The Official Website of Kendel Christensen
Follow me:
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Living
    • Career and Job Info
    • Fun Activities
    • Life Lessons >
      • Personal Responsibility
    • Human Relations
    • Money-Saving Tips
    • Parenting
    • Other Links
  • Spirituality
    • Favorite Talks
    • For LDS Members
    • General Conference
    • Jerusalem
    • Mission to Argentina
  • Technology
    • FREE Useful Software
    • General Efficiency Tips >
      • Internet Tips
    • Tech Support
  • Knowledge
    • Books
    • BYU
    • Educational Videos
    • Quotes >
      • Spiritual Quotes
      • Wisdom of the World
    • Teaching
    • Timeless Wisdom
    • Coronavirus Information >
      • Coronavirus Resource Page
  • Just Cool
    • Great Videos
    • Heroes
  • About
  • Blog

Weekly Notes: GREAT Blog discovery, Emerson quotes, Self-Defense, and Religious "Evidence"

4/24/2011

2 Comments

 

I recently discovered an amazing blog by David Cain. It's called Raptitude.com (the name comes from a quote by Albert Einstein: “He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed.”—AMAZING. I recommend perusing his “best of” posts.).  I don't agree with everything he says, but some of the things the thoughts expressed are articulated so clearly as to be life-changing. Therefore, they belong on my site.  Enjoy!

 

First up, here are some thoughts from a post where he explicates some of his favorite quotations from Ralph Waldo Emerson (the one about being misunderstood instantly changed my life—that was TOTALLY one of my greatest fears):

 

·        “People seem not to see that their opinion of the world is also a confession of their character.“

A person’s opinion of the world they live in really seems to be a foolproof litmus test for their strength of character.  The tendency towards blame and disdain seems to vary inversely with the virtues of courage and compassion.

The wisest people I know invariably revere the world, and the most ineffective ones hate it.  For a while now I’ve believed that cynicism about the world is a method of defense against one’s one inadequacy.  When a person is defeated at every turn, they tend to peg the whole world as the culprit.  This relieves them from the painful responsibilities of humility and growth.

I have been on both sides.  Knowing the world as an enemy removes responsibility for oneself.  Behaving and speaking as though the world is against you is only a clever way of abandoning any accountability for the state of your life and the world you live in.   Knowing the world as an ally instead of an adversary leaves no room for excuses.

I now recognize disdain for the world as sure sign of weakness, not just when I see it in others but also when I catch myself thinking that way.  Whenever I’m caught up disparaging this or that, it’s a clear message to any astute observer that in that moment, I’ve lost my composure and maturity.

If you want to know if a person is a suitable teammate, lover, boss or employee, pay attention to their opinion of the world.  It reveals all.

“Speak what you think now in hard words, and tomorrow speak what tomorrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict every thing you said today. — `Ah, so you shall be sure to be misunderstood.’ — Is it so bad, then, to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood.”

Remembering this quote has protected me from so many instances of shame and self-doubt for things I’ve said and stances I’ve taken.  One truth I keep encountering again and again is that one cannot stay the same person throughout life.  As we experience more and more, our perspectives change and consequently so do our beliefs...When someone is that afraid of being contradicted, they are no longer concerned with the truth, only with protecting their priceless investment in what they have said.  To honor a statement you made yesterday as a binding declaration of who you are is a tragic, yet extremely common mistake.  This is the fundamental error that plagues humanity: to mistake one’s ego for oneself.  Enforcing an impossible, lifelong consistency in what you say and believe can only lead to dishonesty and despair. Someone whose opinions change freely with experience is clearly someone who is not guided by dogma or the expectations of others, but instead by a clear internal compass of inquiry and honesty.  To such a “pure and wise spirit,” it is far more important to seek the truth than to be regarded as having had it all along.  “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds,” said Emerson.

Whenever I feel a pang of regret for something I’ve said, I remember that all I did was speak what I thought at the time in hard words, even if today I speak different ones.  It’s only human.
(David Cain, “Brilliant Remarks from History’s Wisest American, June 4, 2009)

Second up for this post, from another Raptitude entry, David brilliantly puts into words a lot of things I have observed about people justifying themselves in mediocrity as opposed to admitting that the fault could lie completely with themselves (he is giving himself as an example when he was known as being very quiet and “shy” at a previous job):

·        "When people feel inadequate in some way, they tend to make up whatever prejudices or beliefs they need to feel okay about it.
Of course, nobody realizes it while they’re doing it.  Forming beliefs out of self-defense is very common behavior, and it’s probably the source of most of the erroneous and destructive beliefs people carry.  I knew my coworkers weren’t all complainers and ingrates.  They talked about things I was interested in too, but they did it much more freely and comfortably than I could, and I hated that.

