Week 2/MAC--response #1 Chuck's light

when I was younger than now. For the first twelve years of my life I was raised by my biological family, which was funded by welfare. Several weeks before my 13th birthday, DYFS came in, took us all away (11 children) and placed us in permanent foster care. Strangers took me and my 5 brothers and 5 sisters in, gave us homes, fed us and cared for us. I eventually landed in a home with a family that I consider my family to this day. I was deeply appreciative of everything they did for me. I spent many years of my life “contributing” and giving back. It was a natural response!

I married later in life at the age of 30 and began to raise a family. My outlook and concern for others changed significantly when I began to focus more on my family, my career and myself. I suppose some of this is natural due to the different responsibilities I assumed but some of it was by design as well. At school I drew back over the years and became different than I once was. Some of this was to protect myself and some of this is just being selfish. I don’t “go the extra mile” as often as I used to.

The EMD&T program has helped breathe new life in me and revitalize some of the dreams I once had. I feel rejuvenated technically, academically and now spiritually and emotionally. The Art of Possibility tugs at the heartstrings and provides a perspective for me that takes me back to a more selfless time in my life. The possibility of making a difference in the lives of more of my students, friends and neighbors is appealing and inviting to me. Time to heed the call!

RESPONSE:
Your journey has indeed been a journey Chuck. I appreciate your comments and personality as seen on discussions and in Wimba more than you know! Your light does shine through and I believe this EMDT journey has been an incredible growth experience for all of us! Congratulations to you and your achievements.

On another note, I too had been feeling like I couldn't go that "extra mile" anymore. I always felt like I "had" to do everything that was requested of me. Family and other commitments really are more important than our "jobs." However, with our newfound skills, I feel like our contributions will be more significant, efficient and effective. Your ripple in the pond has certainly been felt by many!

Wk 2 post #2 MAC--from my leadership chair

If you aren’t sick of it yet, please indulge me yet again with stories about “my new job.” So, as I started my new job this week--yes I’m three whole days into it--I have already seen how leading from any chair aptly applies to not only my company but to me as well. The picture in this blog is of my actual chair (by a huge window!) in my new office. Chapter 5 has shown me how. Now, I have been given the magical powers to:
1. use messenger to text message co-workers from my computer
2. provide my input on projects
3. give ideas for future tools that will benefit customers.

How are these magical you might ask? First of all, I’ve never had instant messenger on my computer at work. Not only is that cool, but it has come in extremely handy already as I have been able to help a fresh-faced, just-out-of-school co-worker immediately with questions and advice. OK, she has helped me too, but seeing as how I am nearly twice her age, it’s pretty cool to help out.

Secondly, remember my last post on contribution? Well the contributions I have made this week have been small, but I feel significant. I have been able to provide changes and edits to major projects that needed fresh eyes. And you know what? I even passed on a nifty Web 2.0 tool to my boss. Remember Lucidchart and Dabbleboard from EDE and Dr. Deason (thanks Dr. Deason!)? These may help us on an upcoming project.

So my chair, humble as it is, has already provided me with magical gifts that I will be able to share with others. Oh yeah, and my the rest of my co-workers are in the same great boat as I am. We will all be giving each gifts of leadership. I have seen it already as two young guys delivered a stellar product today to a computer giant. We may not call it the chair leadership gift--but I will know what it is every time I see it. Are you jealous yet? I believe that this experience is there for everyone. You just have to find it!

wk 2 post #1 MAC--Contributing & transformations

The chapter 4 about being a “contribution” was so freeing. This book has somehow changed my attitude about several negative ideas and feelings that I have been experiencing for the past few months. I almost have permission not to feel those things anymore. Here are some changes in thought that I have shifted--like a paradigm shift just recently:

THEN: not doing enough as a mother for my children
NOW: I have contributed by preparing meals in advance for my kids, I have arranged for activities for them, I am starting a new job so that I will be in a better frame of mind for them (all in the past week).

