An adult high school teacher wanted to teach his students a lesson. Many of them didn’t have enough time to study, alternated classes with their work, and faced many difficulties. The money hasn’t arrived. Some were married, had children, were overwhelmed by responsibilities. Then the teacher decided to introduce them to the fable of the stones.
Some students didn’t even want to hear it. It seemed, in a way, a waste of time, they were more interested in advancing the content than in listening to the fable of the stones, after all, they were adults and did not need anyone to try to teach them to live.
- Despite the resistance of the students.
- And that is precisely why the teacher insisted on teaching the lesson of the day.
- Took a glass jar and placed it on the table.
- Then took several stones under the table and placed them near the pot.
- He then asked the students if they thought the pot would be full of stones.
“If, when crossing a mountain towards a star, the traveler becomes too absorbed by the problems of climbing too much, he can forget which star guides him” – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry-
Students began making assumptions. Each made an estimate of the amount of stones that fit inside the pot and decided whether to fill it or not, in the end almost all agreed that, in fact, the stones were large enough to fill the space, so began the experience of fable of stones.
The master inserted the stones, one by one. Once they were done, they almost reached the top of the pot. Then he asked the students, “Is the pot full? Almost everyone said yes. The master then pulled out a small container from under the table containing smaller stones. He asked if it was possible?”. for these stones to enter the pot, the students thought about it a little bit and said yes
The professor gradually put them on until the container was emptied. He asked the students again, “Is the pot full?Students analyzed in detail. After checking that there was no room for anything else, they said yes, it was already full. “
Although everyone thought it was impossible to put anything else in this pot, the professor again intrigued them, this time he pulled out a bag. There was sand in it. Quietly, he began to pour it into the pot. To everyone’s surprise, the sand made its way through the contents of the pot. The students did not take into account the fact that among the stones, there is always a small space.
For the fourth time, the teacher asked again: “Is the pot full?” This time, without hesitation, the students said yes. It was impossible to introduce anything else. The few remaining spaces were already filled with sand.
The teacher took a bottle full of water and began returning it to the pot, which was already filled with large stones and sand, the contents were not overflowed. This meant that there was still room for water, even though everything was full. The sand got wet and much of the liquid came in. When it was over, the professor asked, “What did you learn from this?”
When the teacher asked the question, one of the students quickly got excited and said, “What this fable tells us is that no matter how many things you have in your diary, there will always be a space to put something else in it. “Is it all about organization?
The professor was silent. Another student also wanted to participate, said that teaching is infinite, that you can put more and more things on your head, as if you were the recipient, after all, it will always be possible to add something else.
Seeing that students did not understand the experience of fable of stones, the teacher spoke, this time asked them, “What would have happened if I had done otherwise?”If I’d started with water, until I got to the biggest one. Stones?? Students responded that the pot would have overflowed quickly.
“Now you understand, ” said the professor. Water, sand, small and large stones are problems, some large, some small and others almost imperceptible. If we start dealing with the big problems first, there will be room for the little ones, but if we do the opposite, we won’t solve anything?This is what the fable of stones teaches: start by solving the big problems, otherwise the little ones will overflow everything.