Taking Flight

“The NVIV (Next Vista Inspiring Video) series of posts are written by Rushton Hurley and designed to provide students and teachers with fascinating discussion prompts.”

In Taking Flight, Rushton features Bin Xu, a farmer who created his first successful aircraft out of his family’s farming equipment.

He gives the following prompts to accompany this video:
“Think about what people you know hope for, or perhaps something you yourself want to do. Perhaps there are barriers that seem insurmountable. Can you think of a clever way to make it happen?
What personal qualities does Mr Xu have that you admire?”

What an inspiration this video was! My mother used to say that where there was a will, there was a way. I felt the same way about going to college in the 1970s. My parents couldn’t afford to send me to college but I was determined to go. I found a way through loans, scholarships, and the work-study program. I want to encourage my students to find a way if they want to achieve a goal and never stop trying.

Please check out the video and think of other prompts you might come up with. Please share.

A Farmer’s Son

“The NVIV (Next Vista Inspiring Video) series of posts are written by Rushton Hurley and designed to provide students and teachers with fascinating discussion prompts.”

In A Farmer’s Son, Rushton features Dado Banatao, He was the son of a farmer in the rural Philippines who grew up without shoes or access to electricity. Yet, his father encouraged him to keep learning because he wanted a better life for his son.

He gives the following prompts to accompany this video:

“How many times along the path of his story in the video can you count when he might have given up? Can you list the barriers that would have caused this?

Would he have been as successful if he hadn’t wanted to make a difference in the lives of others? Why or why not?”

When I watched this video, I’m was so amazed at his persistence. My parents always said that if there was a will, there was a way and if you wanted something bad enough, you won’t let anything stand in your way. Even though he faced obstacles and disappointments, he kept on working towards his goal. What a role model for all students!

Please check out the video and think of other prompts you might come up with. Please share.

What One Man Can Do

In Forest Man from Engage Their Minds, the author shares a video about Forest Man. This man in India started planting trees in 1979 to save his island. His forest is now larger than Central Park in NY. I’ve been to Central Park and walked across it which seemed to take forever. This park was huge so to think that one man can grow a forest bigger than that is astounding!

I found the video so interesting! As his forest grew, animals started finding a home there. There are now elephants, rhinos, deer, and vultures. It is a growing habitat and he is trying to protect from people who want to poach or hurt his forest. Over the years, the country has given him many awards and he has started trying to get his ideas out to others but I’m not sure anyone has done anything with them. He says he will keep planting trees until the day he dies.

I’m amazed at the commitment this man has to continue to forest the land. His family seems very supportive of what he is doing. It also seems like he is very happy and at peace with what he is doing with his forest.

As I watch the video and see the expanse of the forest, I’m amazed at what one man can do. It doesn’t seem like he stood on the corner and ranted and raved about what everyone else should be doing. He put his words into action. He is showing the world what can be done. If one man can build a forest bigger than Central Park, imagine what many people could do.

I think this would be inspiring to many of my students. Many of my students feel discouraged and frustrated because they don’t feel that their actions matter. If they watch this video, they don’t see a man who talks about the things he can’t do or let other people influence what he can do. He just goes out and does what he thinks is right and continues doing it without giving up. He knows that he is making a difference and he is being a great role model for his own children as well as others.

This would be a great lead-in for a discussion about the things that one person can do in our own community. Things like picking up trash or volunteering to help elderly neighbors or giving food to a food bank or planting a community garden. One person can truly make a difference over time. We just need to be patient and keep focusing on what we are doing.

What are some things one person could do in your community? Please share.

Photo by Deglee Degi on Unsplash

Being Perfect

In Walking away from the idée fixe from Seth Godin's Blog by Seth Godin shares, 

 “It’s going to be exactly like THIS. It has to be, and I don’t want to hear otherwise.”

This had me wondering about when people began to think that something has to be perfect. Are we taught this by our parents? Our teachers? Who instills this perception into our mind?

