Thing #12 part 1

The discussion of commenting etiquette was very interesting. In a comment on Drape's Takes, Sarah Hanawald said she teaches her students that "behind every post and comment [is] a real person." I think this is a key issue. All forms of distant conversation (from the telephone on up) require the members to realize that everyone involved is actually a person, with rights, feelings, viewpoints, etc. It's like the psychological problem involving a person on the train tracks and a speeding train. The further we get from the actual human, the easier it is to pull the switch that sends the train to squash them. Some of the commenters on this blog felt there should be no hard and fast etiquette rules, or that "rules" might squash free speech. I disagree. I'm a big believer in the social contract- if you choose to interact with others, you choose to behave civilly. That is a vital lesson to teach our students. Many students at my school do not have an adult model of civil discourse at home. They need as many as we can provide at school.

In coolcatteacher's blog, she brings this up as well- "NEVER: Be sarcastic, rant prolifically, curse, or personally attack a person." When I took logic courses back in college we learned that personal attacks were weak arguments. I've heard it said that excessive cursing indicates a weak vocabulary. Our students need to learn how to disagree appropriately and effectively. Some of the rules we teach children about tattling apply here- "Are you commenting to help someone or are you commenting to get someone in trouble?"

I also really liked what coolcatteacher had to say about the importance of commenting for students. Learning is a social construct, and happens most easily when it is done in a community. We forget that because it can't be tested on a scantron, but our students can't be lifelong learners unless they know how to find or create learning communities for themselves and participate in them successfully (the point of this whole 23 Things, it seems to me).

Thing #2

I'm a bit behind in getting into this game. Well, better late than never....

It's so strange to have to comment on life-long learning. This is something that is so much a part of my life and my job that I don't really think about it much. Of course, I think that might have become somewhat of a problem. I've taken Covey training before and I wholeheartedly agree with almost everything I learned there, but do I necessarily implement it successfully in my life? Not so much. There are so many reasons not to be organized about learning and growth- two kids with schedules that rival the president's, two working adults, a demanding job that can take all of the time I have and want more, etc. It's the same old story.

Well, enough kvetching. I find the hardest of the 7 1/2 habits for me currently are #1 and #7 1/2. Setting goals is so important, but I find that I set too many, or let other people's goals FOR me interfere with my goals for myself, or I go off on tangents and don't seem to get anywhere. The last habit- play- is difficult because to me it means taking some time to sit back and just be in the middle of the new learning- whether its reading a book into the wee hours of the morning because you can't put it down, or poking around on the computer playing with a new technology. It's hard to justify the time.

The easiest habits for me are having confidence in my learning abilities and viewing problems as challenges. Now if I can just force myself to take the time to play with these new challenges....