WK2 Comments

Reading the first chapter reminded me a lot of playing Mindtrap with my friends in middle school. It would pose questions like these:

Picture a bridge four kilometers long and strong enough to hold ten thousand kilograms, but no more. A loaded transport truck weighing exactly ten thousand kilograms drives onto the bridge. At the halfway point, a sparrow weighing 30 grams lands on the truck, yet the bridge doesn't collapse. How could this be?

The answer is:


The truck will have used up 30 grams of gasoline by the time it reached the halfway point.

Playing these games for hours upon end has helped me with lateral thinking and questioning what is presented in front you. But the sad thing about society is that from the moment you enter school, you are trained to be part of the group; to follow rules and not question. It continues into professional career as well. People rarely react negatively to conservatism and status quo, but present a radical idea and you suddenly have a lot of attention on yourself.

I don’t get why fierce competition is a terrible thing for musicians but the author is delighted some student had his heart broken. Both instances, losing a competition or a girlfriend, can be sources of creativity. Should the musician take up heavy drinking so he can use that experience in his music? Or kill a man in Reno, just to watch him die? I don’t see the causation of either. There’s a great Mr. Show sketch that has parents depriving their kid of affection as a baby so he would have confused feelings about love and grow up to be a famous playwright. Here’s the clip:

http://www.ifc.com/videos/mr-show-205-brightcove.php

I liked the idea of contribution. The problem with that – for me – is I know I cannot be that type of person when my own personal schedule is jam-packed. The author specifically mentioned this exact thing and how he went to speak to the old people anyway. I know that going to Full Sail has robbed me of some of generosity in the world. I’m a worse boyfriend. A worse friend. Worse at work. I’m just much more busy and stressed out. I know my limitations. But I did like the idea of this…

@ Bryan Antos

It is a very thin line between encouragement and pushing too much.You have to be careful when it comes to competition and teaching students how to deal with challenges and competition. Unfortunately, the world is competitive and you have to be prepared for that. However, what has worked for me personally is to keep a balanced life. I want to do well and my best when it comes to my work, but I cannot let it affect the standard of life. If I don't have balance, everything I do suffers, including my school work.

February 12, 2011 9:37 AM

Catherine Yoho Blog:

Where will your A take you in your world of possibilities?

Our children start in life with no stifling concerns about expectations. They are free from those constraints and it is reflected in their creative self expression. Unfortunately, that begins to change as they enter the world of education. Grades become the measuring stick of their growth, instead of pencil marks on a door frame or pictures of their imagination in play. Conversations change from, "Let's pretend we're on an adventure...," to, "Why did you fail that test?" It's no wonder so many children become disengaged in school, and from their families. They are being asked to perform within the box of expectations rather that thinking outside the box and in a world of possibilities. With the pace of technology changing the world we live in, we NEED to encourage the wider thinking outside the box, filled with the potential of creativity, and ever expansive thinking. The future does not exist inside the archaic box of measurement of the past. Rather than admonishing our children and ourselves for not conforming to the measurement standards that are so rigid, we need to encourage them and ourselves to, as Jim Morrison sang, "Break on through to the other side." Exploration and growth has always depended on the belief that more is out there, we need to go and find it. Ask the early explorers, scientists, philosophers and artists. I'm not quite sure how that was lost in guiding our children, students, and each other, but we need to believe in it again.

Hatchepshut1950 said...

One thing I have never, ever understood is why the grading system has not changed. People have to understand that a student doesnt really have to learn to get an A these days because the way the system is set up. You have so many different resources and ways to get information because of the internet that kids these days can literally copy and paste to a good grade. When will administrator learn?

February 12, 2011 11:48 AM