If I had learned about instant and delayed gratification as an 8 year old, I may have made a few different choices as I grew up.
This concept was taught in our Life Lab Lesson through a modified version of the marshmallow experiment. We wanted to teach students about the polarity of instant and delayed gratification: We gave them each a marshmallow at the start of class, if they didn’t eat it, they would get a second one at the end.
Demonstrating great willpower, most students didn’t give in and waited until the end of the lesson, awarding them their 2nd marshy.
We found that children between classes started preparing their peers, telling them not to eat the first one. So we added a layer of uncertainty, to make the experiment become a little more life-like. For the next classes, there was no guarantee that they would receive a 2nd one or that they might even loose the 1st one they had if they didn’t eat it. This changed their commitment to the choice they made and it gave us more material for sharing around the choice of instant or delayed gratification.
Many life lessons came up in the discussion from this tasting plate; can we accept what we have, appreciate things in the moment, not be hung up on choices we make, live without regret, not be wishing for more or measure success by end amounts?
Who would have thought so much can come from little puffy pink and white clouds of sugar?
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