“If you aren’t prepared to be wrong then you will never come up with anything original.” Ken Robinson
Several months ago I read the book The Element after being introduced to Ken Robinson from one of my masters classes at Full Sail University.I loved the idea of being who you really are, finding your element, and not feeling like you have to be like everyone else or take the same path that everyone else takes.Every person in this world is unique, and with that uniqueness comes a very special set of skills and abilities that are just waiting to find their place in this world.
Unfortunately we live in a world of standards.Everyone is compared to a single set of standards regardless of their background.What happens is that those special qualities that each of us have are forced through a one sized fits all filter. Those special qualities don’t always make it through.This leaves many people out of the norm and unable to break in, making them feel less confident and unwilling to give their own ideas a try.
In the book The Art of Possibility an idea is proposed about giving an A.The idea behind it is to free people from the one-sized fits all approach to people and the world, and help them move into a world of possibility.“When you give an A, you find yourself speaking to people not from a place of measuring how they stack up against your standards, but from a place of respect that gives them room to realize themselves” (Zander, 2000, p. 26).That realization will allow a person to move beyond our cultures standards and free them to move where their own desires are.Freeing them up to take risks.Taking risks opens up new doors for opportunities and the confidence that comes from giving people A’s can make dreams a reality.
As an educator I am always looking for the opportunity to teach a life lesson.Something I have come to realize is that those lessons I want to teach come from my own set of standards and therefore are skewed by my own perceptions.Students don’t always learn from my life lessons because I have been coming about it from the wrong prospective.My standards for life don’t always meet the standards of the people I am trying to teach.Instead of trying to make them see things from my worldview, I need to empower them to think for themselves, to observe, to take risks, and learn from the results.
People have endless potential.Lets not mess it up by trying to compare everyone to the same set of standards.
Nate, I agree with you on all your points. I have come to realize that students respond so much better when they are able to believe in themselves and not worry about the grade that they will get or being compared to another student in the class. The high school teachers recently met with the junior high teachers at my school and the only thing that seemed to come out of the junior high teachers mouths was something about the tests. I like your point about teaching life lessons from our own perspective. I had a student come to me the other day that has been cutting for the last two years. I have no personal life lessons that are going to help her. There are students that are leading a rougher life than I ever led. Teaching them to think for themselves and believe in themselves is the most important skill we can give them.
Wow, this business of perception can really complicate things. I think I need to read this book, Elements, too. Funny thing is that this idea of comparisons and measurement comes from the human tendency to look for shortcuts to understanding without having to go through the whole acquisition of understanding. Oops.
I am currently working on my masters through Full Sail University in Education Media and Design. This blog is a result of one of my classes at Full Sail.
2 comments:
Nate,
I agree with you on all your points. I have come to realize that students respond so much better when they are able to believe in themselves and not worry about the grade that they will get or being compared to another student in the class. The high school teachers recently met with the junior high teachers at my school and the only thing that seemed to come out of the junior high teachers mouths was something about the tests.
I like your point about teaching life lessons from our own perspective. I had a student come to me the other day that has been cutting for the last two years. I have no personal life lessons that are going to help her. There are students that are leading a rougher life than I ever led. Teaching them to think for themselves and believe in themselves is the most important skill we can give them.
Erik Cisney
Wow, this business of perception can really complicate things. I think I need to read this book, Elements, too. Funny thing is that this idea of comparisons and measurement comes from the human tendency to look for shortcuts to understanding without having to go through the whole acquisition of understanding. Oops.
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