Week 2: The Art of Possibilities
Attribution Some rights reserved by cessable
“It’s all invented anyway, so we might as well invent a story of a framework of meaning that enhances our quality of life and the life of those around us “, Michael Gazzaniga, The Social Brain
As I began to engage myself in the first four chapters of the Art of Possibility, by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander, this particular quote struck my world view that quite frankly gave me a little pause. Being a Christian and reading this book I found myself having a hard time allowing my imagination to loosen the binds of what my faith tells me is real.
Eight years ago I began a great journey in believing in what Jesus, whom is called Messiah, said and did as it is written in the Book. Before that, I let the wilds of my own imagination run with every whim of the wind that would take it. I must say, at that time, life was not easy. Since coming to believe what the scriptures say as being true, my life has taken on a sort of peace that passes my understanding. Things just make sense now, simple and true.
That is not to say, that I don’t have trials and struggles in this life. because I do. But by the putting of my faith in what the Bible tells me is real, gives me hope, and a sense of security that can’t be shaken away. There are promises there that I have come to trust, and that have pretty much allowed love, joy, peace, and patience to become manifested in what has before been a very chaotic life.
When the authors pointed to the notion that it is an evolved structure of the brain that constructs our perceptions, and that our constructs have little to do with the world, I just flat out disagreed. We all share the same fate. We live, breath, feel, hope, and die. We all want to belong, and be loved. We all share some pretty strong realities. The cold hard fact of the matter is, death has a perfect track record, that we all share.
I used to think that putting my belief and pointing my worldview towards something more concrete than my imagination would have limited the experiences of life. However, just the opposite is true. Now, things make sense, and are born out in my reality, and I no longer have to make excuses for my shortcomings. Fear is gone.
There is part of Gazzanga’s quote,”It’s all invented anyway”, that I will agree with. However, I like to think of it being said in a different way.
“Let there be light”.
Posted by Greg Havens at 12:16 AM
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2 comments:
1.
ChrisFeb 10, 2012 12:37 PM
I read your post several times. I thought that a few parts were worthy of discussion if you don’t mind sincere questions. I often get confronted with anger over sincere questions when I don’t share a belief in particular religion. So if you don’t want to answer I will understand.
First you mentioned, “Being a Christian and reading this book I found myself having a hard time allowing my imagination to loosen the binds of what my faith tells me is real.” I often see this and am curious. When a different hypothesis is put forward in science, the attitude is somewhat similar. Scientists have a knowledge base just as religion does, so new ideas can often be met with raised eyebrows. But this is where the similarity ends.
Science then lowers the eyebrow and says, “Can you prove this? Can we test it? Is it repeatable?” Once the evidence is verifiable, science says, “I was wrong.” When you approach religion with new information, one often finds that they will ignore every piece of evidence provided or fall back on sayings like, “we can’t know that…. science is always changing its mind…. god is mysterious…well I feel like it’s true.”
I’d ask why religious people have trouble saying, “I might have been wrong all along” but I can’t ask you to answer for everyone. So I will just ask you, is there any amount of evidence that would make you say, “I may have been wrong about these beliefs”? Again, I’m just curious about your thoughts.
You also mentioned, “When the authors pointed to the notion that it is an evolved structure of the brain that constructs our perceptions, and that our constructs have little to do with the world, I just flat out disagreed.” I was hoping you could expand on this so that I can understand your position a little better. I too agree that the perceptions we form in our mind have little to do with reality. I think fear and conditioning have everything to do with how people form opinions and that is specifically the reason I embrace logic and reason. The more I want something to be true, the more I realize that I will be willing to deceive myself; so I rely on empirical evidence.
Thoughts?
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Replies
1.
Cricket JohnsonFeb 10, 2012 04:53 PM
Greg -
awesome blog, as I was reading these same chapters and statements I never thought about it that way, in that context. I took it very lightly and just as suggestion of attitude. But I can see how you can spin that this way too. It's nice to hear how your faith has given you a rock and a peace that transcends all understanding.
