Post a response to at least one of the questions below. Comment on at least one other posting by another participant.
1. Daniel Pink presents two approaches to thinking: L-Directed thinking, characterized by "sequential, literal, functional, textual, and analytic" forms of thinking that is "emphasized in schools", and R-Directed thinking, characterized by "simultaneous, metaphorical, aesthetic, contextual, and synthetic forms of thinking that are "neglected in schools". He states that we need both approaches in order to create and maintain "productive, just societies", and even though L-Directed thinking has enjoyed a run of favoritism, things are changing. R-Directed thinking will soon determine who succeeds and who falters. What are your thoughts about this?
2. Does your classroom or school promote L-Directed or R-Directed thinking. How? What is the evidence for your answer?
3. Pink attributes the causes for this shift in thinking to abundance, Asia, and automation. Share your reaction to this part of the reading. Be sure to include any "ah-ha's" you might have had as you were reading.
4. If Pink's predictions are accurate, what is the impact for us as educators? What kinds of changes will we have to make to accommodate and support and R-Directed thinking? What happens if we, as leaders are not R-Directed?
5. Education of the heart? Talk about it!
6. IQ vs. EQ--where does this fit into the new standards?
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First, allow me to say that i am fascinated by this topic & I believe its one that my generation has been having ever since we realized that the college education & high test scores did not afford the life of our dreams that were promised; Not only is it not enough for industry to be predominately housed by L-brained activities, its also not enough for the R-brained individual to feel the pressure of being squeazed into these positions. There is a wave of young people almost vocally proclaiming that it is not enough for them to simply get a job to pay bills....their work must reflect the creative expressions they so cherish....and if given the chance, they can fuel production...not with resentful undermining labor that seems suffocating, but with creativity & ownership.
ReplyDelete...and passion is a difficult thing to outsource...
On the whole, I feel that public education specifically caters to the R-directed individual who can perform well on written tests and standardized assessments. This is, after all, the composition of the measurement tools which are used and promoted by the governing powers. Furthermore, student performance on these tests are the criteria by which federal funding is allocated, college scholarships are awarded, and teachers are evaluated. With increasing pressure for accountability and models to measure student success, I do not forsee the extinction of standardized testing which caters specifically to L-directed individuals. As far as which type of learner my school and classroom caters to...in the age of accountability hinging on standardized tests which measure student and teacher performance...I would certainly believe that we have been forced to squeeze all students into the L-directed box so that they will do well on THE TEST!
ReplyDelete"There is a wave of young people almost vocally proclaiming that it is not enough for them to simply get a job to pay bills....their work must reflect the creative expressions they so cherish....and if given the chance, they can fuel production...not with resentful undermining labor that seems suffocating, but with creativity & ownership."
ReplyDeleteThis is an extremely good point. As the mother of a high school senior who is preparing for college and making career choices, I have seen the struggle within her as she attempts to balance her desire for success and fulfilling her dreams with the things for which she fills most passionate. Passion does not necessarily equate a paycheck...how unfortunate.
I agree with Amanda about "the test." That is how we will be measured - expecially more now since we are the lucky recipients of funding thanks to our state overhaul reorienting our definition of success with such a large focus on testing. The shift in the system's (not our local system, but the educational system as a whole) way of thinking will be slow and painful, but eventually maybe we will have other evaluations such as the Rainbow Project "which has been twice as successful as the SAT in predicting how well students perform in college." That part of the discussion makes me think of former students with 18,19,20s on the ACT that are now leaders in business and the community with advanced college degrees because they had other intelligence rather than just stockpiled knowledge.
ReplyDeleteQuestion #6 - It seems that many teachers in our building are using EQ to teach the L-brained "stuff." NOt everything is paper and pencil and lecture. In literature, they do much more than teach the content of a piece. They talk about how the characters react to situations, what the scence would look like in terms of the characters expressions and body language, how students feel about the outcome and how it might have been different if there one circumstance in the piece was changed and the big picture looked different. Isn't the right reinforcing the left in these scenario, making the facts "stick" better? Maybe some subjects lend themselves to this. I guess that this might not be so easy in math???
