Seth Godin's Tribes reactions by EDUC 578

Created a storify page as a reflection of the Seth Godin book, Tribes. As a class we each listened to the audiobook and tweeted quotes which stood out to us. This is a compilation of some of the quotes by my peers along with a video of Seth Godin himself talking about this idea of tribes that he presents.

Visitors vs Residents

After learning about the idea of being an Internet visitor as opposed to resident, I think that personally I fall somewhere in between the two, honestly probably more so on the visitor side. I have had a Facebook for years and a MySpace before that, but even with those I am not very interested in creating a projection of my identity online. I rarely post status updates, check ins, or photos (though I'm occasionally tagged by others) and consider Facebook to be more of a way to keep in touch with people from high school, distant family, or other groups of people with whom I wouldn't necessarily call or text with personal or group messaging or seeing people's updates on the newsfeed. I did have a twitter before this course but it was really just because my dad wanted me to help him figure it out so he could use it for work, and I had never tweeted anything or followed anything before. I've also never had a blog, I don't honestly like the idea of posting my thoughts or personal things on the Internet too much and never really felt the need, though I do like to look at other's blogs that I come across if they are interesting. I do love to use the Internet and computer tools like the apps offered on the iPad. I use google and Pinterest constantly every day to get new ideas for all different areas of life. I also do a lot of research on the Internet for educational purposes and just for life or interest. I do think that the Internet is a great tool that should be used by teachers and their students in and out of the classroom to enhance learning among other things. I also think it is a great way to get ideas from other teachers for lesson ideas or activities, etc.
I don't see my relationship with the Internet changing too much in the future because I do not really like the idea of creating, managing, and developing too much of an identity online. I do think there would be some value in creating a classroom blog as a teacher to update parents on what is going in in the classroom in a more accessible way, and that students could log onto to interact with or share with others what their class is like. For me though, the Internet definitely is more of a tool that I think can be very useful in some ways, though I hesitate at the idea of becoming more of a resident.

My Passion in Teaching

One of the things I have always been passionate about, which applies to my role as a future teacher, is reading. Personally, reading has always been one of the most important things in my life, I have always enjoyed it and think that my interest and ability in reading has helped me to succeed in school and life. Unfortunately in my experience with peers, students, and others I have seen not only disinterest in reading but strong dislike and aversion to it. I think that attitude has a lot to do with the way that children are taught to read and their successes or failures in reading early on, especially in school. I have already started to see this difference in the kindergarten class I am student teaching in. the students all came in around the same level, but now in February some have excelled in quickly learning to read and passing through the levels while others are still getting stuck on their letter sounds. Even though many of the students still have a very positive approach to reading, the ones who are struggling are already beginning to act discouraged and seem to disengage at times when they are having trouble. This is a far reaching problem which I see having consequences for not only individuals but the world as this attitude towards reading expands. Because of this I think one of the things I am passionate about in my future teaching career is finding ways to help students succeed in learning to read and also to really enjoy what reading has to offer. In the teaching program I am in we are about to start an action research project and I hope to explore this idea of reading, especially starting in kindergarten where most students are just starting to learn to read. I want to see what strategies help different students to succeed and enjoy the reading process in order to help them become not only life long learners, but life long readers.

Communities of Practice

          The community of practice is the idea that people come together who are practitioners in a similar field who have shared interest to learn from one another. They develop into groups or communities with a shared domain, interest, and practice and engage in discussions, activities, share information and resources and more while each develops their own ability and knowledge in that area. It is the idea that learning occurs when there is social participation and when people are engaged in a community with a common focus or passion they are all devoted to in varying levels. One person alone may be able to be in many communities of practice, both in the main heart of the community along with being more on the margin depending on their experience and knowledge in that area. The idea is that once one gains competence and experience they may become more involved and come farther into the community and away from the periphery. This is a gradual process of learning that occurs as one becomes more involved and knowledgeable which is reflected in the person’s involvement and role in that community.

            This is a practice that I have seen many times in my experiences, but especially recently in the educational world, though I have not before heard the label of community of practice attached to it. It seems to be a natural process much of the time for people with a powerful, shared interest to come together and discuss what they know and support one another to learn and develop their ideas related to what the interest may be.

            In the current MCC one year cohort I feel that we have developed our own community of practice with the shared domain not only of teaching and education but being in the same classes at the same school and going through this process together.  We all frequently share our ideas, knowledge, and experience for the benefit of ourselves and our peers so that we may grow together. This is a field that we are all invested in while sharing common goals, in addition to being in the same program we are all in different student teaching experiences and subject areas, so there is enough difference that we can be a community that shares different ideas with a common thread but that does not become repetitive. I have definitely seen and experienced the benefit of this and think that just the interaction of the group has led to a greater understanding and development of our skills and ideas over the course of the year that would not have been possible without that shared community atmosphere and the opportunity to collaborate with one another.

