Book #6 The Wild Card

Please introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about who you are, where you are from, what you teach and anything else you want to include!

As author Julia Cameron points out in The Artist’s Way, “In order to do something well, we must first be willing to do it badly.” And as the authors of this book say, “Rookie mistakes lead to growth and mastery.”  Describe a rookie mistake you’ve made as a teacher and the growth you experienced as a result.  (This is an exercise in laying your inner Joker to rest.)  In addition, please leave encouraging comments on at least two other participants’ posts.

Wade and Hope King’s vlog is called Set The Stage To Engage.  What did you like best about their first episode?  How did watching this vlog make your feel?  Why is it important to connect with other educators through digital media such as YouTube, Twitter, etc?  Will you subscribe to their YouTube channel and continue to watch other episodes of Set The Stage To Engage?

Awareness & Desire On pages 42-46, the authors explain their WHY.  What is your WHY?

Corey Poirier, in his TED talk, “How People Crush Fears And Expand Comfort Zones”,   discusses his personal experiences.  How do you (or how do you plan to) overcome your personal fears and expand your comfort zone in the classroom? …outside of the classroom?  Again, please leave encouraging comments on at least two other participants’ posts. 

Reflection & Engagement On pages 111-120 the authors discuss building a culture of empowerment.  Choose two sentences from this section and, for each, state why you chose the sentence and how the statement translates into your teaching practice. 

Tatiana Lingos-Webb in her TED talk, “Proven Steps To A Better Classroom",  describes how she uses dance to teach life skills.  How do you teach life skills such as grit and resilience?

Authenticity & Grit What is your go-to thing?  Or, what could your go-to thing be?  How can you connect this to the content you teach?  

DJ Cunningham, in his TED talk, “Learning Via Your Style”, discusses his educational experience.  What are your thoughts?  How will this impact your teaching?

Persistence & The Toolbox The authors share 15 tools from their own toolbox.  What could you add to the toolbox?  Share one of your strategies and comment on at least one other participant’s strategies.

Please post your thoughts about this course below.  What did you like about it?  What didn’t you like about it?  Would you recommend this book study to a colleague?