CoHort 10: The Life Academic

Missin' Culver City March 2011

2011-03-26T13:30:00.003-04:00

Attempting to learn via Skype, when I should be in LA, has helped me internalize the meaning of the saying "You had to be there" as a stark reality of the benefits of physical presence.

As my colleagues vigorously investigate the research characteristics of the Posner/Brown article, I just hear all that I cannot participate in which produces a really crappy feeling!

Here is what I have managed to get from today's session:
John: wants us to be research connoisseurs
Elliot W. Eisner concept
We need to be able to identify the key characteristics of good research
Good evaluation needs the ability to criticize

Carolyn:
Knowledge is art
How do you but this into verbal discussion

Connoisseurs: private
Art of appreciation

Criticism is
The reeducation of perception
Criticism: Help us to see

QUESTION: where is Carolyn’s Eisner quote from?

You cannot blindly follow this algorithm you will not become a connoisseur of research
QUESTION: John what is the “This” is the not above?

Bingo, I am Sold!

2011-01-15T13:24:00.002-05:00

According to John, Carolyn will tell us Question/Method/Person are the 3 key components in research. If there is no clear method – you need to consider who you are as a person. We must learn the numbers, so do not sit through Carolyn’s sessions and blow them off because you are intimidated. (That is exactly what I did yesterday)

Learning to understand the quantitative approach now will put you in a better position to criticize it later – BINGO! I am sold.

John Wergin: The Pragmatist

2011-01-15T12:57:00.004-05:00

Kirk: Is there a place for both Construtivist and Positivist research methods?

*John: I believe there is a place for both – I am a pragmatist. I can see situations that call for either approach.

*Note: Dr. Wergin has the learning and life experience to stand behind the previous words, but don't take my word for it - read McMillan, J. H., & Wergin, J. F. (2010). Understanding and evaluating educational research (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson/Merrill. Chapter 1: Introduction pp. 1-13

Antioch Seattle 2011: Thursday ProseSem.

2011-01-13T12:12:00.002-05:00

Check in – everyone gave an update
o Two babies expected

o Become a different, better, stronger, more intelligent person only when you’re with us!

o We have an insider with World Vision

o Scotland, Kilts, oh my – and learning from your colleague who is deaf

o Fundraising - learning how to ask

o Participation in a great artistic program the empowers those from marginalized groups

o David got to check Istanbul off his bucket list

o Living with your 19 year old step child – so fun!

o What is the easy way to schedule dialysis for your 81 year old mom who is visiting for the holidays?

o A child graduated and now works in Darth Vader’s building right here in Seattle

o “Ed”

o We are happy to see each other, plain and simple says the Rev.

o My wife and I got married

Authenticity In the end...

2010-10-08T23:53:00.005-04:00

What I have learned about leaders:
1. Sometimes leaders need to be lead by their followers.
2. Sometimes leaders need to be followers but cannot see that they should be following and thus they become horrible leaders who lead a bunch of people astray.
3. Sometimes leaders want to be leaders who are being lead for some specific purpose and it pretty depressing when they cannot find a leader:(
4. Sometimes leaders want to be followers but are afraid of the peer pressure that says they are supposed to be leaders.

The solution for 1 - 4 above?
Be authentic with an ethical chaser.

That's all for day two in Keene...

Situating Research & Practice

2010-10-08T11:39:00.006-04:00

When you bring your issues to others for discussion, like we did in the second half of our Research & Practice time with Jon Wergin, things happen...

You get more books to read like The World Cafe. And more theories to investigate like Reginald "Reg" Revans' Action Learning Process. Beautiful...

Revans, according to the all knowing Wikipedia "strongly held that the key to improving performance lay not with 'experts' but with practitioners themselves. Hence he devised Action Learning as a process whereby the participant studies his own actions and experience in conjunction with others in small groups called action learning sets
Click here for the all knowing Wiki, and Click here for a bit more on Reg.

Sounds like fun, eh?

What really is the point of learning in a paradigm challenging program on Leadership & Change if you don't have any fun or expereince a little happiness at the end of discussion about research & practice?

I am quite happy with the results of participating in the small group discussion. Jon's observation recording the following four aspect of our discussion group:

Information seeking
Probing
General discussion of the issue
Problem solving - (suggestions / solutions)
He thought our groups moved from information seeking to problem solving rather quickly.

My group disagreed and Jon conceded that with three groups, he may not have been present long enough to observe our interactions as discussions criss-crossed various modes of inquiry.

End session one in Keene, NH.

