Wk3 - Response to Dena

Dena,
This is a perfect review of these chapters from our reading. You have done an excellent job of pulling out the important pieces from each. I like how you mention in your post that nobody is promised another day and how you related this to the reading. It is a grim, cold truth, but if you understand this fully and think about it enough, it really can change the way you live and more importantly the way you affect others lives. Thanks for your insight! Great job!

Possibility abounds! Microsoft Clip Art Gallery

Dena's Original Post:


Any Chair
 Leaders sit in all types of chairs.  We have leaders of our country, of our schools, of our communities, and of our organizations, just to name a few.  So the concept of any chair does apply.  As educators our job is to lead our students in the right direction to prosper into life long learners.  Some types of leaders were mentioned in this chapter that stood out and one was the insensitive management type leader.  These types of leaders may take us further down in the reading when we meet the wall.  It also brings to mind the two types of self.  The calculating and the central.  The calculating is the more dominant one and I think that is where the insensitive mangement leader fits in.  I thought the statement, " A leader does not need a podium, she can be sitting quietly.  The leader maybe anyone of us."  I thought that was powerful.  People in higher positions can just supply the tools and allow the work to be done.  It would lmake the work environment a bit more pleasurable to work in.  There are leaders in everyone, it just needs to be brought out of the individual.

Rule #6
I love this rule.  Lighten up and have a sense of humor, that helps to alleviate the stresses of life.  Enjoy life while you have it because no one is promised tomorrow.   I also agree that it is important to look at yourself in the situation and ask is it me.  It may not be you but at least you have explored the possibilities.  I also got the message that you should take the opportunity to explore your inner self.

The Way
 This concept should have a balance.  I agree that sometimes it is easier to accept things as they are rather than fuss over everything. On the other hand right is right and wrong is wrong, therefore you have to be careful of what you accept.  There were a few statements that I withdrew from the text.  " When we dislike a situation we tend to put all our attention on how things should be rather than how they are."  "A storm sweeps overhead showers and thunder only to be followed by clear patches of blue."  "Nature makes no judgement. Humans do."  These statements are so true.

The Wall
The wall is not a good place to be because communication has shut down.  If you can not communicate, you will not be able to resolve anything.  " The practice of being with the way things are allows us to alight in a place of openness where the truth readies us for the next step and the sky opens up."  I agree with this statement.

Giving Way to Passion
The message I received was get on with things that matter to us.  There were two ways:
1.  Release those barriers of self that keep you separate and in control.
2.    Allow yourself to be a channel to shape the stream of passion into a new expression for the world.

Wk3 - Response to Heather

What a great post, Heather!

Rule 6 is great, and I have to admit that I am not always good at this one. Going through this program with you over the last 11 months, I have definitely noticed that you are very good at Rule 6 thinking. I can't imagine what it must have been like for you growing up in the situation that you did, but I also, with Christine and Dena, commend you for coming through it a stronger, better person. I would love to be a fly on the wall in one of your classes! I think I would learn a lot about teaching from seeing you in action.

Rule 6! - Microsoft Clip Art Gallery

Heather's Original Post:

As a teacher we are always “leading from a chair”.  I can’t make my students learn, I can’t make them succeed.  My goal is to guide them, engage them, and help them create that inner desire to succeed on their own.  I understand the idea of asking what is wrong with me if they are not succeeding, but I also think that this can take away some of the personal responsibility of the students.  Students need to also participate for the relationship to work.

I love, love, LOVE Remember Rule #6.  I totally live by this!  I vow to never take myself too seriously and try to lighten up the mood with humor whenever possible.  I have found that this helps to ease tense situations…also defusing a situation with humor often times allows both parties to leave with their dignity (save face).  I am also not opposed to their Have the best ______ ever scenario ::wink, wink::

I also found the inner battle between the calculating self and central self very intriguing.  After reading this, it was easy to ascertain which self tries to be dominant in certain situations.  While I usually stay in the central self, there are time where I find my calculating self trying to rear it’s ugly head.

The way things are is such a difficult concept sometimes.  There are times when you just want to vent, cry, scream and not accept the injustice of certain things.  However, in the end, there usually isn’t much you can do to change the situation, only your reaction to that situation.  I try to highlight this with students when we talk about childhoods and the situations in which we were raised.  I was raised in a difficult situation, where I was always in that survival mode with a drug-addicted parent until I entered the 6^th grade.  I told my students that I could have held onto this difficult background and let it guide my adult life.  Instead I chose to realize that this was the situation and that I could rise above it…I didn’t let my inability to change my past alter my future.

Wk3 - Reading - Thinking Differently

This week's reading has once again been very inspiring for me. On one hand, I feel I have learned four new life changing ideas, and on the other, I feel that I have just been made aware of something that is natural and that has always been a part of me and of everyone.

These chapters reminded me a lot of one of my closest friends. In my life, I have been blessed with many great friends that care about me very much, but there is one that I feel far more connected to because, while most of my friends care more about the "calculating self", he cares more about the "central self". While many of my friends are always there with typical advice, given more like commands, when a problem arises, he is there to listen and discuss possibilities. It is odd to say, but while he is very reserved and quiet, he is also at the same time extremely passionate about life and what it has to offer. After my reading, I have come to realize more why I respect this person very much.  It is not because of how much money he makes, or because of what kind of car he has, or what kind of house he lives in. It is because he gets it.  His understanding of the way things are stretch beyond the measuring society that has been built up around us all. The reason that I am telling the story of this friend is because we actually started our relationship in a struggle over a girl quite a distance in the past. We were enemies then. At least, that was the way I saw it. I am sure he did not.  My challenge to others after reading these last four chapters would be to try looking at the people you know in a different light when you see them next. Abraham Lincoln once said, "The best way to destroy an enemy is to make him a friend." Thinking in this manner is definitely not the norm, and if you would have told me this quote when I was younger, I would not have understood it so well.  I am glad that things mustn't always stay what they are. I am glad to have learned a different way of seeing things through my experiences and the reading of these chapters.

