Week Four - Thinking Out Loud " Oh Irene!"

http://www.weather.com/weather/videos/news-41/top-stories-169/irene-floods-out-the-catskills-21726

I live in Chicago where the skies have been clear and blue and Lake Michigan crystalline and calm. But, that's not what I was experiencing watching the news of Irene's path up the east coast. You see, I am from a local suburb of New York City, only in Chicago for three years, so watching the news was just like being home because hurricane made the Northeast local news to everyone in the county. CNN, the Weather Channel, MSNBC etc, all had correspondents on the scene - many scenes I am very familiar with. I was glued to the tube, especially as it hit Philly, Jersey, Manhattan, Long Island and Connecticut, all home turf. I wondered what my old neighborhood would be like, and what I would be doing. I think I would be disobeying out somewhere in the storm - hopefully safe, experiencing Irene first hand. Watching TV, I actually had a few Twilight Zone moments when I looked out my living room window and saw sunshine, traffic and pedestrians idling by - what? Oh yeah, Im in Chicago, doah!

I had the same desire to experience a disaster first hand - don't get me wrong, I am not an ambulance chaser or an accident gawker, but when something really big happens, I want to the there; and in New York City, it's a pretty good bet that something big will happen at anytime and you might just be in the midst of it. I had a almost paralyzing desire to be at Ground Zero as soon after 9/11 as possible. It took three weeks, but I got there as a volunteer one midnight shift, in the pouring rain. It was an experience of shock and awe indelibly written in my mind, heart and even my bones. There was a resonance to it, a sound, an eeriness, it was way too big for me to digest. The whole event was too big to grasp, that's why I had to get there, witness it my self with my own eyes so I could metabolize this most horrific event in my lifetime...well it not over yet, lets hope worst has come unlike the best.

Anyway, Irene flooded more than streets and buildings, it flood my senses with its spectacle, with awe and my feelings for home. I wish I were there right now.

Images from The Weather Channel http://www.weather.com/

Week Four - Blogger Response 2 to Ctina

Chapter 12. Telling the WE Story: I told you it wasn't about you. Have you been able to tap into the power of combining your expertise and passions with someone equally gifted? Have you had the pleasure of lifting a teammate, student, and stranger, enabling them to realize their dreams and exceed anything that you could have imagined?

I’m so fortunate to work with someone who held my hand through many of the “experiments” of the past year. He and I have adjoining classrooms and our kids constantly intermingle, roaming freely from my room to his and vice versa.Christian is a gifted educator and always willing to share ideas as we develop something with our students, that is both magical and full of possibility. It is because of our own-shared vision that the incredible things, which have graced the pages of my blogs, AR tangents and daily life, have been achievable. There are a number of other people including my professors, my classmates, my critical friends, and my boyfriend who accepted the invite to the WE story. I’m better equipped to frame possibility because of their graciousness and can only hope that I’ve add to their growth as well.

CODA: What’s next?

Well the possibilities are boundless, no?

Sources:

From a Little Spark Bursts a Mighty Flame Image by Mykl Roventine available at http://www.flickr.com/photos/myklroventine/3689364622/

Layers on Layers Image by Mykl Roventine available at http://www.flickr.com/photos/myklroventine/3733194129/in/photostream/

Overhung Image by Mykl Roventine available at http://www.flickr.com/photos/myklroventine/4007603690/in/photostream/

Monochrome Drops by Mykl Roventine available at http://www.flickr.com/photos/myklroventine/3956788033/in/photostream/

Week Four - Blogger Response 1 to Sheri

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Wk 4 Reading

The reading his was insightful is a few different ways. In chapter 9, Ben Zander describes the story where he went to meet the cellist to ask him to play to ask him to play in the concert. The cellist agreed because Zander went in person to ask therefore avoiding the secretary who claimed the cellist was too busy. Though technology has changed the way we interact with each other, I think it is still important to do things in person.

