Category Archives: collaborating

Heat and Quotidia

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, Personal goals, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

June 26, 2016, Prescott-  I am back at Home Base, for four days or so, having served others, at a shelter in eastern Arizona and my spirit, at a Baha’i retreat, outside Flagstaff.  There is enough heat to go around, across the continent, from the sound of things.  It’s toasty here, but my ceiling fan, windows cracked open and plenty of cold water will see me through.

The week ahead will find me finishing the facilitation of a spiritual study group, joining a group of children on an outing to an animal rescue shelter, tending to a couple of quotidian comfort items (returning a sound system that isn’t working with my laptop and getting the zipper to the bottom of my tent’s door put back on track.) and being useful around here, wherever I can.

Come Thursday evening, I will be off again- this time focusing on family and friends, scattered as we are across the Midwest, Northeast and South.  The “Garython”, if you will, is likely to be something of a sequel to the journey I took in 2011.  That one was a reaction to my grief.  This one is more of an in-gathering.  Cousins, with whom I haven’t been in touch for several years, are reconnecting.  Friends along the way will also be a priority.  My mother and  two siblings will be at one end of the route, and also a priority, given that the end of this year will find me largely focused on my son and his  impending change of scene.  Southern brother, and Penny’s family, will be at the lower end, as will a few other special souls.  Then, a zip across the nation, to Colorado, and an Essential Oils conference, will end the whole shebang.

I read about fire and water, on opposite ends of the country, continuing to give grief to so many people.  A fellow attendee, at the retreat I joined this weekend, is of the opinion that Earth will undergo severe climate and geological events for the next 30,000 years.  If that’s the case, we’ll all spend much of our spirit lives responding to the urgent pleas of those who are here.  Somehow, I don’t think it’ll be THAT long of a torment, but we surely have to deal with what is going on now.

Speaking of which, a black bear made its way to town today.  It was spotted outside the Planet Fitness that I frequent.  I haven’t left the house, since I got back from Bellemont, and will just have to keep tabs on the matter, tomorrow.

Last Day

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Posted by on in children, collaborating, Personal goals, Poetry, Striving

May 26, 2016, Prescott-

Standing in line, for a freshly-baked dozen,

I see many ahead, with the same wish.

Treating our charges,

on one last morning of hard work.

Arriving on the scene late in the year,

the farewells of many are muted, fleeting,

but credit is given to those to whom it is due.

A hug for the lady who has done the lion’s share of work,

ends the high school days of many.

My time in this cradle of maturity has resumed.

I will be regular staff,

come August.

How rewarding, to be once again,

the repository of trust.

The Road to 65, Mile 345: Best Laid Plans

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Posted by on in collaborating, Inner Struggles, Inspiration, Personal goals

November 8, 2015, Prescott- I started today by attending breakfast at the American Legion Post, a standard for me on Sunday mornings, over the past four years.  My usual table mate and conversation buddy was not there, due to illness, but there were several others at table, who were fine company.  Many people are ill, at present.  My phone had several messages, pertaining to a paternal aunt who is chronically ill.  Fortunately, she is bouncing back.

Afterwards, I joined a reflection and planning meeting of our local Baha’i community, and made some solid plans for the next three months.  Several people made their needs and wishes known, and we will do our best, as a wider community, to go forward together.  The coordinator plans well, so the meeting kept flowing.  Our next three months ought to be full, and fulfilling.

My energy level was a bit down, after yesterday, so I chose to do laundry, and little else, after the meeting.  Change of seasons, and of temperature, zaps me for a day or two, and early to bed- for a few nights- will make things right again.  My plan to hike Segment 7, of the Prescott Circle Trail, will be brought to fruition next Saturday- if the weather holds.

The best laid plans have to be as flexible as all else in the universe.

