I was talking with a friend of mine last night. He flies a jet for the Canadian military. He is in instructor training school and as a part of that he has to learn to do formation flying from the back seat of the airplane. The other day he was working on this, with his Commander sitting in the front seat. The commander is "old school" and thus swears quite a lot. Now he doesn't mean this to be rude or derogatory, it is just how he instructs.
My friend says to me, "the next time I feel like something is particularly troubling or difiicult, I am going to think back to me going 300 mph in a formation 6 feet from three other planes, while my boss swears at me and realize, my daughter's temper tantrum is really not so bad."
Made me think about my own "tough" days at work. I had nothing, I mean what could I say? He was right, I am exceedingly fortunate in my life, my work, my family, my Church. I am going to try to remember this when I am feeling stressed...am I going 300 mph 6 ft from three jets, while my boss swears at me, no? Then maybe I should chill out a little, it's not really that bad.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Sunday, September 14, 2008
A "projection" coincidence
After entering my post (see: Perceptual Glasses) I headed over to Google Reader and wouldn't you know it, the first entry waiting for me has a connection to my post. Here it is, from Guy Kawasaki no less.
Are You Limiting Yourself?
GuyKawasaki Sep 14, 2008 1:55 PM - Show original item
Psychologists dub the tendency to presume that others react to the world in the exact same way we do as "projection." For example, an entrepreneur is reluctant to schmooze and unwilling to discuss his company in social settings for fear of annoying potential customers and investors.
According to Christopher R. Edgar, projecting can hold you back. Check out his article called "Are Your 'Projections' Limiting Your Success?" to learn more. The next time you find yourself doubting or fearing a nerve-racking situation, don't assume everyone else feels the same way. Bikshu Sangharakshita, author of Essence of Zen, offers advice on how to transcend potentially limiting projections:“Try to discover what it is you most dislike in others, what you most often criticize and condemn them for. A little elementary self-analysis may reveal that those qualities are hidden in the depths of your own mind and that in criticizing others in this way you are, in fact, unconsciously criticizing yourself.”
Assuming that other people will react negatively to some behavior because that's the way you feel can limit you. What's trickier is the assumption that if you like the behavior, others will like it too. This isn't true either.
Perceptual Glasses
Two things have really moved me intellectually this past week. First, my research methods course presented three articles (one an original commentary on what needs to come of educational research - the other two responses to the first; one supporting the other attacking) that brought me to a new place of understanding - a flat earth moment. Second, the pre-class assignment that I have been working on tonight for my grad school seminar presented the concept that identity and reality are reflexive - that is the perceptual frame through which my identity is formed is the same frame through which I see the world. The perceptual glasses I wear cloud both my vision and my projection. Not in itself a flat earth moment - but as you will read - it lead to one.
The research methods course presented an original article where Robert Slavin (http://www.jstor.org/pss/3594400 - login required) or look it up (Evidence-Based Education Policies: Transforming Educational Practice and Research, by Robert E. Slavin © 2002 American Educational Research Association.) speaks to the US government funding available due to the "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB) legislation and how this is really a great opportunity for "Education" to make the jump to real research. You see, unlike hard sciences, Education has lapsed behind with very little quantitative research guiding the improvement of the profession. The majority of changes to teaching and schooling occur as the passing of anecdotal successes and the use of techniques and methods that have not been tested in true random and rigorously matched trials. Bottom line (and an examples he uses is) should a turn of the 20th century (1900) person be brought forward in time to today -- if they were a doctor in 1899, they would not be able to work as a doctor today -- but if they were a teacher then, they could easily step in as a teacher today. (This is arguable - but changes in classroom culture and content not withstanding - but much closer than in medicine, agriculture, chemistry, physics, biology, etc.) With the funding now available the opportunity exists to move education research into the quantity and quality required to really advance the field.
Reading the article, and the two responses, really helped move me to a place that I had perhaps known, but not every articulated. Education is starving for quality research. And lots of it. What a "flat-earth" moment for me. And I am surprised that it was. I have been an educator for sixteen years and a student for much longer. This I should know.
Or maybe not. You see, the pre-amble to the pre-class assignment (how is that for pre- pre-?) speaks to the perceptual glasses that we all wear. And how these glasses tint both our projection of ourselves, but also our view of the world. Both my vision and the projection of myself is tinted.
The pre-amble goes on to say that the escape of a reflection occurs when an individual is able to "let go of how what they thought they knew and move into another place." The examples of Galileo, Columbus and Einstein are strong. And courage and honesty are key components of letting go. The flat earth experience is what I seek. It is why I study. It is why I live. It is me.
It is also my lens.
This may be harder than I thought.
