My calculating self blamed my students for their lack of enthusiasm and work ethic in my class, blamed my department for lack of cohesion, blamed the administrators for lack of communication, trust, and leadership, blamed the parents for lack of involvement, blamed my master's program for taking away too much of my personal time. I was taking myself way too seriously that instead of seeing everyone as a contribution, I saw them as obstacles. There was a clear distinction of the I and Them. There was no WE.
Then, came this book "The Art of Possibility" and the video that all of you watched was more a message for me than anyone else. When I watched it the first time on YouTube I cried as I realized no one was going to do change things for me, I had to take the initiative. I had to put on my shoes and start the walk...
Really, it was not until I accepted the way things are and that defined myself as the board that my perspective changed and I saw opportunities rather than obstacles.
I'm not saying that suddenly I'm living a fairy tale, but I was given the opportunity to dream,
to redraw my professional framework, to redesign the rules of my own invented game and, in the process, I've gained a refreshing vision and I'm starting to see the change: first in me, then in those around me.
Once, I had a clear vision of who I am as a teacher I was able to see the power of enrolling my students in my course. I have seen the power of enrolling the head of my department and the principal of our school to get an Apple Learning Lab with 30 mac books and a mobile cart for my classroom next year. It is now that I can, once again, be excited --like Zander's friend when she was six years old and about to play the cello in the competition- right before I get to teach each of my classes and my students have seen the change and they want to be a part of it. Like Ben put it "enrollment is the art and practice of generating a spark of possibility for others to share." (pg. 125)
Let's share that spark!
Saray! Awesome blog on the last 4 chapters of "The Art of Possibility! You had some great insight on the book, as did I and many others in this course, that we will take with us into the fields of education and corporate training.
ReplyDeleteI think the part that struck me the most was your observation on Zander's, being the board analogy. I like how you stated that it wasn't until you accepted the way things are is what began to define you and that is when perspective changed. I can completely relate to this because there are times in education when it is so easy to get jaded because of the way the system is designed that we can lose sight of why we became a teacher in the first place. But it is not until we change our perspective and realize that we can only control what is in front of us everyday that causes us to view things differently and approach our practice in a refreshing and more effective way. Anyways, I enjoyed reading your post and enjoy the endeavor of lighting a spark of possibility for others!
Thank you Gregg for your words of encouragement. I also enjoyed reading your blog post. I think all of us found a great message in this book. A message too wonderful to not be shared and too useful to not be put to practice.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't take any time at all to forget why we chose this life and there are plenty more than willing to help weight us down with their own fears and disappointments. But it doesn't have to be that way. I'm glad that the book helped remind you of your original vision and passion.
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