Chris - some great points - and I hate that your questions about religion have ended up with anger or resentment from people, that's a true shame. I love to discuss my faith and hear people's questions and to discuss their beliefs too. I've been asked science questions like what you stated above - I believe in Intelligent design/Creationism. Often I hear to where people say they will always side with science because it can be seen. The question that always pops up in my mind is this "Isn't the "big bang" technically an assumption? It has never been "tested" nor "re-created" - no one has created life and planets or anything else out of matter floating around. So essentially Can you prove this science is reliable? Is all science repeatable? Does that make science a type of faith? Do scientist just "feel like that was true?"
I guess what I am saying is that the questions we ask can't be answered soundly by science nor by religion. So it all comes down to what you want to put your faith in and Faith by definition is "belief not based on proof".
Friday, February 10, 2012
Wk 2 Reading
“What assumption am I making?
That I am not aware I’m making,
That gives me what I see?”
What a powerful three sentences. I had to stop here for a long time and just think about that…how often have we been completely wrong about a situation? How many times have I reacted and then been ashamed when I found out the back story to the situation?
I feel like as a teacher you have to ask yourself this daily in your classroom. When a kid is acting a fool or throwing a temper tantrum many times I have let them finish and then pulled them out to find out what’s going on, only to hear that their parents lost a job or they had no water last night. Almost every time there as been an underlying reason behind the outburst – that had nothing to do with my class. Doing this has saved the student and I, a lot of heartache. I get to know my students better and build relationships with them and the student gets to share with an adult who cares about them and what they are going through, most of the time they just need to know someone cares. It changes their “invented space”. It also changes mine.
The people at school call me “sunshine” because I am always laughing and at a meeting once someone said I was like a ray of sunshine, just making their day better. So the nickname stuck…but I honestly believe in what Jimmy Buffet sings “if we couldn’t laugh we would all go insane”. I have so much stress in my life that if I couldn’t smile and laugh at some of the absurdity of it all – I don’t think I would make it. Laughing makes me feel good. I loved this passage that Ben Zander wrote in our reading this week “On the whole, resources are likely to come to you in greater abundance when you are generous and inclusive and engage people in your passion for life.”
I truly believe this. Be excited about what you and life and even if it doesn’t work out – at least you still had a fun ride.
That I am not aware I’m making,
That gives me what I see?”
What a powerful three sentences. I had to stop here for a long time and just think about that…how often have we been completely wrong about a situation? How many times have I reacted and then been ashamed when I found out the back story to the situation?
I feel like as a teacher you have to ask yourself this daily in your classroom. When a kid is acting a fool or throwing a temper tantrum many times I have let them finish and then pulled them out to find out what’s going on, only to hear that their parents lost a job or they had no water last night. Almost every time there as been an underlying reason behind the outburst – that had nothing to do with my class. Doing this has saved the student and I, a lot of heartache. I get to know my students better and build relationships with them and the student gets to share with an adult who cares about them and what they are going through, most of the time they just need to know someone cares. It changes their “invented space”. It also changes mine.
The people at school call me “sunshine” because I am always laughing and at a meeting once someone said I was like a ray of sunshine, just making their day better. So the nickname stuck…but I honestly believe in what Jimmy Buffet sings “if we couldn’t laugh we would all go insane”. I have so much stress in my life that if I couldn’t smile and laugh at some of the absurdity of it all – I don’t think I would make it. Laughing makes me feel good. I loved this passage that Ben Zander wrote in our reading this week “On the whole, resources are likely to come to you in greater abundance when you are generous and inclusive and engage people in your passion for life.”
I truly believe this. Be excited about what you and life and even if it doesn’t work out – at least you still had a fun ride.
Wk 2 Leadership - To Publish or Present
To Present or Publish?