Another typical example of a self-defense belief: a person feels like he doesn’t make as much money as he wants, so he forms the belief that highly-paid people are greedy or materialistic, to defend himself from feelings of inadequacy about his ability to earn.

I told myself that everyone else talked too much, so that I could spare myself the rotten feeling of recognizing that I was really bad at something I knew was important.  I was painfully shy and I knew it, but like so many other behavioral problems I had, I rationalized it away.  I argued to myself that I had every reason for speaking exactly as much or as little as I did.  That belief kept me slightly less uncomfortable, but also prevented me from ever fixing the problem."

(David Cain, “How to Always Have Something Better to Talk About Than the Weather,” April 2009)

 

Last Great thought comes from a an article from the Mormon Times about evidence and proof in a religious context. I LOVED it. It is a great distillation of my thoughts as to why people should not jump to conclusions about new ‘discoveries’ and/or theories about the Book of Mormon or anything, really:

 

·        There seems to be some confusion among believers and critics as to the nature and meaning of “evidence.” I’ve often written, for example, that I don’t believe that spiritual things will be proven by secular means. Critics, however, read this and claim that I don’t believe there is evidence to support the Book of Mormon. This is blatantly false.

In addition to a spiritual witness (which is certainly an “evidence” that supports belief), I believe there are many secular evidences that support of the Book of Mormon. I’ve offered a number of these throughout this series and will continue to share more (for several weeks I discussed the numerous evidences supporting a Lehite migration through Southern Arabia).

I don’t believe, however, that there is secular “proof” for the Book of Mormon, and I believe that such “proof” would contradict the laws of agency and wouldn’t convince the hard-hearted anyway.

Evidence is basically any data that support a proposition. Not all evidence is equal in strength, and we evaluate the strength of evidence based on numerous other factors — including additional evidence. As explained by Daniel Peterson, “There is evidence for all sorts of things, and we routinely speak of ‘conflicting evidence’ regarding as yet unresolved questions. Some of it is strong to the point of proof or near-proof. Some of it is weak to the point, almost, of non-existence. Much of it is somewhere in between....Evidence is not proof. Proof is generally a conclusion we infer from what we see as strong or overwhelming evidences. Scholars generally tend to avoid terms such as “proof” when dealing with inconclusive and open-ended topics such as religion, certain aspects of history, or archaeology. One writer for Psychology Today, for example, states:“Contrary to popular belief, there is no such thing as a scientific proof. Proofs exist only in mathematics … not in science. …Scientists prefer theories for which there is more and better evidence to theories for which there is less and worse evidence. Proofs are not the currency of science.”
Michael R. Ash, “Challenging Issues, Keeping the Faith,” April 11, 2011

That is all I’ve kept track of this week, but shortly I hope to have organized my Goodreads.com profile for everyone’s enlightenment (really, it is a GREAT way to share with others what you are reading and learning!)

2 Comments

New York Times Debate on Raising the Status of Teachers

4/4/2011

3 Comments

 
I read the New York Times excellent collection of comments from experts on the question of how we can change the teaching profession.  Here are are some great points I gleaned:
“…factory-era policies… treat teachers like interchangeable parts…Most school districts can’t distinguish their highest-performing teachers from their lowest; wrongly, they act as though all teachers are the same.

[This] “widget effect” degrades the teaching profession. If you do a fantastic job in your classroom, you can’t expect a fast track up the career ladder or even a pat on the back. You’ll get the same formulaic, seniority-based raise each year as the lower-performing teacher down the hall. During these hard economic times, you might even get a pink slip, since it’s illegal in 14 states to consider job performance in layoff decisions.