Thinking Differently - Microsoft Clip Art Gallery

Wk2 - Wimba

This Wimba archive was an excellent review of the Week 1 readings and videos on Copyright issues. I still have some grey areas in my head, but I do understand the law as it is much better than I did in the past.  After watching the archive and thinking more about this, I believe that there are much needed changes needed for copyright law to catch up with technological innovations, but I also think that Creative Commons is on the right track for allowing creators more options for licensing creative works. I love using Creative Commons in my professional and my personal life, and it is something that I will be covering in great depth this year with my middle school students in computer class.  Near the end of the archive, it was mentioned that educators need to start creating the change they want to see and that they should be out speaking to lawmakers instead of just complaining. This is awesome advice, and it is something that I am feeling more of a call to do as my experience and expertise grows.

Microsoft Clip Art Gallery

Wk2 - Think Out Loud PPP

As of this moment, I am not sure whether or not I would like to publish or present. I think that both of these options are amazing, and I still want to think about it a little so that I choose something that will really turn me into a better version of me.

If I choose to submit my work to be published in a journal, I would probably pick the Journal of Interactive Learning Research. I think that the topics covered in my CBR project would be a good fit for this publication.

If I choose to do a presentation, I would like to present at the Tri-State Educational Technology Conference (TSETC). They are accepting proposals for presenters until September 19th for their 2011 conference in New York City, so there is still time for this year! I love the slogan for this conference - "Ideas to engage, technology to inspire." This is only the second year for the TSETC, but I do see it becoming a huge event for future-minded educators in my area.

Logo for the TSETC - http://www.tsetc.org/home

Wk2 - Response to Les

I think you hit it dead on in your reflection on Chapter 2 when you say "Instead of trying to see how things measure up I look for potential". Everyone is so caught up all the time in following the path that has been already laid out by someone else and doing things that were already invented by other people. What if we could all realize this and be brave enough to step outside the lines? Can you imagine the enhancements to life for all?

Microsoft Clip Art Gallery

Les's Original Post:


I was set to just answer the questions on the reading but just wanted to reflect on the chapters. The Art of Possibility by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander has caused me to deeply reflect and come to some startling conclusions about my Full Sail EDMT experiences.
Chapter 1 “ it’s all invented” really helps us understand that our perspectives are born out of assumptions frolicking with the limitations of what we see. I wanted to get a degree that would cause me to see beyond the limitations. I never thought that the limitations were anchored in my assumptions. I continued to get what I perceived because of the way I understood and manipulated it or it me. What happens when you are empowered to see beyond the false assumed constraints? Possibility emerges and says HELLO! You are now empowered to invent something new based on new perceptions not necessarily changing what you are observing. Hey, this sounds like my CBR project reflections.
Chapters 2. “Stepping into a universe of possibility”. I love this chapter. The authors build on the 1st chapter by calling us to see the endless possibilities presented when our perceptions are changed. The authors’ deal squarely with the world we live in based on measurements and the constant pressure this viewpoint places on us. In the world of measurements we never measure up or fit because the criteria continues to expand. In other words, measurements are often moving targets, sounds counter intuitive but true. When the world of measurements is exposed suddenly many things are seen as opportunities. Instead of trying to see how things measure up I look for potential. EDMT has shown me the potential and I am not discouraged unless I move into the world of measurements.
Chapter 3 “Giving an A”. Wow freeing idea. This concept allows me to enjoy the process of becoming. I mean enjoying every part of the process. I hate making mistakes but they are inevitable and a necessary part of learning. I always said I’m not concerned about the grade but learning the material, He LIES!!!! I have had some challenging months trying to complete the EDMT program and have had to live by learn Les just learn. The professors are wonderful. I found each professor probably practiced the give an A in theory even if they didn’t know it. What they aren’t out to fail me or make sure there is a bell curve, scandalous. How freeing it has been to give myself an A and say “just learn Les just learn”.
Chapter 4 “Being a contribution”. Here is my new approach to change in education. I just want to contributor to students learning and great teaching, period amen.

Wk2 - Response to Daniela

I have to admit that I was always a big one for keeping up with the Jones', and that in my life, my brother is the Jones'. We constantly are trying to one up each other. I think that it is bad in many respects to try to live this way, but there is still a part of me that believes that our rivalry shows great respect for one another and has helped each of us and some around us to live better lives as well. What do you think, Daniela? Has there ever been anyone that you tried to keep up with and feel it actually was beneficial to do so? Do you think that this is similar to engaging people in your passion in any way?

Microsoft Clip Art Gallery

Daniela's Original Post:

The Art of Possibility has been a great book to read. I am such a big believe in that you get you put in, and you are only as good as you think you are. Those two beliefs fall right in line with everyone getting an A. If you think you’re an A you’ll perform like an A. How great is that!

Now I think that you can teach this to kids and they too will rise to the occasion, but I would worry about them at a young age not wanting to anymore because they already earned an A. I know that in the book it talks about being the second violinist, but that comes with maturity.

It caught my attention to think that we live in a world of measurement. As a society everyone like to know where he or she stack up, or how they are ‘keeping up with the Jones’.  I love the idea that we can make our own realities by taking a step and removing our preconceptions. By looking at the glass as half full. Not that you can create your own powerful Universe by simple thinking it can happen, but by doing things you love and engaging people in your passion, as they state in the book.

I think this book is great read for anyone!