Wk4 BP Entry 1 - EDM613 MAC - Art of Possibility Ch. 9-12

There are the books that we read that are intriguing at times and sort of tails off into nothingness. There are the books that we read that start off great and seem to go nowhere chapter after chapter and we regret the fact that we cannot get those hours of our life back. And then there are the books we read that are thought-provoking and life challenging. "The Art of Possibility," to me, was one of those books. I was really impressed at the perspective and the direction that this book aimed to achieve through each chapter. Chapters 9 through 12 were no exception.

There were several things that caught my eye during this reading, but I think the two things that impacted me the most were the ongoing theme of the downward spiral and us "being the board." As I read about these two concepts I kept thinking about leadership and how I as a teacher can influence so many minds with each learning opportunity in my classroom. One thing that I connected with this "being the board" concept is how I present content to my students. I am a huge believer in the way that I present my material is how my students will receive it. For instance, if the lesson is something I am not that excited about, my students will receive the lesson the same way and not be motivated to learn what I want them to learn. "Being the board" sort of confirmed to me that I have control of the situation no matter what the scenario with my students. This especially holds true when I feel that no matter what occurs during the a common day of teaching, I can "declare that I am the framework for everything that happens." In other words, I am the leader of how each situation and each aspect of my day is approached and dealt with. The kicker with all of this is how easy it is to get caught and brought back to the downward spiral. I don't think that Zander ever wrote in this book that any of these concepts were going to be easy to put into practice. So I must be conscious of the fact that the downward spiral is close by and take me right back down into my old ways of pessimism and negativity.

My vision is to understand that my goal is to keep these concepts in the forefront of my mind. These new ways of thinking are just that: NEW! So I know that I won't be able to ascend as quickly as I want to, but rather, I probably will find myself on the downward spiral. But just like anything, I know that it has to get harder in order to become easier when a new way of thinking is out into practice.

The photos used in this blog are from Flickr, under the Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic License.

Photos Attributed to:
"Stockmann spirals" - hugovk
"chess board" - niznoz

Wk3 BP Entry 1 - EDM613 MAC - Art of Possibility Ch. 5-8

Wow! As I read through chapters 5-8 in "The Art of Possibility," I couldn't help but think of two things: 1) teacher-talk in the staff room, and 2) the power of student- to-student learning. Allow me to explain.

The whole concept of the calculating self vs. the central self completely changed my thinking about how I view certain aspects of the teaching profession. I asked myself, "Self? Am I a person that tends to take things too seriously to where it effects how I interact and lead my students?" Fortunately, the answer from my "self" was a resounding "No!" But what my inner self was convicting me of was how I can somehow be effected by how others relate themselves to the calculating self analogy. In other words, I can at times get sucked in to a conversation at lunch with other teachers that revolves around the common complaints of standardized testing, state standards, decisions by administrators, micromanagement and a plethora of other topics that educators seem to find the time to rant about. I discovered that I will listen to these conversations and walk away wondering what good did that just do for any of our students, other creating a free therapy session for these teachers at my expense? My point is, and I think this is what Zander was getting at, was the fact that there will always be something to disagree with, something that doesn't go the way we want it to, or someone that doesn't do things the way I would do them. But the question is whether or not I choose to stay stuck in that rut or way of thinking, or do I choose this presence without resistance approach? Do I let the obstacles stand in my way, or do I allow myself to say that is the way it is and allow myself to be creative and open the pathway for possibility? Obviously my goal as a teacher is to do the latter, but I know I am guilty of allowing my calculating self shadow the central self and the possibility it can unleash.

