Week 4 Response to Thomas Turner

Thomas Turner’s post:

The one thing that stood out to me in this week's reading has to come from Chapter 11 "Creating Frameworks for Possibility." The reading revealed three main areas for a person to create the frameworks needed to make change happen.
1. Making a new distinction to help reframe the current one.
2. Become a part of the framework around you.
3. Distinguish what is part of being off-track, while remaining on-track.
This chapter describes the very reason I became an educator. I usually get laughed at when I refer to teaching as being an art form. It truly takes a special being to become one. It's become open season lately on teachers. Yet despite all the pounding we take, we trudge on because we know what is at stake
Each day we walk on campus we MUST check our egos at the door because something more important is at stake. I strive everyday to instill the desire in my students to look introspectively and make decisions that will positively impact their lives. Unfortunately, success is not 100% and I'm not naive to think that I will ever be 100%. It's like I hear football coaches being interviewed on television saying that they put their players in the best possible position to win. Very few football coaches are successful at accomplishing this, as history has shown, this has only happened once. This fact does not stop me from trying my hardest every day though.

This endeavor goes hand in hand with the third area. Part of making or reframing the current possibilities of life involves distinguishing between right and wrong. I, like the example given in the text about the orchestra in Sao Paolo, Brazil, was faced with something similar when I was playing high school baseball. We took a trip to New Orleans for a tournament. Our last instructions were to NOT go down to the quarter. When 16 to 18 year old young men are faced with being told not to do something, we chose to do the exact opposite. Our coach took a similar tact as the orchestra leader. We did not get the beat down reaming that we all probably deserved. Although we did not win the tournament, we went on to play some of the best baseball we had played up to that part of the season. Rather than playing for someone who we resented, we were playing someone who we felt we understood.


My response:
Your comments spoke to me. Not all teachers speak of their craft as an art form. Lets tie passion as an asset you have that goes hand in hand with with your teaching framework. Because you continue to "trudge on," you have a passion for what you do.

I was going to say that you passion helps you overcome obstacles and challenges. I guess we should identify those things as possibilities. As you profess your teaching as an art form, you make a difference in those who hear it. By making a positive impact with your students, you are influencing the dialogue in public education. Going back a few chapters, we do not know if the rhetoric on teachers is good or bad. It is. It may seem bad right now but we cannot see what is going to happen in the future and how the current dialogue will play into it. By keeping our passion, we can only believe that things will work out perfectly.

Week 4 Response to Jason Reed

Jason Reed’s Post:

Reading response from chapters 5 through 8 of The Art of Possibility, by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander.

I first have to say that every time I pick up and read this book, it relates to things that are happening in my life. Chapter 5 discusses how to lead from any chair, and more specifically it refers to experiences being a conductor. It talks about the power that an orchestral conductor has in the music world and how conductors can often be dominating. I can attest that these traits can still be seen today because of the many conductors that I know or have worked with.

I direct 6 different choirs at the middle school level and never really gave much thought as to how my students view me. I often do what I need to do to get the results that are needed. After reflecting on my teaching and classroom management I realized that what makes my teaching so effective is that I build a family environment. Everyone feels safe in the classroom and I often encourage student ideas, which gives them a sense of ownership.

I really enjoyed reading about the effectiveness of the “white sheets” where students can write down their criticisms and observations during rehearsals. I am going to start trying to use this in my rehearsals to see what my students are thinking and find out how I can better serve their needs. It will also be a great way to have more personal feedback about my teaching and conducting.

The other chapters (6-8) had many great ideas as well to offer. Chapter 6 talks about the Rule Number 6, which basically means to lighten up. I find that I already do this in my classroom by adding humor to my lessons. I often use humor to effectively get my points across rather then coming off demanding and authoritative. I have found better success in the over all sound of my choirs by lightening up and this principle is one that everyone should follow.

Chapter 7 talks about the practice of the way things are. This chapter discusses how we should accept reality the way it is and work with reality to created more positive experiences. There are some things that we cannot change and it is our goal to be happy and positive. There are always positive ways to look at every situation and it is important for us to focus on the positivity to ensure our own happiness and the happiness of others around us.

