POP IT Vs BUBBLE WRAP
Joseph Joubert said, “The aim of discussion should not be victory but progress.”
Recently, in one of my classes during my interaction with Grade 3 students we talked about the buzzing toy in most of the houses named “Pop It”. Most of us have seen kids having it and adults using it to pass their time. It takes a simple question to trigger an atmosphere of discussion and to challenge the minds of the kids. I asked them what they love about this “POP IT” Toy? It was very nice to see these little children innocently answering the question with a simple answer- “Ma’am it feels satisfying.”
In this ever changing world, we always look for a backup. I asked them to think of an alternative for the “POP IT” toy? They answered, the alternative can be Bubble Wrap. Few of them went off the camera and searched for the bubble wrap and then they showed it in the class and few of them even started popping it. Trust me, I saw the joy and satisfaction! Further, we discussed the thought process of the person who designed “POP IT.” Questions like “How did the idea to design such a thing come into someone’s mind?” ignited the thought process of the children. All of them had an answer. Answers worth pondering upon!!! Few of the kids replied that bubble wrap is only for one time use whereas “POP IT(toy)” can be used multiple times, and hence to provide convenience to the users pop it was designed. Someone told me that the “POP IT” comes in various shapes and colors whereas bubble wrap is just a white polythene and hence to provide something different to the users, POP IT was designed. Whereas one of the child expressed his grudge against the shopping sites and said, “Ma’am, now when we order things from shopping sites, bubble wrap doesn’t come with the product” and it is a waste of money to buy bubble wrap again and again just for popping it so “POP IT (toy)” is a better option for us (users). Someone said, bubble wrap only comes with glass products to protect the item, to which someone replied companies have stopped using bubble wrap since it is made up of plastic and now they use hard paper to wrap the products since plastic is not good for our environment. I was fortunate enough to be part of the discussion though my only role was to throw some questions.
It is said that “every start has an end” but, this discussion with my students doesn’t have any conclusion. All we have for now are few questions and multiple answers that reflects the multiple thoughts of multiple students who deep down understand and know that “Money is important” and it can not be wasted on Bubble Wraps and yes, they also know that plastic is harmful and why the wrapping of the product is done using paper.