MAC Week 3 - Post 3 Response to Patricia Ort's Blog post.

Below is Patricia Ort’s blog post on the MAC Week 3 reading, this is followed by my response to it. Pat’s original post can be found at: http://edubabel.blogspot.com/2011/05/week3-discussion-reflection-on-ch-5-8.html

Week3 Discussion: Reflection on Ch. 5-8 of The Art of Possibility

This is good timing for this book.  Since my co-worker is also reading the book, I have had the chance to talk about the Zander's ideas with her, as well blog about it.  The concept of dealing with negative feelings by sticking with them and using them as a form of exercise to enable us to be able to handle and rise above greater challenges we will face in the future was novel.  It was also empowering. A fellow teacher who was given a difficult assignment used to say, "It is what it is." Not quite the same thing, but the idea of acknowledging the way things are, then moving on made me think.  I wonder if my way of giving way to passion and getting out of a survival mind set would be to take the leap of leaving my current position and looking for an opportunity to work in a really creative environment that embraces the use of technology in education. 

If so, what would that be? What am I most passionate about? The book has made me ponder these questions.  I also have revisited the ideas in the book and challenged them.  What gives the Zanders the authority to make these claims? Why do they resonate with me and with my colleagues? Is it because we recognize the innate truth in them, or because we want them to be true?

I also appreciated the bit about not taking ones self so seriously. Funny, but good advice. The discussion of leading from every chair is relevant to me because there is a parallel to teaching. Enabling musicians to be their best is really a lot like enabling students to achieve academically. The idea of giving the students a chance to lead is appealing, too. I have done that from time to time, but certainly not enough. I was reminded to make a point of giving students more opportunities to "be the teacher."  I know they really like to do that and it builds up their self-confidence.

I am looking forward to reading the rest of the book.  It has certainly encouraged me and given me a lot to think about.

@Pat

I think you are absolutely right in your assessment that teaching can be like “leading from another chair”. The teacher is like the conductor, and the students are the members of the orchestra. The teacher could be one of the greatest teachers in the world, but if he or she just stands at the front of the room and lectures, it will not have the same result as if they get their students invested in the process, by getting them involved and interacting with them. It is like we have often heard in the EMDT program, our Course Director’s often say something to the effect that they learn far more from us that we learn from them. I think there is absolute truth in that.