ReplyDeleteI was fascinated by the chapter over abundance,Asia, automation. I have had the same discussion with co-workers and family members many times but it was interesting to see it all put together in this way. As a school teacher, the idea of automation replacing me in the early part of this century seems somewhat more likely. I find it an odd paradox that in the last few years as we add more technology to the classroom, we the teacers become somewhat more obsolete. The idea of outsourcing is a problem that I am not sure that the country as a whole has any idea how to fix or even if it possible to do anything about it. As for as abundance, I feel that the amount of materials around us has become such a part of our lives that we do not even realize it anymore, I seem to only realize it when the older generation brings it to my attention.
ReplyDeletecomment on Amanda's post
ReplyDeletei agree completely. We focus so much energy on a multiple choice test that has absolutely nothing to do with real life. I just wish our country could look to other ideas from other countries if nothing more than to get ideas on other ways and means of arriving at true achievement.
I agree with Pink, we need both L and R-Directed thinking approaches in order to create and maintain "productive societies." L-Directed thinking has enjoyed a run of favoritism, but things are not changing and R-Directed thinking will not soon determine who succeeds and who falters. But merely, things are cycling and flowing between the two approaches of thinking with R never overtaking L. R may currently be gaining and we as educators should be aware of both thought processes but our Capitalist society will always be dominated by L.
ReplyDeleteIQ vs. EQ--where does this fit into the new standards?
ReplyDeleteWell, are you asking about Pink's new standards? If so, he is all about EQ. EQ studies are VERY INTERESTING. I agree that EQ is more of a determiner/predictor of sucess than IQ. How else can you explain the sucesses of George Bush, Sarah Palin and Jessica Simpson. (that should get'em stirring) I hope every educator has the ability to talk EQ with their students, especially students with the high IQs. Students need to be aware of this EQ theory to be able to better evaluate and adjust themselves for sucess.
I agree with Pink about the shift being caused by, "the big three", Asia, automation and abundance. However, I also think there are more several more factors causing this change.
ReplyDeleteAs times and civilizations change, we as a population have to learn to change with it. We have become so connected with the rest of the world through technology that it has made it easier to compare business to business and find ways to cut costs even though those are not always ethically right.
My ah-ha was the section on automation. I believe, that while automation makes things better/easier it also hurts more jobs than it helps. Our new work force will have to learn or reeducate themselves with a new set of skills in order to survive the global job market.
Rhonda,
ReplyDeleteI agree that our all of out "things" we don't even think about anymore. They are just there and we think they always will be. I think this is also only getting worse as generations go on. Working ni the school system you see so many kids that have don't appreciate what they have been given.
I don't think we as teacher will ever become obsolete. Even if, and I am sure they will, develop some computerized teacher; a big part of what the kids lack and need is social skills. This is one of the things schools should be required to teach, along with health and finance at earlier ages.
Abundance, Asia, and Automation... this chapter caused several ah ha moments for me. The picture of the toilet brush made me laugh out loud because I never thought about products like this as being designed by anyone, much less with beauty in mind. I am reminded of a brush I bought to clean the garbage disposal. It is the perfect shape for reaching up underneath and getting all those built up food scraps out! I look around me and I see other "utilitarian products" turned into "objects of desire." All kidding aside, I am pleased to think about R-Directed Thinking taking a front seat today. I have always said I should have been a counselor instead of a classroom teacher because the relationships I build with my students mean more to me than anything. I am a right brainer all the way and have always struggled with the requirements of the L-Directed world. Woo hoo for me, huh?
ReplyDeleteIQ verses EQ...very thought provoking. Amazing that only between 4 and 10 percent is the portion that IQ accounts for success in a career. Twice in the last week, in two very different settings, I heard someone with experience stress how important it is to enjoy what you do. -to be able to get up each morning and look forward to the day ahead. I will definitely be stressing that fact with my own children with new emphasis! I loved the words "joyfulness" and "imagination." As Professor Sternberg did with his Rainbow Project, we will need to develop new standards that allow students to exhibit strengths such as compassion and care and measure their EQ capacity. Our world will be a better place when demonstrations of EQ are recognized!
ReplyDeleteResponse to CD's answer to question #6
ReplyDeleteLiterature is a great place to illicit responses of the EQ. I have taught 8th graders, 4th graders and even first graders to "read between the lines." I enjoyed helping them to see there is much more meaning there besides just what is written in black and white. I love the example of the metaphor on pages 21 and 22. It shows the importance of both sides of our brain working together! Helping children see the big picture and recognizing the importance of relationships and two examples of learning that can take place in many settings.
