all kinds of writing Van Mason Yet once again it absolutely amazes me how this book speaks the truth that is my life, much less my life in the last 4 weeks of this class. In Chapter 10 the author talks about “Being the Board” on which the entire game so to speak is played on. He describes that when you are completely out of options and are frustrated and angered and have no way out, you basically need to “think outside the box or norm”: At least this how I took it. And per my previous post concerning my action research website, this is exactly how I felt. For I was angered and frustrated and out of options: All I had to rely on was myself and I needed to come up with a solution that fit me “Being the Board”. And I did exactly that; I revaluated my dilemma and took fault for my lack of following up on the changes of Action Research over the months. So I had nobody to blame but myself. I owned up to it and set out at creating a web of actions that would help me correct my wrong. In a shorter sense, it is like a game of chess, to which the author explains in this chapter. My entire dilemma was a chess match with myself and I checkmated my goals and problems by taking the necessary responsibilities and actions to right them. “You can always grace yourself with the responsibility of anything that happens in your life. You can always find within yourself of any problem you have” - Roz In the next chapter the author talks about “the leader of possibility”. As I expressed in previous posts about this book, I once again identify with this concept. For I have been considered an anti-hero among my friends, family, and co-workers. I strive to resist this and in the end it always happens where I lead in the areas where others are scarred and fearful. It is because of my compassion and the ability to see the difference between the fears and how one must proceed to change the problem that I feel this is why I am constantly elected to lead a pack of individuals in areas where others cant or don’t want to. Do I dislike this? Absolutely not, I might resist it because I have hopes that another will stand up and take charge, but then I remember that person is I and I have people who look up to me. Is it hard? Yes, but rewarding in the end. I only hope others around me will find that inner strength and diversity that they need to become a leader on their own when I am not around. I describe in-depth myself as a leader because it is these qualities that I use for myself to identify and strive for my “dreams”. My “vision” is another version of this and identify with the author on how to accomplish these “dreams through the frameworks of possibilities, but at the same time I disagree. It is more of a personal thing for each individual to identify their dreams and ways of accomplishing them. This might help for others, but not to particularly for myself. But even as I say that I think about how I am going to accomplish my owns dreams and nonetheless it is a framework, maybe not the same in the book, but one nonetheless. So maybe I can identify with the author a little more then I thought. "I am done with great things and big things, great institutions and big success, and I am for those tiny, invisible loving human forces that work from individual to individual, creeping through the crannies of the world like so many rootlets, or like the capillary oozing of water, yet which if you give them time, will rend the hardest monuments of man's pride." Ñ<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/15865.William_James">William James</a> I couldn’t have summed it up any better then the author did with this beautiful quote. This was truly an amazing book that I will be talking about for years to come. Tuesday, April 27, 2010 Shirley Jordan @Van we sometime loose our perspective on things because we focus more on the outcome and how other will receive it. We listen to the comments of others and sometime don’t take the time to understand the message in the comment. I think you should continue to be the leader or board that you are but always remember to let others play a part on the board. It is all about teamwork. You may have felt you had a dilemma with your AR project but just look at it this way. Your final AR really was what you needed to do because it made a difference to others and to yourself as a person. The dilemma was a great payoff. Saturday, May 1, 2010 - 02:30 PM Xavier CHAPTER 12. TELLING THE WE STORY: I TOLD YOU IT WASN’T ABOUT YOU. HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE TO TAP INTO THE POWER OF COMBINING YOUR EXPERTISE AND PASSIONS WITH SOMEONE EQUALLY GIFTED? HAVE YOU HAD THE PLEASURE OF LIFTING A TEAMMATE, STUDENT, STRANGER UP ENABLING THEM TO REALIZE THEIR DREAMS AND EXCEED ANYTHING THAT YOU COULD HAVE IMAGINED? YES! I HAVE HAD THE POWER TO TAP INTO ANOTHER WITH EQUAL EXPERTISE. NOW, I HAVE NEVER LIFTED A TEAMMATE UP, BUT CAN ONLY IMAGINE HOW GREAT IT CAN BE. BUT I DO FEEL THAT I HAVE LIFTED MULTIPLE STUDENTS AND STRANGERS. THERE HAVE BEEN MANY STUDENTS THAT HAVE FELT EMPOWERED BY THE NEW, FOUND SKILL THAT I HAVE TAUGHT THEM. IT IS AMAZING HOW MUCH I CONNECT WITH THIS BOOK BECAUSE OF ALL THE MUSICAL EXAMPLES! THERE WAS A TIME LAST MONTH THAT MY CHORAL ENSEMBLE WENT TO A COMPETITION AND PERFORMED MUSIC THAT WAS WAY OUT OF OUR LEAGUE. WELL, I FELT THAT IT WAS OUT OF OUR LEAGUE. BUT SOMEHOW, BETWEEN MY SPEAKING AND TEACHING, I INSPIRED THEM TO STEP UP AND MEET ME HALF WAY AND MAKE THE MUSIC THAT THEY ALL DESERVE. BUT THEY ALL KNEW THAT WE COULD ONLY GET SO FAR WITH MY INSPIRATION ALONE. THEY WOULD HAVE TO BE WILLING TO FIND THEIR OWN INSPIRATION AMONG A CERTAIN PIECE, AND BE SOLD OUT FOR THE PIECE. NEEDLESS TO SAY, MY STUDENTS ROSE UP AND DID THE IMPOSSIBLE. THEY FOUND THE CONNECTION AND MADE SOME OF THE BEST CHORAL SOUNDS I HAVE EVER HEARD. S. JORDAN XAVIER YOU HAD SOME POWERFUL WORDS ABOUT LIFTING OUR STUDENTS AND STRANGERS. AS WE GO ABOUT OUR LIVES AS TEACHERS, WE LIFT THE LIVES OR OTHERS EVERYDAY. THINK ABOUT WHEN YOUR STUDENTS SEE YOU IN THE STORE HOW EXCITED THEY GET WHEN THEY SEE YOU SOME OTHER PLACE THAN IN THE CLASSROOM. WE FEEL LIFTED BECAUSE OF THE EXCITEMENT OF SEEING THE STUDENT EXCITED AS TO SAY THIS IS “MY” TEACHER. THEREFORE, WHEN WE THINK ABOUT HOW WE LIFT OTHERS AND FEEL LIKE YOU NEED A LIFTED. TAKE THE TIME TO REFLECT AND THINK ABOUT THOSE MOMENTS. THIS WAS A VERY INSPIRING BOOK WITH A WEALTH OF INFORMATION THAT HELP ME MAKE A TRANSFORMATION IN MY LIFE AS TO HOW I VIEW OR SEE THINGS. YOUR STUDENTS WERE ABLE TO MAKE SOME OF THE BEST CHORAL SOUNDS BECAUSE OF A BIG LIFT FROM YOU AS A TEACHER. SATURDAY, MAY 1, 2010 - 06:40 PM What my classmates are saying Saturday, May 1, 2010