I won’t lie on this blog. I love to read…if…it’s fictional and there’s a dashing hero that saves the day. I don’t enjoy scholarly journals and generally don’t read them. I would rather hear information from a presenter and interact with an audience and even see visual examples of what’s being discussed. With that being said – I think it’s obvious that I am going to try to do a presentation about my CBR. It’s a great topic that is a hot one right now with the waiver of NCLB and the installation of College and Career Readiness. Interdisciplinary learning engages students in small learning communities and allows them to make connections between the real world, their subjects and why they need to know the information. I want to be able to show people that planning units this way increases teacher effectiveness and student achievement. I think my project had some great points and resources and I would like for people to see all aspects both verbally, visually, and kinesthetically (got to differentiate that instruction)! Another reason I want to do a presentation is because I want to be able to answer questions and hear feedback. Everything can always been improved and would love to hear advice in person
I won’t lie on this blog. I love to read…if…it’s fictional and there’s a dashing hero that saves the day. I don’t enjoy scholarly journals and generally don’t read them. I would rather hear information from a presenter and interact with an audience and even see visual examples of what’s being discussed. With that being said – I think it’s obvious that I am going to try to do a presentation about my CBR. It’s a great topic that is a hot one right now with the waiver of NCLB and the installation of College and Career Readiness. Interdisciplinary learning engages students in small learning communities and allows them to make connections between the real world, their subjects and why they need to know the information. I want to be able to show people that planning units this way increases teacher effectiveness and student achievement. I think my project had some great points and resources and I would like for people to see all aspects both verbally, visually, and kinesthetically (got to differentiate that instruction)! Another reason I want to do a presentation is because I want to be able to answer questions and hear feedback. Everything can always been improved and would love to hear advice in person
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Wk 1 Blogging Response #2
Week 1, Chris on Leadership
Leadership
This was a tough one for me. Sometimes, I have a bit of a tainted view on leadership. Society sometimes admires leaders that possess qualities that I have trouble identifying with. For example, few would argue that General Patton was a poor leader. He was fantastic at what he did. But in my eyes, that came at a cost. Troops under his command often commented how uncompassionate he was. Some troops remarking about Patton’s nickname, “Old Blood and Guts” said that, “they were our blood and guts”. I understand that in war it is difficult to find compassion, but it’s a quality I admire.
So in order to find my “leader” I’ve had to create a type of “Frankenstein” leader. I’ve taken some of the people that truly inspire me and merged them into one giant MEGA LEADER! Muahahah…ok, maybe that was a little bit of an exaggeration. Still, finding one person that captured all that I admire in a leader was difficult. It came down to me asking myself the question, “whom would I follow”.
It came down to two people that I admire deeply. They both have qualities that I admire, are similar in some ways, and drastically different in others; Bruce Lee and Carl Sagan. But Chris! Why these two are almost identical! Maybe so, but I’ll just illustrate some of the qualities I love.
Bruce Lee was one of my first heroes. It started at a very young age and for the reasons you might imagine. This tiny little man with blinding speed could take on the world according to the movies. At a young age, I had no idea of fight choreography, additional takes, or unused footage. To me, it was magical. It wasn’t until much later that I discovered the beauty beyond his command of the physical.
Bruce Lee was deeply in love with philosophy. He had a genuine love for the pursuit of truth; a love he tried to work into every aspect of life from personal relationships to the martial arts he was famous for. He was faced with obstacle after obstacle. He was not fully accepted by America because he was Asian, and not fully accepted by Asia because of what he taught to Americans. He overcame this through demonstrating that beauty is not exclusive to one culture. He was able to transcend fear through truth and understanding. I love that quality. I think that understanding is something that doesn’t get enough attention when it comes to leadership.
The second person is one that I can’t imagine my life without, and possessed one amazing leadership quality I admire is Carl Sagan. I have a deep love of science. But, that doesn’t always go over so well when you are surrounded by people who see science as the enemy. I grew up in a pretty religious family. I wasn’t really allowed to ask “why” that often when it came to things I wanted to understand. I can remember asking about how the sun worked and was told it was, “because that’s what god wanted.” Well, I didn’t accept that. I knew there must be more. But every time it seemed to end in contention, frustration; I just couldn’t seem to satisfy my need for knowledge and keep honest and open relationships. But then I started to watch “Cosmos.”
