Original Post:http://www.gottagetsigned.com/2012/04/wk-2-reading-there-is-only-box-if-you.html
FRIDAY, APRIL 13, 2012
WK 2: Reading, “There is only a box if you build one”.
RIP George Carlin, Ph.D in Common Sense
The book The Art of Possibilities by Benjamin Zander and Rosamund Stone Zander is beyond fantastic. Although this book had nothing to do with creating media assets, it has everything to do with creating socially conscientious thinking assets. The authors clearly understand thank thinking is the stuff the universe is made of, which reminds of the Henry Ford quote, “If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right.”
In the chapter, “Its all been invented”, the authors discuss the concept of thinking inside or outside the box. Personally, I have never bought into this concept because as a right-brained dominant learner who has struggled to achieve mediocrity in left-brained dominant academic arena, I have always wonder why I need to understand how I got from point A to point B, when the only think that was important was that I arrived? As an adult I find that I am working on multiple things at once and they are all out of linear order, but then again, this is own I think. Furthermore, with the increase in use of brainstorming or brain mapping as a viable catalyst of learning, I have witness a paradigm shift in education that has transcended beyond the outdated assembly line of academic practice and has rooted itself into the understanding that everyone learns using multiple intelligences and at their own pace. Merely implying that there is nothing new under the sun is a cop out because even though we live in the most technologically advance civilization in history, we still have not invented away provide everyone with an equal education.
In chapter 2, Stepping into a Universe of Possibility: We live in a world of measurements, the Zanders advocate that when we look at how different things appear we can see them as possibilities, which offers an age old perspective on keeping an open mind. When you change the things you think about, the things you think about change. When I think of this philosophy, I am reminded of the philosophy on why Muslim pray five times daily. If a man lives on a riverbank, it is difficult to remain dirty. From what I read in the Koran, Islamic practitioners pray five times a day to keep themselves free of sin throughout the day. The mind is a sponge and needs to absorb as much information as it can process. The things we see, experience, and visualize become pieces of our life’s puzzle, which shape the direction of our individual journey through life.
Chapter 3. Giving an A: Giving Yourself an A.
This argument is as old as the American education system is self and is worth the same in my opinion as a penny with a whole in it, worthless. For example, a student may study all night long take an exam an get an A, but when faced with an opportunity to apply the contents of the exam to a real situation, they folded like a cheap lawn chair. On the other hand, another student could study a few hours a day for weeks leading up the exam and only get a C, but can apply the information they have acquired in multiple situations. In my opinion, the entire academic evaluation system needs to be revisited.
Chapter 4 made an excellent point, what can I do to be contribution in the world today?
As Gandhi stated, “be the change you want to see in the world.” Simply put; if you want kindness, be kind. If you want love, give love. If we spend our lives in service to our fellow man, human beings would have a whole lot less to fight, argue, and complain about.
DrichardsApr 15, 2012 07:28 PM
Sahpreem,
I thought your post about giving an A from the reading The Art of Possibilities was great. When you stated the educational grading system is worthless and provided an example of a student studying one night and getting an A but could not apply it to a real life situation, but the student that makes a C on their test can apply the knowledge to real situations. I see the same thing everyday in my construction class. I have students that can take tests and make A’s all day long but when the class has to apply the same information to a hands-on project they have no clue where to start. In my class I try to off set this by making the test carry the same weight as projects. I know some students do not test well and I also know you need to know the materials and be able to apply that knowledge to a real life situation. If you know all the components required building a house but not the process to start building the house what good is it if you are suppose to build the house. That is like an old saying I once heard about the definition of a consultant. A consultant is someone that knows 101 ways to make love but does not know any women.
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