The research methods course presented an original article where Robert Slavin (http://www.jstor.org/pss/3594400 - login required) or look it up (Evidence-Based Education Policies: Transforming Educational Practice and Research, by Robert E. Slavin © 2002 American Educational Research Association.) speaks to the US government funding available due to the "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB) legislation and how this is really a great opportunity for "Education" to make the jump to real research. You see, unlike hard sciences, Education has lapsed behind with very little quantitative research guiding the improvement of the profession. The majority of changes to teaching and schooling occur as the passing of anecdotal successes and the use of techniques and methods that have not been tested in true random and rigorously matched trials. Bottom line (and an examples he uses is) should a turn of the 20th century (1900) person be brought forward in time to today -- if they were a doctor in 1899, they would not be able to work as a doctor today -- but if they were a teacher then, they could easily step in as a teacher today. (This is arguable - but changes in classroom culture and content not withstanding - but much closer than in medicine, agriculture, chemistry, physics, biology, etc.) With the funding now available the opportunity exists to move education research into the quantity and quality required to really advance the field.
Reading the article, and the two responses, really helped move me to a place that I had perhaps known, but not every articulated. Education is starving for quality research. And lots of it. What a "flat-earth" moment for me. And I am surprised that it was. I have been an educator for sixteen years and a student for much longer. This I should know.
Or maybe not. You see, the pre-amble to the pre-class assignment (how is that for pre- pre-?) speaks to the perceptual glasses that we all wear. And how these glasses tint both our projection of ourselves, but also our view of the world. Both my vision and the projection of myself is tinted.
The perceptual glasses metaphor is a helpful way of illustrating this. Suppose the lens of our world is coloured blue. If we shine a light through the lens, this projects an image to the world. We could call this our self-image or identity. The light coming back to us is what we perceive to be the exterior reality. However in this situation both the projection and the perception of the exterior reality are coloured blue....The observer and the observed are inextricably tied together in a reflection. Like an image in a mirror, they are looking at one another. How does one then escape a particular reflection? (source: Course document which referenced it from: http://www.neoscience.org/reflexiv.htm)
The pre-amble goes on to say that the escape of a reflection occurs when an individual is able to "let go of how what they thought they knew and move into another place." The examples of Galileo, Columbus and Einstein are strong. And courage and honesty are key components of letting go. The flat earth experience is what I seek. It is why I study. It is why I live. It is me.
It is also my lens.
This may be harder than I thought.
Friday, September 12, 2008
response to "761"
So I just read a blog of a friends, called 761. So after reading it, I went to the linked website it referred to. I don't care about how many bases the US has around the world, maybe I should, but I can't get excited about it. I wondered why this website was even talking about it, so i went to their home page and what do you know, to my own amazement (if you detect sarcasm...bing, bing, bing...you win the grand prize) it was a hard left wing, attack anything on the right. It was too funny after just having read this article.
Neither article is neutral, nor is either website. Here is what makes me laugh. The lefty website, as so many people, and so much media is on the attack against Sarah Palin. A lady who lives a normal life is now somehow the enemy, she has "no experience", though her job is the closest of any to President, she certainly doesn't have the credentials of Obama, who has written two autobiographies, but no major laws. I don't actually mind that she has a family, so does Obama. I don't mind that she is inexperienced, so is Obama. I don't care that she doesn't know who the Nepalese Finance Minister (Baburam Bhattarai), neither does Obama, nor did I until I looked it up, and will not remember it. What I do care about is, she is not running against Obama, McCain is. Can't attack him? What happened to a new kind of polititcian, seems to me that it is the same old thing, attack who you can, smear who you can, truth...doesn't matter, just try to win the election. I don't get a vote, but if I did, I would definitely not cast it for Obama, I just plain don't trust his holier than thou attitude, don't like it in Church, like it less in a polititican, especially one who says that he is just one of us. He's not!
Neither article is neutral, nor is either website. Here is what makes me laugh. The lefty website, as so many people, and so much media is on the attack against Sarah Palin. A lady who lives a normal life is now somehow the enemy, she has "no experience", though her job is the closest of any to President, she certainly doesn't have the credentials of Obama, who has written two autobiographies, but no major laws. I don't actually mind that she has a family, so does Obama. I don't mind that she is inexperienced, so is Obama. I don't care that she doesn't know who the Nepalese Finance Minister (Baburam Bhattarai), neither does Obama, nor did I until I looked it up, and will not remember it. What I do care about is, she is not running against Obama, McCain is. Can't attack him? What happened to a new kind of polititcian, seems to me that it is the same old thing, attack who you can, smear who you can, truth...doesn't matter, just try to win the election. I don't get a vote, but if I did, I would definitely not cast it for Obama, I just plain don't trust his holier than thou attitude, don't like it in Church, like it less in a polititican, especially one who says that he is just one of us. He's not!
