Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Post 2, The Element
As you consider Robinson's exploration of the conditions that may encourage/discourage us as we strive for the element, is there a particular story that comes to mind for you in your own quest? or an observation you may have made of a child or student on such a journey?

For me, it is our oldest son's high school experience. I set the conditions that discouraged and then later encouraged him in his element. At first, he was struggling with English and would not do the work but would spend hours in band, choir, physics, and working with electronic equipment. My response was tremendous pressure, withdrawal of privileges---all the standard parent actions. We were both miserable!!! Then, I read Don Clifton's "Soar with your Strengths" and changed the conditions. I supported him in his passion and talent and basically ignored English. He became interested in a college that had a music engineering (MUE) program for sound engineers that had no English course requirements. Four years later he graduated with general honors from the University of Miami with a BFA in music and a minor in electrical engineering. He is now the technical director for a large church and is experiencing daily the intersection of his passion and talent.
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2 comments:

  1. Trevor LedfordJuly 21, 2009 at 5:32 PM

    I'll give a story of my elementary school experience because I think it's relevant to teachers. When I was in elementary school I was basically a good student, never got in trouble much. That's mostly because I was so shy. But a criticism came every year from my teachers that I rushed through my work so I could draw. I drew on anything available. I can't argue with the criticism because it was true. Social Studies, math, all of it was just getting in the way of my drawing time. That was the way I saw it. I even sold pictures to my classmates for $.10 each. I sold whatever was popular at the time, mostly it was He-Man, Transformers, or Michael Jackson pictures. My teachers had more than one conference with my parents about it. It was really throughout every grade. My mom knew it was true too because that's also what I did at home most of the time. Here's what strikes me as odd. Not once during elementary school did any of my teachers encourage me to take art or even give us (the class)opportunities to create art. Perhaps this was just how school was back then. But you would think as prominant as this artistic characteristic was in my life someone would've said, "you know, maybe you should take some art classes." Family and friends encouraged me, but no one from school encouraged it. So I didn't pursue it in school (at least until college)
    I guess my point is that I could've really spent some valuable time in middle and high school developing my artistic skills,but I barely even knew it was an option. So I ended up pursuing music (another passion of mine)instead. It worked out, but you see that I ended up as an artist anyway. I didn't take art classes at school until my second year in college.

    So, as a teacher today, I try to get a feel for what my students love. and if it's not my class I try to get them to a class I know fits their passion better. If I can't do that I try to adapt my lessons to them as much as possible.
    But the bigger thing I find (and this may be a topic for another discussion) is that most students have no idea what their element is. There's no clear passion for anything. I think some people are quite lucky to find it early. The others may need our help discovering what they do best!

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  2. LaurieJuly 21, 2009 at 5:54 PM

    Education was not my first major. When I got up enough courage to tell my family that their goal for me was not my own--I became an education major, and I AM in my element. What a blessing my job is to me!

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