I saw Carl Sagan illustrate deep concepts about life, our universe, our existence…. all in a way that was completely non-confrontational. Although he had the same love of science I did, he also seemed to possess a compassionate understanding of what it meant to be human. He wasn’t arrogant, he was considerate. He didn’t look down on religion or belief; he just promoted science as a better way to understand our place in the universe. I loved him instantly.
I think that a leader needs to be confident of his or her position but also open enough to understand those who may not share his or her thoughts. A leader needs to listen, consider all possibilities, and move forward based on the best evidence regardless of personal feelings. I respect that.
I know that I will never approach Bruce Lee’s physical prowess. I know that Carl Sagan’s intellect exceeds my own. But I can honestly say that everyday I try to emulate some of the qualities of these men who are such an inspiration to me.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
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Cricket Johnson
Chris -
I think you summed up what most people have to do when finding their own leadership style. They have to be able to take the great qualities from various leaders throughout their lives and apply them, but also learn from those leaders mistakes as well.
I enjoyed learning about your role models...what great ones and great reasons too!! I loved your comment about a leader needing to be confident of his/her position but also open enough to understand those who may not share his/her beliefs, so true!!
You mentioned Patton, in the beginning, and referred to his lack of compassion. I have to wonder that in the field of battle, in the circumstances that he often found himself having to make judgments in - if compassion might have been something that would have been more harmful than beneficial in the long run? Do you think that he probably had to move forward based on the best evidence regardless of his personal feelings? I'm thinking he had to and he probably had to seem detached or cold just to keep his sanity. I can't imagine. Chris - really cool insight into your motivation and leadership style - thanks for sharing!
Sunday, February 5, 2012 - 09:43 AM
Leadership
This was a tough one for me. Sometimes, I have a bit of a tainted view on leadership. Society sometimes admires leaders that possess qualities that I have trouble identifying with. For example, few would argue that General Patton was a poor leader. He was fantastic at what he did. But in my eyes, that came at a cost. Troops under his command often commented how uncompassionate he was. Some troops remarking about Patton’s nickname, “Old Blood and Guts” said that, “they were our blood and guts”. I understand that in war it is difficult to find compassion, but it’s a quality I admire.
So in order to find my “leader” I’ve had to create a type of “Frankenstein” leader. I’ve taken some of the people that truly inspire me and merged them into one giant MEGA LEADER! Muahahah…ok, maybe that was a little bit of an exaggeration. Still, finding one person that captured all that I admire in a leader was difficult. It came down to me asking myself the question, “whom would I follow”.
It came down to two people that I admire deeply. They both have qualities that I admire, are similar in some ways, and drastically different in others; Bruce Lee and Carl Sagan. But Chris! Why these two are almost identical! Maybe so, but I’ll just illustrate some of the qualities I love.
Bruce Lee was one of my first heroes. It started at a very young age and for the reasons you might imagine. This tiny little man with blinding speed could take on the world according to the movies. At a young age, I had no idea of fight choreography, additional takes, or unused footage. To me, it was magical. It wasn’t until much later that I discovered the beauty beyond his command of the physical.
Bruce Lee was deeply in love with philosophy. He had a genuine love for the pursuit of truth; a love he tried to work into every aspect of life from personal relationships to the martial arts he was famous for. He was faced with obstacle after obstacle. He was not fully accepted by America because he was Asian, and not fully accepted by Asia because of what he taught to Americans. He overcame this through demonstrating that beauty is not exclusive to one culture. He was able to transcend fear through truth and understanding. I love that quality. I think that understanding is something that doesn’t get enough attention when it comes to leadership.
