Week 2: Art of Possibility Response 1

Sue Parker writes:
It didn’t take long for me to get hooked on the required reading, “The Art of Possibility” for my Month 11 class, Media Asset Creation. When I got to page 4 and read…

Standard social and business practices are built on certain assumptions - shared understandings that have evolved from older beliefs and conditions. And while circumstances have changed since the start of these practices, their continued use tends to reconfirm the old beliefs. For this reason our daily practices feel right and true to us regardless if they have evolved to keep up with the pace of change.

…I mentally exclaimed “Bingo!”, logged on to Amazon and bought eight additional copies – one for each administrator and academic dean at my high school. Then I bought the audiobook for me.

That one passage sums up what I have been saying for the past six years. My line has always been, “Geometry concepts may not have changed since the days of Euclid, but the students sitting in front of you have. Therefore, the content delivery must change to keep up with those students.” Sure, you’ve always done it that way – and yes, it may still work, but perhaps – just perhaps – there is another way that may really excite your students and, at the same time, get you re-stoked as well. Win-win.

The next bookmark came on page 46 (which is not to say that from 5-45 there were no aha! moments, just no bookmarks)…

How often do we stand convinced of the truth of our early memories, forgetting that they are assessments made by a child?

…Broccoli.


Yes, broccoli. I don’t know if I ever really had tried broccoli. But somewhere, I made the judgment that I didn’t like it. I consciously, yet graciously, declined all offers of the little green florets for all of my adult life…until two years ago. I went on some boxed diet plan and broccoli (although not listed among the ingredients, or surely I would have avoided that purchase) was sprinkled throughout the meal. Unavoidable. I scraped and pushed as much as I could, but some of that green stuff leapt upon the fork anyway – I had to eat it. Clearly, there’s no climax to the story here – I found it quite tasty and now actually rejoice to find broccoli as the vegetable of the day anytime I dine out.

So what have I learned? Clearly, I've learned to re-examine my judgments. To ask, "Why do I think that?". And to ask - was the reasoning ever valid? If so, is it still valid? And to make a choice - a conscious choice - from there.

Another point well made by the Zanders was that of “survival thinking”. I get caught up in this all the time. Someone asks a simple question and my first thought is “What’s the real question?” Someone pays I compliment, and I think “What does he really want?”. I’m sure I was not born paranoid, but I have evolved into being so. And yes – a valuable, but limited resource – energy – is dramatically taxed in an effort to remain so paranoid. It would behoove me, and make others around me happier, if I re-directed that energy in a more positive fashion. I’ll try. But just as it states on page 4 – those daily practices feel right and true. I’ve become accustomed to the paranoia and don’t even recognize it as such.

The competency ladder (and numerous other labels for the theory) is attributed to many possible authors. I prescribe to the theory. Prior to reading, I could easily describe myself as unconsciously incompetent – paranoid, and not really knowing it. I need to put what I’m thinking and feeling and making appropriate changes on my learning spectrum. In doing so I’ll climb to the second rung of the ladder: being consciously incompetent – paranoid and knowing it. The next step will require that I make a conscious effort to relax – consciously competent. Sooner or later, the hope is to reach the top rung of the ladder: unconsciously competent – relaxed, open and not having to think about being so. It’s a long journey. And I shall slip back often. But, eventually, I’ll get there.

Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ykjc9/2579890315 Creative Commons License



1 comments:

David Hotler said...
Sue,
You have truly unfolded the mystery behind the first few chapters of the book. I love you went ahead and bought books for your administrators and the audiobook for yourself. This shows you really do see something in the reading. It is almost as if it is the way they say it and not what is said. For example your geometry analogy is nothing profound. We all know math is pretty concrete and we all know that students are changing. But they way the Zander’s put it in your quote adds a certain validity to the notion that we need to adapt and change.

I love your thoughts on the broccoli. I once dated a girl who hated fruit. It was beyond me that she could hate natures candy. Over the course of a few conversations I came to realize she had a bad memory associated with strawberries at an early age and from then on fruit was to suffer in her diet. I found it mind boggling that when she tasted fruit she liked the taste but HATED the act of eating, preparing, or selecting fruit to eat. The bad memory was so connected to fruit that her taste buds had no control over her reaction. It was only after investigating the memory and deducing that it was a silly childhood prank of a memory and she could let it go that she was able to fight past her hatred for fruit.

Thanks for your insight!
-David