June 12, 2008 – Silence and Voice

@skydaddy Sorry I missed you. You still on skype? #
@skydaddy The book you recommended looks so familiar. #
@skydaddy Yes, sure enough, I already have the book. Do not recall when I bought it, but at least it will now be useful. #
@fncll Sounds like an interesting quest. When I took a graduate philosophy course last fall, I was surprised by how anti-tech everybody was. #
@fncll Chris, it was even worse than that. I felt invited to climb right back into the silo I have fought my entire life to climb out of! #
Have a headache. Busy morning in the office so far. Thankfully things here are smooth today, as my head is pounding. #
@mathplourde Your Wikis in Higher Education document is quite useful. I linked to it on my wiki for the exam http://tinyurl.com/5mb4aw #
@skydaddy Some great information there; thanks again for the reference. #
@skydaddy Alas, no skype during the day (am at work). Perhaps some evening or otherwise I can call on the phone? #
I need some fresh air. #
I need some fresh air. #
@socialthing Cool. Surprised you don’t use SnagIt for captures like this! #
@socialthing Interesting. Never seen this program before. It reminds me of Jing Project http://www.jingproject.com #
@mathplourde It is a final exam for my Leadership course. I created the mid-term, and want to encourage more participation for the final. #
@mathplourde There has been low activity on it, so will discuss in class tonight. #
@gusgreeper Why don’t you ask them? #
@injenuity How does the Duran Duran song of my youth go? Enjoy the Silence. #
@gusgreeper I tend to ask. Do not like to link to people I do not know anything about. I suppose I see it as some level of approval. #
@injenuity Shows my frame of mind this week! How savage of me to confuse my favorite band with another from the great music decade. #
@skydaddy Thank you for the link. I will watch tonight (blocked at work). #
@skydaddy Ouch. If I used Facebook, I could send you some relaxing fish or throw a philosopher at you to help you think about it. #
@skydaddy Hope it feels better. Great speaking F2F via teleconference (there has to be a T2T or other acronym for that) today. Very helpful. #
@skydaddy No wonder I have not seen your Tweets recently. Another whale story perhaps? #
@abalone Thank you for the feedback on my blog post today! #
Off to class. Looking forward to my students’ presentations tonight. #

The New York Times recently had an article on mindfulness meditation, which is a psychotherapeutic method that focuses on awareness and release of emotions. This is related to “just being,” rather than a focus on “doing” something active, so concepts and memories get “reframed” so that a person can recall difficult situations and experiences and learn to endure them while coming from a place of peace and quiet.

While this work comes out of the psychotherapy literature with a Buddhist twist, it reminds me in many ways of Reflective Practice. Donald Schon initiated this concept to mean “thoughtfully considering one’s own experiences in applying knowledge to practice while being coached by professionals in the discipline.” I am an adherent of this educational philosophy (as noted in my blog’s by-line), and regularly read the same-named journal and enjoyed the MIT course (available free online).

Aren’t these two similar, and perhaps related? Don’t I need to be quiet in order to reflect on and reframe my experiences into new next steps, ones that are better informed for having processed the initial occurrences themselves? Isn’t that what I do as an educator, to best meet the needs of my students? Isn’t that what is informing the new edupunk movement? Shouldn’t that help with the next presidential election, the rise in prices associated with fossil fuels, and even terrorism?

Once again, as what is becoming a mantra for me:
There are no unrelated fields of study nor experiential horizons.

Day: June 12, 2008

Jeffrey’s Twitter Updates for 2008-06-12

Mindfulness Meditation & Reflective Practice