PART 2 - The Three Elements
Chapter 4 Autonomy
Quote: “Autonomy, as they see it, is different from independence. It’s not the rugged, go-it-alone, rely-on-nobody individualism of the American cowboy. It means acting with choice-which means we can be both autonomous and happily interdependent with others. And while the idea of independence as national and political reverberations, autonomy appears to be a human concept rather than a western one.” I selected this quote ,because for me, it clarified the meaning of autonomy.”
Question: Can autonomy be taught? If, so how?
Connection: Almost all my reading so far in EDL 680 has led me to make numerous connections to my first year experience as a district-wide Instructional Coach. There are many passionate and experienced teachers in my district. However, I’ve witnessed many situations and heard many discussions leading me to believe that the lack of autonomy could be a factor to the hesitation and/or lack of meaningful collaboration within the district. I’ve heard comments that teachers believe the district doesn’t grant autonomy, others that feel they have too much and many in which autonomy is defined very differently.
Epiphany/Aha: Autonomy and Interdependence or individualism are different. When I’ve heard about autonomy, my mind would simply connect it to the concept of interdependence or individualism. I now I have an entirely new perception. So now I’m going to unlearn my former definition and start to relearn this “new,” at least for me it’s new, definition of autonomy. I like it, but it’s going to take me time. I might not have learned it correctly the first time, so this why I will be mentally refiling this concept. I am currently facilitating curriculum work with five different content teams. They are doing amazing work. Autonomous is an appropriate word to describe their hard work and work ethic these last two weeks. They we told what the final product must be; however they were not told how to get it done. Each group quickly determined a plan of action and have been collaborating to accomplish the task. I have been here to facilitate, but most of my work has been focused in the technology area and not on group dynamics. Which is great! Autonomy.
Chapter 5 Mastery
Quote: So many to choose from. I had a difficult time selecting one. Here’s one that I went back to several times, “Effort is one of the things that gives meaning to life... means you care about something, that something is important to you and you are willing to work for it.” It is a simple statement, but for me, rich with meaning.
Question: Can we or should we expect mastery from our students in classes such as: Biology, Algebra 1,or English?
Connection: Most of my connections take me back to my students. They have been one of my greatest resources and source of knowledge for my career thus far. I’ve been fortunate enough to build healthy relationships with most of my students. This allows me to get to know them on a more personal level, allowing for discussions about life, future and challenges. Many conversations I started with students has been over their lack of motivation and/or lack of effort put forth. Most of the responses include either that they find no meaning to the subject or school, for that matter. Also, they have so much more going on in the personal life, that they just don’t care. So, with meaning and connection, there will be no effort, and ultimately no mastery.
Epiphany/Aha: Change your instruction. When I was in the classroom, this was one of my goals. At times, I was successful, however many times, I would fall back into old routines. The consistency was challenging. Now that I am out of the classroom and supporting teachers, I have to find ways to communicate this to them, model and provide them resources, so that it will facilitate their first steps. We as educators must understand that one will not master what they don’t care about or find meaning in.
Chapter 6 Purpose
Quote: ”The goals of management are usually described in words like ‘efficiency,’ ‘advantage,’ value,’ superiority,’ focus,’ and differentiation.’ Important as these objectives are, they lack the power to rouse human hearts.” Business leaders, he says, “must find ways to infuse mundane business activities with deeper, soul-stirring ideals, such as honor, truth, love, justice, and beauty.” Humanize what people say and you may well humanize what they do.” Another long quote, but I couldn’t cut out any part without losing the meaning.
Question: Is it possible to transform a school/district that has long been run under Motivation 2.0 to a Motivation 3.0 model?
Connection: This quote immediately made me connect to an obstacle that my district has been a facing for a few years. Many changes in administration, a vocal union, changes in education and lack of communication have weakened the culture in our district. This has made it very difficult to begin any new initiatives and gain teacher support for necessary shifts to our current system that would enable us to provide a quality 21st century education to our students.
Epiphany/Aha: I need to unlearn my leadership style and relearn a more humanistic leadership style . I guess more like, I need to choose my words more carefully. As I’m reading, I’m assessing myself and how I collaborate with my colleagues. My introspection has made me realize that my style is closer to Motivation 2.0 than 3.0. As I’m reflecting on the many conversations I’ve had with colleagues about their concerns with the working climate and listening to what they would like to see, it mirrors the quote’s message. They feel as if they are not valued as a human and they are only see as a worker, providing no purpose for putting forth effort. Now I can see the power of words. The words that might be used to communicate certain messages, might negatively impact the tone and meaning, resulting in a response that is the opposite of what is expected and harming relationships, and ultimately the culture and climate.