Day Two w/ Jon Wergin

2010-10-08T09:40:00.003-04:00

Greetings:

Kolb's theory provides us a with an excellent example for how the practitioner-re searcher's mind might work. I am thrilled to see this theory because I love it. Kolb's ideas are very much part of my teaching philosophy. I am an action oriented person and I have come to realize that that action does not exclude reflection. As Jon pointed out in today's session - reflection and action can (should) happen in the partnership... is called problematizing.

Jon points out the that of the four steps Kolb provides - Action, reflection, theory, action (repeat the process) - most people's weakness is around

Quantitative research would do better to raise questions versus provide answers "Data DOES NOT speak for itself". Why do we put so much stock into the numbers? These numbers without story or a variety of contexts? Perhaps the frightening possibility of multiple answers or more questions.

I am excited about Jon's facilitation of this session on "Situating Research & Practice" because our discussion (so far - what I am getting) is challenging some mental models by introducing or reminding us that it is perfectly acceptable for research to lead to more research - more questions - as well as some answers along the way.

Well we have about an hour and forty-five minutes left in our session - I might have more to say later...

Day One, Here in Keene

2010-10-07T17:36:00.004-04:00

So we, the individuals of Cohort 10 in Antioch University's Leadership & Change program, are continuing our leadership learning in Keene, New Hampshire (USA).

I am looking forward to having more of my cohort colleagues join the Blog as authors. I hope this Blog can become a premier source for Leadership practice and theory as generated by a cool, introspective group of people.

After our time together at the first residency and reconnecting here in Keene (even on just day 1), leads me to assert we have concepts and visions about leadership and change that are worth sharing.

So why keep the world waiting?

Elephants in the room

2010-09-20T14:43:00.003-04:00

Greetings:

Being a leader means you have to do more than address the elephant(s) in the room. Sometimes you might have to lasso them with more stick than carrot. Other times you might only need to acknowledge their presence which could give you enough room to negotiate how they can come into the conversation.

Ah - how about that? Invite to them conversation!

Sometimes, you may have to find the elephant's owner. Come on, it is a bit naive to think so many elephants are just wondering around wild, unattached, and angry for no good contextualized reasons.

Perhaps it is not the elephant in the room that makes everyone uncomfortable, but their silent owners who are pushing us into discomfort land.

Revision: Being a leader means you can spot the elephant owners in the room AND bring them and their elephants into the conversation.

BRIGHT SPOT: Elephants don't really like too much conversation and once recognized many of them may leave forcing their owners into accountability.

Fast Forward....to Today:

2010-09-11T20:17:00.004-04:00

So, I finally posted all my notes from our first week together (aka the honeymoon phase).

Here we are a month later all putting the final touches on those Reflective Leadership Essays! Getting them all nice an shiny for our Keene Residency, right?

RIGHT????

Darn Right!!!!!!!

We are chugging our way through cool new technology and our very own library pages. We are ordering items from "A-to-Z" and "We Deliver"; we are Refworksing ourselves like we were born into the process. Right?

RIGHT?????

Darn Right - I scheduled some 1-1 time with Deborah! Check it out...
Click Here

Saturday, August 7: Graduation

2010-09-11T20:09:00.003-04:00

What you would expect: good music, speeches, food and people. Cohort 10 watched with gleams of "One day that will be me" in ours eyes.

Congratulations to all.

Friday, August 6: Essed Introduces W.E.B. DuBois

2010-09-11T19:59:00.004-04:00

WED BuBois theory of Double Consciousness
• Whatever our critical perspective you use, if it is from a dominant point of view always you to ride on the waves of how society is made for you
• If you become conscious of your own position you begin to see factors previously invisible
• What critical culture means you look at self and others through NON-dominant perspective
• His theory is at the cradle and is fundamentally in our understanding for thinking critically about our society
o Du Bois explained: “The history of the American Negro is the history of this strife — this longing to attain self-conscious manhood, to merge his double self into a better and truer self. In this merging he wishes neither of the older selves to be lost. He does not wish to Africanize America, for America has too much to teach the world and Africa. He wouldn’t bleach his Negro blood in a flood of white Americanism, for he knows that Negro blood has a message for the world. He simply wishes to make it possible for a man to be both a Negro and an American without being cursed and spit upon by his fellows, without having the doors of opportunity closed roughly in his face.” (The Souls of Black Folk. p. 5)

Friday, August 6: Dr. Essed's not so simple question...

2010-09-11T19:46:00.004-04:00

Okay so we saved the best for last and did our conversation show it. Who woulda thunk it that a little question like "What is culture?" could get us talking about apes in some forest?

Luckily, we had the power to focus (sometimes) and this is what I got from Dr. Essed's presentation...

• Culture is not static, shared, no complete consensus. There is continuity and change
What’s a national culture?

