Oregon Coast – Day 3

Video focused on my three favorite women in the world.
An amazing vacation, and I can’t imagine spending it with anyone else.

Oregon Coast – Day 2

One of the coldest days on the coast, but lots of fun flying a kite and sitting by the fire.

Unforgettable!!!

Oregon Coast 2013

I put together this short video of our first day on the coast.

Family…The Best Part of a Vacation!

445 miles…

Packed in tight…

4 adults and 1 dog…

That probably explains enough, but that’s not the best part. This has started out to be one of the best vacations ever. The best part…family.

My family knows how to talk. Seriously, you wouldn’t understand unless you had experienced it. They are always able to talk about anything, they do talk about everything, and I love that about them. It makes for a very lively car ride, and helps pass the time very quickly. I think they might actually help the car get better gas mileage.

We really did talk about everything: heaven and hell; gay marriage; college; work; other people; politics; animals; the list goes on. As we talk, there is no stop of emotions. We laugh, we cry, we’re moved by each other.

It was somewhat of a long day, but I wouldn’t trade anything for time with my family.

I am so blessed!

MAC WK4 Leadership Post

Role Model Reflection

I have several role models that I have admired over the years, and none of them quite fit into the same direction I am wanting to go. However, they do collectively make up a fairly complete picture of who I want to be and what I want to do when I grow up. 😉

First, and most importantly, my father. I’ve always looked up to, relied on, sought for wisdom, and learned from my father. I am fully aware that not all have grown up even having a dad in the picture, so I do not take it lightly that mine was there and is still there when I need him.

Here is what I learned from him:

• How to talk to people – he can talk to anyone about anything (you might not always like his opinion)
• How to sell – independent business owner involved in buying and selling wholesale (he could sell a glass of tap water to a guy sitting next to a mountain spring)
• How to be a husband – anyone still married after 45 years knows what they are doing
• How to be a father – yes I also learned a few things not to do
• How to be a man – I would not be who I am today without his influence

I’m 43 years old and I still seek him out when I need advice. He has been a personal role model, and that has done more to shape my direction than any other person or thing in the world.

Next, my high school band director. He retired last year and the band alumni had a retirement party for him. There were hundreds of former band members, spouses, parents, and community members that came to support him and show him how much we appreciated what he did for us. I would not be a music teacher without his influence. I want to create in my students the same passion and excitement that he instilled in all of us.

In a previous class, we were supposed to create a video of an event that changed our lives. I thought this would be an appropriate place and time to share it again.

On to the next role model.

I had the fortunate opportunity to work under the leadership of a great man, who just happened to also be my principal, Dennis Sonius.

Mr. Sonius showed me what it looks like when people are excited to try new things. He was a widely respected and highly acclaimed principal in Idaho that helped bring an elementary school to blue ribbon status. As staff came into the building, he would find out what they were excited about and have them be a part of inspiring others in the building. It was an atmosphere that fostered collaboration, creativity, and camaraderie among the staff. In turn, that atmosphere provided a fantastic learning environment for students.

Retired from his principal-ship, Mr. Sonius now travels all over the US providing trainings to other school districts. He is greatly missed in Twin Falls, Idaho as a principal, but he is still influencing education.

I hope that I will have completed my journey as a man and be able to say that I have influenced, inspired, and demonstrated to others how to live in the world as these men have done for me.

MAC WK4 Comments to Jay Sanzin

Week 4 – Reading : Lighting a Spark

25 06 2013

Ben’s dad said,“Certain things in life are better done in person”.  I really felt this way about education, until my experience at Full Sail.  Prior to my Full Sail experience, I had taken several professional development courses and a few online course and do not feel that I gained anything from those courses. What I did learn was what I did not want in an online experience.

Passion is what often drives us.  We were asked earlier  in the course, why we thought that educators were so resistant to the implementation of technology? I now say that my answer is PASSION. Educators who do not have a passion for technology will not implement it into their curriculum. We often see things through our own perspective. If they do not use technology, why should their students?

