Countywide : Club Takes Youths on Mental Odyssey

Royal High School teacher Judy Haren believes that students should gain more than just facts and figures from their school experience. They also need to learn how to think.

“It’s my philosophy that learning is so much more memorable when you feel like you’ve really been a part of it--when you’ve gone through the process, as opposed to someone giving you the result and memorizing it,” Haren said.

As California Day of the Teacher is celebrated today at campuses throughout the state, Haren prepares for her next meeting of Odyssey of the Mind, a club she started at Royal High in Simi Valley last fall.

Odyssey of the Mind, featured in the movie “Little Man Tate,” began as a New Jersey competition in 1978, involving students who tried to solve problems created by Sam Micklus, professor emeritus at Glassboro State College. The program has since grown to involve more than 1 million students worldwide.

The program challenges students to tackle long-term projects and spontaneous problems based on an outline provided by organizers. Royal High School is the only school in Ventura County involved in the program, said Hari Huff, state director for the Odyssey program.

Each week, 26 sophomores and juniors at Royal gather after school on Wednesdays to bounce around questions such as, “What if everyone looked alike?” After their mental warm-up, they work on projects that are judged at an annual regional finals competition, which is open to kindergarten through high school students. College students also compete at the highest level, called the world competition.

Royal High students competed in the regional contest against other California students for the first time in March, winning two second place awards and two awards for creativity. Their projects included an original script and developed a battery-powered tank that climbed stairs. Expenses were covered by a donation from Micom Systems Inc., a Simi Valley company.

The club’s president, Roopesh Doshi, 16, gives Haren credit for helping students prepare for the contest.

“She really gets into what she’s teaching about,” Roopesh said.

Haren taught in New York before moving to California. She was introduced to the Odyssey program at Chaparral Elementary School in Woodland Hills, where her son attends school. After coaching teams at the school, Haren decided to start an after-school Odyssey program at Royal, where she began teaching this year.

“Problem solving and adapting your thinking on a second’s notice are very important skills to have,” Haren said. “It’s really important to look at this as a tool for education, because it’s fun.”