The Road to 65, Miles 339-40: Effervescence

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Posted by on in children, collaborating, Education

November 2-3, 2015, Chino Valley

Although this deals with two days, I will be succinct.  I feel several changes welling up within me, all of them good.  Some are in reaction to a couple of friends distancing themselves further.  Others have to do with my current working environment:  An odd mix of laid-back, mixed with urgency; innovation, blended with the religious conservative’s passion for order.  I am in a good place here, among some very effervescent people, both children and adults.

The tendency of my eight-and-nine-year olds is to chat, almost incessantly if I were to let them.  Creative work comes second to chatting:  The drawings and the storytelling would be captivating, even to me, were I not after a bigger kettle of fish.  Third grade is a year that has been singled out by the powers that be, as a year that should see measurable intellectual growth.

I believe such growth is happening.  It is obscured by three forces:  Immaturity, which will pass; self-unconfidence, which will dissipate, with a measure of specific praise; and the rudiments of questioning authority, which should only, in my view, be strengthened, and channeled.  “Why, why, why?” states the sign on the upper wall.

We may be able to measure a child’s growth with standardized tests, but the measures will be limited.  Howard Gardner admonished us, long ago now, about recognizing, and honouring, each person’s specific intelligence type.  Gardner was working with populations of Gen-X’ers.  Since his initial research on Multiple Intelligences, more work has been done, with Millennials, and now members of “Generation Z”.  Where he identified five main types of intelligence, many now recognize twelve types. As  we become better-versed in Brain Research, more Intel-types might be parsed.

I am glad to be back in the game, and will remain, whether my role is a “temporary guest teacher” or as more permanent staff.

The Road to 65, Mile 322: Course Corrections

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Posted by on in collaborating, distraction issues, Education, impediments

October 15, 2015, Chino Valley-  We sat together, at the end of the day, and of the week.  The kids and I agreed that there was too much varied content thrown onto one page of the textbook publisher’s worksheet on perimeters.  We humans don’t, generally, speaking, absorb more than one mental skill at a time.  I will make the necessary adjustment in the lessons, next week.

I knew it would not be long, before I felt like taking the pre-fabricated material, and, like the late Richard Mulligan, in “Teachers”, open the classroom window and toss the useless book out.  I won’t go that far.  The taxpayers’ sensibilities matter greatly, after all.  One of the tenets of good teaching, however, is “monitor and adjust.” I am big on mastery, and will do whatever it takes to bring this about, for as many of the people with whom I work, as possible.

We, as a profession, are under a lot of pressure to provide ready answers to the question of “Why are our students falling behind, in the Great Global Rat Race?”  I have a few, tentative answers to that, which will not make the Testing Industry, or its political sponsors, very happy.  One, which I still remember, from having worked with Korean teachers of English, several years ago, is that many nations’ educational programs are focused on teaching one skill at a time.  That used to be the case here, when I was in school.

Now, however, I see a tendency to throw many concepts and skills together, so as to “hurry up and catch up”, with a perceived Global Mass of superlearners.  Grandma said “Haste makes waste”, and that is painfully obvious, looking in the faces of my still-trusting little ones.  We have to go back and look hard at the most basic level of the skill expected of them- and, yes, they will get it, and extrapolate the rest, one piece at a time- in time for the Great April Acid Test, which the state, in its wisdom, has cast upon us.

The journey of a thousand miles still needs that single step.

The Road to 65, Mile 321: The Garden

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Posted by on in collaborating, Education, Inspiration

October 14, 2015, Chino Valley-

The little girl registered a mild objection to my changing the morning schedule, from “Science”, which she loves, to “Writing”, in which she has little self-confidence.  I had something up my sleeve, which required the presence of the three students who were off being tested.

Outside our south window, there is a fallow garden plot.  The school’s director has hinted at “how nice” it will be for the plot to be reseeded, and tended.  The day has fallen into my lap.  After, lunch, with all the children back in the room, I told them of my lesson plan. We would go out to the garden, and whilst there, brainstorm as to what could be planted.  Each child was to make a wish list, with no immediate restrictions, other than that it must be something that will either grow or will help things grow.

