Wk 4: Reading post

Ch. 9:

Some things in life are better done in person

Enrolling: is not about forcing, cajoling, tricking, bargaining, pressuring, or guilt-tripping someone into doing something your way. Enrollment is the art and practice of generating a spark of possibility for others to share.

Hearing “NO”…I get what the book is saying about not taking a “NO” personally. But when you hear “NO” or worse, no reply at all, from so many, how does one not get discouraged?

Ch. 10:

Being the board sounds really good, in theory…kind of like Communism. I understand and can appreciate the concept of looking at a situation and finding your own responsibility in the matter. However, in terms of the car accident analogy, if that drunk driver had killed someone…like my child… all the rational, impartial, pride-free thinking in the world will not help. I think this particular chapter is asking a lot of the human species. It is asking use to take the emotion out of situations, what then is the point of living?

Ch. 11

The San Paolo story was very effective. I can see how that way of going about the situation would yield better results that yelling at the students, especially if you needed a good performance from them. The whole signing contracts is just a way for functions like that to easily kick you out. I can really get behind this way of thinking.

Wk 3: Comment Post: Sheri

“I am also in an environment focused on downward spiral thinking. Everyone around me discusses pay cuts, benefit cuts, issues with students, etc. It is very difficult not to fall into this trap. With the beginning of the school year looming, I have decided that I do not want to participate in this type of thinking.”

I know exactly what you mean, for being the person is in charge of motivating hundreds of students, teachers are some of the most negative people in the world when talking to each other. I knew teachers that I dreaded being around because that was all they would talk about…work and how bad things were. And though education is not in a great place right now and I may share some of the same opinions, this is not what I want to talk about ALL THE TIME! At one point in my teaching career I ate lunch in my classroom everyday because I didn’t want to get sucked into the complaining.

“I made a Rule No. 6 sign to hang in my classroom. Yesterday, I told my students the story about the two prime ministers and Rule No. 6. We proceeded to have a discussion on the benefits of Rule No. 6 in reference to creativity. Many students are nervous to take an art class. Past students told me they worry about their own artistic talent to the extent that they think they will not pass. I told students that I did not want them to worry about making mistakes since that is where you learn the most.”

I also loved this part in the book, the rule is so true! It is great that your are bringing into your classroom and using it to help them get over themselves and their fear in art. I ran into the same issue in Drama. At the beginning of the school year I had the intro drama students do Animal Totem dances, where they had to pick and animal and create an improved dance mimicking that animal. It was born as a way to get over stage fright. It is the most embarrassing thing they do all year, because yes…they all look stupid doing it…and I videotape it for extra stress…I tell them nothing will be as bad as this. I think I would change the name of this activity to the Rule No. 6 Dance…because the idea is still the same, get over yourself, who cares if you look stupid, everyone will look stupid, it is all meant in fun.

Wk 3: Comment Post: Cheryl

“the author asks us to think about putting Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" before every remark we make. Can you imagine? The last chapter was all about letting go. That is where this week's picture came from. We have to jump without worrying about every little thing to reach the highest and furthest that we can. I think of the movie "The Great Outdoors". We often forget that very simple command to let go. John Candy is water skiing and after giving his son lessons on safety and letting go of the rope if you get into a situation, he totally forgets this himself and his son is screaming for him to let go of the rope but he doesn't. I hope all of of us this week can let go of our ropes and travel further and accomplish more than we or anyone else could ever expect!”

I loved that part in the book when it said to put “I have a dream…” before every remark we make. I have a dream that I will find a job I enjoy and am respected! I have a dream I will move out of this small apartment being shared by two families! I have a dream that I can begin to dream again! Of course his dreams were not fulfilled in his lifetime, so I am not sure what that says about this exercise, but it feels good at the time.

I really liked your example of the water skiing and letting go of the rope. Sometimes when times are tough and you have exhausted all possibilities or at least the desire to conjure more up, you have to let go.

Wk 3: Wimba Blog Post

Thank you for the more detailed explanation of the abstract and the upcoming presentation. I think I am not going to be able to sharing during the Wimba sessions. I am babysitting my roommates kids (in addition to my own) and if it is like last night there is no way I will be able to get online. 4 kids under 6 is a lot of work! So I will post the URl to the google doc and recruit 2-3 classmates to comment on my presentation. If the night goes well and I can get on, I'd love to contribute, but because of uncertainties, I will go the alternate route.