Do we think that if it is not perfect, we are a failure? If it isn’t perfect, something can’t work. How do we determine that something needs to perfect or that near perfect is just as good?

There may be times where perfection is vital. If someone is building my house, I would hope that the measurements are perfect, so my house won’t fall in on top of me. If someone is operating on my body, I hope that the surgeon has perfected his skills. That would not be a time that I want the surgeon to believe that near perfect was okay.

I remember when my husband was writing a paper for class and he agonized over it. He would argue that it just wasn’t perfect yet. As the deadline approached, he became more stressed and it still wasn’t perfect. Eventually I was able to talk him into submitting it even though it was just near perfect to him. I’m not sure all the time in the world would have ever been enough time for it to ever be perfect.

I know that when I was learning to sew something my seams were not perfect. But I accepted it because I didn’t think that anyone was going to look that closely and I know that I was still learning.

Even now that I’ve been knitting for 12 years, I have made many things and I don’t believe any of them were perfect. I could have improved each item in some way or I might have made a mistake that I noticed after it was completed.

I want to instill in my students that they should strive for perfection but not beat themselves up if things aren’t perfect as they are learning. But that when a life depends on what they are doing, they need feel confident that they can be perfect.

In order to get to the point where they can achieve perfection, there can be many attempts (over days, months, or even years) where they will not be perfect. It is from these trials that the real learning takes place. It is from the errors that we correct which help lead to perfection.

The most important thing to being successful is to not give up. Perfection will never come to those who stop trying.

Photo by Jonathan Hoxmark on Unsplash 

Investing in Learning

In The 100 hour asset from Seth Godin's Blog, Seth Godin shares,

“If you invest 100 hours in a rare skill, you’re likely to acquire it.”

I played an accordion since I was four years old and I still play it occasionally. I have invested over 100 hours in learning this musical instrument.

I have been writing since I was a young child and I really enjoy it. I would say that I have over 100 hours invested in it also.

In 2007, I started working with fiber. I began crocheting, then knitting, and then spinning yarn. I still love it and do it daily. I can’t imagine not doing this and I like creating new things.

I have tried several things that I didn’t invest the hours into it. Either I didn’t like it or it didn’t hold my interest. Obviously, I didn’t acquire the necessary skills to be good at it.

I have spent my entire life invested in learning. As a young child, I liked learning new things and getting better at some of the things. As I grew older, I became more specific in the things that I wanted to learn. Even now, I find things that I’m interested in learning how to do. Some things I want to continue to learn about and others may fall to the wayside.

I want to help my students learn that they need to invest the time into a skill if they want to get better at it.

If they want to get better with a musical instrument, they need to consistently practice at it.

If they want to be a better athlete, they need to put in the hours of training.

If they want to be a better reader, they need to read more.

If they want to be a better artist, they need to work hard on creating art.

If they want to get better at gaming, they need to put in the hours of practice.

In this age of instant gratification, most skills do not get perfected immediately and many people get disappointed in this. Usually with patience and hard work, the skill is perfected, but it takes time. Time may be days, months, or even years.

Students seem to think that everything comes easy for everyone else than themselves.

One way that I like to show this to students is to model my learning process. I like to take photos and reflect on my learning from the very beginning. I monitor my progress with more photos and more reflection either on a weekly or monthly basis. When I look back at my starting attempts, I can feel proud of my progress and see how much I have improved.

How do you help your students learn that they need to invest their time into learning? Please share.

Photo by Jonathan Chng on Unsplash

Do It Differently

Recently I finished knitting my first pair of color work socks. I enjoyed the pattern but when they were done, they did not fit my feet. I normally knit toe-up socks and this pattern was cuff-down. I also changed the heel which meant I had to rearrange the order of the charts. The heel was too baggy and the foot was too long. I entered the picture of the finished socks into a Knit-a-Long so that I would be eligible for prizes but I was not happy with the finished product. I liked the pattern and my yarn but I was so disappointed.

