Thanks to everyone who posted to the first assignment. If you haven't had a chance to respond to any of the questions for Part I and/or comment on other posts, it's not too late!
Part II of the book describes each of the six senses and gives the reader suggestions for nurturing and developing them. Choose at least one of the suggestions for nurturing the designer and storyteller residing in you to complete. Share your thoughts about your experiences. Be sure to comment on your fellow bloggers' posts!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I choose the assignment "Read Design Magazines" for my activity because one of my favorite magazines is on the list - Real Simple. I used to subsribe, but I let my subscription go. I'll have to get that going again - or at least get one at the store tomorrow. THe magazine's articles truly do focus on the "simple." The recipes, the decorating, the household hints and the stories of people that are in the articles - its all about only keeping and doing what we need and what has meaning. It is a magazine that exemplifies John Heskett's definition of design on page 69.
ReplyDeleteAbout the font thing - If I use all the same font on a page that must have a lot of information on it, things on the page seem to get overlooked. So, if I want that same page to get read, I use several different fonts in different sizes. More on the page seems to get noticed. Is this a result of a sensitivity to design? Does it bother any of you when someone presents you with a worksheet/memo/directions that are done in this fashion?
Lastly, if I ever get another chance to be a high school students, I am going to move to Philadelphia and try to get in to CHAD. Wow - that sounds amazing.
Well, I will try this again. If my comment comes up twice you will know that I truly am new at blogging and I'm having a hard time getting my comment to post. So here it is again....
ReplyDeleteI selected "Be Choosy". I think it is important to do things that delight you and not just to impress others. I enjoy antiques so I have furnished my home with all antique furniture. I like choosing frames and glassware to complement my furniture and make my home more inviting and cozy for me, my family and friends.
In the Introduction of the six senses, I especially agree with #5. Not just seriousness but also PLAY. It is very important to enjoy and have fun in your work and everyday life. It is proven that to much seriousness can lead to health problems and depression. Bringing fun to a classroom of students promotes learning and creativity. This is true in any grade level. Being to serious to often in a class can cause you to lose your students. There is a time to be serious but also use laughter and humor in whatever you do.
As I read both CD's and Sheila's comments about design, I couldn't help but think about our classrooms. CD says the magazine Real Simple is "all about only keeping and doing what we need and what has meaning". Connecting that concept to the classroom means that we limit the fluff'n'stuff that we sometimes feel a need to hold on to. We look for the Power Standards and emphasize them. Sheila says she likes to make her home more inviting and cozy for herself, her family, and her friends. It's important that we give considerable thought to the environment we create in the classroom--is it inviting and cozy? Does our environment send a message that we value student work? Does it demonstrate an appreciation for order? How about focus?
ReplyDeleteI selected "Be Choosy". So often we live our lives just to "keep up with the Jones'". We buy things we don't need to impress people we don't know. In the end, we find that we are truly miserable because we have immersed ourselves in debt and those we were trying to impress, well they've directed their attention elsewhere to another unsuspecting individual living under society's microscope in an effort to achieve what many American's consider tangible and measurable worthiness. We all fall victim to pride at times and believe that the newest Coach purse will bring us happiness. However, when we step back and truly evaluate our lives in the context of purposeful and meaningful living, the same always holds true...without our families, health, friends, and the love and support of those we care about, a house is just a house, a car is just a car, and a Coach purse is just a place to store the bills and credit cards. I would much rather reach into my Wal-Mart bag and find my baby's lost sock, my son's favorite matchbox car, and my daughter's retainers!
ReplyDeleteThe same holds true for the classroom. When we get to work with our students, it shouldn't be in an effort to impress other teachers, administrators, or for our own self-advancement. It should be to produce enriching and sustainable lessons that will impact the lives of the little ones we teach. The focus should be on the children, not the judging eyes of others we are trying to impress. Educators should consistently use those tried and true practices that are meaningful and measurable. There is something to be said for the three "R's"! Forget about decorating the door so that other teacher's/administrators will remark about how "creative" you are. It may be "cute", but what did your students gain from it? If we, as educators, will be more selective about how we spend our time we will truly learn the meaning of working smarter, not harder.
