November 5, 2008 – Silence and Voice

@BarbaraNixon Who?!?! #
Just finished my Online Learning class. #
use Wimba, though I was plugging Elluminate, which is a favorite of mine! #
@moneycoach Sorry, lost the context of your Tweet (been a bit overwhelmed this week). #
@christiepooh 🙂 #
@joostrobben Finally voted. BTW, I like voting for the winner, so let that be a help, too. #
@gminks It is a great program, and the one I use at home the most. #
@abalone You did not have a sign-up for in-buolding trick-or-treaters? #
@abalone That grey fox . . . #
@abalone Did you say Democrats and Leadership in the same sentence? Better get some coins to toss into the fountain and hope for the best. #
@abalone The past 8 years have been a downward spiral . . . #
@northernvoice Northern Voice 2009 was just announced?! Sweet. #
@northernvoice Let’s see, #nv09? #
@northernvoice I thought last year there was a call for more involvement of non-Vancouverites?! #
@gminks #NorthernVoice is the Canadian Blogging and Social Media conference in Vancouver every year http://2008.northernvoice.ca/ #
@skydaddy What a great idea to learn the states and understand more of the political process as well. #
Amazing how quiet it is out on the street in Manhattan. Just walked the dogs, and nobody is out. I could almost feel the anticipation. #
@Mly I would follow you as well if I knew who you were. Hard to follow people with protected Tweets. #
@moneycoach We are nearing the end of the course Principles and Practices of Online Course Creation and Instructional Design. #
@moneycoach It will run again in the spring, however, http://tinyurl.com/5n7glr #
I am in a wonderful mood today knowing our best days are ahead. Go Barack! #
@be_b It is easier to say we can’t do something than to reach for our goals. That is the difference between moving forward or holding back. #
Off to Mandoo Bar for Korean food. #
Still happy about The Change We Need! #
Off to class. Giving a midterm tonight. #

So, Barack Obama won the presidential election. While we will undoubtedly speak about him in many ways in the times ahead, I am focusing on what we can learn from him right now.

So, what can we (or at least I) learn from Barack?

The mantra “Yes We Can” is positive reinforcement. Decide something, and then keep plugging away at it until it is accomplished. Students are unsure of their abilities? Anxiety over a new teaching responsibility? Lessons challenged by people with different worldviews? Teach we shall – Yes We Can!
Don’t let people tell you what you can do. If you believe you can be president, then work to make it real. Color or race are no longer barriers. There is nothing that cannot be done if you work hard enough. Yes, this is lofty and a stretch goal, but what worth accomplishing is not?
The slogan “Change We Can Believe In” may be scary at times if there is a politics of fear, but it is also common sense. If what we are doing now does not work as we want it, then change. Not getting the grades? Do not understand something? Disagree with some framework? Change happens by changing methods and approaches—only we can fully change our own perspectives. And, this is not easy and it may leave us alone at times, but change is the only thing that helps us move forward.

I expect to think about this more in the weeks ahead, and am interested in what learning others may have around this . . .

Day: November 5, 2008

Jeffrey’s Twitter Updates for 2008-11-05

What Educators Can Learn from Barack Obama