A Grinch has left Whoville to take up residence at Charles City Middle School, though this Grinch won't be stealing any presents.
The students in the talented and gifted program at Charles City Middle School have spent weeks manipulating 400 miniature Rubik's Cubes to create a mural of the Dr. Seuss character. The mural is 20 by 20 miniature Rubik's Cubes, and the mosaic-style pattern is supported by a frame handmade by TAG coordinator Patrick Nyberg.
Nyberg said that the idea came from several members who were really into solving Rubik's Cubes -- what aficionados call "cubing." He said it's an intellectually challenging activity that's good for keeping the kid's hands busy, something especially important among an era when few are far from a screen.
Elliot Linde can solve a Rubik's Cube in under a minute. Several other classmates are hovering around the one minute mark. Benny Tracey said that the mini Rubik's Cubes they were using weren't the best to practice getting faster with. "These ones are very slow and hard to solve," Tracey said.
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Isaac Gassman is not the fastest, but he still does plenty of cubing -- and there are many ways to go about it. "I'm still doing a beginners' algorithm with it because I haven't gone through the effort and time to learn a more advanced way. So, I'm happy with just knowing this way," he said.
The kids are still undecided on what their next mural will be.
Nyberg ordered the kids' Rubik's Cubes using funds specially earmarked for the TAG program. Nyberg said that as far as he knows, Iowa was one of only two states that fully mandates and funds a TAG program in each school. The program in Charles City has 3D printers, a robotics program, and also has a competitive Lego league. "The administration is very very supportive," Nyberg said. "Everything I've asked for, I've got a 'yes' on."
"We got robots. We got cubes. It's amazing," Gassman said.
Nyberg said that he wants to challenge the kids in his program, since talented and gifted students often end up bored with the coursework their peers are doing. "Among TAG students there's actually a higher rate of dropout on average than among the general student population. They don't see the point of being in school because they're not getting anything from it," Nyberg said.
He's trying to foster a sense of curiosity and a desire to work on complex systems and difficult problems in the kids.
"Everyone runs into things that are hard," Nyberg said. "No matter what you do, no matter what your position is, if you're in entry level (work), there are things that are hard. If you're a CEO, there are things that are hard."
Ailis McCardle is an education reporter at the Globe Gazette. She can be reached at [email protected] or at 641-421-0527
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