Are there any suggestions for where to start looking for places to submit our presentation ideas for Month 12?

Is there a certain way the speaker notes need to be written if we decide to do a prezi?

When you mentioned Google Docs for the presentation, did you mean create the slide presentation in the google doc as an easier way to get a URL?

I figure to round out this week's Wimba blog, I'd comment to the questions you posted about the textbook.

How is the Art of Possibility different the Power of Positive Thinking/Oprah:

It is different in that it does not depend of “fate” to take you positive thoughts and make them reality, but rather it is a book to get you thinking about things in a different perspective and that can open doors and that feeling that there are always possibilities is freeing in itself.

My roommate is a big “Power of positive thinking” thinker, she won’t let me say negative thoughts around her. I always find this dumb because in the end, it isn’t because she “throws the positive thoughts out there” but rather the hard work she does to achieve things. Of course in life, even with hard you may still not get the outcomes you want. The flaw I find in that is that by always thinking positive and ignoring the negative possibilities, it is that much more depressing when whatever you were hoping for does not happen.The Art of Possibility doesn’t ignore the fact that roadblocks will happen, but it helps you get through them in a positive manner.

Which chapters meant the most to you and why:

Being a contribution…others chapter after that were equally motivating, but this one really got me into the book. The Rule No. 6 was an equally stand out chapter, because it addresses those negative attitudes.

Wk: 3 Reading Blog: Art of Possibilities

Chapter 5. Leading from Any Chair: We're all leaders. How can we make a difference in the people we influence each day? How do we listen to those who help us make our dreams become reality?

You need to ask yourself, “How can I make them engage” don’t ask “How great am I doing? How much greatness am I willing to give?” A leader listens to suggestions and can instill a sense of pride into those giving the suggestions.

Chapter 6. Rule Number 6: Don't take yourself so seriously. Life is a journey--enjoy and learn along the way. Live, laugh, and love!!

Rule Number 6: don’t take yourself so goddamn seriously. I love this line. I am reminded me of a time I was in an argument with someone. In a fit of rage, I threw a bag of un-husked corn on the cob at him. After that the fight was forgotten and laughter ensued at the absurdity of throwing a bag of corn!

Chapter 7. The Way Things Are: Sometimes settling for the way things are is a lowering of expectations, sometimes it’s finding a starting point so that one can make things better. Where are you in this continuum?

Downward Spiral Talk…rampant in Education. When I started teaching, I was full ideas and innovations, but in staff rooms and meetings my voice was drowned out by jaded, seasoned teachers complaing about this and that, until one day I found myself sucked into the Downward Spiral Talks. Of course it doesn’t help that our complaints and negative thoughts increased as working conditions decreased.

Chapter 8. Giving Way to Passion: Control says that the only way to avoid disappointment and frustration is to not care at all. No hits, no runs, but most importantly, no errors. What are you doing in your daily life that expresses your passion or the things you are passionate about?

I am passionate about art and nature. In the brief freedom of summer for my girls (before they go back to school and are sucked into a world mostly devoid of these things), I try to instill as much of these two high held passions as I can. This is one of the main reasons I chose Portland, OR to move to. This city is as passionate about art and nature as I am. I try to combine my passions, by teaching my kids that nature is full of art; nature is art. Finding and experiencing the beauty that is nature is experiencing art.

Wk 2: Comment 2: Bruce

Bruce:

I love the way you start out our post.

When I started reading this book, I found it hard to read and comprehend. The first two chapters read like a bunch of Fortune cookie fortunes all written together in a book. There were some profound statements, but as a whole I wasn’t getting it the big picture.

I had my doubts while reading chapter 3.

It wasn’t really until the 4^th chapter when the books purpose hit me, like a 2X4 in the head. Then the big picture of what the Zander’s wanted people to get began to shine through… The whole idea of playing the 2 games (succeed/failure and contribution) was a great metaphor that sums up my life, but a great solution for those who are perpetually on the success/failure track. I do wonder though, how does one cope with the notion that had not done anything to contribute that day?

