Breaking Ground with Dory the Fish and Richard Fuller

“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” 

Richard Buckminster Fuller

Great thinkers challenge us to do great things.  

It is easy to complain about the the status quo.  Certainly, part of the process of change is to become aware that the current state is not the desired state.  Fuller's quote, above, resonated with me.  His words called me to focus my mind and my intent more on building solutions, and focus less on identifying problems.  

Solution-building, after all, is the real work of change.  

Over the next several weeks, I will be exploring how to use my classroom as a model for educational change.  As my plan develops, I will share it here, with you.  

In the meantime, I expect I will continue to follow the words of Dory the fish, from Finding Nemo...

..."Just keep swimming!"

The Elephant in the Room

When will we connect the dots?  Students and teachers continue to die as violence in our schools continues to escalate. What has changed?  What is different?  

The elephant in the room is technology.  With advances in technology has come increasing evidence that there are some among us who simply cannot handle this freedom.  One dead student is one too many.  One dead teacher is one too many.

Video game technology has advanced to the point that young and old alike can experience the impact of killing another human being, from a first person perspective.  The impact is repeated, violent, and so realistic that it creates a vivid, almost real killing experience.

Young minds, that are not full-developed, either cognitively or socially-emotionally, are saturated in this realistic violent gaming world for hours that stretch in to years. Haven't enough people died?  How many more Colleen Ritzer's and Reggie Landsbury's must there be?

From Dream to Reality: A Professional Development Exercise

It is 5:17 am on Tuesday morning.  I am on vacation.  I can't sleep. Why?  Because I am now worrying about the amateur sand sculpting competition that I am participating in on November 22nd.  Grrrrrrrrrrr!  

Dreams are much MORE fun when they are simply dreams. As a risk-taker, my first obstacle is always myself. Once I commit myself, and start to take steps toward my dream, fear kicks in.  Fear of looking silly.  Fear of being judged. Fear of failure. With 55 years of experience you would think I would be at ease with risk-taking. The truth is, the more important something is to me, the more I sweat it. 

In the end, I know that I won't allow myself to be paralyzed by my fear.  I know that once I design the sculpture, practice in clay or some other medium, and show up on the sand, my love for this hobby will kick in.  I will begin to relax and sink in to that place inside of me where hand, heart, and creative spirit meet.  

Risk-taking connects me more deeply to myself and in turn, to all people. It tears away at my walls and reminds me of my humanness.  It puts me squarely in the role of learner.  As a teacher, I can't imagine a more powerful exercise.  

Finding Passion in School? Really?!?

Yesterday's post was all about me.  My artistic pursuits.  My connection to sand and soul when immersed in this art form.  Except that it wasn't all about me.  It was about each of us.  It was about our children, their lives, and their educational experiences.

When exploring my passion, I begin to see the world through an entirely different lens.  There is no negativity, no limits.  I begin to rely more on my gut and less on facts and reason.  Surely, all of us need a blend of both.  

In the world of schools, students never encounter a course called, "Finding my Passion".  We leave that exploration to the family and in many cases, to chance.  But, wouldn't the world be a better place, if we helped students to consciously find and cultivate their passions? 

Analysis, data, and evidence dominate the teaching and learning culture.  Of course, all of these skills are important and need to be developed.  But, couldn't we also give 10% of the school day to a curriculum that helps students to explore the activities that excite and delight them?

Thank You, Sensei

I have not lived purposefully.  Instead, my life has been a patchwork of connected experiences. Truthfully, I have never had the confidence to make and carry out a long-term plan. Instead, I have made short-term, often reactive decisions.

Decisions like, "WOW! Now there is a REAL HOTTIE!"  Or, "YES! I wanna go to the beach!"  Or, "Definitely, I want to go back to school!"  

That was a bit of levity.

Over the past couple of years, I have had the opportunity to get to know someone who has a very different approach to her life.  She is purposeful.  She is decisive. She eliminates obstacles and keeps her focus squarely on her family and work goals.

Needless to say, she has my deep admiration.  

My relationship with this 34 year old woman, coupled with aging, has caused me to reflect on my approach to my life.  At 55, my attitude has shifted from, there is plenty of time to do what I want, to, I need to make the MOST of the time I have left.  

In my 30's, I discovered a passion and a talent for sand-sculpting.  Like many sand artists, this interest emerged via beach vacation.  After several sculpting vacations, I discovered that this passion took me to places within myself that I simply could not evoke in any other way. I connect with an indescribable peace and humility.  I become keenly aware that as transient is the art, so are all things. 

What I have recognized, is that I have undervalued my skills, and my passions.  I have chosen to take the safe route and have not risked to gain the rewards that come from facing who I am and committing to my personal desires and goals.

Today, that is changing...today, I am making a public commitment to myself to pursue this dream...wherever it takes me.  

And today, I bow to my unwitting Sensei. Thank you for the lesson.  You will always have my deepest, most heartfelt gratitude.  You know who you are.

"Teach Your Children Well"

"78 percent of respondents in a recent international Monster.com poll reported experiencing the so-called "Sunday Night Blues." And a whopping 47 percent said they get it "really bad." In the U.S., that number jumps to 59 percent."

Reported by: Huffington Post, The Third Metric

If you stop and think about the number of people who are suffering on Sunday night...59%...it is really startling.  The article, that reported the results of this poll, goes on to give advice on how people can cope with their weekly bout with the blues.  What the article doesn't address, in any real deep sense, is why people have the blues.  

Oh sure, the obvious answer is that work is not as fun as play. Work involves stress. Work involves...well work. I am going to take a "Gladwellian" stab at illuminating the "why" of this conundrum.  

People don't choose professions based on what they love to do. People choose professions for economic reasons.  

After a few years in the workforce, Americans realize that they are unsatisfied with what they are doing. All the while, their family has developed an appetite for expensive toys, homes, and all of the accouterments of the American lifestyle.  From this cycle of mega-materialism, the Sunday Night Blues are born.  

There is another way, of course.  It takes guts to get there. It takes a willingness to make changes and sacrifices.  In the end, however, your children will thank you and respect you, and there is a good chance that they will escape the Sunday Blues.

Miley Hits a Nerve

 In the past, newspapers, magazines, and television were the conveyors of information to the public. Agencies created restrictions that ensured that the content, provided by these mediums, was ready for prime time.  Professionals created the information and released it to the general public at a specific time of day.

The speed at which innovative technology has become available in the marketplace has out-paced our ability to regulate the delivery and timing of information.  Today, information is available anytime and anywhere. At the extremes the content can be both edifying and down right bizarre.

As a parent, this is a terrifying shift.  Through the eyes of an innocent child, information provided by the scholar and the kook are of equal value.  Frankly, the kook would likely be perceived as more entertaining and a lot easier to understand.

The recent Miley Cyrus fiasco points directly to this shift.  Television is now "old technology".  It represents the past and more traditional standards for information.  The fact that Miley "twerked"using this medium, sent shock waves through the audience, who were unprepared for a prime time display of soft-porn delivered by a Mouseketeer.