• You must know a culture in order to be critical of it.
• Question groupings
• Use variety of perspectives: race, class, physical ability, resource access, what causes privilege

What do I do if I am not in a minority group?

Question:
Why would you challenge norms?

Humans have
1. Access to an imagination
imagination brings sense of HOPE: imagining a future or alternative
• Sense of community & belonging (it is always imagined it does not exist)
• Empathy: the ability to imagine yourself in the situation of another
• Common Humanity: realize you have more commonality than differences

2. The ability to change (be conscious about change, to understand that as humans we are incomplete. We can allow other to change.)

3. The opportunity for Continuous/life long learning

Friday, August 6: Burns...

2010-09-11T19:43:00.002-04:00

Okay, way is there like SO much to learn - this was my initial stage of shock the moment Dr. Burns began speaking. Keeping up with the outline below was really challenging.

Here is what I got...
I. Intro:
a. Civil society (whatever the hell it means)
b. Public Sector
c. Private Sector

II. Why Exclusion or Marginalization?
a. Why is it not used in leadership studies? Or theory?
b. Who do you make the concrete into theory?
c. Little about servant leadership
i. First: revolutionary war?
ii. Second: Civil War
iii. Third: Civil rights movement

III. The Fundamentally Different Forms of Democracy
a. We live in somewhat of a democracy – it’s more of a national commitment to being democratic – our realities fall short
b. Grass Roots Democracy
i. Is not perfect. It has lots of problems & limitation
ii.
c. Electoral representative Democracy
i. Is fundamentally not working
1. As broken now as it was at point of slavery
2. Semblance of Plutocracy: Wealthy Mongrels & Wealthy Servants. The ratification that lets the wealthy use money any way they want to influence elections
IV. Declaration of Independence vs. U.S. Constitution
a. Declaration was only for small % of people at the table
i. Its aspirations included many more
ii. Gives right to take direct action to change ineffective government
b. The Constitution does not hold such
i. Key provisions endorsed slavery
ii. Designed to make grassroots democracy hard to achieve
1. The fear of monarchy and majority rule it frustrate the democratic will of large numbers of people
iii. Until civil rights amendments, exp. 13th, 14th , 15th used much in grassroots
1. The Civil rights movement was about enforcing the amendments
V. Black Freedom Struggle as Basis & Driver of Grassroots Democracy
a. David Walker’s Appeal
b. Find the woman who worked closely with him
VI. SNCC & Civil Rights Movement Leadership
a. The Book we were to read.
b. Ella Baker insisted students have their own organization & make their own mistakes
i. They will learn through mistakes
c. Robert P. Moses: Working to amend constitution for equal education
i. While it may never happen, it will raise the conversation about limitations and problems of public education.
ii. Still teaches in the Algebra project

d. Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party 1964
i. Ella Baker cause their process “Outsider Within system”
ii. The party resulted from the inability to register voters in Mississippi
iii. This process did not follow suit and isolate itself but began interacting with civil, public, and private sectors AND the Electoral Representative system
e. Book recs: Blessed Unrest & Great Turning
f. Wyclef Jean’s candidacy for presidency of Haiti & Shawn Penn’s Presence for the long hall
i. The outsider within
g. If there is citizen action out there, how do we make it seen? Where doe it go? What are next steps for leadership?
VII. Conclusion: How does it Fit? Or Why not?

Friday, August 6

2010-09-11T19:37:00.002-04:00

Getting a few things Stright...

We got our RLE Reviewers AND Dialogue Groups.

Glad that Antioch was doing all they could (and the continue) to make technology work for our colleague Kirk. We also took stock of our roles in being inclusive.

We met Elisabeth via Skype.

Kenny's Good Fit Take-Away...

2010-08-05T16:00:00.004-04:00

Kenny's SquareCircle Take-Away...

2010-08-05T15:59:00.001-04:00

Kenny's Knowledge Tree Take-Away...

2010-08-05T15:44:00.004-04:00

Dr. Kusy's Systems Thinking Take-Aways...

2010-08-05T10:33:00.001-04:00

1.

2. What will you do differently next week when you go back to your own social system that indicates you are more of a systems thinker then when you left?

Found Quote ...

2010-08-04T22:15:00.004-04:00

"...we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."
--John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Kreeger's Ethical Take Aways...

2010-08-04T22:05:00.005-04:00

What's your HUBRIS?

Baldwin's Information Literacy Take-Aways...

