You just can’t make this stuff up. You could try, and we do sometimes… Mexicans, Muslims, and now the Pope. Will we run out of material for Act II? Who knows. Certainly, not the talking heads… They still get paid… Not a bad gig.
An interesting quote worthy of a few moments of brain cell activity: “Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.” ~ William Pitt the Younger
OK. Opportunity knocks…
Whenever I am looking for inspiration or increased motivation when confronted “by life”, I watch a short video of my granddaughter learning how to walk.
Where have I been… Time warp…
Dunno where I have been this last month…
Generally, it is rare for a student to go to sleep during a class of mine, but it does occasionally happen. I don’t wake them up – intentionally… While I used to be offended by what some may have suggested was a lecture-induced coma, my experience and a robust and increasing body of research suggests otherwise.
From general cognition, memory, attention span, and host of other executive cognition processes, the lack of sleep is king. I have begun to randomingly “verbally” poll students with no particular desire to record data. They just don’t appear to sleep much, and when they do, it is binge sleep. I wonder. Students are always telling me how anxious and stressed they are – often self-described as a crushing stress that impairs their learning and their quality of life.
I am perplexed. Back in the day, one wore the all-nighter like a badge of honor. Not so much now, or so it is my perception at the moment. Honestly, I am not sure how it is perceived by the young college student. I need to ask.
I also need to reassess my role in this – if there is one.
So, grading college level work is a time-consuming and, sometimes, arduous process. Notwithstanding that no-brainer observation, I always learn something new, something interesting, or have some void filled. All good stuff.
When reviewing some recent student journal entries today, I read one particular submission that was, if I may say it, simply “awesome” (somehow, nowadays, I have an inherent aversion to that word…). Anywho, and back on task, the essence of the moving journal entry went something like this;
“I am so busy taking care of myself and my daughter, that I do not have time to cry…”
Wow. My heart ached.
Every day a new book, article, or piece of research is published with some new spin on the Art of Communication – often, a re-work of common-sense principles that are well worn and “life approved”. I’ve no idea how it all works, really – my communication ability largely predicated on some internalized win / loss metric dealing in trial and error…
So, this morning is largely dominated by a common mode of communication – responding to student email – minus the spam. I continue to note, that student ability (effectiveness?) using this baby-boomer driven means of communication, um, generally sucks… But, not always. Be still my heart.
Communication may work wonders; effective communication works miracles…
Human behavior is complex – or at least it is to me. Even my own behavior can be perplexing, which of course occurs only when I make an effort to self-diagnose or evaluate an overt action or emotion, AKA personal reflection. And today, I committed that crime; that is, an adult male who overtly and without forethought, malice, or external stimulus decides to take an emotional dive.
Ouch. OK, the water was not all that deep. I don’t swim well in those waters anyway. And I was up and moving onward in a minute. But, I did note that technology played an essential role in the modification of the way I do things… Wait, no, more like technology directly caused me to change a well-established behavior – that of leaving the house and driving somewhere – in this case to class.
I turned around. Four minutes out, and I turned around. What, pray tell did I leave behind? My cell phone? Wallet? Briefcase? Forget to close the garage door? Did I leave the A/C on? Did I forget my gourmet brown bag lunch? Nope, none of those.. I turned around to fetch my FitBit, that was left in a state of disassociation.
Damn…
Recently, as in earlier this week, I noted with some measure of interest that about 1/2 of a business class had accessed a Homework prompt that had been online for weeks. The LMS does not provide insight if an assignment prompt is “actually digested” by an unsuspecting student. Wouldn’t that be nice, the technology is there… Anywho, along with that nugget of information, I peeked to see if anyone had actually started on the assignment. This was doable cuz it required a public-facing entry – a concrete measurement at the ready. I log in. I navigate to the assignment area. I peek. Nothing… No surprise, the assignment is not due for 15 days. Minor disappointment nonetheless – it is a good assignment that knocks off an SLO and actually can result in meaningful learning…
So, I think – what to do with this data, this negative information – hmmm, why not share it with the students? Just maybe, doing so might provide the necessary pebble-like catalyst to garner some movement, right? Decision made, I make it so – incorporating an old business principle into my email. I let my students know that good business folks measure everything, injecting a favorite quote about control and measurement. Swoosh – off it goes.
Some time has passed. Enough time to know I over-reached. And, I guess I did. I mean, what 19 year old is going to turn some work in early. Geez, Wal-Mart has developed a complex set of logistical processes specifically designed to not waste a second of valuable time – and that would include doing shit two weeks in advance of a due date! Time is money. What was I thinking…
The takeaway – I was outgunned by thousands of years of human nature! I had a noble cause – my effort at best will garner marginal results – not unlike a Botox injection to abate / retard a migraine. Being oversensitive now, I realize that it is probable that most students did not even read my “be proactive email”. Hoping for an adjustment in student behavior may be a bit of a stretch.
But, back in the saddle now, I am not disheartened. Like Forrest Gump and a box of chocolates, ya just never know what you’re going to get – maybe a single light bulb will go off. Probably not, but I felt compelled to try and I will again.
You know, I was thinking. And, no, such activity is not that rare given the season of my life. It is Sunday, and my “work plate” is rather full. Not overflowing full, but that’s true only because of how the shit is arranged on my plate – which required a personal undertaking of no small measure. You might think I was a high school football player during hell week having dinner at an all-you-can-eat buffet. Piled high.
This begs a question, and I have many, as to why this is. As an educator, I live for those few moments where a “focused and engaged” student passes through my field of vision. You know, locked-on. It happens, but not all that often. But when it does, I marvel at the wake of success and progress that engaged student leaves behind. Of course, that “wake” conveniently serves as a metaphorical equivalent of a mountain – a mountain that other students must navigate if they are to have a chance to wet their beak at the free enterprise fountain of opportunity.
So, what it the key difference among students? Among anyone who is living life? What separates the normal from the uncommonly normal? I suggest it is the “Art of Procrastination”. We can try to learn time management, digest project management techniques, do a Black Belt in Six Sigma, and earn a sigma that. All good stuff really…it helps… But, that ain’t it. There are some things we can’t teach and some stuff we can’t learn. We can try, and we do. We are then called consultants or subject matter experts… Not a bad thing, really, you can make a living, but the majority of us are not “the one”.
Just who is “the one” and how did they earn that title? Well, they are different. They are wired, yet remain open systems. They are prescriptive and creative at the same time. The coup d’état – they can actually handle change – not fake it with a casual embrace, pun intended. How? Geez, I don’t know. Look at me, my plate is piled high with things to do and I am writing this.
But I suspect, they have mastered procrastination – the last bastion of inefficiency. Not mastered as in they do not procrastinate. Rather, they have taken procrastination, the proclivity to postpone, to new heights. A new discipline, really; “The Art of Procrastination.” Such mastery promotes efficient, effective, creative, and focused behavior. Their results come sooner, faster, better, cheaper, and all that.
So OK, these folks are different. They possess the ability to discern the important from the urgent and when they have to guess, they guess right a lot more than wrong. They are gifted to the degree of ordinary. They are blessed and their most centered and observed quality is their humble nature. And, most of all, they do not know they are truly special.
And that, folks, is a precious moment to witness.
Yeah, I now get it. Sometimes, it best to just get over it – and leave the planning to others. Of course, it is important to arrive at this line of reasoning early on in the process…