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 had a student five years ago, as an eighth grader.
He was struggling with his family, with
school, with friends, with his sexuality, with nearly everything.
He sent a clear message to me that he hated
science, did the bare minimum to pass my class, and was just pretty
disagreeable in general.
On to high
school he went, and I did not see him until just a few weeks ago.
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.
Ever since I can remember, I have been amazed, enthralled, and encouraged by Jacques Cousteau. He was such an amazing individual! I remember being a little kid, maybe 6 or 7 years old, and telling my mom that as soon as I could, I was leaving and going to work with him. This fantasy continued throughout my life - I frequent the official webpage, check out education opportunities through National Geographic, and just can't seem to let go of the idea of how cool it would have been to spend some time with this amazing scientist, researcher, author, inventor, and photographer. His persistence, his passion, and his childlike curiosity about anything oceanic, inspires me to inspire my students. Because of individuals like him, I encourage my students to question, to be curious, to be problem solvers, to be inventors.
