Comments on Liz Dalton's blog

My comments:
Liz,
I like the fact that you work with your students on the idea of thinking positive, trying, and practicing. Your answer to the students question about the marathon is great. Their question reminds me of the book and how it talks about the measurement world we live in. We are so confused today about what the goal of something is. We must win, and if we feel we can't, we give up trying. I hear that from so many students in math. They say they aren't very good at math before they've even seen what we are doing. We humans are so good at making excuses first to cover for ourselves.
I also agree with you that it is fun when students become creative and try new things. I teach technology to my fifth graders and show them some basic skills. Later, they come back and show me some new ways of doing things on the computer and it's exciting to see them expand there understanding. You're doing some great things in your classes that will help your students in the future. Great job!


Liz Dalton's comments on Chapter 1-3
I love The Art Of Possibilities. This book describes many of my philosophies of life. I have taught my students many of these philosophies. I teach life skills and it is part of my curriculum. The Art Of Possibilities will give me more examples to use to teach these life skills.

In Chapter 1 I loved the example of the 2 shoe salesman who went to Africa. One came back to report the people wore no shoes so there is no market for shoes in Africa. The other salesman reported a great market for shoes because no one had shoes. I have used the half glass of water demonstration for the same concept, but I am excited to use the shoe salesman example. I see many people who think negatively who make themselves so unhappy. If they try something and they are not good at it from the beginning they give up. I am always telling my students just because you are not good at something does not mean you can’t enjoy it. I run marathons (12 so far). After I run a marathon I always get asked by my students “did you win?”. My answer is “yes, I crossed the finish line.” It does not matter if I win, it is a great accomplishment just to do something hard. I ask my students “how do you get good at something?” Of course by practice and dedication. I love the excerpt from the book, our practices take dedication a leap of faith, and ,yes, practicing to get them into our repertoire.

I think chapter 2 talks really about problem solving. There are many ways to arrive at a solution or to do something. My mother was a fantastic cook. She followed the recipe directions exactly. If she did not have an ingredient, she went to the store to buy it and if it named a brand, she bought that brand. After I took my food chemistry classes and knew about reactions, I started experimenting with substitutions and adjusting recipes. When my mother watched me cook she would ask me how I could make substitutions and adjustments? My mom had only one way to do things. I love to watch students, when we are cooking, to come up with a new or different method of doing something. Sometimes it is more efficient or just a new twist that I have not thought about. I see students in my clothing classes asking if they can put a pocket on a a project or use the embroidery to put their name on their project or some other creative extra to their projects. In my child care classes my students have to create activities, for preschool kids, based on a theme and a developmental practice. It is amazing the creative activities my students come up with to teach a concept. I love to watch students think and create.

Chapter 3 says that we need to quit being so hard on ourselves and others. This is such a competitive world we live in. We always want to be better than or have more than someone else. We need to give ourselves and A and others and A. We are always going to have good and bad in our lives. We need to do the best we can with what we have. I love the excerpt from the book, I love my weeds as much as my unblossomed roses. I can’t wait for tomorrow because I’m in love with today, hard work, and reward what can be better. We need to embrace the good and bad in our lives and just do our best and be happy. I always tell my students, if you do your best and work hard, you will get an A in my class.
Friday, April 2, 2010