"DI has changed my son's life."
A human resources professional by day and a Team Manager by night, Steve Hrapkiewicz has a high regard for the value of what DI teaches children: experience with teamwork, problem solving, communication, budgeting, and resource utilization, among other things. He reinforces the true philosophy of DI – that these experiences are appropriate and even essential for every child, not just those who qualify for talented and gifted programs. Steve shares this story about Joe, a fifth grader in Michigan:
Joe was born with a speech disability and did not speak until he was three years old. He has been in speech therapy to this day. Joe was very quiet, almost introverted, growing up. He had a hard time making friends and wasn't easily accepted by other children. Academics were a struggle for Joe. When he was in second grade, Joe had to do a project on his own, and his teacher was quite pleased with his accomplishment because she had not seen that side of him before. Being a very supportive teacher, she tried to find an outlet that could help Joe experience some success outside of the classroom and help him interact better with other children. She suggested that he try getting on a DI team the next year.
Neither Joe nor his Mom knew what DI was or how it could possibly benefit Joe. In the meantime, the teacher also approached a Team Manager who was forming a new team to do the structure challenge and was still looking for another member. The Team Manager was happy to have Joe join, and Joe did so the following year, the same year he began third grade. The team meetings were a totally new experience for Joe. He was soon overwhelmed because he was not used to working in a team environment, having to give input, and working toward specific goals. For the most part, he stood quietly in the background at meetings and offered little input. The other team members, who were very supportive, found small projects for him to do to help with their Central Challenge solution. In Instant Challenges (ICs), Joe was even more perplexed because of the condensed time demands and flurry of activity needed to complete an IC. However, the team wanted Joe to feel a part of what they accomplished, so they asked him to be their official timekeeper when they did ICs. That year the team went to the State Tournament, where Joe was their IC timekeeper. After the experience, Joe had the "DI bug."
Fourth grade was particularly difficult for Joe academically. His Mom and his teacher, both concerned about Joe's classroom performance, spoke with him and said that if he didn't improve he might have to give up DI that year. Mom knew how desperately Joe wanted to be a part of his DI team but was not going to allow him not to apply himself in the classroom. Joe did show improvement and was allowed to stay on his DI team. Horizon Team Silver excelled that year, represented Michigan at Global Finals, and went on to take 2nd place at Globals in structure. Joe was quite proud to be part of the team's success and to once again serve as the team's official IC timekeeper. The fact that his wonderful mom and equally wonderful teacher from second grade (who had recommended he join a DI team) were present was icing on the cake.
Horizon Team Silver was fortunate enough once again to make it to Globals representing Michigan. But Joe had changed. He was no longer satisfied with his role as timekeeper when the team was going to do IC. He informed his team, “I want to help solve the IC this year.” When the team went into the IC room at Globals and were presented with their challenge, they began to discuss possible solutions. Joe joined in the discussion. The solution they eventually chose to use was Joe's. Horizon Team Silver took another 2nd place at Globals this past year and, as we later learned, they did extremely well in the Instant Challenge. Call it irony, call it fate, call it luck... but in DI it's called teamwork.
To quote Joe’s mother, "DI has changed my son's life. He feels so much better about himself and is so proud that the team used his IC solution. I can't thank enough the teacher who suggested DI or the Team Managers who welcomed him to the team.” Joe himself says, "Well, I never used to talk before and now I'm not afraid to. I've made friends through DI and love being part of the team.”
