Stephen Covey’s “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” offers practical advice for succeeding in life. In short, the 7 habits are as follows: 1) Be proactive; 2)Begin with the end in mind; 3) Put first things first; 4) Think win-win; 5) Seek first to understand, then to be understood; 6) Synergize; 7) Sharpen the saw. Overall I agree with Covey’s notions that the way we see the world is based on our own perceptions and therefore the only way to change a situation is to change our perceptions. I would add that perceptions stem from beliefs; note that this idea may be covered in the book, but I only read the much abbreviated (yet very informative) summary of Covey’s book (a button link to said summary can be found at the bottom of this blog). Covey’s depiction of the evolution of society’s definition of “success” is intriguing (perhaps devolution is a more appropriate term). It appears that the shift from an ethic of “character”—where success hinged on integrity, honesty, courage, justice, and the like—to an ethic of “personality”—where public image, attitude and personality determines success—correlates to the success of the film and television age. In the 1920s the United States was producing more than 500 films per year. Again, perhaps this correlation is mentioned in the book. Regardless, it appears to mark a change in consciousness from one that is reflective and inward looking, to one that is projective, or outward looking. Covey appears to address this paradigm through the 7 habits since each habit focuses on achieving a deeper level of self-change. From the website:
The habit I have chosen to focus on for this blog is the first one: Be Proactive. Perhaps my disposition has carried over from a past life as a Delphic Priestess, regardless I believe it is of utmost importance to “know thyself.” In my opinion this habit is the foundation upon which all other habits rest and for this reason it is the most important. Reactive people see the problem as being outside of themselves and in this way feel victimized by the ways of the world. Alternatively, proactive people recognize they have responsibility. Proactive people are able to see choices: choices for attitude, choices for action, choices for responding and/or not responding. Much of the ability to choose lies with the focus point. If we are focused on areas we cannot change (namely those outside of ourselves) we begin to blame and emanate negative energy. Blaming demonstrates that we believe that others have power over us. This kind of belief system is often deeply embedded in our consciousness. Depending on our upbringing we may have held this belief since we were two years of age. I point this out because it is important to realize that a shift in thinking—in beliefs—doesn’t usually happen over night. It requires time and effort and that is after the recognition that the belief exists in the first place. It takes courage to face the idea that deep down we don’t feel in control of our lives, that we blame others for our circumstances and in so doing give our power away. In pointing to the damaging quality of beliefs we do not address Rilke said, “Where I am folded in upon myself, there I am a lie.” Of course, we are only trying to protect ourselves. What we don’t realize is the falsity of this kind of protection. Hiding behind a wall of blame and lashing out with reactive action or language, both internally and externally, only causes more pain and suffering. It might be true that our society hasn’t done a great job at modelling for us how to focus on what we can control. We have been inculcated, to a degree, to expect convenience, to shun effort and, yet, to feel entitled to (fill in the blank). In general, we have misplaced those values that nurture intrinsic worth. By focusing on the first habit of mind—be proactive—at home, in school, in the community, and in the workplace we can begin to see where we have influence. To get there we must implement self-reflective practices. We may require support in the form of therapy, exercise, self-help books and the like to help us break down old belief systems and being to see how to control our own feelings and actions. Once we become adept at this we begin to serve as models to others whether we know it or not. As a teacher I feel it is very important to embody this habit. With effort and practice one begins operating automatically from this place; the habit becomes embedded in one’s pedagogy and models to young people how to feel in control of one’s thoughts, emotions, ethics and actions. To be proactive involves critical and creative thinking, attends to both social and personal responsibilities and aids in effective communication. In this way, the habit helps develop the curricular core competencies that are so important in helping people be successful learners and teachers. Because we are all teachers and we are all learners working together for the success of all.