Current pushes in education are requiring teachers to implement technology in their teaching.  To score highly effective, a teacher must implement technology into the classroom. The teacher will be doing this out of fear. This will produce minimal results. It will produce technology for the sake of technology, not technology for the sake of learning.

How can I get  teachers to enroll in the program that technology will benefit their practice?

The story about the quarters reminds me of time back in high school. I was taking 3 other people home in my 1992 Geo Metro convertible. I was running out of gas. I had $0.16, so I asked the people who I took home if they had any money. We scraped together another $0.15 cents by the time we collected all their money and cleaned out the seat cushions.  I started pumping gas, while talking to my friends. I looked down and I had pumped around $2. I had no more money and did not know what to do. I approached the cashier and decided to see if I could barter, “ I will gladly trade this thirty one cents and this pack of Quaker Instant Oat meal for the opportunity to return and repay you they money we are short.”  The cashier let us have the gas.

My Comments

Jay-
I really enjoyed your post. Your take on PASSION being the reason educators use or don’t use technology was right on.
There is the persistent theme that you parent how you were parented, you teach how you were taught, etc.. It takes a conscious choice to take a different path.
Geo Metro… $.31=40 miles… Is that right? Couldn’t you just put your feet out the door and push like a skateboard? 😉
Actually, I really did enjoy the story. Thanks for sharing!

MAC WK4 Comments to Valerie Waitley

Week 4 Reading Blog-The Art of Possibility Chapters 9-12

Chapter 9-Lighting a Spark

A ‘no’ can so often dampen our fire in the world of the down-ward spiral.  It can seem like a permanent, implacable barrier that presents us with limited choices: to attack, to manipulate our way around it, or to bow to it in defeat.  In other words, a ‘no’ can seem like a door slamming instead of merely an instance of the way things are.  Yet, were we to take a ‘no’ less personally, and ourselves less seriously, we might hear something else.  We might hear someone saying, ‘I don’t see any new possibility here, so I think I’ll stick with my usual way of doing thing.’ We might hear within the word ‘no’ and invitation for enrollment. (pg. 126)

In between teaching assignments I took several years to enjoy the possibility of opening and running my own business.  Additionally, I have facilitated a LOT of business operations and sales trainings.  In both experiences I trained people that getting the sale is not about hounding, or pressure.  Although I didn’t use the exact word, I used almost the identical concept of enrollment.  The best sales is when the customer leaves excited about the possibilities, not experiencing “buyer’s remorse.”  I appreciate this section about dealing with ‘no.’

Chapter 10- Being the Board

In my classroom I have a lesson on The Power of Choice. I believe the Zander’s expressed the concepts I discuss with my students in another interesting way:

However, inasmuch as I blame you for a miserable vacation or a wall of silence-to that degree, in exactly that proportion, I lose my power.  I lose my ability to steer the situation in another direction, to learn from it, or to put us in good relationship with each other…Gracing yourself with responsibility for everything that happens in your life leaves your spirit whole, and leaves you free to choose again. (pg. 143)

I share with my students that people want to assign blame to others but when you assign blame you also assign credit.  In other words you give someone else the power over you.  Choice give power BUT (like Spiderman would say) with that power comes tremendous responsibility.  I want and accept the responsibility because I want (as the Zanders would say) the freedom “to choose again.”

Chapter 11- Creating a Framework for Possibility

Teachers have to find a way to do this everyday.  The most troubling aspect I see in classrooms is general apathy so on a daily basis I share “a vision [that] articulates a possibility.” (pg. 169) I guarantee that does NOT include writing the state mandated “essential skills” on the board to help the students see the vision of possibility.  (uugghhh!)  Rather, often is more like walking with them, enrolling them, in the vision of possibilities attained through effective communication.

