Wk 2 Response to classmate #2

SATURDAY, APRIL 10, 2010

Wk1 Free Topic Post - Learning From Failure

I really agree with this article I saw in the Sydney Morning Herald. The article states that if we don’t let kids fail once in a while, it give them unrealistic expectations for life.

As a college teacher I saw this a whole lot. Many of my students were not concerned with doing their best because they always got what they wanted regardless of their effort. They had what I call a “blinding acceptance of mediocrity”.

I think back on my life and can clearly remember times I failed. It seems to stay with you and help motivate you to better things.

Here is a good site about recovering from failure. Overcoming Failure


This is the article.
Helicopter parents not doing enough to let children fail

• THE belief that regular praise will improve the self-esteem of students has backfired, with educators urging over-anxious parents to let their children fail so they can learn from their mistakes.

• Rod Kefford, the headmaster of Barker College, has warned: ”We are creating a generation of very fearful learners and the quality of our intellectual life will suffer as a result.”

• in the 1960s, it was not uncommon for teachers to tell students bluntly that they had given a wrong answer.

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

jratka said...

@ Andrew - I loved your saying, "A blinding acceptance of mediocrity." My own way of characterizing the same phenomenon was to call it a "stunning lack of curiosity."
I noticed that the new graduates being hired didn't wonder about anything or share my amazement at the capacities of the human body or human spirit. After a couple of years of this, I think it is starting to turn around. I have noticed more of the nurses entering my classroom are getting excited about learning again...or maybe I'm just teaching better.

April 12, 2010 3:55 PM

Wk 2 Response to classmate #1

RE: http://www.timetoast.com

Coleen said...

I found this interactive timeline for my action research project. I think it would be very easy to incorporate into your personal and professional life.

April 12, 2010 7:43 AM

jratka said...

@Coleen - what a find!! I loved using this on my AR site. It is so much more interesting and more informative than the narrative style timeline I originally used. Thanks for the tip!

April 12, 2010 12:16 PM

Wk 1 Quick Discussion1

My worst tech nightmare happened one day when, in the middle of class the LCD projector burned out and there was no back-up. I went on to teach the class without visuals. In order to keep it from being totally boring I decided to conduct the class totally differently. We threw out the lecture and conducted it as a round-table discussion instead. It was a group of experienced nurses in a leadership training, so it went very well. In fact, my partner and I decided it was much better that way, and we’re going to skip the PowerPoint in that course from now on.

Wk 1 2nd Response Blog

"I really wish I would have understood the importance of the practice of giving “A’s” earlier in my life. This philosophy would have made a world of difference in my relationship with my now deceased mother. I have always believed that she had failed as a mother. I wanted to understand how she could give up on life when she had 5 children that needed her support and encouragement. What would have happened if I could have given her an “A”? What if I could have approached her from a framework of respect rather than measurement? Would I have been able to reach out and understand her reality?" @ Coleen - I think in retrospect, you can give your mother an A. When you think of your childhood, you can be free now to think of it without the measuring stick. You have become a compassionate, independent woman, and who you are surely was influenced by your upbringing. I think you well embraced the "art of possibility" when you decided to that your future was to provide the compassion to those in need.

Wk 1 Reading Response

"Art of Possibility. " I love the sound of the phrase. I could ponder it for quite a while without ever having to read a single sentence. I love the way it rolls around on my tongue and in my head. As I read the third rule, regarding giving an A, I was immediately reminded of my son's current baseball coach. This man played ball through college, and has a son who is very skilled. My own son got his first hit last night. He hit a double with bases loaded. It was certainly not the play of the game, but it was a great moment for my son. His coach was grinning from ear to ear. I don't think he could have been any happier than my son was. At every practice and game he chipped away at the stone. He gave an A for every swing that sent the wind swishing by the ball without touching it, telling him exactly what he had done well, and what stone was still clinging to him, blocking him from hitting the ball. The statue emerged last night, and it was beautiful.

Wk 1 Response to Coleen

@Coleen - It can really throw teachers for a loop when the technology they counted on fails. It is the mark of a great teacher that you just went forward, adjusting your teaching style to the environment you were in. Great job! I had a very similar experience, but I don't know if I was quite as focused on the objectives.

March 31, 2010 5:29 AM

Wk 1 Quick Discussion

My company has kept a very tight rein on technology purchases. We have LCD projectors in some, but not most classrooms; computer labs are small and have the oldest equipment in the company. Software purchases are even more closely guarded. The biggest technology purchase I have made is my Mac, the software on it, and the education to use it (the EMDT program). I am using all three to create interactive lessons for the nurses in my classes.