Thursday, September 4, 2008
The first day of school - college style
Today is the first day back for students at the college where I work. Well, first day back for some - first day period for others. It is such a wonderful time of year. I really enjoy the energy, the confusion, and the sense of "beginning" that it brings.
The energy is in the volume of people in the hallways, and in the excitement they bring. The questions they ask and the acceptance of the answers. They are truly excited to be hear. Compared to a summer of traveling, or working, or that final summer of being lazy, this is a place of safety where they feel sheltered from the "work" world. I once called it the "real" world, but realized at some point in the past that for many this world runs parallel to another for which they spend their lives - it may be working, or parenting, or volunteering - but this existence is only a part of who they are. No matter - there is a sense of what could be, or what will be, that is new and not certain and this uncertainty contributes to the energy.
The confusion is partially fueled by the energy as adrenalin is seldom a "good" hormone. Maybe to lift that car off your special someone - but for most we face the same fate as Bruce Banner. Where is my first class? What does this room number mean? How to I read my timetable? Where do I go when I have all this open space in my day? What is the library loan policy? When does the campus lounge open? Where should I eat? What if I do not meet anyone who likes me? The questions are unlimited. Luckily the sense of beginning trumps both the energy and the confusion.
The sense of beginning is really the part I like. For the new student it is a completely new experience and such a different one from what they have ever experienced. Few things are as exciting as leaving high school behind and experiencing the freedom and personal accountability that comes with college. Many will make wrong decisions and will face tough consequences that are lessons in disguise. A good number will also make wrong decisions but remain on a path (although this will change both often and frequently - I object to Pirates as sons-in-law) that leads them to graduation (at least 3, often 4 or 5 years down the road). And a small minority will make the right decisions and live to tell about it.
For others this is year 2 (or 3, etc.) and for them also it is a new beginning. A chance to change or continue. A chance to make resolutions for a different year, an improved year, a better year. Pity the fool who peaked last year and is trying to "remain" or "maintain" or "hold on for dear life" to the successes they experienced. It is probably best that we never quite know when we have peaked in real-time. Only upon reflection later can we identify, "that really was the best of time". I hope that most never need to look back - may each year be an improvement, a constant process that continues for their entire life. That would be my wish for all - and that would work well with each year being a new beginning.
The energy is in the volume of people in the hallways, and in the excitement they bring. The questions they ask and the acceptance of the answers. They are truly excited to be hear. Compared to a summer of traveling, or working, or that final summer of being lazy, this is a place of safety where they feel sheltered from the "work" world. I once called it the "real" world, but realized at some point in the past that for many this world runs parallel to another for which they spend their lives - it may be working, or parenting, or volunteering - but this existence is only a part of who they are. No matter - there is a sense of what could be, or what will be, that is new and not certain and this uncertainty contributes to the energy.
The confusion is partially fueled by the energy as adrenalin is seldom a "good" hormone. Maybe to lift that car off your special someone - but for most we face the same fate as Bruce Banner. Where is my first class? What does this room number mean? How to I read my timetable? Where do I go when I have all this open space in my day? What is the library loan policy? When does the campus lounge open? Where should I eat? What if I do not meet anyone who likes me? The questions are unlimited. Luckily the sense of beginning trumps both the energy and the confusion.
The sense of beginning is really the part I like. For the new student it is a completely new experience and such a different one from what they have ever experienced. Few things are as exciting as leaving high school behind and experiencing the freedom and personal accountability that comes with college. Many will make wrong decisions and will face tough consequences that are lessons in disguise. A good number will also make wrong decisions but remain on a path (although this will change both often and frequently - I object to Pirates as sons-in-law) that leads them to graduation (at least 3, often 4 or 5 years down the road). And a small minority will make the right decisions and live to tell about it.
For others this is year 2 (or 3, etc.) and for them also it is a new beginning. A chance to change or continue. A chance to make resolutions for a different year, an improved year, a better year. Pity the fool who peaked last year and is trying to "remain" or "maintain" or "hold on for dear life" to the successes they experienced. It is probably best that we never quite know when we have peaked in real-time. Only upon reflection later can we identify, "that really was the best of time". I hope that most never need to look back - may each year be an improvement, a constant process that continues for their entire life. That would be my wish for all - and that would work well with each year being a new beginning.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Which am I
I just read this at www.onesentence.org...
"There are two kinds of friends in the world: the ones who help you up when you've passed out in a bar and call a cab and the ones that take 'funny' pictures of you."
I just can't figure out if I am the good kind of friend or the bad kind...I guess if I don't know I am not the good kind...sigh!
"There are two kinds of friends in the world: the ones who help you up when you've passed out in a bar and call a cab and the ones that take 'funny' pictures of you."
I just can't figure out if I am the good kind of friend or the bad kind...I guess if I don't know I am not the good kind...sigh!
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