As part of my job as the yearbook adviser, I am responsible for organizing and planning picture day for the entire school. I work closely with the school photographer to organize the event. We have to manage where, how, and when to get 3,600 students through five picture lines. A time saving measure is the use of preprinted sit cards. The sit cards are given to the teachers to pass out to students. Students take the card to the photographer who scans that card and takes the photos. This makes the lines move quickly since it only takes seconds to take the photograph and identify the person. In order to get the cards printed, I am required to submit a listing of all students in the school by name, grade, teacher, period, and student id. In past years, I have had the list within an hour after the request is made. However this year, the district has changed the major computer database for storing student information. The new system has numerous possibilities but no one on campus is comfortable with the new system yet. I sent my customary email asking for the list to the attendance secretaries. After two days, I still had not had a response. The photographer had been contacting me for the list so my stress level was soaring. I decided to go down and discuss the list in person. I spent a few minutes discussing the situation with those in the office. Those were the most important moments. I came away from the conversation with a plan and a solid understanding of the situation. It turns out that no one knew how to make a list using the new system and the office had been swamped with students entering and withdrawing. I explained why I needed the information and explained what I did with it. I felt that we had come together to solve a problem. Taking the time to discuss the situation in person made it possible to see beyond the words written in an email. So much of communication is body language and voice inflection, in which both get lost through an email message. I got the list two days later. Right after the list was sent to my email, I got a call from the one of the secretaries asking if the list was what I needed. I had the opportunity to thank her and tell her how much I appreciate her work. I think it sounds better when spoken versus typed.

I feel that most communication should still be done in person. Though it may take more time, I think this is important for problem solving and working together as a team.

Photo by Sheri Brinkerhoff

wk4 reading - Chapter 12. Telling the WE Story Reflection

Chapter 12. Telling the WE Story: I told you it wasn't about you. Have you been able to tap into the power of combining your expertise and passions with someone equally gifted? Have you had the pleasure of lifting a teammate, student, stranger up enabling them to realize their dreams and exceed anything that you could have imagined?

My action research is a perfect example of passions combining toward creating something new. I was having such a hard time getting the folks at my job enrolled in collaborating on my AR project. Believe me, there were many opportunities available to research how technology could impact Christian education there because I was, in fact, the assistant to the director of Education for the whole Episcopal Diocese of Chicago – that’s 127 churches with 40,000 members. We created or ran programs for every age group and the professional level too. But, being that I was new to this job and field in general, I didn’t have the expertise or the connections personally to ignite a spark ‘out there’ in the community to get hit for collaboration. The director (my boss) didn’t offer any assistance or advice, not even 10 minutes of discussion on my project. It felt like I had to poll some teeth and that didn't seem right. So, I did the best I could to formulate a plan, cobbling together ideas with my own resources and changed my mind three times!

In this process, I would talk to critical friends, and they in fact became more excited and engaged more and more as I described to them what I really had passion for and that was digital story telling in ministry. They finally saw the light I was seeing and bingo, that emergent moment happened, and it started coming together. There was no stopping us. Her student’s caught that passion too and went on to create amazing stories and will hopefully find others to ignite as they develop their careers.

I have had this experience many times, banging my head against a wall, seemingly doing all the right things, with scant results, only to find that when I least expected it, a casual conversation or interaction turns my world sideways and things start happening with no effort – abundance is right – it just keeps coming. This is a phenomenon, some people call it God, some emergence, some luck, some a mystery. I can say that even though the head banging seemed like a waste and at times heart breaking – if I had not actually gone through that time, 'practicing' so to speak, I would not have been prepared when the tipping point did arrive. So, we have to do our homework and continue to be alive in our process. You never know when the birth will come. This is what faith really is, believing in something even when you have no evidence. Did anyone ever tell you the opposite of faith is not doubt? Actually, the opposite of faith is certainty!

