WK 3 Reading - Comment to Classmates Post 2 of 2

Week 3 Blog Post 1: Reading Art of Possibility, Chapter 5 - 8

By dave@dmwcreative.com at www.morguefile.com

As I continue reading the Art of Possibility, I'm finding that I’m really enjoying this book and have gotten more out of this book then all of the other books in the program combined.  What a difference it is compared to the likes of Creswell (Remember that one?)  As a musician and teacher I can really understand and relate to the stories Benjamin Zander tells in the book.  As a fellow music teacher and conductor, it’s been awesome to gather insights and lessons from one of the greats.  I especially appreciate his candor about making mistakes on the podium and being truly honest with his musicians.  We all make mistakes and as he stated in the 7^th chapter about the Way things Are, we must not be afraid to make mistakes and to strive to play to the lines of our limitations.  It is there where our true artfulness and passion will come through.  I think the adage, “Put the pedal to the medal is an appropriate analogy”.

Through the themes in chapters 5 – 8; Lead from any chair, Rule number 6, The Way Things Are and Giving Way to Passion, I can't help but see how closely related the lessons and concepts the Zanders illustrate are to spirituality.  As I think about it, their discussions on opening yourself up to Creativity, Possibility and Passion, really do connect with the same principles you would hear when speaking about spirituality.  Spirituality entails going beyond your self and thinking in a different manner.   It involves letting go barriers of control that inhibit spiritual realization and means putting trust outside of yourself.  In chapter 7, Zander describes how composers will often try to write music at the extreme level of ones instrumental ability.  When this happens the strain and anguish of playing that particular passage comes through in the music.  It is this strain where true art and expression occur and the connection between this and spirituality exists.  In order to become truly passionate and truly spiritual we have to be able to wholly commit and admonish ourselves to the task at hand.

Laurie M. Kish said...

I feel like you really understood and verbally captured well what I believe Zander was trying to tell us, go beyond what you ever imagined, push yourself to higher limits to achieve the greatness within yourself while not being afraid to make mistakes. Not many of us are risk takers and prefer the safe path, but those that venture down the unknown road often discover treasures that give their life new meaning. I can see from you excellent blog pages that you are a musician and that you can totally relate to many of the stories in the book. I really enjoyed reading your post and feeling your strong connection to spirituality, a special gift that artist like you have. Nicely done Thanh.

May 21, 2011 11:02 AM

WK 3 Reading - Comment to Classmates Post 1 of 2

 

MAC Week 3 reading post

The Art of Possibility got me once more.  I was thoroughly impressed with the story of the Kolisch Quartet and it truly shows how people can come together in their time of need to help out a friend or colleague.  This especially touched me because I played in various quartets and orchestras and I understand the pressure that they go though to ensure that they are perfect at every performance.  I could actually feel the heartache Lehner possibly felt when he had his moment of memory lapse. 

I think everyone should practice the rule number 6 and not take themselves so seriously.  There are so many people that think they deserve some type of entitlement because of who they are or where they come from without slowing down to accept the fact that when it comes down to it, they still have to obey the law  and follow the day to day rules of humanity.  I can completely understand the conflict between the two business partners and how it fully describes the difference between one’s calculating self and one’s central self. 

When I think of accepting the way things are and just let them be reminds me of a few years ago when we were hit by a hurricane (I don’t recall the name of the storm).  I was recently engaged and just moved into a new apartment. Refrigerator and Freezer fully stocked after a recent trip to BJ’s. After the hurricane hit, we were without power for 14 days! It was what we thought the worst experience of our life.  After a few hours of despair we figured we would make the best of it.  It is what it is and there was nothing we could do about it but wait it out.  We ended up getting some ice and storing a lot of our meats and frozen goods in there which we were able to keep for a few days, but everyday we were able to call friends, family and neighbors that did not have anything and join together for a barbecue on the patio.  If that is not a perfect example of just letting it be I don’t know what is!

1 comments:

Unlock your inner self - apply rule number 6!

Laurie M. Kish said...

J.J. I can totally relate to your excellent example of Rule Number 6 and the hurricane and how you and your soon to be husband got through it. It is hard to put into practice as our measuring inner self is always trying to dominate us with the clouds of doom and gloom while the real world also had the same dark clouds. I have lived through three earthquakes, two tornadoes, four ice storms and the recent volcanic ashes of Iceland and during all of these I too had to be strong and try to get over myself and lighten up to make the best of any bad situation. I can honestly say that all of these events brought me closer to myself and the strengths that we really do have to take control and not take things so seriously. Really nice post J.J. and thank you for sharing a dark moment that you were able to overcome.

