Just one small comment today....four of my student musicians at my new school told me yesterday that they now owned their own ukuleles, as a result of learning how to play ukes in my Music classes.
I was stunned....pleased, of course, but---it's kind of an amazing gift to receive, to know that others are sharing in the sheer joy of music-making--as a direct result of being in my class.
Right. You're thinking, "Well, isn't that one of the reasons you're a teacher, to affect children's lives for the better?"
Yes. But, well, you know---it actually happened. Wow. I'm grateful for that.
See you tomorrow.
--K
10/14/10
10/13/10
Daily Life, 79
Fourth Grade Music class today, talking about Halloween stories, sound effects, and scary songs...
Anna* I love, love, love Halloween!
Kids Me, too! Me, too!
Susanna* Not me.
Anna* How come?
Susanna* I know myself too well. I can't take any kind of scary anything.
Wow....imagine knowing yourself well enough---before you've even reached your double digits, too--to realize where your boundaries are. Amazing.
See you tomorrow.
--K
*Anna and Susanna are, of course, not these astute youngster's real names.
Anna* I love, love, love Halloween!
Kids Me, too! Me, too!
Susanna* Not me.
Anna* How come?
Susanna* I know myself too well. I can't take any kind of scary anything.
Wow....imagine knowing yourself well enough---before you've even reached your double digits, too--to realize where your boundaries are. Amazing.
See you tomorrow.
--K
*Anna and Susanna are, of course, not these astute youngster's real names.
10/12/10
Learning Link, 33
Sound Effects
Julian Treasure has a great little 5 minute TED talk about sound affects us.....inside and out.
Find out more here.
See you tomorrow.
--K
Julian Treasure has a great little 5 minute TED talk about sound affects us.....inside and out.
Find out more here.
See you tomorrow.
--K
10/11/10
Learning Link, 32
How to re-frame a habit of procrastinating
Now, don't get me wrong here: I don't procrastinate about everthing. Just about some things.
For years, that's been a source of confusion and frustration for me. "Why am I not doing this, when I know it needs to be finished?" "I wish I'd started this sooner..."
Well, Jason Fitzpatrick has a good post on Lifehacker on just this topic. He's reviewing Neil Fiore's groundbreaking book, The Now Habit--and adding to the conversation some pertinent comments of his own.
Think you're just being lazy when you procrastinate? Fiore, a psychologist, has other ways of viewing the habit. He also has some helpful ideas for changing your ways, if you're so inclined.
It looks great to me....interested in knowing more? Check out Fitzpatrick's Lifehacker post here.
hmmm....perhaps, after we go get a cup of coffee or something.
See you tomorrow.
--K
Now, don't get me wrong here: I don't procrastinate about everthing. Just about some things.
For years, that's been a source of confusion and frustration for me. "Why am I not doing this, when I know it needs to be finished?" "I wish I'd started this sooner..."
Well, Jason Fitzpatrick has a good post on Lifehacker on just this topic. He's reviewing Neil Fiore's groundbreaking book, The Now Habit--and adding to the conversation some pertinent comments of his own.
Think you're just being lazy when you procrastinate? Fiore, a psychologist, has other ways of viewing the habit. He also has some helpful ideas for changing your ways, if you're so inclined.
It looks great to me....interested in knowing more? Check out Fitzpatrick's Lifehacker post here.
hmmm....perhaps, after we go get a cup of coffee or something.
See you tomorrow.
--K
10/10/10
Daily Life, 78 and Learning Link, 32
Thinking this morning about time, space and quiet.
Crucial to our well-being--even more crucial to being able to think clearly and to learn.
And yet...and yet, our school days are crammed past full, squeezed into small classroom spaces with one teeny opportunity at recess, to be out under the expansive sky....and of all things, school is not quiet.
Relatively quiet, yes. Not deeply quiet. Not the kind of quiet that extends long enough to allow for long periods of what Mihaly Csikszentmihaly calls 'flow'---and musicians call 'the groove' or 'the pocket': utter focus on the creative activity at hand. (Read more about Csikzentmihaly's work here.)
Just sayin'.
See you tomorrow.
--K
Crucial to our well-being--even more crucial to being able to think clearly and to learn.
And yet...and yet, our school days are crammed past full, squeezed into small classroom spaces with one teeny opportunity at recess, to be out under the expansive sky....and of all things, school is not quiet.
Relatively quiet, yes. Not deeply quiet. Not the kind of quiet that extends long enough to allow for long periods of what Mihaly Csikszentmihaly calls 'flow'---and musicians call 'the groove' or 'the pocket': utter focus on the creative activity at hand. (Read more about Csikzentmihaly's work here.)
Just sayin'.
See you tomorrow.
--K
10/9/10
Learning Link, 31
Simple ways to become a leader....
...with or without the title.
Trent Hamm, over at The Simple Dollar blog, has some good ideas for how to start (or continue) becoming a linchpin....a leader.
I agree with most of his points except for his comment about dealing with negative talk about others: he says, " My tactic is to usually be quiet when people are being disparaged, but speak up quite a bit when the conversation is more positive".
I don't agree. For me, being quiet implies agreement with what's being said. Instead, I'd rather either say, "That's how you see this, but it's not the way that I do" and/or directly offer a counter-balancing viewpoint, preferably with concrete examples for support.
That said, everything else he had to say was pretty helpful. Check out the entire article here.
See you tomorrow.
--K
...with or without the title.
Trent Hamm, over at The Simple Dollar blog, has some good ideas for how to start (or continue) becoming a linchpin....a leader.
I agree with most of his points except for his comment about dealing with negative talk about others: he says, " My tactic is to usually be quiet when people are being disparaged, but speak up quite a bit when the conversation is more positive".
I don't agree. For me, being quiet implies agreement with what's being said. Instead, I'd rather either say, "That's how you see this, but it's not the way that I do" and/or directly offer a counter-balancing viewpoint, preferably with concrete examples for support.
That said, everything else he had to say was pretty helpful. Check out the entire article here.
See you tomorrow.
--K
10/8/10
Learning Link, 30
How to play the uke in 5 minutes
Well. Perhaps that should read: how to start playing the uke in 5 minutes.
In any case, Ukulele Underground has many great features on its site, not the least of which is this 'crash course' tutorial--there really is enough information there to get you started.
And of course, playing the uke is so much fun that once you're started....well, who knows where you'll go?
Interested? Check out the site, and the tutorial, here.
Well. Perhaps that should read: how to start playing the uke in 5 minutes.
In any case, Ukulele Underground has many great features on its site, not the least of which is this 'crash course' tutorial--there really is enough information there to get you started.
And of course, playing the uke is so much fun that once you're started....well, who knows where you'll go?
Interested? Check out the site, and the tutorial, here.
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