Secondly, the whole idea of students teaching other students kept running through my head. After reading the story of the Cuban and American orchestras teaching each other how to play different and difficult pieces, I started thinking about how much power students have when teaching other students. I use this strategy in my own classroom to a certain degree, but this concept of the "silent conductor" really highlighted my thoughts on how I can enhance the learning by disappearing from the lead of the room, so-to-speak, and let the kids lead their own learning with each other. Automatically, my head began spinning with different ways to approach some of my lessons and how to implement a more centralized learning environment to where I enable or give students the freedom to learn from each other. By doing this, I think the dynamics of my classroom would completely change, and if nothing else, a great social experiment for my 6th graders who are mostly English Language Learners!

The photo used in this blog is from Flickr, under the Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic License.

Photo attributed to:
"I Complain" - shtikl

Wk2 BP Entry 1 - EDM613 MAC - Art of Possibility Ch. 1-4

As I read through the first four chapters of "The Art of Possibility," I couldn't help but think of two things. Both are serious thoughts, but one more serious since it has to do with my daily life. So let's start with my initial thought. When Zander begins to compare the measurements of the universe to the universe of possibility, I immediately thought of the show Lost. I am deeply saddened that this show is done with, but it took something that was already invented, and expanded the universe with it by allowing the viewer to decipher what was happening, or what was going to happen, as the series unfolded. It basically took the audience to a realm of possibility that gave the brain the freedom to discover and learn from the dynamics of each character. And I believe that was the main reason why Lost was such a success.

Now, my second thought of this compare and contrast of a measurement world to a universe of possibility hits a little closer to home. In Chapter 2, the author presents the measurement world as a setting a goal and then going out and achieving it, compared to the universe of possibility as the individual creating the contexts and letting life basically take the reigns. I couldn't help but think of how the state of education has wrapped itself up in this standards-based, must reach proficiency era, and it has basically cornered itself in this measurement world feel. As an educator, I unfortunately am caught in this web and try my best to reach the goals that I set for my students and myself. However, as I reflected on this way of thought, I realized that this world of measurement doesn't allow for much freedom when attempting to learn for the love of learning. In other words, I don't feel that I have the freedom to teach in a "universe of possibility" classroom because of all the pacing guides, rigorous standards, and scripted lessons that I "must" teach to in order for test scores to increase. Where has this universe of possibility within education disappeared to? And how am I as a teacher trying to reverse the effect and give my students the feeling that anything is possible when grades and performance are at the forefront? I would rather my students understand that taking risks and making mistakes are the priority. I would rather hear my students say to themselves, "How fascinating!" when they receive a D on a test or make an uncommon error. That is real life learning and having a vision in a world of possibility!

The photo used in this blog is from Flickr, under the Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic License.

Photo attributed to:
"always make new mistakes" by elycefeliz

Wk1 BP Entry 1 - EDM613 MAC - Copyright

Many thoughts ran through my head as I watched the plethora of videos regarding copyright laws, Fair Use, and Creative Commons. Albeit, most of my thoughts were those of confusion and how my brain was dissecting the confusion. However, after digesting all the information, I feel that I have a better understanding of how copyright works and how organizations like Creative Commons is attempting to bridge the gap in allowing the creative mind the freedom to create and/or re-create. As technology continues to advance and public domain forces copyright laws to change and modify its parameters, Creative Commons, Fair Use, and all the other attempts to assist the freedom of creation will continue to expand. I really felt that the TED video featuring Larry Lessig put all of this into a grand perspective for me. There were many great aspects of his presentation, but I think the thing that struck me was his comments on how the "RW" (read/write) culture turned into a "RO" (read only) culture in the 20th century. Obviously we are seeing a major paradigm shift in this way of thinking because of the rapid change in technology advancement and the speed of the Internet at the turn of the 21st century. At any rate, copyright laws, Fair Use, and Creative Commons have their place, but its what is done to work with/around them to keep challenging culture to create and re-create something new and different for future generations.


The three photos used in this blog are from Flickr, under the Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic License.

Photos attributed to:
"Shattered Copyrights" - ViaMoi
"creative-commons-logo-black" - Vinay Prajapati
"BAVC Fair Use 049" - Cirne