The second person is one that I can’t imagine my life without, and possessed one amazing leadership quality I admire is Carl Sagan. I have a deep love of science. But, that doesn’t always go over so well when you are surrounded by people who see science as the enemy. I grew up in a pretty religious family. I wasn’t really allowed to ask “why” that often when it came to things I wanted to understand. I can remember asking about how the sun worked and was told it was, “because that’s what god wanted.” Well, I didn’t accept that. I knew there must be more. But every time it seemed to end in contention, frustration; I just couldn’t seem to satisfy my need for knowledge and keep honest and open relationships. But then I started to watch “Cosmos.”
I saw Carl Sagan illustrate deep concepts about life, our universe, our existence…. all in a way that was completely non-confrontational. Although he had the same love of science I did, he also seemed to possess a compassionate understanding of what it meant to be human. He wasn’t arrogant, he was considerate. He didn’t look down on religion or belief; he just promoted science as a better way to understand our place in the universe. I loved him instantly.
I think that a leader needs to be confident of his or her position but also open enough to understand those who may not share his or her thoughts. A leader needs to listen, consider all possibilities, and move forward based on the best evidence regardless of personal feelings. I respect that.
I know that I will never approach Bruce Lee’s physical prowess. I know that Carl Sagan’s intellect exceeds my own. But I can honestly say that everyday I try to emulate some of the qualities of these men who are such an inspiration to me.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
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1 Comment Manage Comments for this Entry
Cricket Johnson
Chris -
I think you summed up what most people have to do when finding their own leadership style. They have to be able to take the great qualities from various leaders throughout their lives and apply them, but also learn from those leaders mistakes as well.
I enjoyed learning about your role models...what great ones and great reasons too!! I loved your comment about a leader needing to be confident of his/her position but also open enough to understand those who may not share his/her beliefs, so true!!
You mentioned Patton, in the beginning, and referred to his lack of compassion. I have to wonder that in the field of battle, in the circumstances that he often found himself having to make judgments in - if compassion might have been something that would have been more harmful than beneficial in the long run? Do you think that he probably had to move forward based on the best evidence regardless of his personal feelings? I'm thinking he had to and he probably had to seem detached or cold just to keep his sanity. I can't imagine. Chris - really cool insight into your motivation and leadership style - thanks for sharing!
Sunday, February 5, 2012 - 09:43 AM
Wk 1 Blogging Response #1
Dwayne Buchanan
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Week 1 Reading Blog EMDT:MAC
Fair use has always intrigued me; what can I use, how much can I use, who is off limits? These questions still hold true to me after watching the videos. I have a better idea now of what is expected and what to do. During the EMDT courses I have tried to use as much of my own work as possible, mainly because it was relevant to what I was working on at the time. I have enjoyed learning about and using the Creative Commons materials. I now use this information when teaching my students about copyright and doing things the right way.
It saddened my heart to know that so many historical works will no longer be available because of the cost to re-license the material. It seems to me that the laws should be changed to incorporate the use of historic pieces into other media even after the copyright has expired. Being a history major I see the need for that historic content to be available to the people rather than in a private collection somewhere. We do need to preserve and use our historical events assets to keep our children and their children up to date on our history and legacy.
Posted by Dwayne Buchanan at 6:11 PM
Cricket JohnsonFeb 3, 2012 09:15 AM
Dwayne -
It is a shame about the historical works. I completely agree with you - we have to come up with a plan to make these works available to our children. We have to be aware of where we have been to know where we are going.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Week 1 Reading Blog EMDT:MAC
Fair use has always intrigued me; what can I use, how much can I use, who is off limits? These questions still hold true to me after watching the videos. I have a better idea now of what is expected and what to do. During the EMDT courses I have tried to use as much of my own work as possible, mainly because it was relevant to what I was working on at the time. I have enjoyed learning about and using the Creative Commons materials. I now use this information when teaching my students about copyright and doing things the right way.