After twenty-five minutes, in the garden, some of the eight-year-olds got restless, so we went back inside the classroom. The rest of our class time was spent with each student stating what was on her/his wish list and me recording and tallying the items on the white board.  This is a huge deal for several of the kids, not the least of whom is the girl who bemoaned the lack of a science lesson, this morning.

There is much ahead.  The students will now need to look up their plants, see what type of soil, planting specifics, watering level and frequency, climate and nourishment they will need, how to guard against pests, which animals best pollinate the plants, and how much work it will take to raise the intended crop.

This will be a major class project, and will be integrative learning, involving reading, math, science, social studies, writing and social collaboration.  Add to this, all the rest that is on tap for the year, and we should see measurable growth in this class.

The Road to 65, Mile 320: Colliding Forces

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Posted by on in collaborating, Education, impediments

October 13, 2015, Chino Valley-

Thoughts on my new job, thus far:

Needs overlooked,

lead to outrage.

They who overlooked,

hold fast to the stage.

Pleading eyes of the young,

hope my time will bring meaning.

Flinty eyes of the old,

hope my time will be fleeting.

A child speaks truth to power.

Does my contemporary feign power,

yet inside, cower?

The waning forces subside,

Yet with a rising tide,

they collide.

The Road to 65, Mile 315: Crowded Out, In An Empty Room

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Posted by on in American Legion, collaborating, distraction issues, impediments, Personal Values

October 8, 2015, Prescott- I opted to attend a monthly meeting of the American Legion, this evening, rather than go to another gathering.  As it happened, that was not the best use of my time.  Although I will remain a member of the Legion, and the local post, so as to maintain ties with trusted friends, circumstances have changed.  I am not a member of the inner circle, and so when trying to humbly offer a correction at tonight’s meeting, I was upbraided.  Though my concern was addressed a short time later, it was made clear that “he”, meaning me, was regarded as a nuisance by the leadership.

Thus, tonight’s was my last meeting.  Disorganization is something through which any of us ought to be able to work, but when the disorganized are arrogant and full of themselves, to protest is folly. I find it is far more advantageous for me to use my time towards the building of a solid community foundation.  The alternatives on Thursday night are Baha’i activities and encouraging one or both of the secular friends to whom I alluded in the last post.

There were few people at tonight’s meeting.  From here on, there will be one less.

The Road to 65, Mile 314: Synergy

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Inner Struggles, Personal Values

October 7, 2015, Prescott- 

Here’s a bit of verse, to bring life to a slow day.  This is inspired by two friends, each leery of being hurt, yet again.

Conversation lags,

When tethered to the phone.

I’d be far more animated,

Seeing your face,

Even across a room.

No one has to face the dark alone,

despite the myth to which we cling, in an air of gloom.

I am a friend who would take a bullet,

Not a passer-by, who regards your plight as my gauntlet.

What seems insurmountable,

with synergy, becomes infinitesimal.

The Road to 65, Mile 312: Diligence

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Posted by on in collaborating, distraction issues, Education

October 5, 2015, Prescott- Instead of going to a different part of the state for a few days, I am staying in our county and tending to matters both expected and unexpected.  One of the latter is a legal issue, not involving me too directly, at this point.  By doing some editing of this blog site and a few other adjustments, I will keep from being dragged too deeply into it.

I have also made flight arrangements for my visit back East, in December. This, I was able to do rather economically.  That was not always the case, but I have learned much, in the past six years.

Then, there are the preparations for my two-month- and- maybe- longer, stint at the small school where I worked several days, the past two weeks. I will need to spend Friday there, if I can get access, during this vacation week.  As it is, I have a plan for the first few days back, so that’s something.

Life requires diligence, whether at work or at leisure.  There is always some aspect that is beyond fun and games.  Having said this, tomorrow will be a day for hiking in Sedona.