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| Ode to Joy! |
Chapter 5
Any Chair
Our 4th grade class went on field trip to the
symphony today. Over nine hundred 4th and 5th grade
students from our district attended. The students had been practicing playing a
small portion of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony on their recorders all
year. As the conductor turned to the kids and began guiding them to join with
the orchestra, I couldn’t help but think of the chapter. I’ve never heard Ode
to Joy sound more beautiful. Wonderful things can happen when you are “willing
to give away greatness!”
Chapter 6
Rule Number 6
Again, I thought of my students as I read this chapter. Many
of my students feel so incredibly pressured by standardized testing and the
resulting “data” that their educations have become something to survive rather
than enjoy. It is sad to see kids so stressed about learning. I make “a
practice” out of making mistakes in my classroom. I tell my students how
wonderful mistakes can be; I try to do what I can to help lighten up the
academic mood that is prevalent on my campus. Educationally, I think this
“rule” speaks to a social/emotional capacity that our students will need to
survive. Our social/emotional classroom
instruction is driven by data we receive from students in the form of body
language and facial expressions. Meeting each kid’s needs is an art but with
rule number 6, it’s impossible to make a mistake!
Chapter 7
The Way Things Are
I love the diagrams in this chapter. The diagram of the
closed conversation (spiral) verses the open conversation (sun with rays).
There is a lot to be said about assumptions verses assessments (or facts) here.
That can be a little confusing at times because what often seems like “fact” is
actually just something we started believing at some point and it seems as real
to us as the actual truth. I like the quote by Anais Nin, “We don’t see things
as they are; we see them as we are.”
Chapter 8
Giving Way to Passion
The 2 steps written about in this chapter are easier said
than done. Sometimes “noticing where you’re holding back” can be like trying
see a color you’ve never seen before. I also think that noticing is the hardest
part. If I can stay open to noticing, then letting go and following the
possibilities becomes more like going with the flow.
excellent reflection on the reading and your own experiences. I especially can identify with the beauty of letting the little ones participate with the "big band." I went to a conference performance where kindergartners who were beginning to learn the violin sat-in with a high school string section and the trick was that the kindergartners played just one note as the high schoolers played the rest, but because they were playing together the kindergartners and the audience got to ride the beautiful connection and sound. It was so wonderful and joyful. So much of that is getting lost in our bean-counter-driven schools. What a shame.
ReplyDeleteLori, I loved this week's reading! It seemed like I left one chapter smiling, just to finish the next one smiling even more.
ReplyDeleteYour paragraph about the kids playing with the symphony reminds me of that commercial where the parents are in the audience to watch a piano concert, but when the curtains open their son is sitting at the piano plunking away when the famous pianist comes up and instead of getting angry, he sits down and plays with the child. That is one of my favorite commercials of all time. That is just one way of giving away greatness while leading from any chair.