The Art of Possibility – Chapters 9 – 12
Chapter 9 – Lighting a Spark
This chapter really sends a wonderful
message – that we as educators, parents, mentors, and humans – have the ability
to light the spark of interest, of enthusiasm, of change in other people.
I’m certain we all have those opportunities on a nearly daily basis – the magic
lies in how often we choose to put forth the effort to make it happen.
Sometimes, we pass the spark and see immediate results. Other times, it
takes a while.
I was doing some shopping in the Target
close to my school, when from behind me, I heard a low, booming voice say,
“Hey, Mrs. Sanchez! Are you going to be polite and say good morning?”
(This was something I’d said to him, oh, probably 500 times when he was in
middle school.) When I turned around, I was enveloped in a hug by a
nearly grown man with crazy long dreadlocks, flip flops, and the biggest,
warmest smile I could imagine coming from the kid who had surely despised me!
We visited for the next twenty
minutes. He wanted to know what was going on at the middle school, how it
had changed, who the new troublemakers were, if all of his old teachers were
there. He told me all about his four years of high school – the classes
he’d taken (any and all of the honors science courses offered) and what he was
planning to do after graduation in a few weeks. He again gave me the
smile, put his arm around me, and told me that he had been accepted to
university, and would be pursuing a Biology degree, as he wanted to become a
Molecular Biologist! (Imagine my surprise!) Unprompted, he added,
“It was your class that really got me interested in science. Remember the
labs we used to do, like extracting DNA from strawberries? You thought I
wasn’t paying attention, but I was really interested in that stuff.”
I guess he’d been carrying the spark around
in his little tin box, just waiting for the right opportunity to light the
fire.
Chapter 10 – Being the Board
Being the board – although I understand
the premise of this chapter, it was kind of a struggle to read.
Basically, what I’m understanding, is that we have to own our own “stuff”, not
put blame on other people, and not put up obstacles to impede the forward
movement of others. Seems simple enough, right? I think it would be
simple for me if I could only remember to keep Rule #6 in my head and
heart. Sometimes, in my interactions with students, family, friends, and
even strangers, it is difficult to not internalize and not “own” other people’s
stuff. In the heat of discussion or argument, it is equally difficult to
step back, figure out why this moment of time is on your board, and figure out
what to do or what to say without antagonizing others.
Chapter 11 – Creating Frameworks for
Possibilities
“A vision is an open invitation and an
inspiration for people to create ideas and events that correlate with its
definitional framework.”
From this chapter, I chose the above
referenced statement because it is so clear, so concise, and so meaningful to
me. As I think about the school where I teach, I realize that part of the
unhappiness, part of the unprofessionalism; part of the lack of cohesiveness
may be due to our lack of vision. We have a mission statement, developed
by our principal and the site leadership council, made up of her, a group of
parents, and possibly a couple of teachers. Unfortunately, it is a
mission, not a vision statement. If it were a vision statement, and if
staff felt motivated and inspired to create ideas and events to match it, I
think we would have a much more satisfied staff. Nobody likes to be
forced to buy into something they didn’t help create, or that they aren’t asked
to contribute to. It is difficult to support! I would love to share
this chapter (and the entire book, for that matter) with my administrator.
Chapter 12 - Telling the We Story
I can work with this notion of “We”
instead of “you” or “I”. When I think about it, particularly in the
classroom setting, where I typically have 36 faces looking to me for direction
after face #37 has said or done something inappropriate, I have the responsibility
to direct everyone in the room to understand the power of “We”. I think
the power of making something “our problem” instead of “your problem” is
amazing…maybe it’s just the age of the students I have. Eighth graders
love to get involved in conversation about something they deem as “wrong” or
“unfair”. Making a problem the responsibility of “We” can lead to
resolution everyone can live with, and remember longer than if I had awarded a
consequence.
1 comment:
Paula, I enjoyed reading your interpretation of each of the chapters this week. How amazing that the young man is going on to pursue a career in Molecular Biology! It just proves Zander’s point about us being the spark and offering the things that light us up. You most definitely lit a spark in that young man. What a great testimony to you! Chapter 10 was a hard chapter, but a reminder that we need to incorporate Rule #6 more often. I am in a situation now that I have to employ Rule #6. It isn’t going to be an easy task, but a necessary one. Reading you thoughts on Chapter 11 made me think that you just need to go to your administrator and discuss exactly what you wrote, creating a “Vision” statement to go along with the “Mission” statement. Maybe your spark will light hers and in turn open up a world of possibilities to your campus. Remember it only takes one spark to start a fire.
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