Chapter 12- Telling the WE Story

Well I guess in the “world of possibility” the WE story is plausible.  I certainly see the possibilities for one to one conversations.  I truly believe I see the results in my relationship with my husband.  MANY, MANY times we laughingly say, “ah, we love us!” And that is fun!

I can see the benefits when working with students.  If a student and I could get on a “us” platform I think some conversations would go more smoothly.

My Comments

I really enjoyed your comments on chapter 10. Not that I didn’t enjoy the rest of your post, but I thought your comments on assigning blame were spot on. I think our very nature is to avoid being at fault. If you are religious, think back to the Garden of Eden… Adam blamed Eve, Eve blamed the serpent, and the serpent had no one left to blame.
What would the world be like if other choices had been made by Adam?
Kind of off topic, but that’s how my brain operates.
Thanks again for the post.

MAC WK4 Reading Post

Use The Force

The life force for humankind is, perhaps, nothing more or less than the passionate energy to connect, express, and communicate. Enrollment is that life force at work, lighting sparks from person to person, scattering light in all directions. Sometimes the sparks ignite a blaze; sometimes they pass quietly, magically, almost imperceptibly, from one to another to another.

The final passage of chapter 9, Lighting A Spark, in the book The Art of Possibility ends with this very succinct and apropos comment. In the pursuit of dreams, goals, or aspirations we need to “enroll” others in a new universe of operations. Take part in the opportunities to ask, give, or receive acts of random kindness.

This reminded me of a movie called, “Evan Almighty“, starring Steve Carell in which a newly elected congressman is directed by God to build an ARK. The part that really stuck with me is in the last 5 minutes of the movie. God and Evan are discussing the process of building the ark and God essentially tells him that you change the world by “one Act of Random Kindness at a time.”

It seems to me that “enrolling” in a generous act towards or from someone else is really the same thing. It certainly changes the world, even if only in a minor way.

In chapter 10, Zander and Zander go on to discuss the idea that “I am the framework for everything that happens in my life.” (p. 142)

If I am the framework, then shouldn’t I work towards participating in generous “Acts of Random Kindness?” According to God, that’s how we change the world.

MAC WK3 – Comments to Valerie Waitley

Original Post

Chapter 5: Leading from any chair– “a leader who feels he is superior is likely to suppress the voices of the very people on whom he must rely to deliver his vision alive and kicking.” (pg. 67)

I appreciated a few lines in this chapter, specifically the discussion on leadership.  Ben states, “I began to shift my attention to how effective I was at enabling the musicians to play each phrase as beautifully as they were capable.” (pg. 69)  I think Ben supports true “servant leadership” by recognizing a leader’s “true power derives from his ability to make other people powerful.” (pg. 69.)  I think in too many leadership studies now the concept of servant leadership has been transformed to simply serving and the leadership action is dropped.  I know many wonderful volunteers who serve in absolutely necessary capacities but they are not leaders because they serve.  So, I like Ben’s statement about “true power” because I think that defines servant leadership.  I also like the mention of the value of the leader who can and will admit mistakes.  I am not sure that I agree with Ben as to why a leader should admit mistakes…I think it is more about credibility than from the standpoint of empowering others.  But, I can see how it is empowering for your team to be willing to take risks if the standard is set that mistakes are “fascinating.”

I also think that the “white sheet” idea is interesting.  It made me consider what might happen if principles dared to provide “white sheets” for the teachers on their campuses.  I am often frustrated that teachers are rarely, if ever, given an opportunity to offer input on policies, processes, sometimes even curriculum.  I really believe that the crew in the trenches could offer valuable and meaningful insight into making the best policy decisions.

Chapter 6: Rule Number 6 – Don’t take yourself so seriously.

