First graders at Estes Park Elementary School in Colorado are learning empathy and perseverance through a unique project that involves designing shoes for children in other countries. The project was initiated by computer science, library, and technology integration teacher Polly Greenblatt, who wanted to implement the design thinking process into classroom curriculums. Design thinking is a nonlinear 5-step method of innovation and invention, but instead of the goal being success or money, the focus is to create effective solutions for others through the practice of radical empathy.
Greenblatt decided to develop a pair of shoes with her students using this process. She noticed that when first graders tried designing a backpack for a friend, they would focus on their own needs and desires in the design process. She was looking for something that they really understood and that was completely removed from themselves. Greenblatt ideated around the idea of school — the fact that many children around the world had schools, but that the ways they got there varied greatly. This is where she landed on the idea of shoes. The concept was that students would research the commute to school children from different regions of the world experienced, then create a shoe design to help the children have a safer, more comfortable way to get to class.
The students were able to put their ideas to the test. If an idea didn’t work toward their goal, they were encouraged not to give up, but instead to go back in the process and adjust, or try a new idea. The project was a success and the students were able to present their designs to parents and friends. The event also acted as a launch for an ongoing shoe drive, where shoes can be sent to different global regions in an effort to help impoverished countries generate income.
The project not only taught the students about science, geography, and art, but also about empathy and perseverance. As Greenblatt and first grade teacher Taylor Bodin had touched on, Estes Park is a rural community. And while many people come into the town from other countries, it’s much more rare for some community members to step out of the “bubble.” The project challenges empathy to really step up in the community and bring people together under one cause or one purpose, or just get them talking more with people who might be different from themselves.
