Week 2 Free Choice: Buggy

Photograph courtesy of Morguefile

The AR website has been a great source of frustration this week.  While all of my information was already posted, I had major issues with formatting.  Actually, the formatting and alignment looked fine in the application, but every time I published, it went haywire.  In iWeb, the numbers and paragraphs were perfectly aligned but the published site had lines waving in and out.  First, I tried to put in additional text boxes and move them around to line up.  FAIL.  Next I tried to go back and forth between the published site and iWeb, moving things left and right to match up with where things belonged on the published site.  FAIL.  Then I went in and deleted the preference files and cache for iWeb.  FAIL.  Finally, I consulted discussion boards online and read that sometimes the text boxes themselves can be the problem.  I had to copy and paste all of my text in a Word document, reformat in Word, delete the old text box, then put in a new one and copy and paste all of the reformatted material.  SUCCESS.  Who knew the text would be the hardest media item to integrate into the site.

At this point, I think I have just about maxed out my Mac.  My machine is not the one supplied by Full Sail because I already had one before starting the program and opted out of the new purchase.  While my machine is adequate to complete the program, I am asking a little more than it is capable of.  At this point, I need to run a disk utility, or wipe it clean, or set it on fire to stop all of the bugginess but I am afraid to kill it before the end of the program.  For the remainder the program, I guess I will have to keep going through FAIL, FAIL, FAIL, SUCCESS.

Week 2 Peer Response 2

Photo by Melissa Lodhi

Curt Isakson

One of the most compelling points bought across in this book, and what has stuck with me the longest, was the concept of giving an ‘A’ for a particular project to free one-self of the grade, and to let a person fully experiment, fail, or succeed without the worry of getting a bad grade.  I believe this can be a wonderful way of letting loose the chains that bind us creatively.

I find myself in this course having to make decisions about whether I do what I really want to do (which usually is more involved), or just make sure I fit the criteria for the grade.  Many times I have made the conclusion that I want the grade and have not taken it as far as I wanted to.  The projects I am most proud of though are the ones that I really didn’t care about the grade and did what I felt was right in my mind.

This course has used this concept many times, and I use this same idea in the classes I teach.  A ‘no-fail’ approach to some of my learning environments really brings out the best in my students. 

My Response

As a teacher, I provide many opportunities for students to do creative projects that have an automatic "A" as long as they put in the work.  This works especially well with choreography projects and film projects.  I like for them to experiment and I find that the creativity and effort levels on these projects are excellent.  In other teaching situations, though, I find that I need the motivation of the grade to push them to complete the work and to do a thorough job.

Week 2 Peer Response 1

Trina Dralus

Photo by Melissa Lodhi

                                                  

                                            

After this weeks reading, I feel inspired and motivated to see the possiblities in myself and in everyone around me. I am in love with this book. I have so many favorite quotes and pages that I could write forever. So I will try to be concise in my feelings and inspirations from the Art of Possibility.

The first thing that inspired me was from the TED video when Benjamin Zander said, “I’ll never say anything that couldn’t stand as the last thing that I ever say. It is a possibility to live into.”

I mean wow! I know this will be a quote I have to remind myself of daily possibly hourly, but what a way to live your life.

The next thought that struck me was the whole idea of the book, that being to think beyond the constraints of today and imagine the possibilities. Thinking outside of the box and allowing the possibility of recreating your paradigm often leads us to the perfect solution. Life really is all about how we invent it. Each new paradigm gives us the opportunity to see things that we may not have seen before. Exposure to different ideas and mind-sets allow us to see other ways of doing things, which can be very powerful.

My next moment of clarity occurred while reading the comments made on competition. So as good as competition can be to motivate one to push harder, it can be a strain on friendships and lead to a solitary journey. This makes me think of Race to the Top, a program that bases teachers’ pay on test scores. The new Govenor of Florida says healthy competition will improve our school systems, but is this the type of competition we want? Is our ultimate goal for teachers to retreat from collaboration and work alone?  Won’t this lead to thinking of our children as liabilities and of each other as an obstacle to overcome? Will this lead to more effective practices in teaching? What kind of example will we be setting for our children? This seems to me like the opposite of seeing the possibilities in each other, which makes me very sad.

Giving an A was a very moving chapter for me. When we look for the beauty within or give an A to ourselves or to others, we see the possibilities that exist in all of us. The measurement world often gets in the way with Standardize testing and curriculum maps and so forth. Chipping away at the stone to find the passion and the brilliance in each of us will add beauty where none was seen before. This giving an A comes from a place of respect, not from how others or myself measure up to arbitrary standards. This acceptance or A gives us room to realize who we really are. I feel this program at Full Sail has done that for me. Sometimes I feel like my work may not be A work if you compared me to other students in this class, but somehow I get an A as well. This has allowed me to realize things about myself that I did not realize before. I grew up feeling stupid because I struggled while learning to read. I was diagnosed with Dyslexia, which I thought meant that I was dumb and couldn’t learn like everyone else. As I have grown and become more educated on Dyslexia and on myself I realize that only half of that is true. I do learn differently then others, but I am not dumb. Seeing many of those A’s has helped me to realize this- finally. I can finally see the possibilities in myself.

One of my favorite parts of this book is where Zander (2000) stated “The freely granted A lifts you off the success/failure ladder and spirits you away from the world of measurement into the universe of possibility. It is a framework that allows you to see all of who you are and be all of who you are, without having to resist or deny any part of yourself” (pg. 46). This is life changing.

The starfish story found in chapter 4 is a type of inspirational story that we focus on at my school. During our Professional Learning Communities, which is where my team of 2^nd grade teachers meet monthly to reflect and learn from a book we are reading together, our mantra is based on the starfish story. Our Literacy Coach has given each of us a starfish as a reminder of the importance of reaching each child.

This is just another reminder that I want to be a contribution to my life and to others. I firmly believe in this, and I need to remind myself that the how’s and whys are not as important as just showing up and giving my all. I can’t wait to read the rest of this book!

Zander, R. S., & Zander, B. (2000). The art of possibility. Boston, MA:  Harvard Business School Press

Posted by T. Dralus at 5:06 PM  

My Response

I agree that the chapters we read were truly inspiring.  I liked how you tied in the ideas with "Race to the top" which weighs heavily on my mind as well.  I agree that this type of competition does not inspire innovative teaching or value the real contributions made to students.  Like you, I fear this will result in an environment of distrust and will discourage teachers from working with challenging students.  

Week 2 Reading: Presence

Photo by Melissa Lodhi

This has been one of the most important readings that I have done over the course of this Master’s program.  Its lessons are vital to my contributions as an educator.  As a young teacher, I often misread the intentions of students and tried to bend them to my will and what I thought was best for them.  I was frustrated when they failed to engage or seemed sullen or defiant.  After many years, I began to engage them in a different way, I guess giving them the “A”.  In this way I have made much stronger connections with students and have seen them make contributions of their own.  Along the way, I sometimes lose sight of this power and get caught up in daily successes and failures.  This is a wonderful reminder to remain present and to pursue opportunities to make a contribution, not just achieve personal success.

By seeing life as a game in which perception is the only reality one is able to put things in perspective.  Much of the anxiety and stress I face is the product of my own desire to meet invented expectations, which have been constructed by myself and by others.  I am now practicing giving the “A” in my relationships and at work, focusing on contributions, not just winning.

The approach laid out in the book is not easy to ingrain in daily habits.  While I agree with the concepts in theory, it is hard to consistently put them into practice.  Old thought patterns continue to crop up and I must constantly remind myself that the obstacles are all invented.  This has definitely given me something to work on and a new way to approach life.