Ok, so I buy in to the idea that relaxing the grip on …whatever could have positive results.  But I have to say that I am not sure I necessarily agree with Frank Sulloway from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences.  It is one side, and one bullet point on the one side, of the age-old “nature/nurture” debate.  I really don’t think I agree with the idea that personality is a survival strategy and that “each child in a family stakes out her own territory of attention and importance by developing certain aspects of her character into ‘winning ways’.” (pg. 82)  And I think it is WAY over-analyzing to determine that the personality set as a child to survive becomes the “calculating self” in adulthood and “the prolonged nature of human childhood may contribute to the persistence of these habits long after their usefulness has passed.”  First, the idea paints quite a bleak view of childhood and second that personality and uniqueness are not positive qualities but survival mechanisms calculatingly applied in adulthood.

I understand that the study questions ask us to consider the idea of “live, laugh and love” but I do not see that as the main point in the practice of chapter six.  It seems that Ben and Roz are encouraging a release of the idea of identity and uniqueness.

Chapter 7-  The Way Things Are- 

In concept I understand the value of realistically assessing a situation so that you can identify a way to remedy the situation.  I understand the futility of the duck’s fate in that there, apparently, is no way out so rather than accepting the fate the duck will “spend what he conceives to be his last days in misery, flapping against the walls of his cage.” (pg. 99)

I have to say that I am actually quite bothered by the idea of “presence without resistance” as prescribed on page 101.  I sincerely believe a “presence without resistance” position, as a rule, is dangerous.  In the worst extreme, of the worst example imaginable…isn’t “presence without resistance” the mentality of the Germans in Nazi run Germany?  The atrocities of that time are bad enough but what I find even more terrifying is pondering the question of “why were SO many people willing to be involved and join Hitler’s plans?”

The idea of turning lemons and water into lemonade is not new and there is a subtle suggestion that is the meaning of this chapter.  I, however, believe that the combination of the recommendations to stop being calculating, stop measuring, and stop being unique combined with “presence without resistance” is unnerving.

I did like the discussion on risk:

“risk…invites us to take…a joyous adventure…when we stretch beyond our known capacities while gladly affirming that we may fail.  And if we make a mistake, we can mentally raise our arms and say, “How fascinating!” and reroute our attention to the higher purpose at hand. “ (pg. 103)

But I don’t like the recommendation to not strive for the way things “could be or should be.”  I am not ignorant to their idea that hitting our heads against the cage trying to make something happen that isn’t going to happen, but, as scientifically inaccurate as this quote is, “shoot for the moon because even if you miss you’ll land in the stars,”  I believe that reaching higher than is possible yields better results.  I guess I’m back to “resistance while present.”

Chapter 8- Giving Way to Passion

This was a problematic chapter for me because I did not see the recommendation and support to give way to passion.  Ben stated that people need to understand how they are “related to the waves in the sea…[and] the continuity with the movement of wind through the grass.”  I am an English major and usually align with the Romantics who have an affinity for nature but I can’t see how people are related to the waves in the sea?” so the comparison for me is lost.   How does the “long line” help a person give way to passion?  Perhaps the idea is of “seeing the bigger picture” and the prize/goal?  but then, isn’t that a remnant of the calculating measurement world where we are not supposed to strive to be unique but rather contributing to the whole?  But isn’t giving way to passion unique?  Ben and Roz recommend taking off our eyeglasses that make things clear and lose ourselves in a “helpless blur of color” in order to give way to passion??

I do agree that we should all “dare to let go of the edges of ourselves…participate!” (pg. 121) but I don’t see agreement between this suggestion and the rest of the book.

My Comments

Valerie, I really liked your post this week. I especially enjoyed the comments on chapter 7. As well, I agree with your comments about the idea that we should not keep striving for perfection. I completely agree with you that we SHOULD strive for perfection, otherwise there would be no reason to get up after we have fallen. I always go back to Thomas Edison and think about what the world would be like if he had stopped after the 900th failure. I guess maybe he rerouted his process…
Thanks for the post.

