Odyssey of the Mind may lose 20 year participant
Athelene Carter, of North Carolina, sits at one end of a tunnel lined with buttons gathered from states and countries that have attended Odyssey of the Mind over the years, Thursday, May 28, 2009, in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union. Photo: Logan Gaedke/Iowa State Daily
May 31, 2009
After more than 20 years of involvement in Odyssey of the Mind, it may be Lester and Athelena Carter’s last year with what they call “such a wonderful program” with “the best kids in the world.”
The Odyssey of the Mind World Finals, held at Iowa State from Thursday through Saturday, challenged youth from around the world to develop creative problem-solving methods. Competitors chose one of five problems, which they solved and then presented at the World Finals.
“Odyssey of the Mind teaches the skills that students need in the 21st century,” Athelena Carter said. “Problem-solving, creative thinking, working within a team, working within a budget, critical thinking — all the skills that students need.”
Athelena, a former principal and fifth-grade teacher, said there are nine types of intelligence that people have, but students now are only identified through standardized testing. She said Odyssey of the Mind brings out other skills.
“I see more value in it than the tests that kids have to take today,” she said.
Problems vary each year, but Athelena said there is always a problem in which competitors have a vehicle problem, a challenge to build a structure out of balsa wood, and a problem dealing with classic literature.
“One year they had to build a vehicle that had to fit in two suitcases,” she said. “In five minutes they had to take the vehicle out of the suitcase and put it together, and they had five different tasks.”
Athelena, who used to judge the spontaneous competition, in which competitors actually presented the solutions to their problems on the spot, said she has seen so much creativity in the last 20 years that it’s “hard to tell” which team was the most creative.
Some schools that attend the competition, she said, only bring “academically gifted” students, which wasn’t the original intent of Odyssey of the Mind.
“It was not designed for academically gifted students,” she said. “Some of the most creative students are not necessarily academically gifted.”
The Carters are considering not attending Odyssey of the Mind next year, but their legacy has been passed on to other generations, as their grandchildren are now involved. If they decide to not attend, Athelena said it will be a tough decision.
“We’ve made so many friends,” she said.
