In Stop thinking out of the
box - the box IS the thinking #28daysofwriting from Ewan McIntosh |
Digital Media & Education, Ewan McIntosh asks,
“What
other creative constraints are there? What other boxes should we stop thinking
outside of, and start jumping into?”
I thought this was a
great article and really makes great points. I agree with the constraints that
Ewan lists and thought about what others I could think of. I came up with three
others that I find myself coming up with in my own situation that keeps me from not doing something that I want to do. Sometimes by
being aware of these constraints and recognizing how they can hold me back,
helps me get past them.
Fear of Failure – Failure is a huge box that I live in.
Sometimes I don’t want to admit it. Sometimes it is easier to sit in this box
than to try to fight my way out. In order to fight my way out, I have to
recognize it for what it is and then ask myself, “What is the worst thing that
can happen?” Usually that can put it in perspective and sometimes I find out
that the box is really not as big as I originally thought it was.
Financial Impact – Not doing something because it costs too
much money is another easy box to be in. Rather than settling for that as an
answer to not doing something, I need to find alternatives that don’t cost as
much money or figure out a way that I can get the same results by doing
something differently. Maybe rather than doing that activity, a different
activity will get me to the same goal.
Relevance – Sometimes my students are really interested in
something but it isn’t relevant to the standards that we are required to teach.
Or I might think a certain skill, goal, or unit would be fun, interesting and
worth learning about but know it isn’t relevant to their learning. Or is it?
This can be a box that is keeping me from seeing a clear picture. Maybe I can
toss it out to the class and have them brainstorm ways that it might be
relevant. My mother always said that more heads are better than one. Maybe I
can discuss it with colleagues and they may see it from a different perspective
and help me see the relevance. Sometimes I don’t think I use enough resources
that are available to get me outside of my comfort zone.
It is too easy to find excuses to not do something. I think
once we realize what boxes we are in, it is easier to come up with solutions.
What boxes do you think I’ve left out? Please share.
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