I have had the great and rich pleasure of inspiring and mentoring many young women in my past career. (Guys didn't seem to care, because I wan't a role model for them). This mentoring didn't happen because I tried or planned it; it happened because I was a kind of quirky individual, keeping my own train on the track so to speak, in my own sort of way. Occasionally a younger colleague would catch a spark and want to know more and be more. There were at least three that I can recall that went back to grad school because they saw that I was doing it – and at a much older age than they were, and they became encouraged to start school and the next phase of their development. Others were inspired to take on more responsibility or leave for more opportunity. One of the best was a college graduate who was my assistant. She became one of the first dot-com millionaires - she followed me to my new job and made new connections there. I encouraged her to catch the spark offered at a crazy new job before long, working on a new business that at the time had not opened, had no customers, no precedent and almost made no sense…”What? Name your own price?!!”

Priceline went public 8 months later and she worked there for 4 more years.

Final Leadership Project

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0Bw6NHY5hZTkAYzc0ZGZhNzUtYjFlYS00YTJlLWJiMTItZTRhMzgxZGI0MDM5&hl=en_US

Wk 4 Publishing_Leadership Project

WkX Publishing_Leadership project part 1 of 2:

Here are the two publications that I will submit my AR project article to:

1. Reflective Practice: Supervision and Ministry

2. Teaching TEchnology and Religion

1. Reflective Practice: Supervision and Ministry

http://www.jpcp.org/rp.htm

Reflective Practice: Formation & Supervision in Ministry is a journal that seeks to understand, expand, and promote theory learning and reflection in the practice of supervision and formation in various ministries from pluralistic multi-faith perspectives.

Reflective Practice is an annual journal containing information from Spiritual Directors, CPE Supervisors, theological field educational directors, and other authors.

Reflective Practice goals:

• To preserve and extend the field of supervision and training in ministry formation through the written word
• To encourage potential authors to become published contributors
• To enrich and expand our understanding and practice of supervision and training in ministry by including new participants and perspectives in our critical reflection on this work

2. Teaching Theology and Religion

http://www.wabashcenter.wabash.edu/journal/default.aspx Aims & Scope
Teaching Theology and Religion is an international peer-reviewed journal on teaching, published by Wiley-Blackwell in cooperation with the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion at Wabash College. Good teaching and learning are essential for the vitality and effectiveness of departments and institutions of higher education engaged in the study of religion and theology. Teaching Theology and Religion sustains a crucial international discourse among faculty members about teaching and learning in the several sub-disciplines in the study of religion. As the body of scholarly writing on teaching and learning increases across academic disciplines, this peer-reviewed scholarly publication has become an essential forum for generative discourse about pedagogical issues specific to the field while contributing substantive, often unique insights into teaching and learning across curriculum.

Above taken from:

The Journal of Pastoral Care: http://www.jpcp.org/rp.htm

The Wabash Center http://www.wabashcenter.wabash.edu

Week Three - Thinking out loud

Wimba's have become frustrating for me because for some reason, even though my signal seems to be strong, the connection flutters and I hear every other word. This past week, I stayed on anyway, because I felt that half was better than nothing. I watch the archive as a back up, but there is nothing like the live session for getting in touch with the vibe of the course, professor and my peers.

This week was particularly important because we spoke about the abstract and final presentation for our AR project. I get intimidated when I have to write formally, and the more I know the better I feel. The abstract will be easy I think. But, I am scratching my head about the final presentation and the publishing! OMG, is it that time already? As I remarked in a prior post, I heard myself saying, "Oh no! I don't want to be published!"

I was kind of taken by surprise at the fear about this since I've knew about it from the beginning of the program, and have been working all along with publishing in mind - why all of a sudden do I feel like backing out? No reason, other than it's real now, and I am worried that I have not done enough, or well enough, yadda, yadda. So, this downward spiral thinking goes.

But, I see the genius in having us read Zanders now. I am sure we area ll going through similar thoughts and feelings and Zanders is so up beat, positive and so generous.

Thank you Full Sail for working this way to calm us down and feel confident into the course requirements. In fact, I have found the program tone exceptional in that regard. I value creativity and I have found another layer of my voice in this program because creativity is cherished here. Brava for EMDT, FullSail, and for all my peers! Brava!!!