Chapter 8 discusses the practice of giving way to passion. This was another chapter that really spoke to me. Most people view me as a passionate individual who is driven for success. I often use my passion for helping others and success to inspire and motivate myself. Sometimes I do set up barriers on myself and releasing these barriers is something that I need to first work on. I found that this chapter was more about channeling ones energy to help convert passion into action. This practice is not an easy thing to accomplish however once we can tap into our inner passion and drive we can accomplish anything.

My response:
I wanted to comment on yours because of the passion I know you have for your endeavors. I am glad that you spoke of passion. I would believe that your passion is also what drives your classroom management. Your students assessed you the first time they were with you. Think of the times you were in a class or even a workshop/seminar session. You assessed the presenter and immediately decided if this was going to be a valuable experience. I am sure your students saw that fire inside of you and were drawn towards it like the little moths they are. They want to be there and they want to share in the experience. Congratulations!

Week 4 Reading, The Art of Possibility

I loved this book. In fact, I purchased the audio version so that I could hear the authors tell the story. The final chapters continued the theme of the book. The most important theme of this book was to get rid of your ego. By doing so, we are able to overcome our selfishness and calculating selves. When we open ourselves to the world, we are able to see how wonderful it can be.

Every chapter, every story from this book could have been read from the pulpit at my Episcopalian church. They could have also been spoken by a Buddhist monk. The authors are Jewish.  The ideas the authors outlined core ideas that almost all world religions strive to promote.  It is the human experience versus reptilian tendencies.  What is great about this book is that we often feel off balance and upset.  We don't always have ideas on how to change things.  This book gives a fine illustration.

I love the idea of defining yourself as the board.  This opens one up to seeing how we all interact.  I know we can play the roles of victim, prosecutor, fixer, etc.  By defining ourselves as the board, we open ourselves up to seeing a much bigger picture and how we interact.  As curious beings, we love possibility.  Unfortunately, our ego and/or our role as a player blinds us from seeing possibility when we inevitably encounter another human being.

Week 3 Reading Response to Brian Thomas

What I’ve observed from the readings this week (especially from Chapter 6) is that many of Ben’s philosophies about putting others first and living your life in a positive way have been in the Bible for thousands of years. The problem is, most people (including me) have not been so good about reading these principles and applying them to our lives. I believe that if we all spent more time reading and applying THAT guidebook that we would be able to show much more love and genuine concern for each other.

That aside, I particularly liked the discussions in the book on opening up your thinking to possibilities and using the word “and” instead of “but” to describe our current situation. I think it’s this type of positive thinking that can really help make or break your day and your outlook on your current situation. I also liked the discussion of leading from any chair. I think this idea is especially important to share with a classroom of students that might have confidence issues (which, for most teens, is almost a given). To understand that your contributions are valued no matter what your role is, is a very important concept to get across to a class and I appreciated the authors insights and stories about this idea.

My response:


I agree that many of the principals in the book have been in the bible and, for that matter, components to most world religions.  They are about as close to universal "truths" as it comes.  Like you, I often fall short.  That is where religion and philosophy come in to guide us.

Your comments about leading from any chair made me think of the idea in a new way.  As educators, we promote a community of learning where we are all seeking knowledge.  What better way than for the teacher to physically put him/herself in the seats with the students and let the student become the teacher and treat them as an authority in the field.  How powerful!

Week 3 Reading Response to Thomas Turner

The first thing that I thought of when I saw the title of Chapter 6 in "The Art of Possibility" was a saying on a t-shirt that my wife owned when we first met. After all these years it has stuck with me. The slogan was "Life's a Journey, Not a Guided Tour."

This slogan is right in line with the theme of Chapter 6 and its suggestion that we all need to "lighten up" (Zander & Zander, p. 80). As I walk around campus I encounter teacher after teacher who is stressed out. Stressed out because of poor student performance on standardized tests. Stressed out because of mandates passed down from administrators. Stressed out because of what seems to be a lack of support by a government that doesn't really understand what teaching is all about, yet continues to try to reform it.