2010-08-04T21:55:00.005-04:00

1. Personal library pages are like the greatest thing EVER!

2. Frames of Information Literacy
- Scholarly Schema Frame
- How is the scholarly work of your field(s) communicated
- Search Skills & Tools
- Political, Ethical & Socioeconomic Frame
- Media Frame
- Critical Evaluation Frame
- Organizational Frame
- Personal Frame

Proseminar I: First Meeting with Dialogue Group

2010-08-04T10:48:00.008-04:00

Facilitators: Wergin (sat in for Holloway) & Burns:
Activity: Meet 45 min in Dialogue group

Question: What is one of your deepest longings, hopes or aspirations and how has an institution or society helped you fulfill it, or helped to frustrate or block.

My Sharing (Mursalata)
- My mother reminds me now and then that when I was little, I used to say I would have an orphanage when I grew up. I remember that want and also the inadequate ways children were cared for by family and institutions. I had never looked at the definition of an orphanage until this discussion. Here is what I found…
o “An institution or home for orphans” (Oxford English Dictionary).

o “Orphanages provide an alternative to foster care or adoption by giving
orphans a community-based setting in which they live and learn.[1] In the worst cases, orphanages can be dangerous and unregulated places where children are subject to abuse and neglect” (this definition comes with caution from wikepedia).

- In response to my sharing the definitions Rodney pointed out that his personal experience notes the difficulty of creating nurturing community in an institutional setting.
o He helped me realize that what I wanted and what I am achieving is participating in living a in a community-based family way more akin to the village raising a child method.

Sengbe Take-Away...

2010-08-03T23:15:00.004-04:00

Leadership moment from Amistad Movie

In the Amistad movie, we learn that in the Mende, the language spoken by the jailed African of Sierra Leone, there is no word for “should”. In their language, culture and lives - you either do a thing or you do not do a think.

I move that the language as used be leaders and in leadership theory the “should” and any wishy-washy others like it cease to be used. After all, in the everyday real life of leaders, we do or we do not do in an endless cycle of change.

Good to Great leaders do or not do in an endless cycle of change that includes reflection and collaboration among other affirming behaviors.

Guskin & Alexandre Navigating Year 1 Take-Aways...

2010-08-03T17:48:00.003-04:00

1. Completion time is up to you.

2. Ask questions.

3. Use your advisor.

4. Use your advisor.

5. Use your Al & Laurien (gues what - they are your advisors)

Booysen Take-Aways...

2010-08-03T17:04:00.005-04:00

In our session on Approaches to Leadership Studies we ended with the following quote:

“Leadership is a dance, in which leaders and followers jointly respond to the rhythm and call for a particular social context, within which leaders draw from deeper wells of collective experience and energy, to engage, followers around transforming visions of change and lead them in the collective creation of compelling futures.”

Inclusion & Justice Meeting Take-Aways...

2010-08-03T13:18:00.004-04:00

Greetings:

Twelve students from 3 different cohorts gathered along with three faculty members to discussed the work of the Incusion & Justice group.

History given in the meeting:
It is a student lead group
They can do what ever they want
Proposals for programs are presented to faculty
Emerged 7 years ago as result of student concern about amount of diversity
Students discussion with faculty resulted in curriculum & formed an ongoing group
Has functioned as monitor and ensuring inclusion

Inclusion and Justice Group’s Mission and Vision(open to revision):

Leadership and Change PhD Program, Antioch University

Mission
The mission of the inclusion and justice group is to be a witness, mirror and model for processes, systems, and relationships within the program that pertain to culture, equity, and inclusion. To serve as a formal vehicle within the Leadership and Change program responsible for advancing learning that equips students, faculty and staff to lead in a multicultural world.

Vision
The inclusion and justice group is a joint student faculty team within the structural and leadership fabric of the PhD in Leadership and Change program. The group is responsible for advocating issues of inclusion, equity, and culture as it relates to all aspects of the program and its operations. We work to create forums (environments) that can hold both conflict and agreement and facilitate a consensual way of working and learning for all members of our community.

Alexandre & Johnston First ClassTake-Aways...

2010-08-03T11:47:00.004-04:00

1. Ask questions
2. Explore First Class – it looks pretty hard to screw up!!!!
3. Darn near everything you need to know is there!!!!!!!!!

Dr. Osagie Complimentary Amistad Video

2010-08-03T10:17:00.011-04:00

Greetings:

Check out the following YouTube video featuring a lecture by Dr. Osagie given as part of the Haiku Middle Passage exhibit commemorating the 200 years since Great Britain abolished of the transAtlantic slave trade. Great Britain's decision only extended to the international sector of slave trading - extrapolation of Africans from the African continent.