In reading Shelia's comments regarding the value of play, I would have to agree whole-heartedly that play, humor, and laughter are essential elements in any classroom across the board through all grade levels. So many times we, as educators forget this. Think about your favorite college professor. Was he all about keeping your nose to the grindstone, or did he commonly use humor in his teachings? I know that my high school daughter's favorite teachers are those who make her laugh. They relate to her on that level. As a kindergarten teacher myself, I find it very beneficial to my emotional health to find humor in the quirky, sometimes annoying things my students can do. The old saying, "If I didn't laugh about it I would have to cry." comes to mind. Many times the greatest way to diffuse a stressful day, a stressful situation, is to find humor in it and just laugh. Your students need to see that playful side of you, as well. I would never, NEVER, want my child to be in a classroom where the teacher lives by the creed "Don't smile until Christmas!". How unpleasant and unfortunate for the student AND the teacher. Can you imagine what a stressful environment that would create? An environment of fear and anxiety is one in which no one can learn or thrive...including the teacher.
ReplyDeleteAs per Carla's comment - I totally agree that, as educators, we should emphasize what is important (Power Standards). However, as the standards required for students to learn increase, its getting harder and harder to improve test scores. When the standards changed last year, the was a noticeable increase in the number and level of what was required for each grade (elementary) and subject (ele. and sec.) Suddenly, what was important seemed to triple in size in all of the areas that I examined. I so much agree with the principles in the book so far, but we keep adding and putting increasing value more and more on L-Directed measures.
ReplyDeleteAnd . . I bought my 10th Anniversary edition of Real Simple yesterday! Haven't read it yet, but I and am looking forward to digesting it as I travel this week.
I selected the storytelling aspect from chapter 5 to discuss. I have used something similar to the " riff on a line" from that chapter. For one of my chapter books we read the novel Tuck Everlasting in which I had my students rewrite the ending to something of their choosing, or just to create a more free thinking environment. My students really took to it, enjoyed and seemed to get a great deal out of it. But, I did this after t-cap testing as it was not a standard and therefore would be deemed as unworthy in the current environment to cover. My husband a seventh grade science teacher has run into the same problems as well. He used to do for more creative writing with his science students in the realm of science fiction using science terms to create stories, once again due to the current environment of l-brained teaching does not feel comfortable straying away from the standards. The story chapter really engaged me in what I could do.
ReplyDeleteFor my Assignent 2 choice, I also picked "Read Design Magazines" because like CD said, I all ready really enjoy one of the magazines on the list. "Dwell" is an awesome shelter design magazine. As a science person, I really appreciate the environmental aspects of the designs featured in the magazine. Anyone not familiar with the periodical should be urged to look into it.
ReplyDeleteTo comment on Rhonda's entry: I sympathize with you and your husbands feelings of uncomfort in straying from the teaching of the standards. I also use to do a creative writing assingment when I would cover my genetics unit. Students would write a story about an imagined species of organism from another world. I always use to love to read those stories and would marvel at the students creative ideas. Like Rhonda's husband, I have gotten away from this assignment because I have felt the pressure to stay on standards. There has to be a way we can still use these creavity thinking writings and still cover all the expected standards...
ReplyDeleteI am with Sheila in agreeing with #5 in the introduction of the six senses, in that we should not just be serious but also PLAY. It is very important to enjoy and have fun in your work and everyday life. Too much seriousness can lead to stress related health problems and depression. As teachers we should bring fun to the classroom and promote students' learning and creativity. Being too serious in class does cause a teacher to lose the attention of students. I agree wiht Sheila that there is a time for almost everything, to be serious but also use laughter and humor in whatever you do.