If you’re struggling, you can’t expect any feedback to help you get better. You’ll most likely get a “satisfactory” evaluation rating like 99 percent of your colleagues. After a few years, you’ll probably earn tenure, regardless of whether you improve, as will nearly every other teacher…

It's odd that efforts to increase professionalism in education are often derided as “anti-teacher.” The hard truth is that as long as the widget effect persists, teaching will never be an elite profession…The solution is setting high expectations, evaluating teachers fairly and accurately, and making job performance really matter. That’s what we should all be fighting for.”
“Don't Treat Them Like Widgets” by Timothy Daly, president of the New Teacher Project.
---
“college teacher education programs do not, on average, produce graduates who are any more effective than teachers who have had only a few weeks of pre-service training.”
“Improve Teacher Training” by Kati Haycock,  president of the Education Trust
---
“teaching today is not among the most attractive careers open to talented young people…Today’s teacher compensation system is perfectly designed to repel ambitious individuals. We offer mediocre starting salaries, provide meager raises even after hard-earned skills have been gained on the job and backload the most generous benefits (in terms of pensions) toward the end of 30 years of service…Here’s the game plan: raise starting pay, accelerate salary bumps to keep up with a young teacher’s rapid improvement in effectiveness, offer ways for teachers to take on additional responsibilities and thus make more money (like mentoring younger peers or taking on more students), and offer portable retirement benefits that allow people to build retirement wealth without signing on for a lifetime of teaching. Finance this all by allowing class sizes to rise modestly, maximizing smart uses of technology, and trimming the number of aides and specialists our schools employ.”
“How to Reform Compensation” by Michael J. Petrilli, executive vice president at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute and research fellow at the Hoover Institution.
---
“What we, as teachers, need to do is take back our profession. Most teachers will take to the streets and protest over salaries, pensions and working conditions, but how many teachers would do the same if someone who has never taught their grade level or subject, imposed a new curriculum or demanded that certain pedagogy be followed? Until practicing classroom teachers are allowed to make real decisions regarding curriculum, assessment, textbooks and professional development, the status of teachers will remain low.

At the moment, our profession seems to be in the hands of politicians, researchers, special interest groups, school system bureaucracies, unions, technology companies and textbook publishers…Why should bright high school students decide to become teachers if they suspect that everyone will make decisions concerning their profession except them?”
“Let Us Teach!” by Vern Williams who teaches honors math at Longfellow Middle School in Fairfax County, Va. He was named to the National Mathematics Advisory Panel in 2006.
---
“The National Council of Teacher Quality advises states to base teacher evaluations on objective indicators of student learning and to require stronger accountability for teacher preparation programs. Also, the organization recommends that the rigor of teacher certification exams be upgraded, especially given that almost all states set a low bar for passage. These sensible supply-side proposals, though, should be accompanied by demand-side reforms.

Parents and their children are the consumers of teaching services, and federal survey data shows that significantly lower percentages of parents of children with assigned public-school teachers are “very satisfied” with those teachers versus parents who can choosetheir public-school teachers or who decide to choose private school teachers. Choice improves satisfaction because if parents are dissatisfied with particular teachers they can choose better teachers at other schools.

Giving parents more school-choice tools would spur competition that would force states and school districts to change ineffective teacher policies, produce better teachers, raise student achievement, increase parental satisfaction, and lead to higher status for teachers.”
“Supply and Demand” Lance T. Izumi is the senior director of education studies at the Pacific Research Institute.
---
“To improve the status of teachers in the U.S., the teaching profession needs be a desirable and sustainable long-term career option for our most talented college graduates. Here are three ways to help attract, develop and retain a deeper pool of great teachers:

Pay them accordingly. Radically increasing teacher pay can be accomplished largely by re-allocating the existing dollars spent on public education. Reducing the number of non-teaching personnel, including administrators, in the school-building has a significant impact on a school’s budget, allowing for drastically higher teacher salaries.

Give them autonomy. Let talented teachers make decisions about curriculum, pedagogy and assessment, and then hold them accountable for those decisions by looking at the growth of their students. Teachers should not be micromanaged by school or district administrators; they should be given clear goals about what students are expected to learn and the freedom to achieve those goals in their classrooms.