Wk 2 Comment Blog: Christina

Christina:

You yoga reference brought a smile to my face. I did yoga for a little while before I realized it was not relaxing, rather it had the opposite effect on me. I tried so hard to do the poses right that I would get all tense and forget to breathe. Plus it was too quiet. I much preferred the elliptical machine and my iPod for zoning out and collecting my thoughts.

But I digress…

I agree with your statement about how grades are only a measure for comparing students to one another. But it also becomes their reward for doing a job well done. In my experience in high school, they are so conditioned to do work and received the grade and subsequently praise from teachers, peers, and parents. For some this is all the attention they get from others. For many of them, if you took the grade away, they wouldn’t do the work.

Wk 2: Art of Possibilities Ch 1-4

Chapter 1. It's All Invented: How can we think outside the box we live in? What assumptions are we making that we're not aware that we are making? What might we invent that would give us other choices?

Chapter 1 seems to be talking about perspectives and how those perspectives vary from person to person. To answer the question how we can think outside the box we live in, I think a person must first leave their box. To think outside the box calls for a person to look at a situation from different perspectives. You can look at something and get an initial opinion, but to think outside the box you have to but yourself in the place of other people. But in order to look at a situation from another’s perspective, you need to have empathy and understanding of other people, opinions, situations, beliefs, etc… This opinion is demonstrated by the example in the text about the Me’en People who did not understand the purpose of a photograph. They did not have enough experience to understand the purpose from other’s perspectives. When it comes to assumptions, the books example of how even in science we sometimes have to look beyond the current “truth” and look at it from a different perspective to arrive at an all new truth.

When I read the practice questions, my thoughts ran to the people in my apartment complex. The assumptions I am making right now about these people revolve around how uneducated, unrefined, and selfish these people are for how little they care about their neighbors, their complex, and their own apartments. Yet, if I look beyond the fact they were particularly loud tonight, they are probably the same as anyone one else in any other neighborhood. Their habits main just seem worse because we leave so much closer than, say people who have their own homes.

Chapter 2. Stepping into a Universe of Possibility: We live in a world of measurements. The Zanders recommend that when we look at how different things appear we can see them as possibilities. How are your thoughts and actions a reflection of the measurement world?

My thoughts and actions, lately, seem to resemble a choose-your-own-adventure book. This past year, I had to measure my life and my career. I hated my job and where I lived; I wanted out. But, I had to measure the possible outcomes if I quit my job and moved away. I had limited money and no job lined up and no health insurance. The other addition to this equation was that I was single with 2 young kids. So I had to weight the positive and negative impacts of staying or going. Staying meant security with misery and more limited possibilities and leaving meant a whole world of possibilities. A bigger city with more art, culture, and career options, as well as a community with quite different perspectives than my old town could mean more success than I was finding back in Florida or it could wind up being an epic failure. Since choosing to move, and losing my security and giving up the life I hated (but was fairly set and predictable) I don’t know what the future holds, whether it be a year from now or even a week from now. Every new development forces me to measure the good verses the bad. I try to hypothesis possible outcomes of what would happen if I chose this way or that. For me, right now, all my options seem to be like Robert Frost’s less taken road.

Chapter 3. Giving an A: Giving Yourself an A.

The concept of giving student an A right from the start is intriguing and makes sense in certain circumstances, however, in reality the average student in an average public school would do absolutely nothing when told they had already received an A. The students in the example in the text wanted to be in that class and wanted to improve.

I can see how taking the anxiety out of assignments by giving A’s could increase student thought, but what about those that don’t care?

Chapter 4. Being a Contribution: Over the years, I’ve observed how people handle various situations in their lives. People who succeed do not have fewer problems than people who fail. It is how they perceive issues and how they react to situations that makes a difference. The purpose of this chapter was to help us look at how we can contribute in order to make a difference in the lives of others even if it’s only one person. How will I be a contribution today?

I loved this chapter! I have never been one who was on the competitive ladder of success and failure. As I have embarked on my new personal journey across the country in search of a new start, I am not looking for success in money or material possessions. I want to make a difference, a contribution, to my community. That is all I have ever wanted to do. That was why I got into this program. That is why I focus on the passions I do. I want to contribute by enhancing local communities and help bring the together. I loved this chapter because it put a name to what I have been doing most of my life. It is hard to be contributor in a success/failure world.