May 21, 2011 1:10 PM Photos from Microsoft Clip Art

WK 3 Discussion Deeper: Video Use in Education Post

Screen shot of interactive Video from http://www.microbiologyonline.org

http://www.microbiologyonline.org.uk/students/microbe-passports-1?style=default - /Streptococcus_pyogenes

I use this microbiology online site to give my adult learners some basic knowledge on Microbiology as some of the project team members are hardware, mechanical, electrical, and software engineers working on developing a device to identify and treat microorganisms but they do not have the knowledge of what a microbe is.   They work along side our trained professional microbiologist, but videos, learning tool like these help them to understand some of the concepts to help in the design effort.  Microbes are everywhere, but we can’t see them. These mysterious microscopic organisms play a very important role in our lives. Some make us sick but many more are helpful.  Microbiologists study microbes: where they occur, their survival strategies, how they can affect us and how we can exploit them. 

Screen shot from http://www.biomerieux-usa.com

 

http://www.biomerieux-usa.com/servlet/srt/bio/usa/dynPage?node=VITEK_2

I embed links to informative videos created by my employer (bioMerieux) into my training plan and presentations for my adult learners to show them the range of products we offer and the basic functionality of the medical devices.  It is important for them to have this understanding especially if they will be working on the products labeling, testing the device, or making a design change or an improvement and are new to the organization.

Screen shot from http://www.fda.gov

 

http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/CentersOffices/CDRH/CDRHInnovation/default.htm

I work in a highly regulated industry, Medical devices, where one mistake could kill a patient so as you can imagine it is necessary for me to train my adult learners on the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations for safe products.  I often pull video podcast from the FDA’s website and incorporate them into my training plan and presentations, as it is important that they are aware of changes in regulations or trends and where the agency is heading, as we require FDA approval to market our products.

Screen shot from htpp://www.uwtv.org

http://www.uwtv.org/video/player.aspx?mediaid=1574727353

I subscribe to UW tv as a means to bring current topics to my adult learners in the world of Medical Devices and diagnostic solutions, which are aligned with our companies’ strategies.  This link is a video where Dr. Paul Yager, Professor and Acting Chair in the Department of Bioengineering, at University of Washington speaks about the importance of developing small portable and inexpensive high-tech diagnostics methods for detecting pathogens far from a centralized or hospital laboratory for developing countries which would have a positive impact on global health.  Videos like these support my trainings on innovation in research and development, customers needs, and impact to world health, which are all my employers guiding principles. 

 

WK 3-2 DB Quickies: Difficulties starting new programs...

Clip Art by Microsoft

I work in the corporate world where technology is required for survival, without it there would be no profits, and no company.  Business deals with technology changes as a normal practice with change agents, technology staff, funding, and education of employees on new and modified technology from software to hardware to major technology integrated processes like learning management systems and financial systems.  

I have also been fortunate now to say that I have worked over the past 11 months in a High school educational setting working with a high school math teacher to try to implement technology into the classroom as a part of my Action Research project.  What a big difference this was for me.  I can say first hand that the reason why at least this High School teacher resisted change related to technology was for what I feel are very valid reasons:  (1) Lack of school district wide technology integration strategies and plans, (2) Lack of technology budget to purchase and maintain technology, (3) lack of teacher training in technology and how to use it in the classroom, (4) No technology infrastructure and support when problems arise, (5) Educators fear of students knowing more then them about technology and lastly (6) change itself scares a lot of people as it takes them out of their comfort zone. 

WK 3-1 DB Quickies: Difficulties starting new programs...

Photo taken by Laurie Kish

I was asked to train greater than 200 manufacturing workers on what Research and Development(R&D) teams do to design a new Medical Device and it had to include all regulatory requirements associated with it. As if this were not enough they then proceeded to inform me that it had to be done in one day through one-hour rotations of 40 employees’ in each session. My triumphs were many but the first and most critical was how to engage these manufacturing floor workers in such a complex topic in such a short amount of time. I interviewed some of the learners in advance to get a better understanding of what they knew about R&D so I could formulate my approach. It was simple; they saw R&D as Monsters that just tossed garbage through the double doors between the R&D labs and manufacturing and expected them to clean up the mess.