CLICK HERE for video

Dr. Osagie's Book

Morgan-Roberts Activity: Part 1

2010-08-03T10:07:00.002-04:00

The Science of studying Strengths: The Reflected Best-Self Exercise
• Recall 3 points in life that were best self moments (at my peak as a person)

Here are my three...
1. In Middle school, I spoke to my 6th grade teacher, Brother Ebby, about being moved to my age-appropriate grade.
2. In college I did not participate in student lead MLK walk-out.
3. As an adult I had to Authorized doctors to perform an emergency procedure that kept my mother alive.
4. As a college professor I gave Grand Rapids Community College's commencement speech 2006

Morgan-Roberts Take-Aways...

2010-08-03T10:05:00.003-04:00

Cultivating Positive Identity
1. Discover your best-self. (What are the implications for Leadership & Change)
2. Be your best-self more often.
3. Make you best-self even better.
4. Bring out the best in others.

“Situational Attributes” have influence on what our best-selves can be at any particular point in time.

Lisa's shared Quote...

2010-08-03T08:54:00.003-04:00

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

--Marianne Williamson quote

From our Morgan-Roberts Identity Session

Best Quote/Paraphrase of Day 2

2010-08-02T18:09:00.000-04:00

It is helpful that some very, very rich people are progressive.
--Al Guskin

Al Guskin's Next 10 Years...

2010-08-02T17:59:00.003-04:00

The Activity:

Watch, listen and absorb Lize Booysen interview Al Guskin as our model for considering our Reflective Leadership Essay.

His last "chapter" sticks with me most because it deals with the The Next Phase of his life: 2010 & Beyond
- He expects to be with program for a while
- One dream: begin challenging the professions (ed, social work, health)
o This program begins the challenge
o Spend his time building an institute out of this program
o He graduates of this program will help do in the creation
* We are not here because we want a traditional graduate experience
* Why not find a way to integrate the graduates into the institute

The Burns Activity:

2010-08-02T15:33:00.003-04:00

In the first session of Prose Seminar 1, Dr. Burns gave Cohort 10 the folowing assignment:
1. Tell us about a person in your life who helped you change your life for the better.
OR
2. Tell us about someone in your life who YOU helped to change their life for the better.

My Response to the activity is titled "Our stories of Enchantment"...

Listening to our stories with our ears, hearts and souls makes it difficult for a pessimistic-optimist like me to deny the possibility that magic is real. I believe miracles happen every day because I see them; however, it takes a bit more genuine communion to get me to feel magic. Magic takes an enchanted environment where everyday, mundane and ordinary miracles and exhale and relax.

Our stories tell me that when we are changed by anther person and/or when we change the lives of others by being present in each others' lives we are the difference – for good or bad – we are magical miracles; we are what we and others need; we are not afraid of change because we are the changing transformative leaders or followers. We are the flow.

Mezirow Quote

2010-08-02T11:46:00.002-04:00

"In transformative learning, however, we reinterpret an old experience (or a new one) from a new set of expectations, thus giving a new meaning and perspective to the old experience."
-- Jack Mezirow

Csikszentmihalyi Quote

2010-08-02T10:59:00.003-04:00

" Repression is not the way to virtue. When people restrain themselves out of fear, their lives are by necessity diminished. Only through freely chosen discipline can life be enjoyed and still kept within the bounds of reason."
--Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Leadership

2008-03-02T23:38:00.002-05:00

In the world of academia, I've found the idea of LEADERSHIP weird at times. It seems we're always looking for it -- both on the faculty and administrative sides of the little universe known as higher education.

I work at a community college where microcosms of interpersonal skills bubble over in some extreme complex people play during meetings, e-mails, and hallway talk. For the close observer, these conversations come easily like the multiple voices of a schizophrenic trying to decide what to where today that will make her appear pulled together.

Those engaged in the conversations are like the many voices, simply looking for leadership. How do we increase retention? Enforce pre-reqs? Balance the budget? Increase professional development without offending the professional? Accountability, where is it? Whose is it? Mine? Yours? What about the leadership? What are they doing?

Then it dawns on everyone -- What is leadership to us? It's at that point we fall apart , we're unlike the the person with all the voices in her heard; we don't know how to recognize or manage leadership yet. So she leaves her house, fully dressed and appearing pulled together, knowing that one day she'll have to do the work to really heal.

Still she has us beat because we'd be content with appearing pulled together.

Space week 7

2007-10-16T14:15:00.000-04:00

Greetings:

I really enjoy the open study space in Cook building. I sat down for my 9:30 - 11:30 a.m. office hours and now it's past two.

