MAC – Month 11 – Week 3 - Comments on Sharon Jones’ Blog

This is a great application of the ideas touched on in this week’s reading. So often we expend a lot of energy trying to break a barrier down with our fists, when if we took a step back and looked at the whole terrain we would see that we can simply walk around it. Perspective has everything to do with it, and the more narrow our view of a situation, the less likely we will be to “see” other possibilities.

On Saturday, September 18th Sharon Jones wrote:

What an interesting and enigmatic reading this week! Would that I had read this prior to posting to the discussion prompts! The first chapter assigned this week dealt with “the way things are.” The discussion prompts dealt with our experiences with introducing new ways to do things into the school (or business) setting. The second topic dealt with the reason educators seem to be so resistant to change. Both of these topics spoke to me immediately, and I jumped right in and began cataloging all the difficulties I have had and PLACING THE BLAME for the resistance I had met. Reading chapter 7, though, reminded me that there are two things I must consider. One is “the way things are” and the other is “the way I perceive things to be.” As Ben Zander has said, “How fascinating!”

Obviously “the way things are,” the resistance expressed by our administration to the use of technology with our students, exists. I even understand many of the reasons our particular district has set the standards that are currently in place, and I can continue to disagree with them, and work toward the development of a more enlightened policy. I may or may not be successful, but the primary reason for engaging in this program has been to arm myself with the skill set needed to help move education into the 21st century. After reading chapter seven, I asked myself what benefit my students or I gained from me blaming the administration for the current status quo. The answer, of course, was “none.”

What “is” is. What needs to be changed, needs to be changed. Instead of placing blame, I need to be looking at a much bigger picture. It is not enough to know why something is the way it is. I must also look at what small steps can be taken to facilitate change. In much the same way as the example story of the father who felt his son was uncommunicative and walled off, even though this same son had requested and gained counseling for his family, I must look at the walls and barriers I am creating through my interpretation of the situation in which I find myself.

You can find Sharon Jones' blog here.