ReplyDeleteOf the six senses, I am choosing, what I need to be more aware, Empathy. Although short and not to a deep extent, I followed a couple of the reader suggestions for nurturing and developing empathy. Suggestions such as Eavesdrop, Empathize on the job and took a MMPI (personality test). The eavesdropping makes me happy that I'm me and not who I eavesdropped. Seriously, it does make you more aware of other people's perspectives and interests. The Empathy practice got me more initial respect and had an effect on others whom I was working with. It actually helped me be more influential on the others with whom I was working. The MMPI told me that I'm more normal than I thought, it's others who are crazy. Lol.
ReplyDeleteCarla,
ReplyDeleteTeachers should put a high priority on the environment we create in the classroom. We could make it inviting and cozy by adding a lamp or two, put up some nicely framed motivational pictures and prominently display student work to show that we value their work.
in response to shelia's entry on play. I find myself at play quite often in the classroom. I try my best to have fun in the classroom because that is so much more fun than being serious all of the time. I try to come up with lesson plans that are just as much fun for me as it is for the kids, sometimes more fun for me. Life for these kids can get a little too serious for them as well
ReplyDeleteIn response to cd... I agree so much with the principles in the book, but I too think we are placing even more emphasis on L-Directed Thinking right now. With new standards and with the new plans to measure teacher effectiveness, it may become more difficult to convince anyone to embrace R-Directed strategies. However, I know that very excellent teachers will handle the new standards and being evaluated with grace and charm...
ReplyDeleteA Mini Saga...Uncle Jerry, a vital strong man, brought home to live out his last days with those who love him most nearby. A story is unfolding in these bittersweet days, one that will be replayed when he is gone... over and over until the pain of his absence becomes sweet memories...
ReplyDeleteUnbelievable that this is actually 50 words. I started this entry telling you all about how the chapter on Story really moved me. Then I realized I should just try and write a mini saga... hmm, much harder than it seems.
I agree with Wyndes response about more and more emphasis being placed on L-Directed thinking. The standards being placed on students and teachers are far more difficult than in the past. Are these standards for the best? I'm struggling with the answer to that question. I guess it doesn't matter since its out of the teachers hands now. We must do what they ask. And as Wynde said, we will handle it with grace and charm...
ReplyDeleteThe one that stood out to me was "Be Choosy". I thought the idea of taking an item to a place like starbucks to really analyze it and think about how it was made and how to make it better was good too.
ReplyDeleteAs this relates to school, I think we need to be choosy in our classrooms as well as in our homes. Our classrooms are where we spend the majority of our time and we should feel good to be in them and they should send messages to our students. I want my students to ask about things in the classroom when they come in and have tried to set up my classroom so that their eyes have to "take it all in" and they are curious about what some things are. My first year I had posters that were just posters, but now most are interactive boards that the kids can use. Everyday we have over 100 students enter our classroom and the items we place in there should have a purpose.
Blake,
ReplyDeleteI agree our the environment. Students can take pride in their work when you display it or even have the students create or hang what goes on the walls of our classrooms. I often throw ideas out to students to gauge interest in doing certain things and most love to help and have a voice in what goes on the walls of our classroom. Running out of room, I might have to take to the ceiling next year!
In response to UTRyan... I completely agree that we should be choosy in our classrooms. I was the same with posters that were strictly for decoration. I now know that it is important to make the classroom for the children by displaying their work and by making anything that hangs up have a purpose. In fact, I have been to a workshop just this year where that very thing was discussed!
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of Story Corps, Whip Out the Tape Pecorder, and even Become a Design Detective. However, to nurture the storyteller in me,today I chose to write a Mini Saga. I completed it in exactly fifty words. Upon completion, I felt a sense of pride and accomplishment. It was a fun assisgnment because of the fifty word limit. I wasn't overwhelmed. Students will feel the same way. It was a great way to practice the writing process.
ReplyDeleteWynde, I love your mini saga. It shows how only fifty words can tell a great story. I didn't publish mine on the blog, but really enjoyed reading yours and could feel the story you were telling. Empathy is a very strong natural trait that I possess. (Does that make sense?) I have always enjoyed "reading between the lines" and tried to teach that to my students. However in today's fast paced world, they don't often take the time...the same goes for each other's feelings. I think I am getting ahead of myself and need to complete the next assignment and further my discussion on empathy. Again, I enjoyed your mini saga.
