Curiosity Spark

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Wanted: Energy-Sparking Collaborator

Have you ever worked with someone, one person, who seems to amplify your ideas, engage you in deep and creative thinking and challenge you to stretch yourself?

I am so fortunate to have a very small handful of these people in my life... People who I feel comfortable sharing an idea with- knowing that they may enhance it, change the direction I thought I was going with it, or trash it entirely. But I have those people.

I don't know if there is a set of characteristics that make someone an "Energy-Sparking Collaborator" or if what this means is dependent upon the people themselves; but I do know the difference they make in understanding, depth, self-awareness, creativity and growth is immense. I also don't believe you can force this to occur in any given relationship. Let's face it... You will not like working with everyone. In fact, some people will be down right awful to work with. But today I wonder, what characteristics increase the likelihood of forming one of these transformative relationships?

If I had to create a "Wanted" Ad for what I would be looking for in an "Energy-Sparking Collaborator" I think mine would read as follows:

Wanted: Open-minded, divergent thinker who is not afraid to challenge the status-quo. Who loves questions, and excels at asking the big-juicy variety. Someone who values continuious inquiry and personal curiousities. And most of all, someone who challenges, motivates and inspires me to do more, better, different.

As I write this, I wonder if I would be able to answer my own "Wanted" Ad... What would yours say? And would you be qualified?

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Gift of Goodbye

Today we took time to acknowledge 32 teachers and other staff members who will be leaving at the end of this school year. While it is inately sad to see friends and colleagues that you have grown close to, respected- or just gotten used to, say goodbye. However, it is also a terrific gift.

This may be a foreign concept to so many teachers who seek a good school district, find a grade level they enjoy and plant roots for 30 years. But how does that practice help anyone? The teacher (unless he or she is actively seeking out numerous & varied professional development opportunities) begins to latch on to practices that “work” rather than reinventing ideas and instructional practices; and students are expected to complete the work according to the standards of the numerous classes that had passed before them, rather than charting their own course.

So this afternoon, I was thankful to have had the opportunity to learn from, work with and grow amonside my 32 departing colleages, and sad to see many of them leave- but I appreciated the gift they will carry with them when they leave. I believe the gift of goodbye will support their professional growth, their creatvity and ability to think flexibly and divergently, and increase their ability to teach, connect with, and inspire students.

Learn, Grow, Carry-Forward, Goodbye!

[curiosityspark-blog]

Caine's Arcade is, without a question, one of my utmost favorite videos on the web today. What could be more motivational, inspiring and incredible than seeing a child commit to a dream and (unsuspectingly) have that dream shared with the world? Until today, I might have said nothing...

So what could have possibly improved Caine's Arcade? The answer is watching this video with a student currently in the process of creating and pursuing her dreams about computer programming and game-design. And, while I could try to put into words the look of awe in her eyes and the connection that she felt... I wouldn't come close. However, lucky for me- she chose to write her own blog post about it, and allowed me to borrow a few lines:

"Caine's Arcade is one of the most inspiring videos I've ever seen. It gave me the idea to (possibly) open up a small arcade with my programs. Just possibly." (M. 10 years old)

Moments like this are what makes me sure that anything is possible when working with young learners. Just possibly...

[curiosityspark-blog]

It seems very simple, obvious really... but we cannot achieve anything without the decision to try. This decision encompasses the very real possiblity that we may not, in fact, accomplish anything- or that we may outright fail. But we will never know- or learn without the decision to try.

I like to think that more often than not, I decide to try, to take a chance, to venture into the unknown. But then I consider everyday obstacles: money, timing, other commitments... and the decision can become cloudier. 

So this week, as I consider one such decision, I remind myself that, "Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try."

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It'€™s a 401(k) World

In today'€™s hyperconnected world, we all have to learn much more about investing in ourselves in order to succeed.

The full article I mentioned in my last post.

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Immersed

Immersed (verb): (1.) Dip or submerge in a liquid (2.) Involve oneself deeply in a particular interest: "immersed in her work".

My immersion into the concept of connectivity continued today, when a friend forwarded an article he thought I might enjoy. Here is an exerpt from that article:

"Here is what I mean: Something really big happened in the world’s wiring in the last decade, but it was obscured by the financial crisis and post-9/11. We went from a connected world to a hyperconnected world. I’m always struck that Facebook, Twitter, 4G, iPhones, iPads, high-speech broadband, ubiquitous wireless and Web-enabled cellphones, the cloud, Big Data, cellphone apps and Skype did not exist or were in their infancy a decade ago when I wrote a book called “The World Is Flat.” All of that came since then, and the combination of these tools of connectivity and creativity has created a global education, commercial, communication and innovation platform on which more people can start stuff, collaborate on stuff, learn stuff, make stuff (and destroy stuff) with more other people than ever before.

What’s exciting is that this platform empowers individuals to access learning, retrain, engage in commerce, seek or advertise a job, invent, invest and crowd source — all online. But this huge expansion in an individual’s ability to do all these things comes with one big difference: more now rests on you.

If you are self-motivated, wow, this world is tailored for you. The boundaries are all gone. But if you’re not self-motivated, this world will be a challenge because the walls, ceilings and floors that protected people are also disappearing. That is what I mean when I say “it is a 401(k) world.” Government will do less for you. Companies will do less for you. Unions can do less for you. There will be fewer limits, but also fewer guarantees. Your specific contribution will define your specific benefits much more. Just showing up will not cut it."

My thoughts are now shifting from understanding to application. I understand and see the implications of connection in the world today. I agree with the power and impact that this connectivity is having, and how we can use it to create new, innovative, creative- ideas, games, movies, music... Whatever! But for me the question is quickly becoming:

"How can I apply this understand, and use this connected world, to make my own contribution?" 

I don't have the answer yet, but then would I enjoy this immersion if I did? 

[curiosityspark-blog]

Another reminder of the importance of Connection... From someone who knows, "Kids don't learn from someone they don't like."

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Connect

Do you ever feel like an idea, a thought, a certain… something is surrounding you? Right now, for me, it’s connection. Following our dreams no longer happens by choosing a field, heading off to college and getting the job you chose as an 18 year old mini-adult. No, it’s so much more than that. Daunting, uncertain, achieveable- yet incredibly ambigious, exciting, panic-enducing, pie-in-the-sky dreams are where it’s at today. You want to be a writer- go write! You want to create the next billion user website- figure it out! You want to have millions listen to your song, or see your work of art- it’s only a “click” away! But before any of this can happen, we must connect. Such a simple word… with such an incredible impact. Connecting means that we let the world see, we share, we allow ourselves to be vunerable. And it’s something that I personally have never been very good at. So, I’ve given myself a challenge. With 25 days of school left (Okay, actually 24- but, I;ll squeeze and extra one in there somewhere), I am going to attempt to write something-anything- each day and connect by sharing it here. It may be a baby step, but as Lao Tzu has said, “A journey of a thousand miles, begins with a single step.”

Here is my step.