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The video I’ve linked at the bottom of this blog shares a deeper-learning program that successfully operates at a US school. The overall, nutshell message is that if we believe in the capacity of students to achieve greatness they will be great. One way to push students' capacity for learning is through challenge and struggle. (I personally don’t agree with the word choice of “struggle” because to me that pushes so far beyond the comfort zone it becomes too hard to succeed; however, “challenge” I agree with). Students can be challenged with content material that requires deep levels of focus, contemplation, involvement, and the capacity to sit with ambiguity. They can also be challenged by processes such as group dialogue, debate, and creative means to demonstrate their learning that goes beyond simple regurgitation of facts and builds courage and confidence. Challenge begins to extend to all facets of life as students begin to grow meta-cognitively and challenge themselves. For instance, one student in the video shared his story of perseverance as it applied to his running; he affirmed the connection between his scholarly perseverance and his physical training, pointing to the underlying mindset, or belief, that he could go further in any endeavour to which he was engaged. I, too, have experience with endurance growing into a mindset that thinks anything is possible. Thus, in general, I agree that challenges help people grow as long as they aren’t consistently scaffolding for failure. I think it is important to remember that every individual will respond to various challenges differently and in order to scaffold for success these differences must be taken into account. A teacher who demands, for instance, that an extreme introvert stand in front of the class to lead a lesson on a topic they only just started, would be scaffolding for failure. This may seem like an obvious point, but I have witnessed a similar scenario. My point is that when presenting challenges, teachers must observe closely and know their students well in order to support them to be successful. Respectful relationships are therefore crucial. There are many practical ways that traditional systems can include a challenge program. Debates, for instance, that are set up in a way that each student must argue in rotation for both sides of the debate in order to see both perspectives deeply. Other forms of deep learning that challenge the students on many levels include cross-curricular projects that culminate in a project fair for presentation to another classroom or school, collaborative art projects that involve a contribution to the community such as a mural, dialogues seminar style where each student is responsible for tabling a point of interest and a question, group chats that involve the sharing of both personal information/feelings and academic goals/challenges etc (referred to as “crew structure” in video). Activities that encourage critical thinking such as student-lead experiments, and activities that provoke thinking about thinking such as reflective journals & guided meditation are both important to include as often as possible. I realize that integrating the concept of challenge for deeper learning into my own practice is equally as important as facilitating it in students. This requires similar if not the same techniques; through community involvement, collaborative projects that are creative, fun and purposeful and self reflective practices such as meditation I am able to grow my capacity for comfort with ambiguity, my courage, my confidence, my empathy and my ability to support others to do the same. Secret lair: a metaphor for the processes and activities that help a person survive and thrive in the challenges of teaching. I think of the secret lair as a place I can visit wherever and whenever I choose. The activities and/or mindset I employ differ from time to time based on my needs and the opportunities available, but I’ve come to appreciate some activities/mindsets more than others. Perhaps it is a combination of their usefulness along with my familiarity and adeptness with them that keeps me returning to the same trusted pursuits. Every now and then I think of (or am introduced to) another approach. Being the natural adventurer that I am, I’m usually happy to try something new. Practice has taught me that participating in new experiences, or diverging from routine, promotes creativity. For this reason, don’t be surprised if you see me juggling porcelain dolls as I skip around the local walkway. In no particular order, these are the pursuits I include in my secret lair: Talking it out with my partner, daughter or a friend—this includes debriefing the day to reflect on what did or did not work and the person to whom I speak may determines the content of the talk. Sometimes this a rant, but more often it is a serious quest into how I could improve a strategy, a relationship, and any number of things. Writing it out—this can be everything from goal oriented to-do lists compiled in a daybook, to journal entries and letters to the editor, to short fiction to poetry, essays and letters to a friend. Sometimes even just writing the events of the day is a way to let go of the past just like planning for the next day is a way to let go of anxiety or anticipation of the future. Date night—this can be done alone or with my partner/friend/daughter and it involves ordering food I wouldn’t normally cook myself and savouring every bite. This kind of celebration is somewhat of a reward after a long week or completion of a project. It doesn’t always include a special drink or dessert, but it can! Experience has taught me how important it is to celebrate my successes and accomplishments. Those don’t come easy, countless hours of hard work go into my successes and so taking a break from that hard work to celebrate is an important balancing mechanism! Of course it doesn’t have to be limited to supper. It can be a movie, a show, a concert, even a trip. After 4 long years of dedication to completing a degree I treated myself to a month long trip to Italy to visit all the places I’d read about and see, first hand, all the art I studied. That trip, though it put me in debt, was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life since it helped to consolidate much of the learning I had done! Reminiscing—often I enjoy watching my screen saver flash photos of past trips I’ve taken. Seeing a photo can take me right back to the place I visited and remind me, for instance, of what it was like to feel the course hair on the back of an elephant against my legs, how different ‘down-ward facing dog’ (a yoga pose) feels in a rural yet tropical outdoor setting. These memories may take me out of the present, but they are so vivid it is like a break from reality—and that can be just what the doctor ordered sometimes. Mindfulness meditation—on the opposite end of the spectrum, mindful meditation techniques