Galbo, Michelle Ho,
Leilani Pitpitan and Sammi Fiol.
The second team placed fourth and included Yan Jiang, Brandon
Crawford, Matthew Austin and Christopher Shaffer.
Weiss said their teams were given topics to do research on prior to
the competition. This year’s topics were tourism in space, eco-tourism
and cultural effects of tourism, world population and water pollution.
“Activities like the Future Problem Solving Competitions are positive
for our school and the entire district,” Weiss said. “We’re building a
tradition.”