Week 3 Comments 2 Joan Lournenco - Lighting A Spark

Lighting a Spark. It’s about the kids. 

I wasn’t sure which chapter I would write about but Chapter 9 spoke to me and helped relive a few experiences I had when trying to light a spark. While my experiences are not as grand as Zander’s account of Arthur Andersen’s support and the Philharmonic impact, this story helped me realize that it is important to light the spark and pay-forward from my universe of possibility to our students. 

Two years ago, budget decisions and union seniority policies led me to my present school. I was at a wealthier, more prestigious school and was used to arranging an author visit each year to help connect students and reading.  My new school did not have this practice, nor did they have an auditorium for such events. Prior to my transfer, I had arranged for an award-winning young adult author to visit our school, but now that the transfer had taken place, I asked my new principal if we could piggy back off the author visitation and she agreed, knowing this would tap into the school’s small budget.  I received a few community donations and so the planning began.  My principal was excited the kids at this lower socio-economic school would have this opportunity. Here is where Zander’s story triggered my memory. Not having a facility at our school to handle a large group presentation, she arranged for bus transportation for our students to the near-by State Park (Rainbow Springs State Park) and set up a flawless schedule for the busses to pick-up and return the students to the school and take the next group. I was amazed at her enrollment, leadership and commitment to the students. Zander’s description helped me see how, “Enrollment is that life force at work, lighting sparks from person to person, scattering light in all directions.”  I am grateful to have my principal’s support to help scatter the light to our staff and students.

Last fall, I wrote a grant that included an in-house poetry slam for our students (another first) and allowed for a musician and nationally renown slammer, Iyeoka Okoawo, to visit our students and perform for them. In this way, they would know what a slam was like.  Again, not having a facility conducive to entertaining, we used the gymnasium. The experience Zander describes in Chapter Nine of the performance in the gym at Eastlea was similar to ours. Some teachers were disciplining and carried the low expectation level described by Zander, while others were delighted to have this opportunity for the students. When it was over, an overwhelming amount of students awaited Iyeoka’s autograph and a minute of conversation.  Was the gym ideal? Absolutely not. Was the experience memorable? Definitely. Her visit was a thumbs up experience. 

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It's great!  I remember the first time I got an artist grant from the state of Florida.  I called all the elementary Principals in the area and told them I was applying for it and if I got it, we would have to pay 1/3 of the cost of the artist, which was $250.  All said they wanted her, except one school who wanted her for 2 days, so I wrote the grant for the flutist, Donna Wissinger (AWeSOME!) to come to our county for 9 days.  It was great, as none of the teachers knew what to expect and only saw it as a bother, until they took them to the program, and then, they couldn't stop talking about the program she put on and how amazing it was.  The kids were mostly spellbound.  (A few acted up, but not bad!)

So, I understand how great it is when something goes so well, and the kids learn so much from something very different.  Donna came back to my school this past year, this time, with a grant written by the local college and she was just a great for these kids.  The only difference is they saw her during wheel ( music, science lab, PE, ethics class, library) and the teachers were on their planning and most didn't come in to see her so the kids got alot, but the teachers didn't do any follow up since they didn't see what the kids learned.  

    So, we just keep working and always remember the kids are who we do it for!  thanks for all you do.

Week 3 Comments 1 Keith Lay's writing on Chapter 7 of the A of P.

