Sunday, May 15, 2011

Wk 2 Reading: Art of Possibility Chapters 1-4

I have to start by saying I really enjoy reading this book. I think the two authors balance each other out really well and it makes for a great read when you switch back and forth between their two styles of story telling. The insights and perception they both offer are very powerful. The stories are wonderful examples of real life lessons that can be applied to their central message.

There were so many great stories and quotes from the book, one of my favorites (pg 42):

 This hits home with me because I work with some amazing students, teachers, and administrators. The realization of being where you want to be and whom you want to be with makes all the extraneous thoughts, doubts, and problems we face seem so insignificant.

I also love this quote (pg 39):

How many teachers/trainers get frustrated by the distracted students that seem disengaged. I try to ask myself, "Why is that student not participating?", or, "How can I improve what I am doing to bring that student into the conversation?".


This book has so many great insights that truly apply to everyone, not just educators. I love the idea of giving everyone an A. This reminded me of a professor I had in college who allowed talking, open notes, and true collaboration during exams and tests. At first everyone in the class was very suspicious; we felt that he was playing with us, or trying to trap us. After realizing that this was his teaching philosophy it was very uncomfortable for many in the class because it went against everything they had ever experienced. After getting over the initial shock of how different this pedagogical approach was, I really enjoyed the class and I feel that I got more out of this than most standard lecture courses that were the norm.

I highly recommend this book and I am looking forward to reading the next chapters.
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  1. Matt LeskeyMay 15, 2011 at 8:04 PM

    I too am enjoying the insights from the first chapters, though; I think that I have some serious practice to do to apply them. It’s funny that you also focused on the quote about the person looking least engaged and the saying about a cynic. I say it’s funny, because that so often was me. I know that throughout my grade school years (waaaayyyyy back in the day), the teachers would call on me a lot because they thought I was distracted by looking around the room. I think I may have irritated them when I always had the answer that they were looking for. I was paying attention, but not in the way that they wanted me to. Before I started teaching online, many of our students started bringing laptops to the classroom and quite a few of these would be distracted by something online. It was always a challenge to see if I could pull them back into the discussion and get them to contribute to the class. It’s also interesting to hear how uncomfortable your classmates were with the teaching style of your college professor. You would think that most people would jump at the opportunity to work together on an exam, but some thought it was a trick. I have never understood where the idea that a teacher wants trick a student so that they fail has come from. Every teacher I have met wants their students to learn and succeed.

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