Hello everyone.
In Innovat[ED], ASC is focusing a lot on the capabilities, which used to be called “Powers” last year. Since Innovat[ED] is such a big topic in year 8, I decided to post about my strongest capabilities.
Leadership
I have never shied away from taking on ownership and responsibility; I enjoy leadership opportunities. This year I was nominated one of 8 Yr 8 Service representatives, an honour that I am very proud of. I think this is a really great opportunity for me because I can really give back to the school and our community as well as gain very important leadership skills.
Problem-solving
Problems are unavoidable in life, and how you solve them is very important. I believe that breaking a problem down into its key parts and sometimes thinking outside the box can help you solve the problem easily and effectively. I have always been good at problem-solving and looking at the bright side, there is always a way to solve any problem if you put your mind to it. This is why I like marble runs. When I build them, a lot of the time the track won’t work, so I have to solve the problem and keep going. I have actually read the seven habits for highly effective teens by Stephen Covey’s son, Sean Covey. Stephen wrote the first seven habits book: The Seven habits of highly effective people. In Sean’s book, Sean says that the habits all lead towards solving your problems effectively. We are lucky to be at a school that follows the habits, and even if you do them differently than other people, you will be a problem-solving master.
Creativity
Creativity is what makes humans different from other animals. But, we need to learn to harness our creativity. In kindy, the teachers teach you to colour inside the lines. But as life goes on, there are no lines. you have to use your creativity to imagine those lines and make a creative picture. This picture can be in the form of not only art but whatever you consider to be a creative outlet. This can be in the form of public speaking, math’s, music, entrepreneurship, and whatever brings you joy. Most of the time my creativity is expressed through music. I am in 3 bands and I take guitar lessons at the college and I feel like this is a really creative outlet for me. I believe that everyone has creativity inside them, but they need to discover how they show it.
Resilience
Something different about me is that I suffer from vocal and motor tics. Even though this can be very hard, I’ve never let it stop me from being the best person I can be. My tics have taught me how to be very resilient. There have been times where I have been embarrassed, but I have been very open about them and not try to hide them. I’ve never let them stop me pursuing leadership roles, public speaking opportunities, joining bands and lots of music events where I have had to play in front of large audiences. I’ve never missed a performance even when my tics have been bad. So if I can do this, I hope that I can be an inspiration to someone who is struggling to follow their hopes and dreams.
Collaboration/communication
I combined these two capabilities because I think they go hand in hand; you need to be good at communication to collaborate well. I have always been good at working in a team. This ties along to my leadership strengths. When communicating, it’s not just about what you say, it’s about how you say it, your body language, and seeking to understand, then be understood, which is habit 5. These factors all change the way you communicate. When collaborating, you need to understand the way your team members work so you can work effectively with them.
Joshua Chin.