Encourage and provide professional growth. Good teachers want to be in schools that allow them to continually develop themselves and their craft. Time should be built into each teacher’s weekly schedule to observe and learn from talented peers in other classrooms. Schools should have dedicated time and space for teachers to individually and collaboratively reflect on their teaching practices and on their students’ work. Teachers should have regular and specific feedback from their peers and from the school’s instructional leader. Great teachers are particularly hungry for meaningful (not superficial) feedback about their practices.”
“Money, Freedom and Growth” by Zeke Vanderhoek, the founder and principal of The Equity Project Charter School, a public Title 1 middle school in New York City that pays its teachers an annual salary of $125,000, relying solely on its public funding to do so.  ---"If we want to make teaching a more desirable career option for the best and the brightest, here’s what we need to do:

First, we must improve teacher preparation. Many of the highest performing education systems in the world are very selective about who gets into their teacher training programs. In the U.S., almost anyone can get into and complete a preparation program. Colleges should study the newer alternative training programs like Teach for America and the New Teacher Project, which have designed rigorous selection criteria and produce teachers ready for the classroom.

Second, we must strengthen teacher evaluations. Most evaluations of teacher performance are perfunctory at best…

 Third, we must reform teacher pay and tenure. Unlike other professions, teachers are paid with little regard to their performance or responsibilities. Most are paid based on years of service and graduate school credits, both of which correlate little with students’ academic success. We need career ladders for teachers that allow them to stay in the classroom and extra pay for taking on difficult assignments. Most important, we need to compensate all teachers based on their success with student learning and other related measures.

Finally, we must improve professional development. Teachers, like all of us, learn on the job, but despite billions of dollars in spending each year, research has shown that the quality of professional development is quite poor. Policymakers need to demand more of school and district administrators.

If we fundamentally redesign our teacher workforce system and pay teachers significantly more for their success and responsibilities, our nation can attract many of our most able workers to the teaching profession and raise its status."
“Redesign the System” by Cynthia G. Brown,  vice president for education policy at the Center for American Progress.

 
3 Comments
    Picture
    Learn More About Me
    Subscribe to blog updates via E-mail by Clicking here. 

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Apologetics~Religion
    Business
    Education
    Finance
    Human Relations
    Jerusalem~Best
    Jerusalem~Galilee
    Jerusalem~Good
    Jerusalem~Great
    Jerusalem~Lessons
    Kendel's Thoughts On Life
    Life Events~Huge
    Life Events~Medium
    Life Events~Small
    Lifelong Learning
    Notes From Lectures~Other
    Notes From Lectures~Religion
    Notes~Periodic Compilation
    Politics
    Random
    Remember
    Soapboxes
    Teach For America Experiences
    Tips-Finance
    Tips-Tech
    Travel~Africa
    Travel~Jerusalem
    Travel~Jordan
    Travel~Other

    Kendel's Recently Read Books

    Covenant Hearts: Marriage And the Joy of Human Love
    5 of 5 stars
    Covenant Hearts: Marriage And the Joy of Human Love
    by Bruce C. Hafen
    This was the perfect Sunday read and kept me enthralled for weeks. A must-read in my opinion. Brother Hafen has insights to life and marriage that are remarkably deep and complex... yet summarized and presented in very simple, natural way. ...
    The Five Love Languages: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate
    4 of 5 stars
    The Five Love Languages: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate
    by Gary Chapman
    This is a great read! Gary Chapman has a deep, experienced lens through which the reader can see relationships on an entirely different level. His recommendations are extremely practical and the framework he gives--that everyone has a "...
    The Art of Talking to Anyone: Essential People Skills for Success in Any Situation
    2 of 5 stars
    The Art of Talking to Anyone: Essential People Skills for Success in Any Situation
    by Rosalie Maggio
    This book further cements my bias to rarely pick up a book without looking at reviews first. The table of contents looked promising--How to Deal with Conversation Predicaments, How to Keep Any Conversation Going, How to Graciously Stop A Co...
    Writing, Rhetoric, and the Art of Persuasion
    5 of 5 stars
    Writing, Rhetoric, and the Art of Persuasion
    by Michael D.C. Drout
    This book was SO insightful. I learned so much about communication. My favorite part was where he would analyze classic speeches from history and why they were effective. Highly recommended.
    Living With Enthusiasm
    4 of 5 stars
    Living With Enthusiasm
    by L. Tom Perry
    Great Read! There are a great many good thoughts in this book, (the life-changing parts, for me was in the intro and first chapter--I read that years ago and adopted his motto as my own).

    "Every great and commanding moment in...

    goodreads.com

    Archives

    November 2020
    September 2020
    May 2020
    May 2017
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    December 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    November 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010
    July 2009
    April 2009
    February 2009
    January 2009
    November 2008
    October 2008
    July 2008

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
Photos used under Creative Commons from ewan traveler, THX0477