As what Amanda said on the "Test", I totally agree. Our school systems as a whole are focused on the "Test". Students are geared more toward the "L" because of all the demanding criteria based on the "Test".
ReplyDeleteThe Abundance section of the Chapter had a couple of AH HA moments. The toliet brush for instance... made me say AH. Ive never really thought about how these items are designed. Our companies are having to become creative to catch the custumer's eye. Which leads to a more "R" Directed focus.
Ah Ha... Abundance, Automation and Moving jobs to other countries. This is a topic I know well. My husband worked for a company that was automated for almost twelve years. This company made electronic relays. Relays are tiny pieces of technology created by huge automated lines run by employees. During the time he worked there, we saw more and more of the job becoming automated and less of the job being done by humans. Esentially they tried to make more money in less time with less people. At first, it was locally owned. It was then purchased by a German company- Siemens and lastly an Asian company Tyco. Tyco decided to move the plant to Mexico. At this point, my husband was a supervisor at the plant and very well respected. He was asked to stay until the end. As each line was moved to Mexico, my husband had to assist with the dismissal of another group of employees. It was hard on him and very hard on the small town the plant was in. At the end, my husband had to spend a month in Mexico training the people there to run the automated equiptment. In Mexico, the company paid for him to stay in a nice area overlooking a beautiful bay, but as he traveled to work each day, he passed areas where people literally had nothing-barely a piece of cardboard over their head and no shoes on their feet. As he pulled up to the plant, it was surrounded by fencing topped with barbed wire. He then saw first hand how little the employees would be paid there to do the same jobs as their counterparts here were. The company would definately be making more money in Mexico than in the USA. Even after losing his job, he came back home with a whole new appreciation for life in the United States and the abundance that we do have.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Wynde:
ReplyDeleteMy first major was psychology. My dream was to be a child psychologist! I decided to take some education courses also and then was hooked. It was not such a jump really, in teaching I am a counselor every day! I also love the relationships I build with my students and strive to make my classroom a safe place to learn. Yes, I am also R-brained! Every brain style test I have ever taken shows that. I also struggle with the Left brain demands of our world.... You have been in my classroom I am sure you saw signs of that too! Woo Hoo girl I am right there with you!
In response to question #3 re: Abundance Asia and Automation....and in response to Kim's comments.....
ReplyDeleteI just finished reading "The Most They Ever Had" by Rick Bragg which is basically the story of the demise of the textile industry in America. The focus of the book is a lone hold-out cotton mill in Jacksonville, AL and the good and bad effects of the industry and its' disappearance. So many of the mills around this area have found their way south, to Mexico. I'm still undecided if that is good or bad--I suppose it mostly depends upon your perspective. I was raised in a similar cotton mill town in NW Georgia where the senior field trip for high schoolers was a walk across the footbridge to tour the mill that most of the graduates would go to work in--be it after graduation or when they dropped out of school. That particular mill continues to thrive in terms of production and providing jobs to people in the community. But at what cost? I've watched countless parents of friends who worked in the dye plant die of cancer. Almost all of the older generation who worked in the weave room cannot hear at all now because they didn't wear ear protection when they worked there. Today, people live in fear of their jobs being taken away by the relocation of the plant to Mexico. When I toured the plant in 1986, mostly I noticed the absence of any joy for life in the eyes and on the faces of workers in there. They were like robots, and probably would have been better of if the machines could have replaced them totally. And not a lot has changed since that time. But that being said, there is still so much abundance even in this one-industry cotton mill town. Americans don't often realize our wealth until we see first-hand how others in the world live. The toilet brush photo and comments really struck me, as well. Why do we need to have toilet brushes be beautiful and desirable objects???
What a powerful field trip, and what an impact your experience must have had on your world view (and the world views of your classmates). Thank you for sharing this memory.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting comments, I know it is important to balance right and left brained activities/structures, however there is no easy "fix" for making education a better institution, because there are too many factors that come into play. Of course, each learner has his own style of learning, but it is educators job to put a variety of ways of learning into their paths.
ReplyDeletePink's observation of the 3 A's are interesting. The global education "race" has been going on for a long time, but until we realize that the sociological atmosphere and family dynamics also have to be compared, we are comparing apples and oranges. Asia has strict discipline and strong family bonds and expectations. Many nations have abundance, US being one of the most affluent on average, however, the use and ways of attaining abundance is different. Waste is also not addressed in the book as much as I would like to see.
ReplyDelete