            In my student teaching experience I have also seen informal communities of practice that form between the teachers of the school. Because I am in the intern position as a student teacher I have been at the periphery of these groups but have been able to be a part of them and learn from the experience of others, even by participating or listening to discussion. Teachers in the same grade and different grades often chat informally at lunch, during breaks, or after school, sharing ideas about students and education and topics to help each other and learn from one another. They discuss ideas they’ve had or heard of and ask each other for advice or assistance, especially when one has had more experience in that particular area of the larger domain of education.

            This does seem to be a positive, engaging, and natural way for people to learn, and so I think it would be a good way to encourage students to enjoy the learning process and explore the things they are passionate about. This would help students to enjoy the learning process if given this opportunity along with the general standards, and emphasize the idea of becoming life-long learners beyond their school experience.

            I did read another article regarding the limitations of communities of practice and do see that there are some difficulties with implementing them. They are more of a natural occurrence and so that kind of atmosphere is the one in which a community will have the most potential to flourish and accomplish its purpose. When direct hierarchies are introduced there is not a shared pool of experience and the same level of comfort and ability to freely communicate and work together in a more collaborative and honest fashion. It is also difficult to set a time on development of a community of practice, and it may take longer than some would find convenient or useful in certain situations. These communities again need to develop more naturally in order to work as well which takes time and involvement. There is also controversy about the ability of these communities of practice to transition to the “virtual world” in order for members to communicate in an alternate manner.

A Whole New Mind Part 1 Response

1.      What is L-Directed and R-Directed thinking? Does my subject require more of one than the other? How could I try and reach a balance?

a.       L-directed thinking is a way of thinking that follows the typical style of the left side of the brain; it is more sequential, literal, functional, textual, and analytic. This is the approach which has been emphasized in schools and organizations lately because of its alignment with typical societal measures of intelligence.

b.      R-directed thinking is the opposite, characteristic of the right brain which is more simultaneous, metaphorical, aesthetic, contextual, and synthetic. It has taken a backseat to left brain styles because of the lack of value placed on those characteristics.

c.       I am getting a multiple subject credential which I think places a reasonable balance on both left and right directed thinking, especially in recent times. There is still a focus on standardized testing and value placed on those subjects which are generally associated with right brained thinking, but there is an emergence of methods which involve both types of thinking. For example there is a move towards using project based learning in schools where students not only learn information, but how to use it and their knowledge and explore. This allows students to use multiple skills which come from characteristics on both sides of the brain which fit their style, while pushing them to go beyond the emphasis on the standardized test.

2.      How do Abundance, Asia, and Automation affect the dominance of L-Directed thinking in business and schools?

a.       Abundance: The prominence of the L-Directed thinking in American society, and many other countries of the world, has led to an increase of wealth and abundance. However as this abundance increases the desire for things which relate more to the characteristics of right brain thinking. When items produced in abundance means that consumers have more choice, so they must be designed to be more than the logical functional devices that are left directed and stand out with attributes associated with R-Directed thinking to attract consumer attention. Many are also being driven away from the material world which surrounds them and pushed towards a more transcendent ideal.

b.      Asia: Many of the jobs associated with L-Directed thinking are things that can easily be outsourced to people in other countries who can perform the same functions for a fraction of the salary cost. Since these jobs can be performed from afar it is logical for large companies to hire those people in other countries since it will cost them less. The thing that will help workers in North America is to learn how to use R-Directed skills that cannot be outsourced as easily and which will make them more valuable to companies searching for employees which will benefit them the most.

c.       Automation: Many jobs that are associated with L-Directed thinking are logical, calculating, and sequential and, with recent developments in technology, are being taken over by computers and other mechanical devices. They can perform many of the same functions that people can without the same cost, expenditure of energy, or fallibility. Because of this many of the L-Directed jobs will decrease and R-Directed abilities and jobs will become more valued and opportunities will increase in those fields and jobs will be kept where R-Directed skills can be incorporated that technology cannot perform.

3.      What are High Concept and High Touch? What is the impact of this on my teaching?

a.       High Concept: the ability to create artistic and emotional beauty, detect patterns and opportunities, craft a satisfying narrative and combine unrelated ideas into a new invention.

b.      High Touch: the ability to empathize, to understand the subtleties of human interaction, find joy in yourself and bring it to others, and search for purpose and meaning.

c.       Both of these are ideas that are so important for children to develop to become people who will be a better influence on the world and those around them. It is not enough to be high tech if you cannot explore those ideas, expand on them, develop them with a variety of influences and end goals with a larger purpose. These are other skills that are necessary for all people to develop over time in order to be more balanced and produce the best ideas and a better society in the long term. They incorporate more personal skills and values which are vital to a world where human interaction is a guarantee.

4      What are the flaws of an education system that only values IQ? Is there also a role for EQ in education?

a.       The problem with an education system that only values IQ is that IQ is not a valid measure of much beyond a specific type of intelligence and the ability to perform well on a standardized test in a certain format. It also has a strong L-Directed focus which limits the scope of what it measures. It does not take into account multiple intelligences, interpersonal skills, interests, or any other abilities that are more applicable to future performance or a person’s worth. According to Pink and the latest research IQ only accounts for 4-10% of career success. There are so many other factors including, but not limited to, EQ which determine a person’s ability and all of those factors should be recognized and nurtured.