THEN: I am not being a happy, productive worker (teacher)
NOW: I can make a better impression within a smaller (new) workplace and exercise new skills and gifts

THEN: I have had little time for friends and don’t have time to do much of anything because I am so busy
NOW: Even with a new job, time in the evenings and weekends will soon be mine to devote to others again, especially as I finish this degree.

I already feel freer about transforming my train of thought in this process. This book could not have come at a better time in this program. This program has brought so much value to my life and my career that I just want to pass it on. That is the subject of chapter 5--”Being a leader from any chair”--the subject of my next blog post.

"Why is your dog in the picture?" Because I am contributing to his happiness by taking him to Starbucks with me and giving him whipped cream more often!

Wk 1 post #4 MAC: Graduation day looking ahead and behind

Our high school seniors graduate today. It's always a joy to go through this exercise as part of the faculty because there is so much therapy in releasing these kids into the wild. Today, though, I am looking at my own "graduation" of sorts--leaving a job field that I have been passionate about since 1992. I love journalism. I love the success that my students gained in this field. But, as with all good things--time to move on.

I really knew I had made the right decision about two weeks ago when two adorable sophomore boys decided to pour glue all over their hands while we were evaluating presentations on media history. I didn't even get upset. I just stared aghast. But I firmly sent them down to the principal's office. They were truly sorry. But I wasn't. I'm feel like I need a change. Those types of incidents are not why I love the field of journalism or teaching.

So, even as I embark on my new job as a technical writer--unknown, different, foreign come to mind--I know that everything I have done in my life has led me here. And I can truly thank the online master's degree from Full Sail for getting me here.

Thus, even though graduation day is still two months away, I feel like I am at graduation rehearsal by sending in my Action Research project this week. It's a culmination of stuff that is currently going on in the journalism world and a chance to show off my skills as a pretty successful student.

Along the way, I have had caring and helpful teachers give me information that I didn't know that I needed to know. I hope I have provided that same level of care and teaching for these graduates today as well. So congrats to all the seniors this year and to my EMDT cohorts for making this far as well!

wk1 response: Chuck Mills/stay in the lines "NOT"

I don’t read much at all. Though I enjoy reading, my life is so busy I find it difficult to find the time. Over the years I have read very few books with the exception of the bible. Many of my friends can’t understand this because their perception of the bible is that it is a book of rules, of do’s and don’ts, of penalties and judgment (hell, fire and brimstone), and weeping and gnashing of teeth (as one professor recently alluded to in a Wimba session). These things are not what stand out to me. I see hope, redemption, forgiveness, compassion, love, and the fact that though I could never “measure up”, I am an “A”.


Life on the other hand can cause me to lose faith when I lose sight of the right perspective. I refer to not only spiritual faith, but faith in others…like faith in my students! When I consider my teaching career, with all its ups and downs, I can clearly see how I have allowed myself to be boxed in and consequently, have drawn boxes for my students to operate within. It reminds me of an auto commercial that came out several years ago of a young driver being instructed to “stay between the lines”. When the “lines” ran into a roadblock (traffic), the driver turned and went off road…and did just fine! I rationalize drawing boxes for the purpose of “safety”, careful to protect my students and me. Most of it is because of a few minor mistakes made when some “liberties” were taken with video projects. Reflecting on the reading and considering my classes, I see that I have become judgmental and am limiting possibilities for my students. Time to step outside some of the lines I have drawn and open my eyes to a world of possibilities for my students.

Sheryl Floyd
Chuck,
I understand what you mean about limiting our students. I feel like I have to squelch projects because they just aren't appropriate. I had to ask students the other day "How is 'What would you do for a Klondike bar?' a story?" In retrospect, it probably would have been fine and humorous. I really didn't give them a chance to show me how it could be worthy for production.

I wonder if I (or teachers in general) have been programmed to stay in the lines? I, for one, am a rule follower. I do what I am told. I follow rules. I just do what I am asked to do. But I realize I limit everything around me by creating and staying within those boundaries.

