Princess of Whales 

Today in Social and Emotional Learning, we were reviewing how to determine whether a problem is small, medium or big. We were instructed, as per the chart, that a small problem is one that involves only one person, a medium problem will involve up to three people, and a big problem will involve even more people than that.

So I’m glad to know that if I die by hitting a tree with my car, it will be a small problem with a simple solution! Do we have to be upset? No! Just go get some paper towels and clean it up!

Mar 10, 2023 at 9:03pmWeb
Show threadRabbi Ruti ReganMar 10, 2023
@princesaballena wow, yikes
Show threadPrincess of Whales Mar 10, 2023
@RabbiRutiRegan I’m sure this wasn’t really the intended message, but wow
Show threadTony PenninoMar 10, 2023
@princesaballena Ok, turn my death from a small problem into a big problem: put my body into a wood chipper and point it into Harrods.
Show threadPrincess of Whales Mar 10, 2023
@beatnikprof hell yes!
Show threadTony PenninoMar 10, 2023
@princesaballena Cool. And you get a nice trip to London.
Show threadPrincess of Whales Mar 10, 2023
@beatnikprof 😂
Show threadBrosephine WiresMar 10, 2023
@princesaballena whew! Good to know
Show threadPrincess of Whales Mar 10, 2023
@JoParkerBear right??
Show threadAmy (she/her)Mar 10, 2023
@princesaballena I'd argue that it's still a big problem as your death would affect a lot more than three people. Also, can we just count the tree and all the creatures living in it as people for the sake of this thought experiment? Because in that case, it will push it into the Big problem category.
Show threadPrincess of Whales Mar 11, 2023
@DeathKitten I like your interpretation much better, and will share it with the other teachers in my room who were also incredibly flummoxed by the presentation
Show threadAmy (she/her)Mar 11, 2023

@princesaballena I get what they were trying to get at, whoever originally created it. It's intended to be about the sorts of things a child would encounter, and children haven't developed a sense of scale of urgency. So it over simplifies it for them.

But I'm glad that my perspective was helpful to you! 💜

Show threadAllen StenhausMar 11, 2023
@princesaballena That's interesting. It seems no matter the size of my problems, I alone am the one who has to fix them.
Show threadPrincess of Whales Mar 11, 2023
@allenstenhaus find yourself a roll of paper towels. I believe in you!
Show threadThe Male Hysteric 🏳️‍⚧️🪬Mar 11, 2023
@princesaballena Obviously if you die by hitting a tree in a forest and no one is around to hear it, it does not make a sound.
Show threadThe Male Hysteric 🏳️‍⚧️🪬Mar 11, 2023
@princesaballena also glad to hear that family annihilators who only have a spouse and one child are only medium-sized problems.
Show threadPrincess of Whales Mar 11, 2023
@graay yeah, ouch, but yeah
Show threadPrincess of Whales Mar 11, 2023
@graay there you go! I love it
Show threadVirginicusMar 11, 2023
@princesaballena I’m on board with the implication that the more people you have around, the bigger your problems will be.
Show threadPrincess of Whales Mar 12, 2023
@Virginicus I can definitely get behind that interpretation of it!
Show threadDelaunayisationMar 13, 2023
@princesaballena nice to know that all of my problems are small because I staunchly refuse anyone to ever help me.
Show threadPrincess of Whales Mar 13, 2023
@delaunayisation there you go! well done