Week Three - Blogger Response 2

Week 3 Wimba Archive

Until watching the Wimba session, I was sailing along pleasantly basking in the warm waters of Rule No. 6, even giggling every now and then at the preposterous entirely "invented" assumptions being thrown at us at this teaching conference. Then knock, knock..."Hello?" "Landshark" the voice answered mockingly then, revealed his true identity, "It's your calculating self." The panic that set in as I talked myself through all the negative scenarios surrounding the very idea that I need to submit a presentation proposal to a conference by next week. What? Here I thought I was doing so well; doing everything ahead of time so as to enjoy some semblance of a vacation NYC at the end of this conference. Please don't see this as blamescaping, it is all me, often ill-prepared. I sometimes feel as if the bat mobile is driving in front of me. I wonder what button Batman has his finger hovering over next? Will it be the oil-slick? "Oh, hi, calculating self, my old friend. Sit down."
Besides the mercurial change of my inner calm, this session did also yield some practical information that will carry me through the process of rebuilding my confidence as I approach the task of publishing. I suppose you will read more about this in my two "Think Out Loud" posts to follow.
I did not know about publishing specifics. I had no idea that publishers can turn you away if you've submitted to other publishers. I guess it makes sense that they would want the one-and-only go or "first publishing rights" and so we should only submit to one Journal at a time.
I will have to go to some websites and look for applications for presenters and then see what they wish for me to submit be it 100 words some slides or what have you.
The most immediate and pressing task at hand is to create a first draft. What will my presentation look like? I will need to prepare 5 slides with about 1500 words (300 words per slide) though it was mentioned that we could make a presentation of 24 slides (15 words per slide). I would rather not prepare a "death by powerpoint."

As for the delivery of this work, it was suggested that it would be better to put our words in google docs and share the URL with our peers. This is important as some publishers view work on websites as being "published."

I'm trying to remember to focus on the possibilities rather than focusing on the limitations of "publishing" my presentation.

I'm still unclear as to how we PROVE that we've submitted an idea for presentation at a conference. Please answer that in your comments to me.

I did enjoy the fact that Dr. Joe did voice his annoyance the chapter on "giving an A." I hope that I'm not making an assumption here, but I too felt this chapter was giving us conflicting information. I like the advice but the example of having the kids write why they deserved an A is not the same thing that the "practice" is telling us.
I have recently received a note from my mentor Joe Huber, who said that since reading the Zander book, he has started to give all of his kids an A and that none of the work has suffered as a result. I think of the act of giving an A as more of a metaphor for making the assumption that we are all equal and in this together than a physical grade. Luckily as I teach little kids, the "A" grade does not enter into our dialogue.

Week Three - Blogger Response 1

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Wk 3 Reading-Rule Number 6

Chapter 6 resonated deeply with me this week. I realized that I take myself way too seriously. Goals and expectations fill my life. My calculating self takes over and creates fear of failure, anxiety, and scarcity. I am also in an environment focused on downward spiral thinking. Everyone around me discusses pay cuts, benefit cuts, issues with students, etc. It is very difficult not to fall into this trap. With the beginning of the school year looming, I have decided that I do not want to participate in this type of thinking. My personal goal is to rise above the circumstances of my present through observing Rule No. 6. In making an effort not to take myself so seriously, I have realized that I am more at ease and generally happy. I made a Rule No. 6 sign to hang in my classroom. Yesterday, I told my students the story about the two prime ministers and Rule No. 6. We proceeded to have a discussion on the benefits of Rule No. 6 in reference to creativity. Many students are nervous to take an art class. Past students told me they worry about their own artistic talent to the extent that they think they will not pass. I told students that I did not want them to worry about making mistakes since that is where you learn the most. The students seemed very perceptive and interested in the concept. I am looking forward to seeing where this will lead.

Image by Sheri Brinkerhoff