I love, love, love this book! I so want to buy up copies and distribute them for gifts. The unfortunate thing is that the people I know who would benefit most from reading it have already had their sparks go out and would poo poo it as psychobabble and most likely not give it a chance. Oh well, it's worth a try. If only there was a way to make it mandatory reading for them?!?!? ;-)
I particularly like the way the last chapter ties everything together. WE! This chapter ties together the concept of the book nicely. We are INTERDEPENDENT! What we do and say affects others, having impact beyond our wildest imaginations. It is important to act mindfully, so that our impact is a positive one. I liked the reminder of ember boxes. It has prompted me to carry my own figurative box for those times the spark has dimmed...and perhaps a spare to help someone else to see their way. :-)
Since you know how my military mind works, I'll just jump to the response within the first paragraph. Those whose sparks have gone out are still good teachers. How do we get them back into the squad and complete the mission objectives. I see this as a leave no teacher behind scenario. Since I have been teaching I have watched as teachers who had long ago lost their spark, were forced out by administrators and attachers alike, shunted to the least desirable positions and finally allowed early or medical retirement. Reading this book has reminded me that we are all a contribution, and that we just have to see how to align or goals with those of the people around us to succeed.
ReplyDeleteI too enjoyed the uplifting and inspirational messages in each chapter and have had fun employing the practices to see their benefit in my daily life. I also have to admit honestly that almost none of these things were daily practice for me before. Indeed I had allowed myself to become a lone soldier fighting overwhelming odds rather than a member of a team. The book and my experience at Full Sail have turned my course toward inclusion of my colleagues in the hopes that no more of them are left behind, broken and hurt emotionally by their teaching experience. I wake every morning knowing that there is a great chance that I will be able to help a students spark to new knowledge or ability each and every day they spend with me. I also accept the children as they are and let them be enrolled into the activities I am guiding. In the classroom, I can see the practices of possibilities abound. Staff meetings leave me depressed frustrated, and defensive of my fellow staff members. Sometimes I feel we are worse than the children when I see administrators bullying struggling teachers. They attempt to force them to do what is required rather than including them in an adventure that can bring success for everyone. We are given dictates and required to document until our eyes are crossed, because that is what we are told to do.
I am now working to help those teachers. I intend to make it possible to empower them through technology, and student iteration. I will be flipping the responsibility for proving that these teacher make a contribution away from the teacher, to the students. Documentation will be video based, and demonstrate specific strengths for some of these struggling teachers. Likewise I want there to be reflection and sharing around these recordings, so I am posting to our Edmodo professional page to allow commentary from other teachers. (I really stole the idea from Greg Havens.) I truly believe that this could be the spark to make these teachers shine, and I look forward to seeing the validation of the practices for others.
I'm so glad that the book spoke to you. I obviously agree that it's a great book that needs to be shared... you you correct that those who might most benefit are those less likely to admit so. Best thing that I've learned when running contrary to the status quo is that "nothing succeeds like success." So that if you are very successful in what you do and get some attention for it, then it can become an opportunity to share this particular nugget of change... just a thought.
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