Keith Lay's writings from Chapter 7, The art of Possibility MAC wk3 The Way Things Are Give Way to Passion Benjamin Zander discusses "The Way Things Are" in Chapter 7 and "Giving Way to Passion" in The Art of Possibility. This is the core of Buddhist teachings as well, as well as a large body of counseling/psychiatric practices.  After working lots a factory line and retail jobs through my early 20s, getting paid to do things that I really loved was such a joy. I became one of those people who find themselves on an upward trajectory for many decades. I taught college in my 20s and was lucky to be in teaching situations which invited new ideas. After a successful stage in commercial music production, I came to Full Sail at age 32 to teach Synclavier Digital Music system. I had a lot to say about how we could improve the curriculum. Again, I was taken seriously. Moving to Music History and Introduction to the Media arts, i poured ideas and love into very successful courses. Allowing Course Directors to create their curriculum invites ownership and passion. Such passion danced in step with growing notoriety in the field of classical composition and a healthy beautiful family. But what goes up always comes down. A great boss means everything, I found, because not all of them welcome creativity. I moved up in the company carrying the assumption that I was to do what I'd done in the past - find creative solutions. I felt called to bring heart and a feeling of overall community to an unrecognized and neglected faculty and staff. Instead, I was to be a yes man, not allowed to push back. I was so naive to not know this! Crashing has such a hard won wisdom.  Accepting the way things are requires meditation and honesty. Such processing is helpful with a trusted spouse or friend. The pain involved might be something like what a tree feels when being pruned. It is necessary for health - and absolutely painful. Understanding your own part in things that go awry, uncovering unwholesome desires for status and access - Leaving something of yourself is like dying. Rebirth follows. Anyone who holds onto their spark has to get good at this process. I struggle with this daily.  The way through is holding out for our passion. But, passion can be confused with desire which leads back to disillusionment; which must be pruned off. And patience. Sometimes you know you're in the wrong place, but must wait for the time to leave to ripen. That's where leading from where you are becomes a powerful practice. Finding possibility in the narrow places. Crashes and the pruning have reshaped me. My passion for teaching is stronger, my artistic and scientific directions clearer. Top Gun Keith has died - and, as hard as it has been for me to accept this, my life is again full of sparkling possibilities without those beautiful folks flying the DC3 in the clouds (so far from reality). My Comments:

I found it  interesting, but not surprising, that we both wrote specifically about Chapter 7 and I quoted the Bible and you mentioned Buddhist teachings. I have found that even when we think religions are very far apart from each other, they just are NOT that far apart.  Yes, there are differences, but there are also similarities.  I think this shows it.  You went to a low spot, so did I.  But God brought both of us through those spots and they probably won't be the last ones.  Pretty neat.  Thanks for your writing.
Karen

Week 3 My extra blog - My computer Stinks! But I love Full Sail.

Karen and Her Beloved Mac Book Pro :-)

Joe was great.  He told me now was the time to get my computer fixed, since I didn't need any movies, etc.

So, I called Apple, and they said back it up.  It took 2 days and nights to get that to work.  Many phone calls to the External Hard Drive company, and finally, it was mostly all saved.

I sent it Friday, July16th.  They had it by Monday morning and I had it back by Wednesday afternoon.  That was fast.  They replaced 4 things.

1. USB thingys.
2. The track pad
3.  The cd/dvd drive
4. something else, not sure what it was.

Guess what.  The track pad doesn't work.  I thought it did, but it doesn't really work.  It does a tiny bit more than it did, but  after being on the phone with Apple for over an hour today, they said:  plug your mouse back in.  We will repair it again, when you have time to send it in.

Why can't they just give me a different one.  You would think that since I started trying to get it fixed ever since I opened it (almost).  At first, I thought it was me, being stupid about not knowing Macs.

Then, I called the tech support at FSO, over and over and over.  Finally, in October, I called Apple again.  (I called once before that, but didn't complain because I thought it was me).

I opened it Aug. 28th, started class on Aug. 31.  It was a problem from the beginning.  The screen was too big, the buttons didn't work, etc.
It has done so many things wrong, that it gets to be almost a joke.
I have wondered, what would it be like to get a degree from Full Sail when your computer does what it's supposed to?  What is it like to have ichat work? What is it like to have idisk work?  What is it like to have iWeb work?  What is it like for the track pad to work?  What is it like for word and other programs text boxes to stay still, and not rotate from left to right and right to left, like a spinner in a child's game?

