Indepth 2

I have been working extensively on my in-depth project for the last two weeks. Last Thursday, I went to my mentor’s house to plan the garden, give the criminal check form, and just get to know each other better. After calling her, we set a date, time, and location to meet. In this meeting, we also discussed other sources of help I could get. She has set me up with the president of her gardening club, as a secondary mentor. Last Sunday, I went to Art Knapp’s, many dollar stores, and The Home Depot to buy seeds, containers, lights, and soil. I decided to grow round zucchini, long zucchini, kale, sesame, and beets. This past Saturday, my mentor came to my house to drop off the criminal check and help start the garden. She brought the president of her gardening club to help. Currently, I am starting the seeds in a warm empty room.

How to Agree

In Edward De Bono’s How To Have a Beautiful Mind, a person’s perceptions, values, needs and experiences dictate their “logic bubble.” Their logic bubble is their POV and to understand them, we need to see the OPV (other person’s point of view). Similarly, my mentor was inclined to use a seed starting fertilizer while I was heavily against that idea. From experience, my mentor’s logic bubble includes the idea to use fertilizer. My logic bubbles had the idea that fertilizer was not good for the plants. However, after accessing the situation, I realized that she knows what is best. Mazy comes from a lofty background of gardening. I had to let go of my past knowledge and do what is best for my garden, not my ego.

 

Mentor: So, I brought a fertilizer to use in the soil.

Joon: I’m not too sure I want to use a fertilizer.

Mentor: Why not?

Joon: Isn’t it detrimental for the longevity of the plants?

Mentor: Well the fertilizer I have is natural and isn’t filled with chemicals.

Joon: Are you sure?

Mentor: Yes, I can show you the original container.

Joon: No it’s fine. We will use it.

 

How to Disagree

Edward De Bono suggests to “investigate any issue objectively and fully” when disagreeing (14). In other words, to not attack the person, but the idea. I used this strategy when my mentor suggested to start the seeds in big pots. I was confused because from my research, seeds are started in small compostable pots. Thus, I politely suggested using smaller pots and subtly pointed out the error in her logic. I also told her that I understood the reasons for using the bigger pots. However, she quickly realized that using smaller pots would make a lot more sense because of the amount of space and type of crops we had.

Mentor: I have some big pots for the seed starting

Joon: Wow, those are big pots.

Mentor: Yes, they are.

Joon: I did some research about seed starting and apparently you have to use small containers.

Mentor: Oh yes, but I usually use bigger pots.

Joon: I see. I think that the smaller containers will fit in the room better. Also, we have smaller crops.

Mentor: Ah. I just realized. That would make a lot more sense wouldn’t it

Joon: Yes. I think the bigger pots would have worked if we had more area to work with.

How to Differ

Edward De Bono says that differences can appear due to preferences, values, pov’s, and experience. My mentor’s preference is to grow crops to enjoy them. However, I was planning to grow crops to hopefully get results. We had different ideas of an end goal for the project. She was looking past the due date of the project, but I was looking at the due date of the project. We compromised by choosing both tasty(harder to grow) and easy(not as tasty) vegetables. We were able to reconcile by making a compromise.

 

Mentor: I think we should plant whatever you want to eat

Joon: I think the purpose of my project is to see if I can grow vegetables, so I need to choose vegetables that are easier to grow. Especially because it is my first time.

Mentor: Aren’t you going to eat the vegetables though.

Joon: Yes, some of the easier crops are not as tasty, but I just want to see them grow and share them with others.

Mentor: I see. Personally, I would choose tastier crops because you will eat them in the future.

Joon: That is true. How about we grow 3 easy crops and 2 hard crops (to grow)?

Mentor: Yes. That would work. You can possibly get results and have delicious crops.

 

Well, these two weeks have been enjoyable. I can’t wait to see meet my mentor again and to see any progress with the plants!