Dana's Original Post:
Week 2 Reading
I love when required reading for classes is relevant and applicable, not just to class, but to life. This is one of them. In my undergrad, the "textbook" for one class was Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. I would put The Art of Possibility in the same category. One of the points that stood out to me was the 9 dot puzzle. This teaches us to think outside the box, both literally and figuratively Literally, it must be done to solve the puzzle. Figuratively, to apply to life. Challenges can't always be solved within our (self-imposed) confines. We must expand our thinking to eliminate problems and create opportunities.The Give an A principle also stood out to me. It's a different way of thinking about things. It's not comparing people, but about thinking positively about possibility. The text mentions chipping away excess to reveal statue inside. I thought Mr. Zander's story about his class at New England Conservatory where he gave them all A's and they had to explain what they did to earn it was a really neat concept. It's interesting to take competition and comparison out of the equation completely. It's about self improvement. The topic of grades is an interesting one, and I'm sure many of us would have varying opinions, but having a background in music, I can relate to what Mr. Zander is saying. Isn't that what playing music is all about? Improving. We make it about competition, but it's not what really matters. I think this can apply to all subjects. To a certain extent, I think letter grades shouldn't really matter. As long as students are learning and improving, that's what we, as educators, should care about. This ties closely with the next point that stood out to me which was how we view mistakes. Zander mentions saying "how fascinating!" when a mistake is made, which I thought was funny, yet very true. Every mistake is an opportunity to learn and improve.
Lastly, the idea of being a contribution was one I found interesting. I think it's an important outlook to have on life. It's not so much about success or failure, but contributing-you are important and make a difference!
I agree with your statement about this book being applicable to life, I can definitely appreciate that. I want to look up the book you mentioned Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey. It’s great when you find a book that can really speak to you.
Your comment “We must expand our thinking to eliminate problems and create opportunities.” does a great job in summing up this book by what we have read thus far.
The idea of grades is such a touchy subject especially because of how much weight grades actually carry when it comes to "being successful". We make such a big deal out of grades and focus less about the improvement that is really taking place, which I believe is the ultimate accomplishment.