It saddened my heart to know that so many historical works will no longer be available because of the cost to re-license the material. It seems to me that the laws should be changed to incorporate the use of historic pieces into other media even after the copyright has expired. Being a history major I see the need for that historic content to be available to the people rather than in a private collection somewhere. We do need to preserve and use our historical events assets to keep our children and their children up to date on our history and legacy.
Posted by Dwayne Buchanan at 6:11 PM
Cricket JohnsonFeb 3, 2012 09:15 AM
Dwayne -
It is a shame about the historical works. I completely agree with you - we have to come up with a plan to make these works available to our children. We have to be aware of where we have been to know where we are going.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Wk 1 Reading Entry: Copyright
I can’t lie. Copyright issues terrify me! That’s why most of the time I just choose to do my own stuff, completely created by me. I think copyright scares me because I can’t seem to grasp my mind around the various aspects of the idea. I don’t understand how one thing can be copyrighted and the next thing can’t. I truly don’t believe that there is a single “unique” idea out there – even if you come up with it out of the blue, I believe somewhere there is someone else who is thinking the same things or extremely similar ones. I just don’t know where I stand on this. I will say that I completely disagree with downloading movies, music, books that you don’t pay for. Especially when its people’s lively hood. But I also feel like some things have been taking to the extreme, there are so many gray areas. After watching the videos I am starting to understand copyright a little more. I am probably going to have to watch them all a few more times.
Wk1 Leadership Blog Post: Leadership Role Model
“I was once told the secret to being a great principal is to hire great people and then get out of their way”. Keith Simmons, principal of Griffin High School in Griffin Georgia stated this as he looked out over a crowd of parents, students, and community stakeholders at an event for the newly formed “Academy of Fine Arts and Journalism’. I stood their smiling at him and the crowd but inside my head I was thinking “Finally, someone has put into words what I truly believe to be my philosophy of education”. He was referring to his staff in this comment – but really it can be applied with students. Great teachers help their students ask the right questions and then get out of their way in finding the answers.
I truly admire Simmons leadership style. I have worked for principals who believe in leading by fear and retribution, who are constantly micromanaging. These are also the types of leaders who don’t really care what’s truly happening as long as it “appears to look good”. They are about perception not reality. These leaders are so afraid of looking bad or not knowing an answer that they refuse to seriously address the real issues or problems. Under that kind of leadership – teachers lose, but more importantly kids lose.
In contrast to those type of leaders Simmons’s takes the role of supporting and helping his teachers lead, adapt, and get better. He explains to his staff what he is looking for and then trusts them to get the job done. Much like the opening in our book The Art of Possiblity – he takes the time to offer positive reinforcement to help change peoples perspective! He wants to hear the problems, as long as you bring some ideas for the solution. Bottom line – he does what’s best for the kids and he surrounds himself with others who do as well.
I have adapted this same style in my teaching because it gives the students ownership in their learning. I hope that as I move into other areas of education in the future – I would like to go into a communication specialist role – that I learn to encourage and lead like Simmons.
I truly admire Simmons leadership style. I have worked for principals who believe in leading by fear and retribution, who are constantly micromanaging. These are also the types of leaders who don’t really care what’s truly happening as long as it “appears to look good”. They are about perception not reality. These leaders are so afraid of looking bad or not knowing an answer that they refuse to seriously address the real issues or problems. Under that kind of leadership – teachers lose, but more importantly kids lose.
In contrast to those type of leaders Simmons’s takes the role of supporting and helping his teachers lead, adapt, and get better. He explains to his staff what he is looking for and then trusts them to get the job done. Much like the opening in our book The Art of Possiblity – he takes the time to offer positive reinforcement to help change peoples perspective! He wants to hear the problems, as long as you bring some ideas for the solution. Bottom line – he does what’s best for the kids and he surrounds himself with others who do as well.
I have adapted this same style in my teaching because it gives the students ownership in their learning. I hope that as I move into other areas of education in the future – I would like to go into a communication specialist role – that I learn to encourage and lead like Simmons.
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