Over the past several weeks, I've seen and spoken to a diverse group of college employees. It's been pleasing serving two birds with one stone. I'm aware not everyone is interested in using their office time so publicly, but for me it's been worth the effort. I tend not to seek out people, crowds, or on campus action. My office serves as a secure nesting point (which I know is still there). Hey, I've even had my second student conversation of the semester!

Space the next 5 weeks

2007-10-16T14:14:00.001-04:00

Weeks two - six:

I'm glad I scheduled an hour office time in the classroom because it allows me to arrive early enough to move the tables. The students move the tables too. It could be something about the creative writing student that makes them not want to face forward in neat rows.

I'm loving the white board most! We have a writing routine on Tuesdays, each student comes in and puts his/her chapter section notes on the board. They have about 20 minutes to copy them down and BOOM! notes are done and we proceed through them. I spend more time additional information and less waiting for notes to go on limited board space.

I've had no issues with technology, except forgetting my own power cord.

I'm not happy about not being able to teach in this space in the future.

having my office hours in the student lounge may not have been such a good idea. I've got to beat students there for a seat! I do like holding my hours in an open space. There's more security and still room for private discussions about student work. I've not had an increase in student traffic. They're still waiting for the last few weeks of the semester I think!

I do plan on holding my conferences there.

First Weeks in a New Space

2007-10-16T14:12:00.000-04:00

Orientation
I was excited about the new teaching space and room 107, until I saw room 109... It has round tables! I thought automatic groups! Yes!! I requested, verbally, a room change. I thought it would be done and didn't double check. But there was a shadow in my mind as Tuesday came around and I went to 109 anyway to set up. Sure enough the Math professor came and was surprised to see me there. I packed up and went down to 107. I was still relatively happy and didn't think to make a fuss over the round tables.

I know I'd use the lounge space for office hours. I have office hours scheduled there on Tuesdays from 9:30 - 11:30 a.m. This semester I have early morning hours in the classroom itself 6:45 - 7:45.

Week one:

I wish I had round tables, plain and simple. Still the white boards gave me some continued comfort. I moved the rectangular tables into "T" shapes where 5 students could sit in a grouping. I was short one table for completing sort of configuration for all the tables in the room, t works.

I used the white board right away. There weren't enough dry erase markers so I make a point to bring extra ones to every class.

The world is flat so Learn How To Learn

2006-07-26T23:15:00.000-04:00

Greetings:

Friedman has four criteria for how education might prepare people for living in a flat world. Not a single one of them are based on knowing a specific area of study (not to say this is not important, it’s just not the emphasis). He places emphasis on HOW TO LEARN. This was one of the more poignant points for me. One of the questions I sometimes ask my students (now I think I should always ask it) is for them to tell me how they learn. If they don’t know I tell them they need to find out pretty quickly!

The first criterion for an educational foundation in a flat world is Learning How To Learn.

So what does it mean to learn how to learn? A colleague recently shared with me that he didn’t learn how to learn until college. We both agreed that is a bit too late. However, just because it’s late doesn’t mean helping students learn how to learn is not our domain. It is.

This “Learning how to Learn” idea came up recently at this year’s “Future of the Black Community in Grand Rapids” an annual dialogue hosted by several young community leaders. A young local high school student asked the panel of seasoned community members the following question:

You say students don’t want to learn, but why can’t learning be more interesting and in a place where kids wanted to become excited about learning? I want to wake up and want to go to school.

The response he got left me cold. He was told that schools can’t tailor themselves for every student and at some point students have to learn how to conform because there are goals schools must meet.

As I think about what the young man said, I truly believe his question was one of teaching people how to learn thereby getting them invested and excited about learning (my comment was going to be something like that but I didn’t get to give them because the dialogue ran quite over its time).

Friedman’s response to the 9th grader who asked him a similar question was to take classes with teachers who have a passion for teaching. The course subject matter is secondary because we need to focus on knowing how to learn and developing a passion (or at least a habit) for learning.

The second criterion Friedman gives is to be born with or develop a passion for learning—develop your Curiosity quotient (CQ) and Passion quotient (PQ). A high IQ alone does not translate into success (it never has and Friedman fries this idea more in a flat world context).

The world is flat-- so Get Untouchable...

2006-07-25T07:26:00.000-04:00

Greetings:
I'm not sure many of us will disagree with Friedman that future jobs will require the right knowledge, skills, ideas, and self-motivation.

When I teach I have three of these four criteria in mind (I'm still working on figuring out how to deal with a student's self-motivation). If future employment really depends on justifying our skill set everyday then our educational institutions must step up quickly, efficiently and creatively. Since, as we've witnessed for ourselves and as Friedman points out "there is no such thing as an American job."