ReplyDeleteI have also selected "Choosy". We buy things that we think we need because our friends or neighbors have purchased them. Then afterwards, we have to sit back and think... did I really need this??? For instance, going to the mall to purchase the latest style of Buckle Jeans thinking it will bring happiness and enjoyment. Then within the next six months the jeans are already outdated and didnt bring anything to the table.
ReplyDeleteThis also leaks into our classrooms. Some teachers are constantly trying new ways and new projects to impress fellow educators. Then in the long run, they will have to evaluate to themselves... did my students truely learn anything or was it wasted time.
I agree with Shelia with #5 sense. We have to make time for Play in our life to survive. If we are serious 24/7 then it makes us unhappy and stressed which carries over to our students. However, I know there is a time and place for seriousness. We have to realize if we are happy then our students are happy. Which makes a place for learning effectively.
In the design ideas, there were a few that I have actually done before. I have been a "Design Dectective". I like going to open houses for ideas to use in my own home. I especially like open houses of model homes. Sometimes, these homes look like they just popped out of a magazine.
ReplyDeleteAnother design idea I have experimented with is "Participate in the Third Industrial Revolution". I have designed a pair of Nike Shocks. I could not find a pair that I loved and designed one of my own. I did not have them made though, because I decided on a pair of Saucony shoes instead!
The "Design Notebook" is a wonderful idea! I would like to use that as a springboard for new design ideas!
In the Storyteller Ideas, I loved all the ideas! "Whip out a Tape Recorder" I wish I had used a tape recorder to record all of my grandmother's stories of her life. I need to start now and record my parents stories to preserve for future generations. I think that Scrapbooking is a great way to experiment with "Digital Storytelling". I always put captions and tell the story of what is happening on my scrapbook pages. I also assist my students at school in creating a scrapbook at the end of our school year. Speaking of that, I better get busy, the end of the school year will be here before we know it!
ReplyDeleteIn respose to cd; I love Real Simple! I received a subscription as a gift. The stories are always hearwarming. I also love to look at all the designs that they put in the magazine, but especially love the way they do so much with so little, and make it look so do-able!
ReplyDeleteMy mini saga of one of the greatest teachers MTSU ever created!
ReplyDeleteShe was elegance and dignity-a true southern lady. With her abundant energy and classic humor, she called her vibrant classroom home for 40 years. She cleverly transformed McBeth into a living, breathing testament of the tragedy of humanity. With frightful realization, he was our past, present and future.
OK-I didn't do my high school literature teacher justice with that mini saga. But an important point I want to make about our "classrooms", our "stuff", and the "things" we choose to display in our classroom. I can't tell you a single thing that any of my elementary school teachers (or high school teachers for that matter)had posted on their walls or in the hallways. What I can tell you with great precision, is which teachers ENJOYED what they did. And I can tell you exactly which teachers LAUGHED with us and made US laugh. I can tell you verbatim some of the things that teachers SAID to me that made an impact. I can tell you exactly which teachers made the adolescent years bearable because they showed compassion and kindness toward me with their deeds and words. One of my most influential teachers was our band director in high school. She was as serious as could be at times, but she also knew when it was OK to play with us and she fostered a love for lightheartedness in all of her students. That does not mean, at all, that she lacked discipline (quite the contrary). It just means that she instrisically knew some of the important points of the six senses as outlined by Daniel Pink. I had some great teachers and some not so great ones. But the great ones that live on for me were the ones that understood the human spirit; i.e. that we need to learn to empathize with others, that life needs humor, that there is a deeper meaning to learning other than just facts and figures and that no one will remember when you made a B in biology because you couldn't draw a cell very well! The great teachers are the ones who showed us we mattered and that learning, just like life, should be full of fun and joy.
ReplyDeleteWow! I love the thought you all have put into your responses and the way you are opening yourselves up to trying something that you might not have considered before. Thank you!
ReplyDelete