What I Invented in 4th Grade, and Why It’s Still Awesome
(for everyone…)
When I was just a young 4th grader of 11 years old, I was placed in a different reading class. This class was for kids who displayed academic talents slightly elevated from those of a normal 11 year old, and was called Academically Talented or “AT” for short. As an athlete, who didn’t take school seriously enough (already at the age of 11!); I was more interested in just getting through my school day and on to whatever sport I had a practice for that evening. While technically considered an English class with a focus on reading and writing, I would learn soon that more was expected of us. This became apparent when we were given our first big “project”. Each year, AT classes were assigned a special “project” that was only given to them, and in addition to the normal 4th grade English curriculum. This project accounted for a large portion of our final semester grade, and had nothing to do with traditional lessons in reading and writing.
This year, the project we were tasked with was to create a product! That’s right, 4th graders were tasked with tackling the process of research and development, basic engineering skills, and marketing and advertising. Well, now they had my interest. So after a few failed ideas that barely made it to a sheet of paper, I looked down at the mess I had made with my #2 pencil and synapses started firing! While the notes on my paper weren’t all that impressive, the graphite lead smear travelling from left to right across all of my sentences was what caught my eye. See, I was a left handed writer. Not one of those kids who batted or threw left handed in baseball, or could dribble with my left hand to save my life. No, I was the kid who batted, threw, kicked, and dribbled with my right hand. I only wrote, and used utensils with my left hand. I also had a tendency to press down hard when writing, possibly because of my not quite ambidextrous pre teen angst. This made all of my schoolwork look like it had been smeared across a boulder while the ink was still dry. Any left handers out there know what I’m talking about: whether pencil lead, ink pen, or marker. When writing from left to write and rubbing your hand across freshly written words, some smearing of the page will occur. It’s inevitable. But, I thought to myself, why must we accept this inevitability? Well I didn’t. I went hard to work going through my mom’s crafting supplies and came up with…...The Hand Band.
The Hand Band was (and still is) a simple piece of fabric that fits around the meat of the hand while writing, thereby greatly reducing ink smear and greatly increasing visibility. Another added perk is I could keep my left hand free from the ink that would normally be on it all day. Paper clean, hand clean, problem solved. In the end, the grade I received was not on par with the genius I displayed. Here was a product, created by an 11 year old, that immediately provided a solution to a common problem. The teacher felt it was too basic. I had not “invented” something so much as put a “craft” together, in her opinion. While other kids in the class created more elaborate and intricate inventions, none of theirs was as practical, or solved that great of a problem. One kid had a device that assisted in the application of twisty ties on loaves of bread. REALLY?!?! Isn’t the twisty tie already that device? Anyway, while the grade I received was sufficient for passing, I was unhappy at the reception (or lack thereof) of the device. After the project's conclusion, I took my grade, shelved my product, still hated school, and moved on with my education (ink smearing and all). As I grew older, technology replaced much of the need for classic penmanship, or manual completion of an important document. I still wrote with a pen, sure, but it was only ever lyrics, quick notes, and fast ideas to be seen by myself. Once I started leading peers in business activities, and had to share my handwriting with other adults: the benefit of the Hand Band came roaring back into my mind. There’s no way that invention (or CRAFT as my teacher would have called it) would still be relevant, right? Well, eventually I had to know for myself.
Hand Bank Mark II was created out of the original concept (original Hand Band has probably disintegrated in a toy chest full of GI Joes somewhere). Well guess what, IT WORKS! Here I was for the first time in 26 years, using a Hand Band, with successful results. My notes became easier to read, and I could proudly display them to anyone who would listen! While this accomplishment brings no great monetary value to my life, nor does it label me an inventor: it still taught me some lessons.
Those lessons are:
Never sell yourself short or underestimate yourself. If you see genius that a teacher or boss doesn’t see, keep persisting.
Your worth, or the worth of your work is not created in the value it has for others. While creating value may be important, and at times required, you will be most happy valuing your own worth and merit based on your passion, ideas, and follow through. If you are happy with your creation, then it cannot be unsuccessful.
Give your 4th grade self more credit, that was a world where your intentions were pure, your ideas new, and your future limitless. Honestly if I could tap into the raw potential of my 4th grade brain more often, I surely would. And now I know how to recognize it.
Sometimes, the most obvious problem requires only the most obvious solution. Complexity of a solution does not equal success, oftentimes the opposite is true.
Finally, don’t be too hard on yourself. Whether or not you're successful should never stop you from trying in the future. If you fail or fall, get up and try again. If you succeed, keep it up. Don’t let the misunderstanding of a few authority figures keep you from using your awesomeness and originality.
Looking back on it all now, I wonder if anyone is still in their kitchen, using a twisty tie support device on their bread (other than a twisty tie). My guess is no. I just hope that kid kept trying!
Some food for thought...