According to Friedman, “there is no sugar coating the new challenge every young American today would be wise to think of himself or herself as competing against every young Chinese, Indian, and Brazilian.” We’ve already arrived at a point, says Friedman, where we must understand globalization on an individual basis. As I reflect on my work as an educator I realize we are quite behind in helping learners understand how they must personalize thinking globally.

I love the advice Friedman gives when talking about how he’d advise his own children: “Girls when I was growing up, my parents used to say to me ‘Tom finish your dinner, people in China and India are starving.’ My advice to [my] girls [is] finish your homework, people in china and India are starving for your job.”

The World Is Flat? A First Response...

2006-07-25T06:54:00.000-04:00

Greetings:

I've been assigned to read Thomas L. Friedman's bookk The Wolrd Is Flat. I'm done. Here's my first (of several) responses...

After finishing Friedman's The World is Flat I’m very intrigued at how a significant amount of his economic study is tied, inextricably, to education. There is more work to be done in education than we’ve been articulating and acting on! His work continues to empress the need for individuals to become life-long learners. What I found most thought provoking about his work is where information on education appears in the text. It is simply everywhere, there’s not like one section where education is covered. Sure, there are concentrations of educational talk, but Friedman manages (out of necessity, I think) to mention educational influences on “the flat world” in areas of the text where the subject at hand isn’t necessarily education only.

Friedman’s assertions about getting more people into community colleges serves as a both great kudos and challenges to institutions like ours. So what are we to do? Well earlier this year I was introduced to the life-long learning approach used by the Koning Willem I College in the Netherlands. Their teaching/learning approach was phenomenal as indicated by their presentation at the Chair Leadership conference, last April. I found their presentation so fascinating and intriguing that break time was an intrusion into what we learning. The college’s mission statement: School for the future devotes itself to a solid future and better world.

Coen Free, the college’s president, has written a brief overview of their approach to life-long learning (24 pages) titled Moving from a Campus Centered Environment to a Learning Village. I think it’s a must read (I’ve got copies for anyone interested in reading it). This community college is considered one of the most innovative in Europe. Currently they have a special project called School for the Future – “a very innovative Center for Teaching and Learning, E-Learning and Creative Thinking” endeavor. I so want to go there and absorb a bit more!

Issue #1 How do you see your role as (a leader) complex?

2006-01-13T21:58:00.000-05:00

Well here's a little from me...

I see my role as more complex than I'd imagined. I'm not sure I enjoy the idea of being a leader. Actually the complexity of the role I'm experiencing is the betwixt space of an emergent leader which requires a different lens for viewing this whole COMPLEX ROLE stuff. Let's be honest, of all the complexly rolled leaders out there, a few must be a little like me... waking up in the middle of the day or night panicky wondering how'd I gotten here on the road to leaderdom when just yesterday, it seemed, I was enjoying my work! Ah-ha that's it someone in leader-kingdom saw me enjoying my work, striving to share that enjoyment and called it leadership.

And by golly they are right.

People who enjoy both their work and sharing that joy with others are probably good candidates for leadership roles. Being a candidate for more full-time leadership roles, I think, is the most tenuous space in one's career since adolescence. You remember -- all the adults expecting more intelligent thoughts and actions all of the time and both at the same time! When in reality you could only deliver both those things maybe aout 71.5% of the time.

So I'm rethinking this complex role of a leader as the complex role of an emergent leader. Now that nails the place I'm livin' right now. Here in the emergent leader space on the downside -- I spend time trying to figure out processes, understanding alliances, jumping the gun to see things done and doing more work than necessary to complete tasks. However, on the upside -- I have colleagues who stir me back when I go astray, help me gather my patience, take the time to understand my eclectic personality, and share my need to figure out how things are done (or can be done better).

So for me, the complex role of the emergent leader is a space worth exploring. Hey it's where I live right now! Of course if you're destined to be a leader nothing is going to stop that from happening (not even one's want to live in the shadows) but I still say there's some benefit to accept being a leader means reflecting on the road that leads there.

Yelp, brotha/sista... that's how I see my role as complex.

THE END

Looking Forward to Mentor Phase

2005-11-05T00:42:00.000-05:00

Greetings:

We know there is...

So our email blitz has begun. Looking for a time to reconnect before next year is only one of our challenges. The more daunting one… finding mentors. Sure some of us left with high expectations of asking transformative yet elusive leaders on our campuses; some of us more daring a head off into the community, local government, or non-profit sectors; a few of us challenge ourselves not to be so predictable and look in unusual places, or turn to more experienced colleagues, or community entrenched emeritus(es) of something.

At any rate we’ll gather our gem or settle for what we can get and begin our journey into mentee-dom. Armed, we are with clear expectations and tools to dig through the year and reap all potential benefits our mentors’ wisdom promises to reveal.