Photo taken by Laurie Kish

My mind immediately went to the Disney-Pixar movie Monster Inc. as my theme. I knew I had to make this session very interactive and hands on or I would lose them. I had created only 30 PowerPoint slides with little text and a lot of visuals to make them smile and have fun. This was a very new concept for my company as no training had ever been presented with only 30 slides with almost no text not to mention the hands on team exercises, dressing up, competition, music playing, and out right fun. There were 5 tables of 10 team members tasked with building a monster with blinking eyes according to the customers requirements following the development process in a specified amount of time and following all regulatory requirements. Lets just say that no two monsters looked the same and I had 100 new friends that stopped me for days after the training saying how much they had learned and it was the best training they ever had. Every time I think about it and all the hard work that went into it, I smile and consider this one of my best training experiences ever. I actually created a video of this experience in an early project in the EMDT program that I have posted here on my blog if you are interested to hear more.

WK 3 Reading - The Art of Possibility

Clip art from http://www.nist.gov  

It was the end of month 1 of a planned 6 month new medical device validation effort, the tensions were high amongst the 10 validation engineers as the product was full of bugs and was 3 months late getting to the last stage of the development process, validation.  An executive decision was made, the validation team had to reduce their timelines by 3 months in order to maintain the original launch date or heads would roll.  The Director of Validation was witnessing before her very eyes the release of 10 calculating selves lobbying for survival in a world of what might become scarce.  The anxiety of the situation was causing some unacceptable behaviors.  It was competitive, backstabbing and unproductive.  It was time to react or she would not have a team left.  The validation Director not knowing at the time pulled out the 6 ball, Rule number 6.   

From Microsoft Clip Art

The day after to decision was passed down; a chartered bus arrived outside the validation lab promptly at 11:00 a.m.  The Validation Director instructed the team to stop what they were doing and take the gift bags provided to the restrooms and change immediately.  Inside the bags were black long sleeved T-shirts and a note that read “Join me for a bug blasting good time!”  The Validation Director observed the eyes of her employees and listened to the sounds of laughter and delight as they piled into the bus not knowing what lied ahead.  Champaign, chocolate, and treats were making their rounds inside the bus as the bus came to a stop in front of LaserTag.  That’s right; the afternoon was filled with fun, laughter, and stress release as they were given permission to take out their frustrations (inner calculating self) on one another through several rounds of laser tag.   This team-building event released humor and laughter that allowed them to “get over themselves” and brought the team back together, relaxing them, empowering them to take control of their calculating self.  They lightened up and broke the hold of their competitive measurement world.  With these calculating selves revealed and humored, the good central selves were able to shine again.  As stated in Zanders’ book, when rule number 6 is followed, one lightens up and is transported into a remarkable universe, which is cooperative in nature.  The role of the facilitator, the Validation Director, was to promote human development and transformation rather than finding a solution that satisfied the demands of the ever-present calculating selves.   In the end the team was able work together to meet the aggressive 3-month schedule while zapping many bugs along the way and releasing a good product.  Not only did they have a successful validation, they established strong working relationships with teammates and their inner selves.  

Rule Number 6:  Don’t take yourself so goddamn seriously, lighten up!

This is a true story and the Validation Director was myself in 2005.

WK 2 Discussion Deeper: Podcasts in Education Repsonse

Jana Claybrook says:

May 14, 2011 at 10:54 pm

Wk2 Discussion Deeper: Podcasts in Education
Here are some of the podcasts I have used in my math class.
http://brightstorm.com/math
This website has thousands of free math and science videos of great teachers explaining concepts and sample problems.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHIZUE5iW-c
I have used this video to help teach multiplying integers.
http://www.mathgrad.com/foreducators.html
Podcasts intended to shed some insight into mathematics without boring your students.
http://itunes.apple.com/podcast/mathtrain-tv-podcast/id262010472
You can watch and listen to step-by-step explanations of math problems.

Reply

Laurie Kish says:

May 15, 2011 at 1:15 am

Jana, thank you for sharing the math podcast url’s. I have shared these with my sons teacher as I do not teach K-12, I am a corporate trainer. I found these very helpful and I am sure my son’s teacher will as well. These are a great tool to help capture the audience and keep them engaged.