At first I thought that they would sit on my shelf of finished projects but I knew I would never wear them. Then I decided to rip them out and knit them from the toe up. This involved turning the charts upside down. I also cut apart the charts and taped them in the order I needed so that I would find them easier to follow instead of having to constantly remind myself not to do the order it was in. I am so much happier with the final product! The socks fits me the way I wanted them to do!

I’m so glad that I didn’t give up. I would have wasted some beautiful yarn too.

The designer of the sock pattern wrote it in a way that worked for her. Just because it didn’t work for me doesn’t mean that the design is wrong or poorly written. I just had to tweak it so that it would work for me. I just had to figure out a way to do it differently to make it fit my needs and wants.

That is what I want to teach my students. If they don’t understand something or the final result doesn’t match their expectations, then they need to think about doing it differently. Find a way that works for them. Just because they do it differently doesn’t mean that it is wrong. It means that they have found a way to make it work.

The problem with trying to do it differently means that we take a risk. I took a risk by trying the pattern the first time since I’ve never done color work or cuff-down socks. Then I took another risk by ripping it out and trying it a different way. I’m happy that it worked the second time. If it hadn’t, I may have tried it a third way if I thought there was another way to figure it out. Sometimes challenges can motivate me to try different things.

What is something that you have had to try in a different way? Please share.

Original photo by Pat Hensley

This Too Will Pass

In Three kinds of ‘forever’ from Seth Godin's Blog , Seth Godin  states,

“Too often, we quit in the dip. Not because we can’t tolerate discomfort for an hour, a week or a month, but because we mistakenly believe that it might last forever.”

It is too easy to give up.

When the task is too hard, students want to give up and move on to something else.

When assembling something and it gets too frustrating to put together, people give up and get something else.

When friends have different viewpoints, rather than agree to disagree, they throw their friendship away.

When couples argue and disagree, rather than try to compromise and get along, they give up and find someone else.

When marriages get rough, rather than fighting to get it back on even keel, spouses give up and file for divorce.

People need to remember that this too will pass.

When the task is frustrating, don’t give up but take a break or get help. It might look differently from a different perspective.

When assembly feels impossible, look for a solution.

When friends believe in different things, embrace the uniqueness of your friend and honor their choice to have a differing viewpoint.

When couples don’t get along, find a common group to compromise on. Relationships are give and take and if people need to learn how to compromise.

If the marriage is rough, try to remember the love between you and fight for the marriage.

It is important that I teach my students that sometimes it is important to  fight for something harder when it feels easy to give up.

Nothing lasts forever. Not happiness or misery. This too will pass.

How do you teach perseverance? Please share.

Photo by Arwan Sutanto on Unsplash

Stand Up to the No

In The Power of No from The Muffin by Sioux Roslawsk

“However, sometimes "no" is a good thing. A powerful thing... in a good way.”

If someone tells me that I can’t do something or that way I want to achieve is impossible, it hurts my feelings. I want to give up my goal or my dream and wail in despair. But once I get over the hurt, I try to take the time to figure out why someone thinks I can’t do something.

Maybe they think that I don’t have the drive to complete the task.

Maybe they think I don’t have the resources to achieve what I want.

Maybe they think my timeline is not realistic.

Maybe my whole concept is wrong and needs to be revised.

I remember when I was growing up and my mother would tell me no. I would ask her why and her standard answer was, “Because I said so.”

When someone tells me no, I need to take a breath and dig deeper. I need to ask questions in a calm fashion so I can get a deeper explanation. If I can’t do at the time, then I need to come back to the person when I’m calmer to discuss this further. I need to ask the person if I can talk to them later about it.

This is an important skill for my students to learn. I don’t want them to accept the simple no. But I don’t want them to be belligerent or disrespectful when asking for an explanation.

Asking why will help to improve the situation. Just by accepting the simple no will not help anyone move forward. Let the person know that their explanation will really help to improve the situation and help the person make the necessary adjustments or revisions needed to be successful. If something is achievable just by making a few adjustments or revisions, then it needs to be attempted.

How do you help your students get past the “no” and move forward? Please share. 

 Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay