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Leading from any chair sounded like a wonderful concept. I instantly beginning thinking about ways to create the magic in my own classroom with elbow or shoulder partners. By allowing someone the opportunity to show his or her abilities creates a sense of importance that isn’t easily given in a classroom environment. I also liked that it gave me ideas on being fresh and light to my students everyday and that the dullness I see in them could be a reflection of myself. The true key that I thought would help me in that area was the white sheet. Using a tool that allows the students to provide feedback is great. It gives them a voice in the classroom. Using the white sheet method as a way to improve and learn about your teaching methods and those you teach is a great practice that I want to use.
Photo from: http://media.photobucket.com I love Rule Number 6: “Don’t take yourself so goddamn seriously.” I have always thought that about myself. I take things in life seriously but not really myself in it. There are plenty of people in my life that do a fabulous job of making it up for me that I don’t need the pleasure of doing it for myself. The Calculating Self seems to be a poignant part of being yourself that you have to look at deeply and say, “It’s not that serious.” Trying to remember Rule Number 6 in times when I want nothing but to be perfect for everyone is a hard bit to chew. But reading on I realized that I live more in the Central Self and that my desire is pleasing and making the world better for others. “When you look to people’s central selves and conduct an honest conversation, a culture form’s that is hard to resist. For the calculating self to emerge in this culture is as difficult as trying to hum a tune in B minor while the chorus around you is singing in C major.”
I always thought that settling isn’t apart of my thinking. I can’t even stay in a place for longer than seven years. I have too much drive. But in the scheme of things most people are complacent and are all too happy to complain about where they are and what they are doing and still live it day in and day out. Being as though I was never that person, it was good to read about where and why this phenomenon takes place. My place on the continuum of complacency or improving is definitely seeing the brighter side or the bigger picture. However, when it comes to people, I live in the “the way things were’ and lower my expectations hoping for a better feeling for the relationship.
Control for me has been to show people exactly what they want without being fully connected to the idea. It is showing that I have more control over my emotional well-being then themselves and that I can ultimately control my emotions no matter the situation. But I do care and that is the one emotion I give freely because most people don’t show that they care enough so there is no fear. I haven’t had my love rejected so I don’t worry about disappointment. I became a teacher because of all of the above. I care about other and want nothing but the best for them. I want people to take what I know and make it better than what I could accomplish. My passion is making a better world for those who live in it in the best way I know how. I show them that love is a muscle and that it grows stronger and stronger when you use it. And that the exercises that get from me will not only make it stronger but teach them about themselves in the process.
Zander, R. S., & Zander, B. (2000). Giving. The art of possibility (p. 26). Boston, Mass.: Harvard Business School Press.
Wow, that is amazing how you can lower your expectations for a relationship in order to cope with the reality of it. I often find that to be a major weakness for me and I cannot escape it. I have always placed unrealistic expectations on people and hurt myself more than once when they did not meet them. I think that I have grown to not to do it as much. However I think that your comment about settling is valid as well. Sometimes we need to settle even if it is not a part of our thinking, because accepting the change in things or the fact that some things remain the same is what pushes us to the next level in many facets of life.
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