I myself subscribe to the "Life's a Journey, Not a Guided Tour" mentality. Life's way too short to get worked up over stuff that I have no control over. I've resigned myself to the fact that the state legislature is not going to be calling me for my opinion any time soon with regards to education reform. That doesn't mean I won't do what is necessary to try to exact change.

I also subscribe to the premise that part of my job is to provide a little levity to my campus. It is my belief that a happy and jovial workplace is a very good place to work. All too often people get too wrapped up in what they are doing and forget to see that their stresses can be relieved with a joke and a smile. I know the students that I taught were always appreciative that I ran my classroom in a way that learning was peppered with humor.

The other thing that I thought about wen reading Chapter 6 was CBS show "NCIS". I know, it seems a little silly. One has little to do with another. But as a NCIS junkie I've taken to living my life by some of Gibb's Rules. Many of the rules revealed through various episodes of the show have no bearing to real life. It seems a bit funny that the Gibbs Rule that I subscribe to the most is also #6: Never apologize, it's a sign of weakness.  The way I interpret this particular rule is to live my life with no regrets. The decisions I make in life I need to stand behind with confidence.

Leland Kriegh's Response:
Please come to Phoenix and follow me around for a day or two cracking jokes. I needed. Stressed. When I read this in the book and when I read your post there is a part of me that wants to say, “yes, but…” I want to argue and let whomever is listening know how important my concerns are. Maybe all of our concerns are important but do we have to take them seriously? Are we more effective than we employee Rule #6 then when we take ourselves so damn seriously? I think I just answered the question myself. I still think it would be really great if you came to Phoenix to hang out and crack jokes. 

Week 3 Reading - The Art of Possibility

This book has triggered a lot of contemplation. There are so many things going on in my life that I reflect upon as I read this book. I am struggling between the ideas presented in The Art of Possibility with my own predicament. My career is something that I love but I am working at a place that I do not love. In fact, I would characterize it as toxic. I do not expect to fully understand the principles in this book, at least at this time. Maybe if I did better understand and was able to employ the principles in this book, the passion and possibility would flow out of me and would cause those around me to fart sunshine. Right now, I don't have it in me.

I specially related to comparison of the comparative self and the central self. I'm not so sure if I agree as to how people develop their comparative self, but I do believe that the comparative self as described in the book not only exists, but is encouraged in our culture. This is where religion and philosophy comes in. The central self describes my view of Christianity quite well. I realize that when I “stray,” I behave more as the comparative self. Good stuff.

The saying, “It is what it is,” is overused; however, the idea is a starting point for Chapter 7. Years ago, I read a series of books by Thích Nhất Hạnh and I took these ideas to heart. I know on a few occasions, I have annoyed others when after what they thought they told me was bad news, I responded, “is it?” Things may seem one way at first but we must have patience and the ability to view a broader picture to better understand (or not) events which unfold in our lives.
BTFI. Damn, I love this part. I know those times in my life where I have gone beyond the FI. In fact, I've done it several times in this program. It does feel good. I am looking forward to getting to a place professionally where I want to strive BTFI.

Week 2 Wimba Session

The Wimba session did not present very much new information; however, the information was very valuable and the discussions helped clarify a very muddy issue. The session clarified Fair Use in the classroom for me. I used to think that as long as it was for educational purposes, it was Fair Use. The stipulation that that piece of media and only that piece of media was necessary for the lesson was new information for me. I really liked how Joe likened the current situation with copyright laws to the prohibition. The current copyright laws do not work just like prohibition did not work. The laws, through legislative action in the courts, need to catch up.
On a side note, one of the things I miss the most when I miss a Wimba session is the banter and witty comments from my classmates. Michael George's definition of the backward C as "copyleft" made me snicker more than it should have. It just goes to show that I am a nerd up to my knees in copyright issues.