Week 4 Leadership Post: Role model reflection

Jonathan Bergmann's Blog

As a high school teacher working at my own alma mater, I’m in the fairly unique position of having many of my previous teachers as my current colleagues. My situation means that I am constantly in contact with role models for my own personal and professional development. Not to discount the important roles that colleagues play in my life now, I want to step outside my job and point to a role model whom I’ve never met as I respond to this blog prompt. This role model is a man I’d never heard of before starting the EMDT program at Full Sail, but he’s become an important part of my work here. I’m referring to Jonathan Bergmann, one of the co-developers of the increasingly popular flipped classroom model.

Bergmann was not the first teacher to use video lectures to replace in-class lecture presentations, but he and his colleague, Aaron Sams, are largely responsible for sharing their success with the flipped classroom model, and for the model’s growing popularity. Through his blog, Twitter feeds, and conferences, Bergmann has been extremely influential and reached an incredible number of educators. I can only hope that, given my education and learning at Full Sail, I will be as confident and prolific in sharing my ideas and helping other teachers.

Week 4 Comment on Katie Ross’s Art of Possibility chapters 9-12 post

Katie,

Your post based on this past week’s reading really resonated with me. I, too, have been considering all the things that I can do with the free time I’ll have after graduating from Full Sail. (Planning the time is great, but I fear sometimes I’ll have so much fun planning, I’ll forget to DO!) One of the things I’m most looking forward to is having time to dedicate to some local organizations, including Habitat for Humanity and my local LGBT center, where I can volunteer tutoring services for kids who are looking for safe space after school.  

We’ve all had our lights sparked at Full Sail—by our professors and by each other. Now, it’s our turn to pass on the light. Your blog post was a great reminder of that. Thanks! -Kim

Katie’s post

http://myjourneyfor1year.blogspot.com/2012/05/wk4-reading-being-you.html

Excuse me, does anyone have a lighter because I have a light that needs to be sparked!

Over the past 11 months I’ve put a lot of things to the side to focus on school so that I could get the most out of it. I can now say, since I can see the end so close  ( No worries Professor Joe, I’m not taking a break yet)I”ve been thinking what I’m I going to do with all of my free time.  The answer finally came to me over a short vacation last week and it’s, volunteer for the Big Brother Big Sister organization here in Orlando. I want to spread my spark out to children who are just looking for a spark to follow. Who are looking for assistance lighting their own spark. As a small speck on this big universe I always try to give back. However the time has come for me to give back to another person.  The ending of the EMDT program is a great time for me to pick up another life changing torch.

Sometimes in life it’s important to just let things go.  When you can’t change the situation and you can’t make someone see your point of view, and you have done all you can do….you just have to let it go and move on. You can’t life let you pass it by like it did for the husband whose wife had cheated on him.  It’s ok to let things go it brings so much peace to the situation. It also allows for growth to take place, which may even let you see a different point of view.

The framework of possibility is being YOU! When we stand up to right is right and we stand up to people who are doing wrong we are creating the framework. Sometimes that means doing something that you don’t want to do to create a better situation, and other times it’s just speaking the truth.

I believe I have had the pleasure to lift people up to help them do and be more. At times I’ve been lifted up.  One thing that I love is that my husband and I both lift each other up and we also always help push each other towards the next best thing.  This chapter is one reason why I think it’s very important to surround oneself with good people.  It’s important to be around people who you can help make better and who can help make yourself better.

Week 4 Comment on Shrav Krishna’s Art of Possibility chapters 9-12 post

Shrav,

Benajmic Zander’s story about flying cross-country just for a brief meeting with Mstislav Rostropovich. As you put it, Zander clearly knows the powers of persuasion and how to “light a spark” under other people. This anecdote was one of many that made me consider how much like a teacher Zander the conductor must be. He inspires others to do their best, to step out of their comfort zones (remember that he was asking Rostropovich to play a heretofore unseen piece!) and really excel.  

Your post was a great reminder of what I found most meaningful in Art of Possibility. Thanks! -Kim

Shrav’s post

http://billboardscavenger.blogspot.com/2012/05/wk4-blog-post-art-of-possibility-ch-9.html

Good evening fellow EMDT cohort and staff,

First and foremost, I'd like to congratulate each and every one of you all that shared your Leadership Document drafts during Wimba on Tuesday night and Wednesday night. I thought you all did a fantastic job, and I am super stoked of the great possibilities in hearing several success stories down the road!

Now onto this week's Art of Possibility blog post. Chapter's 9-12 were simply incredible. I'm going to chime in on a particular passage that I felt was truly profound and was just the type of motivation I needed to hear should I get selected to present my Leadership Project at The Illinois Education and Technology Conference.

Zander is by far the most resilient, confident, gregarious, and focused human being that I have ever in my entire life come to discover. Flying out from Boston to Washington at 8am, JUST for an UNEXPECTED 20 minute meeting to entice the LEGENDARY Rostropovich to play in his orchestra, and fly back to Boston at 12pm with successfully getting the guy to agree??? The man truly knows how to enroll others and light a spark. If that were me, I'd be too busy preparing myself on that flight on how to come across to him. However, I shouldn't need to allow my fear and nerves to beat myself over -- Our universe is ALIVE with sparks and the capacity to make the impossible, possible, so long as we bare passion! First, I wholeheartedly agree with Ben Zander's dad, Walter Zander, that "certain things in life are better done in person". My cohort and I are enormously lucky and grateful to have the opportunity of a lifetime to engage our passions and action research with a receptive audience of likeminded visionaries. To enroll them into adopting our passion, we need to approach them with the confidence that they are willing to get swept off their feet and inspired. We need to speak with the premise of that which would make US be swept away with inspiration. We need to have NO doubt whatsoever that others will love our pioneering ideas. Only then, can we reap the given benefits that were already promised to us from the get-go. Showing up is half the work, if you have the passion for success and change.

Here's an inspirational story I'd like to share. Last night, I was watching Conan O'Brien's talk showConan and we were all pleasantly delighted to engage in a comedic standup routine by up-and-coming comedian, Brody Stevens. It was clear in my eyes that he hadn't had too much experience performing before a huge publicized live audience. However, the man did exceptionally well simply by periodically saying out loud "Yes! Positive ENERGY!". It was an addicting mantra that helped him remain on top of his game. In one of his bits, Brody said that he wanted to get laid -- fair enough. However, he said he'd have a BETTER chance of getting laid after making people laugh through his live standup routine, rather than call up his lady friends via telephone.

MAC Wimba week 4

First off, I really enjoyed the Van Halen video linked to this week’s Wimba session. There were some great reminders in there of our own mortality, and our place in the universe.

This week’s Wimba discussion of Art of Possibility was enlightening. I’ll admit that I was a bit skeptical about the book’s merit at the beginning of the course; it DID feel a bit like all the other self-help books, or “the secret” advice. It did, of course, turn out to be a very pleasant surprise! The Zanders are great writers, and for their book they drew from an incredible breadth of experience and wisdom. Their words made for a wonderful conclusion to all the material we’ve learned over the past year.

Thanks to Mr. Bustillos for the look ahead to month 12!