Even this Lit Review, I have written it over and over again, because, even though it was saved, when it left the computer, it was gone and I had to start over again.  True, I think it's gotten better each time, but it would have anyway.  It is so hard to start from scratch.  So, this is my

WOE IS ME BLOG about my computer this time.  I'm so sad that it got fixed. . . yet it didn't. . . . . .
Unless, my oldest son is right.  He has decided that I have something in me that just wrecks the computer. That I can't help it, it's just me, and my body will always wreck the computer.  I've almost decided that he might be right.

If I didn't want this degree, if I didn't like almost all of my professors, if I didn't like that I'm learning something. . . then I would have given up on this degree.  It is really important to me.  So, I continue.

Week 3, Art of Possibility Chapter 7 - reminds me of my story

Being the way things are by clearing Judgements

When I read that, about things might seem bad, but somehow, there are reasons for them, that is my story.
First, my Favorite Bible Verse (and I have alot that I like), is:

I Cor. 10:13 - I memorized it in King James, I like to read modern ones, but I love to memorize in KJV because it is so poetic and rolls off the tongue.

There hath no temptation taken you, but such as is common to man, But God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able, but will, with the temptation, also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.   I Cor. 10: 13.

Two famous sayings come from this, you may have heard:

1.  When God closes a door, he opens a window (or another door).

2.  God never gives you more than you can handle.

The example in Chap 7 talked about things happen and we don't always understand why they happen.

Here is an example.

Feb. 15, less than 2 weeks after we buried my mom's husband, grandfather to my children (my Dad died when my oldest son was 5 months old, and she remarried 2 years later, when she was 53.).  We came home and discovered I needed surgery from when the stage at school collapsed back in October and I had been in physical therapy since October, for my knees, my shoulder, my hand, fingers and arm that had no feeling.  The Dr. said I needed shoulder surgery and I did the pre-op things on Valentines Day, surgery to be Feb. 16th, and the house burned down on the 15th.  We lost everything but the clothes we wore, what was in my car, and we found 6 little figurines that had been through kilns in Peru, Venezuela, Hungary, Germany, plus a tea cup from my wedding china and delft from Holland.

We stayed with Tim's Mom and I had the surgery.  I put my medicines on the kitchen counter near my mother in laws meds.  I noticed she had not taken hers in the time she should have (I'm nosy), and then I noticed she kept asking questions over and over.  It turns out she was in the early stages of Alzheimer's.

We were able to get her started with the meds she needed and also, were able to begin making sure she took her other meds, too.  We were able to see the love people gave us.  One family even gave me a recorder, because it was the only musical instrument they owned.  One family gave us a dining table AND an antique sewing machine because she knew I lost antiques in the fire.  WOW!

We need to always see the other side.  I had to stop working on my lit review to take an elderly woman some CD's my son is selling, to make money for his trip to Syria (he leaves Tuesday).  I took them, and ended up staying for almost 4 hours because she needed to talk.  It turns out her husband is about in the same situation my mother in law is in and she never gets to talk to people who remember what she says.  Her husband was our assistant superintendent for years, so it's difficult to see him like this.  I pray I can get this lit review finished as those 4 hours were important for work, but how could I leave her?  I think I was meant to be there, so I am praying God will help me as I work on these references to get them into APA order, in spite of the computer NOT working after getting fixed and my eyes are getting worse, not better. Whew!

Anyway, this was an encouraging chapter.  Not only it, but chapter 8, while good, wasn't as good as 7 or 9, to me.  Chapter 9 was so good, as it talked about the player who tried out and didn't get principal, and went to Portugal, I think, and got ti because there, he played like he should.   We should never give up.
  
Why Apple can't just exchange my computer and give me one that works, is beyond me.  I would like so much to have a day with a computer that works the way it should.  When I hear others talk about being able to do things once!  WOW!!  And the ones who get to use ichat, etc.  WOW!

I really would like to know what that is like.  I am slowly beginning to hate this computer, although I really like Apple.  Oh well, The Art of Possibility. . . . maybe it's possible I will learn something from this.