Week 2 response to Bruce Kramer

This book is dangerous! Why? Because, it does an excellent job of defining and inspiring the uses of creative practices. So why is that so dangerous? Well the focus is so much on the practice of creativity and how to do it and do it better that the purpose of creativity is put aside or takes a back seat to just the practice of it. So the danger of this book is its potential to be taken out of context of the bigger picture of life. Let me clarify with an example we EMDT students can understand. We are learning great techniques at Full Sail on how to use state of the art media to improve our delivery of education. The danger of focusing so much on the techniques is that we can miss out of the purpose of why we are educating in the first place and what is it that we want our students to learn. So it is with this book, when the practices of creativity become more of the priority then the purposes, the proper order of approach gets turned around.

For instance, the first chapter “It’s all invented” is a great way to examine your presuppositions to your outlook on life and prepare yourself to change, that which is only your ideas or your culture’s. The danger is that believing “ALL” is invented and treating it as such will undermine the truth of that which is created and the reason for which it was created. Of course the solution to this dilemma is quite simple. Just remember to place the context of this book’s teaching in it proper place as a tool for learning the process of examining our concept of the truth instead of elevating the process as the truth itself. It is in that way we can work with the idea that “It’s all Invented” and protect the truth that some things are created for a purpose.

With this approach it become beneficial to examine the measurement systems we use and determine which are healthy and which need to be removed. That choice can be made having the understanding that some measurement systems are in place for a reason. So when we have the grace to give ourselves and others an A, we can see it is something to live up to and live into, instead of saying I am an A now… I don’t have to do anything since I already have it. From this line of reasoning, we can now make it possible to become contributors to the life we live around us.

Edwin said...

Bruce, You points are very interesting and makes me think about it compared to the book. I agree that one needs to understand the reason before you can move and create. I do think that your example for the program is partially accurate. We all have our learners in mind to what we need them to learn but that is different for each one of us in the program. We arm ourselves with the tools to make those education possibilities reality to our learners. I do agree that saying I am an A can be dangerous for those that cannot control the power that the concept may have but we as the guide must set some boundaries to keep them grounded on the true intention of why you are an A.

Week 2 response to Barbara Rasero

The ideas in this book are familiar to me and I have experienced many iterations of living the life of possibility - the EMDT program is the latest in a long line of out of the box decisions I’ve made. The really ‘big one’ was 15 yrs. ago, when I quit my job as a director in an ad agency and went to seminary. There, contrary to what some might believe, I learned more about out of the box thinking. In fact, out of the box is a way of seeing and living a spiritually based life. Zanders book is really about the human spirit and how to recognize, nurture, and materialize the gifts of this life and share them in the world. He shows that we deeply need love and acceptance and are dependent upon each other to realize our gifts.

Living by the rules and the scales of measurement is a necessary part of living in a family of community, but rules become constricting if we do not reinvent them as we grow. Rules help to channel and contain chaos, but the creative process is not that orderly! Ideas need free space to form and shared, and bodies need freedom to move erratically to learn the nuances and elegant moves of a musician, artist, or athlete. As teachers, we need to manage the tensions between chaos and order and understand not just the appropriate balance for a particular age group, but also to be sensitive to the human psyche of each child’s potential and limits. This is a tall order

Starting out with and A, I think, makes the process more fluid and child based. It assumes the wholeness of the student first and allows room for both potential and limits, rules and creativity, and connotes learning as an individual process rather than static corporately established goals. An A, assumes the norm, the acceptable as a given, and as a base form which to depart, allowing the space for vision.

To see ourselves as contributors to a larger good means that we acknowledge our own needs and the needs of others, and how these inter-relate, interact, and integrate. In the classroom, role-playing can lead to greater understanding of one’s gifts and ability to use them in service to others. Contribution is ability to respond to a need or gap. First and foremost, it’s a responsibility to understand and acknowledgment of our own needs for help and growth. Next, is the acknowledgement of our gifts, how and with whom to share them. I was told by a wise professor, that our gifts follow our needs; meaning, these two are inextricably linked and how we find and can offer our authentic selves in community.
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1 comments:

Edwin said...

Barbara, I think you write so eloquently that it feels as if you are talking to me rather than me reading your words on a screen. Leaving a job to push yourself spiritually is a bold decision that I must commend you for. I like your thoughts about each chapter. I think the wisdom you provide though your blog makes me want take one of your courses to get a feel of what your students experience.

Wk 2- Art of Possibilities

Push yourself beyond where you think you can go.