To work, to work, we go!

The First 2005-06 Academy Blog

2005-11-04T23:33:00.000-05:00

Yes, this blog existed first so check it out for lots of information http://faculty.blogspot.com/

The End of the Beginning

2005-11-01T10:00:00.000-05:00

Greetings:

It’s been three days since we ended our Leadership Academy to begin our leadership anew. I miss you all so much. Thanks for the party, the sharing, the caring, etc.
I’ve not had enough reflection time to process any good blog-able response so I’ll take a few more meeting filled days to marinate such a response until this weekend (11/5/05). For now here’s our group picture and our commemorative poem “Kooshball Complexity”

Sure we’re happy… We know our
DiSC Work Style Letters, EI,
Learning Style, & MI (shouldn’t we be happy?!?!)

The Poem…

Kooshball Complexity
By M. Muhammad (revised 11/1/05)

it looks weird
tentacled, purple but
could be any color really
bouncing purposefully
between tentacles
attached to
complex beings
who
work differently
lead differently
serve differently
plan differently
resolve differently
learn differently
follow differently
so differently that
we rise each morning, prepared
to use all our kooshball complexities
to come to the same mind
the same purpose
the same goal
influence all
push all
move all
into the infinity of
the greatest good

*Composed in honor of Dr. Ken J. Robson & Dr. David D. Gatewood, Facilitators of the 2005-2005 Michigan-Great Lakes Leadership Academy—Roscommon, MI
Thank you.

Oh MI!!! (Multiple Intelligences)

2005-10-27T18:35:00.000-04:00

Greetings:

Our last module for the week is on "Enhancing Learning Through Leadership". Where we'll engage in some discussion on our learning styles and using Multiple Intelligences. Before we get there I'm posting my 2-cents...

Knowing how one learns is the greatest understanding a teacher can have; however, acknowledging your way is only one way while you teach is the epiphany all educators should seek in this Life Academic.

Some MI websites

Multiple Intelligences
http://www.thomasarmstrong.com/multiple_intelligences.htm

MI
http://www.multi-intell.com/MI_chart.html

How Technology Enhances MI
http://www.america-tomorrow.com/ati/nhl80402.htm

Got EI?

2005-10-27T14:50:00.000-04:00

Greetings:

So, we're back and discussing our Emotional Intelligence (EI) Do you find yourself way too engrossed, distraught, confused over our EI? Well here are a few websites to check out...

Does ‘emotional intelligence’ matter in the workplace?
Well-known author seeks to answer that question as the keynote speaker for APA’s Annual Convention: http://www.apa.org/monitor/jul98/emot.html

Speakers Platform: Hendrie Weisinger
http://www.speaking.com/speakers/hendrieweisinger.html

Emotional Intelligence at Work
http://www.meansbusiness.com/Organizing-Work-and-People-Books/Emotional-Intelligence-at-Work.htm

Tactical Tips http://www.missionpossibleinc.com/emotional_intelligence.htm

Mid-Week Reflections

2005-10-26T17:33:00.000-04:00

Greetings:

So here we are at the Leadership Academy Mid-Week!

We've spent 3-days deconstructing ourselves; we've unraveled just enough of our complex roles to scare ourselves; we've examined our workstyle behaviors enough to know it's a good thing to know (but some of us are bordering on a Co-Dependent relationship with our D.I.S.C letter)...

We've desparately searched (well, mostly me) our surveys for favorable indicators on our leadership styles and no matter what our faciliators say we can't quite stop our brains from prioritizing the leadership discriptors - Transformational, Transactional, or Laissez-Faire (but hey, we're halfway home because we know we're prioritizing and can stop any-time-we-want!).

And well today... We scoped up all our learnin' and took it for a test run through the Valley of the Strategical Plan. Now, come on you know no one (not even those freshly endowed with the power of knowing how their DiSC letter feeds the workstyle behavior that fuels only a portion of their various complex roles in life) can make it through such a valley in a single day.

So our facilitators did what any good facilatators would... had us complete steps 1-4 of the valley and take half a day off!

Here you have it the MI-Great Lakes Leadership Academy's Mid-week reflection. We're off shopping, Mackinaw Islanding, working, taking in a movie, visiting family until tomorrow when we return, ENERGIZED & READY to complete our treck through steps 4-8 in The Valley of the Strategical Plan!!!!

Great Lakes Leadership Academy

2005-10-24T18:21:00.000-04:00

Greetings:

Everyone in a leadership role might want to do a little study on the concept of "leadership" at some point in their tenure as a leader.