Thankfully, this EMDT program has taught me alternative ways to stimulate others and modernize my meaning of lines. I have assessed students in whole new ways. But what I need to still work on is maintaining that level of possibility day in and day out. That will probably also take more stamina!

http://web.me.com/cmills5/MAC/Blog/Entries/2010/6/2_%22Stay_Between_the_Lines%22...NOT!.html#

wk1 response 1: wk1 reading; thoughts on chpt. 2

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Wk 1 Reading--Thoughts on Chapter 2

This chapter leads to another thing that I do. I read a lot and have a fairly big vocabulary, but sometimes I just cannot come up with the perfect word--so I make one up. I grew up watching my relatives do this so it was really nothing new. However, after a while, I forget if words are real or ones that I have made up. At the same time, though, as long as everyone understands what you mean, does that really matter?


As I read through this chapter, it seems to me that this world of possibility is where most young children live. When they are excited to come to school and have a great time there, they seem to be living in this world of possibility. As we write our birthday books, they see nothing wrong with “giving” each other very large gifts and sometimes ones that seem odd to an outside observer. For instance, this little girl is giving a friend a house, a cat, and a person for his birthday. Most five year olds couldn’t afford to give a house and none that I know could give a person, but this did not dampen the enthusiasm in the least. The gift was accepted in the spirit in which it was given--freely.



However, as they move into the world of measurement, they often become less and less eager to come to school. It is as if they don’t find joy in it anymore. When something really cool happens, though, like an experiment succeeding or “the lightbulb going off”, you can glimpse that joy from the world of possibility just for a moment again. Maybe that is the reason that a child comes to school at age 4 or 5 almost too excited to learn and within just a few short years seems bored and disinterested.

Sheryl Floyd
Tia,
I see the results of that measurement world everyday at the high school level. I wonder where that joy of learning goes. Why isn't school cool everyday? I incorporated new technology and lessons this year. I did not give one scan tron or question/answer type of test. I did alternative assessments. I gave choices on how projects could be produced and turned in. Did it matter to the students (9th-12th grade)? No.

So, how do THEY find that realm of possibility? Their fires apparently burned out sometime in middle school. By 9th grade, they are jaded, guarded and cynical. Appreciation and openness to possibility is nowhere to be found. I hope future chapters help us help others to find possibility.
http://web.me.com/auntsissy00/MediaAssetCreationBlog/Week1/Entries/2010/6/3_Wk_1_Reading-Thoughts_on_Chapter_2.html#

wk 1 reading--Giving myself an A for the summer

Dear Sheryl,

While the summer may seem like it only started yesterday, here it is again--the end of summer--with what may seem like another lost opportunity for the following:

---time used to organize your closet and kids’ closets;
--heavy duty cleaning of the windows;
--reading the books that your friends suggested;
--cleaning out the garage;
--just hanging out with the kids and actually getting wet in the pool.

Well guess what? You will have completed two months of your new job without the chance to much of that at all because you won’t have been home during the work week to do so. However, here is what you will have accomplished:

--better moods in the evenings spent with the kids;
--better time management for getting things done on the weekends and in the evenings;
--better time management for actually getting in the pool and reading;
--completing projects that have to be done with prioritizing a major factor because of limited time availability.

While the only regret I had in leaving my teaching job was the time off I spent during summers and holidays with the kids, my goal to be happier in my new job as a writer and curriculum developer will have come true. Yes, you can give yourself an A for the summer because you earned it by providing for the family and starting yourself on a new career path.

Love,

Sheryl


While this wasn't the only message I got out of the reading this week, it was certainly most on my mind. I will begin a new job next week and it is full of uncertainty and the unknown. I hope to bring a sense of purpose and passion to my new job and to share the possibilities of what I can bring to my new company. This letter will help me remember why I did what I did for the summer.