Sunday, November 20, 2011

WK 4 Peer Comment: Marc H.

Marc H's Post: http://marchunt.blogspot.com/

MAC: Week #4 - Reaction to Reading

This book for this course in previous weeks was a real quick read however, this week it seemed a bit drawn out with the examples the author used. I agree with him that they were necessary but I found myself hoping the concert with the young students would come and also end.

On a positive note, I thought the idea of avoiding the "downward spiral" by the use of enrollment was really quite good and also relatable. My job depends on how many students want to take the video/sound production course so this chapter gave me a sense of urgency for sure. I try to find the spark in the students and also those who come by to either shadow the class or even just drop in for a visit. I also try to look back at what my curriculum map has and be sure to update that each year in order to keep current with industry trends and also try to point those trends into the students interests. I can see how easy it is for people, teachers, and students can get into that downward spiral by saying no and not having a solution or even asking for a solution like the author did when he asked for the two quarters.

The other take away from the reading I had was "becoming the board." This was very interesting. Imagine how many of us could take some stress out of projects and life if we take ourselves out of the equations and figure out what the "player" was looking for. Cool idea and way of thinking. First I was a bit confused and list but when the conversation between yourself on how to get your boss to hear the ideas you have then made sense. For educators I am sure we are told too many times "no" on certain classroom ideas, but, if we find a way to bring up those ideas where we can show how it relates to the current school agenda or even state's changing standards then those conversation might actually gain more approvals.

My Comment:

The "Being the Board" chapter was also a great take away for me as well. It would indeed eliminate all the stress from the projects and keep yourself in check with one's responsibility and commitment to the project. For "Lighting the Spark", this was a given to me as one tries to motivate others' to be inthralled with the project there will be other who are not. But now I have a clearer understanding about the process and have gained some more tools. Thank you for your reading reflections.

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