help me become centered in the present. No denying what is, no rejecting what is, just being, sitting (or standing), breathing in the present moment and feeling the air softly swirl on the surface of my skin. I practice this as much as possible during the day when I must wait for something… a free washroom, a bank machine, to pay for groceries, or sleep to come. This exercise has potential to be the most enlivening of them all. Exercise is also enlivening! A brisk walk provides a much-needed refresher after an extended period of time spent in deep focus. Sometimes I get too close to an event to be able to think differently, to discover the vitality in the situation. A brisk walk out-of-doors with dogs running up to sniff and smile, the ducks quacking in the distance and friendly others passing by on their own walks is enough to stimulate new energy surrounding what ever I happened to be working on before the walk. Personal Development—this includes delving into the endless areas that interest me. I read/listen to books voraciously. With a glance at one of many bookshelves in my house I see books on brain science, on quantum energy, on mindfulness, on creativity, on art, on poetry, on gardening, philosophy books, cook books, language learning systems, novels, religious texts, books on fairies, gnomes and architecture. I may well have the most eclectic collection this side of Kansas. I also enjoy music: seeing it, hearing it, and taking lessons when money and time allow for it (I was taking piano lessons until a year ago). I want to learn the banjo next. The list goes on. I take any classes I can afford: clay, dancing, Jungian analysis, and drawing are a few I’ve done in the past. As a learner and a teacher, I know the value of having broad interests and going deep with them. I am constantly seeing new connections and building on past knowledge to create new knowledge, meanings, feelings and experiences. It is this zest for life, this insatiable wonder and curiosity that keep me from getting too serious. My hilarious friends help in that department also. Fortunately I don’t have to work too hard at developing a secret lair, for mine comes as naturally as nourishment: when I'm hungry, I eat! Technology fundamentally transforms a classroom; I don’t think this can be disputed. But I do wonder if it transforms a classroom in a positive way. I am not, as you may have deduced by now, a gung-ho tech-savvy sailor. Yet, I am not completely opposed to technology. I believe it has its usefulness by giving students more options in how they learn and express their learning. I can see technology being beneficial also by helping to make a lesson better: perhaps creating more interesting and interactive demonstrations. Technology provides tools that we can use, much like a ladder helps us to climb up to a place we couldn’t otherwise reach. I am concerned, however, about technology becoming a crutch for student engagement whereby the teacher fails to be able to effectively communicate directly. In this era of television, smart phone and computer screens, technology has become a danger in that it has infiltrated every aspect of life. You don't see everyone walking around with a ladder in their back pocket for reaching those unstep-up-able heights, but almost everyone has a device of some kind on their person. It is my observation that people are becoming more and more reliant on texts/messages and photos for communication. We aren’t getting as much eye-to-eye contact or even oral communication. The more we physically distance ourselves from each other, the more we become unable to read each others’ feelings and so we become prone to alienation. There are all kinds of studies demonstrating that children are missing out on important developmental milestones because their parents are more engaged with their devices than they are with their kids. eg: http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2014/04/21/304196338/for-the-childrens-sake-put-down-that-smartphone How unhuman can we get!? We are social beings and like all social animals we require physical interaction with others to maintain a healthy system. Sure students are engaged in school work when they are creating using digital tools to make all kinds of podcasts and vlogs and experimenting with robotics, photo-shop and music programs etc., but in my opinion the analog tools are just as important to incorporate and practice to carry students to their full potential as citizens contributing their gifts to the world. Creating things does allow students to take responsibility for their learning and sharing these things on the internet provides an authentic audience so motivation is built in to many tech-based projects. However, I feel that motivation is an intrinsic force when completing any project that a person is invested in on a personal level. Therefore, if students aren’t interested in, say, blogging their summer vacation, should they be required to blog if they would rather write a poem, or compile a hard-copy photo-album. For me the answer is no. Students should let their interests guide their projects. There is no doubt that the future is going to demand tech knowledge and it seems obvious that students will need these skills more than they need to know ‘stuff’. Stuff can be accessed anytime, anywhere, as long as you know how and have the technology to do so. In a world that has grown exponentially in the last 100 years, there is more stuff to know than is even possible to teach over the course of the 12 years of school. Therefore, integrating technology has the potential to build important skills and expose students to equipment that will be required in the future job force. I’m not sure if it is necessary or even possible to integrate technology when it comes to teaching equally important future life skills such as critical thinking, discernment, and dexterity, along with the social human life skills of compassion, cooperation, perseverance and patience. I don't think its entirely unfair to to attribute cause to computers (and the ease of access to information) for the effect of the current populace's impatience, lack of discernment/critical thinking, and inability to express and intuit feelings. So while I am not opposed its use, I feel that technology needs to be balanced right along with our nutritional, physical, spiritual (connection to natural world), personal and social needs. As teachers we have to think about how much technology a child is getting in the home and then we need to balance this in our classroom. Perhaps some students need experience with tablets, for instance, more than others. In any case, by modelling balance in the classroom and careful consideration as to when to integrate technology and when not to, we have the opportunity to teach our students self-regulation and the equal importance and beauty of all the other aspects of life. |
AuthorNatalie Nickerson; that's me. Archives
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