MAC WK3 – Comments to Ken Greene

Comments to Ken Greene

Original Post

The use of the symphony as a metaphor for life is an easy one for me to grasp. We’ve been discussing this metaphor as a school-wide thematic unit for our creative and performing arts school, considering how a symphony is similar to a living organism, a sports team, or a small business. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve heard (or used) the sports team analogy while attempting to motivate a middle school choir or band to rise to the challenge, contributing their individual efforts to the greater goal: the team’s success on the field on game day (or a great performance on the day of the concert). The sports analogy is often preached in an effort to justify to student musicians the importance of practicing and playing the same passages over and over to get them right. I can hear it now… “Why do you think football players run the same drills over and over in practice, or a baseball player spends so much time at the batting cages? Because the repetition of these actions sharpens their skills and makes them better at what they do. It also makes them better contributors to their teams!” Sometimes this sermon is effective, and sometimes it isn’t.

After reading Benjamin Zander’s realization that the orchestra conductor’s ”true power derives form his ability to make other people powerful”, I realized that the most successful I’ve been at motivating and engaging my choir students has been when I’ve “passed the baton” to them. Empowering my students to lead a warm-up routine or conduct a song in a concert made tremendous differences in both the lives of those individual students and the choir. Once students were removed from the security (and, at times, obscurity) of the group and placed in front of the ensemble, they realized that they were suddenly responsible for eliciting specific responses from this group of chatty middle school singers. Talk about daunting tasks! By placing my faith in them and removing myself from the equation (or seemingly so) I had begun to create an environment of trust and respect, an opportunity for the students to rise to the challenge and demonstrate their capability and realize success.

I just finished reading a book by Dave Weber titled Sticks and Stones Exposed that reminded me so much of the information in The Art or Possibility that the more I couldn’t help but think that the authors had exchanged notes while writing their respective works. Weber discusses the Seven Me’s that exist in each of us, constantly vying for control and ultimately determining who we are. The similarities between the two books first revealed themselves while reading chapter 5 in The Art or Possibility, discovering that we can lead from the back of the orchestra just as effectively as we can from the conductor’s podium. Weber describes scenarios in which our choice of words, or decision to remain silent, can have a profound and often lifelong impact on others. Similarly, Zander and Zander describe instances where a simple blank sheet of white paper placed on a music stand made the different in how orchestra members perceived and responded to their conductor. A kind word or compliment, much like a simple gesture, can bring out greatness in others.

Another eerie similarity involves our reaction to what Weber refers to as the missteps that can scrape and bruise our Ego, such as whether we loudly curse the sidewalk or collapse in embarrassment when we stumble in public, hoping that no one witnessed the tragic event that just occurred. Our other option, as Weber points out, is to simply laugh it off. in other words, don’t take ourselves so goddamn seriously!

My Vacation and Chapter 7

I am writing this post from a coffee shop located one block from the Bethany Beach boardwalk in Delaware. It’s a beautiful day today and, luckily, it’s still early enough for me to enjoy most of it. But the weather hasn’t been beautiful the entire time my family and I have been here. We had two straight days of heavy rain. in the past I may have launched into downward spiral talk and spent two miserable days complaining to my family about our poor luck. However, I chose to accept how things really are (or were) and embraced the fact that we were still at the beach and on vacation. It’s raining – So what?!  We went out to dinner, saw “Man Of Steel”, and spent some quality time together in spite of the less-than-ideal conditions. What a difference it makes to everyone involved when you avoid the calculating self and allow the central self to dominate!

My Comments

Ken, I really loved your post. There were two main parts I am going to comment on.
First, talking about the perspective on your vacation. I appreciated it tremendously. My wife and I spent our honeymoon on the Oregon coast and it rained every day until we left. It is easy to focus on the obstacle, but if we focus on making “lemonade out of lemons” then our perspective changes.
Next, your comments about the other book, “Sticks and Stones Exposed” especially the part where you talk about our own ego getting in the way. I tripped and fell one time, and when I immediately jumped up looking around to see if anyone saw my words were pretty telling. “Didn’t hurt!” Nobody saw anything, but I had to make that statement.
Thanks for your post.