Week 2 - Comments to My Classmates #2

Mike's comments regarding The Art of Possibility

http://mikeandhisthoughts.blogspot.com/2011/03/macweek2reading-art-of-possibility.html?showComment=1299974823945#c2319115168732652747

Image retrieved and modified from FB profile pics.

What an interesting book! I really wasn't sure what this book was about until I got the chance to jump into it this week and I must say, the content is really eye-opening and rather inspirational. I enjoyed each chapter and how they focused on different aspects of our lives and how we view things. In the first chapter, Invented, I thought the comment about the Me'en people of Ethiopia and their reaction to photographs of people and animals was amazing (pg 11). I never would have imagined such a reaction to viewing photos for the first time. My initial thought would be to view the actual pictures, and not to hold and smell the type of paper! I liked the concept in that everything is already perceived in a certain way so we should look to change our perceptions to improve our lives. 

In the second chapter, Universe of Possibility, I enjoyed reading about the 9 dot problem. I remember doing that in elementary school, and it stuck with me through all these years, so it was great reading about how the book viewed that and how we should look to move beyond the imaginary borders in our everyday lives. Again, this chapter focused on how our lives are shaped by assumptions, which was a bit of an eye opener, because I never thought about things like that.

The third chapter, Giving an A, is another remarkable way at looking at things. I liked the quote, "The A is not an expectation to live up to, but a possibility to live into" (pg 26). I also thought it was great how the book referenced Da Vinci's view on a block of marble and how inside of it is an amazing sculpture. Basically saying that we all are amazing inside, just waiting to be built up! The assignment in which one of the authors had their students write letters from their future selves in order to receive an A in class had me wondering how well something like that would work in my class. While I think it's quite a novel idea... I'm not yet sold on doing it for my students... yet. 

The final chapter, Being a Contribution, focuses on how we should all strive to make a difference in the world, even if we don't know how or why. 

Overall, I enjoyed reading the first four chapters of this book. It reminds me of one of my favorite books of all time, The Alchemist by Paul Coelho. One quote from The Alchemist is, "...when we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too" (pg 150). 

My Comments to Mike-

Mike- 
You did an great job of summarizing the direction of each chapter.  I too found the writing inspirational.  It is interesting that you related or found connection to prior reading.  As I read these chapters I could not stop thinking about how this book was giving me a similar feeling as a book that I read in HS.  It was more of a fictional piece but had similar underlying message, the book was called the Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield in which the lead character is on a quest to find "insights" and develops an understanding of how we interact with each other and how we ourselves become our optimal self.  


I think that we as teachers need to continually be willing to look at the world and the experiences around us from different points of view or else we will cease to grow.
I shared your "eye opening" in chapter two as I thought about how limiting we can be to ourselves.  When we live by our assumptions, you not only fall into that saying... "when you assume you make an *** out of you & me" but you really are preventing yourself from a larger or deeper or just a different experience than the one you gain otherwise.  Since life is defined by our experiences we should make all attempts to make those experience meaningful and full of growth.


I thought about the marble metaphor as well, and the amazing thing about sculpture is that it can always be adjusted.  But the most effective way to create a piece of art through such methods is by creating a clear image in your mind of what you would like to make, but to always be willing to compromise and work with the feel of the medium, to allow the marble to have a say in what it becomes.  When we consider what and how we are "grading" our students we really should be looking at it with both our vision and theirs in mind as well as with the idea that certain materials get sculpted or molded using different methods.  To stick with the metaphor, if you try to sculpt an iron statue using the same methods as marble you will be greatly disappointed.
Mike- Thanks for your insight.