From "Why should I bother?" To "Why I care"
- Next 10 Years
Late-Night Musings at the End of 2007
Steven W. Gilbert, President, The TLT Group,
Inc.
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Why do I care about this? Why do I care about you? Why should you care about this?
Caring IS the 8th Principle!
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2 trees
showing roots that look like holding
hands. |
I've been thinking about next year, and the next 10 years. In less than 2 weeks, the TLT Group will be 10 years old and 2007 will be gone.
I missed lunch yesterday because I couldn't step away from the online exchange of ideas and insights among Barb Millis, Doug Eder, Ray Purdom, and 40+ other people - and the way they could disagree so constructively. See related resources and session archive:
http://www.tltgroup.org/OLI/2007/LTA/home.htm
We ended that last interactive workshop session of 2007 well past the scheduled closing time with a new beginning: a provocative conversation about individual differences among teachers. We'll extend that discussion in a FridayLive! session in 2008.
Digression: Drunken Noodles, Diane Arbus, Nicole Kidman, Garbage, Caring
So I was hungry and decided to quit for the day much earlier than usual. I prepared "Drunken Noodles" for the second time in my life - quite successfully. Sally came home early from the TLT Group's International World Headquarters and we dedicated the rest of the afternoon and evening to distraction. We watched an old episode of "Law and Order," the latest movie from NetFLix ("Evening"), and, finally, perhaps the most peculiar movie I've ever seen: not-exactly-a-biography of the peculiar and talented photographer Diane Arbus. I hadn't intended to stay awake that late. I had hoped to return to a mildly interesting Commissario Montalbano mystery novel, but I couldn't look away from the screen. I'll never think of Nicole Kidman the same way I did before. [See note below about Arbus & Metropolitan Museum of Art. Coincidence?]
At least with respect to their ability to hold my attention even when I'm hungry or tired, Barb, Doug, and Ray have something in common with Nicole.
I fell asleep immediately after Arbus/Kidman without putting out the garbage, so had to get up at 5am to do so. That led to reading the newspaper early and stumbling on this article: "Yes, Virginia, Caring Is Part of Police Work" (Courtland Milloy, Wash. Post, p. B01, Dec. 19, 2007). There it was, "caring" again. For years I've been asking "Why bother?" - I've even got a Web page about it: http://www.tltgroup.org/WhyBother.htm. But now it's time to focus on "Why care?"
Vision Worth Working Toward
So, before I go back to bed and
Montalbano, I'm jotting down some ideas that are
shaping my Vision Worth Working Toward for 2008:
http://www.tltgroup.org/vwwt.htm
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Caring IS the 8th Principle!
Compassionate Pioneers & Compassionate Pioneering -
Light Small Candles
"LTA"-ish: easy, effective, useful, legal, ethical, low-cost, accessible
Leads to lighting more candles
Make a difference - one individual at a time
TMI/TMO/TLT -
BHWs, BHTLMs
Brief Hybrid Workshops, Brief Hybrid Teaching/Learning Modules -
Ursula Franklin and Kurt Gödel [Added July 29, 2008: and James P. Carse, The Religious Case Against Belief.]
Talk about their work, why I care about it, why others should care about it. -
"Book"/Curriculum/Website etc.
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The good kinds of assessment
Flashlight 2.0! -
Find enough money to keep this thing going another 10 years!
Keep Sally Gilbert and Steve Ehrmann from going crazy and
support the good work and great spirit of the TLT Group staff
and friends and colleagues.
Reprise - Caring
Matt Gordon works for the TLT Group while trying to become a movie and TV writer. He told me that every 5-minute eClip, every Brief Hybrid Workshop, every teaching/learning session should begin by answering these questions one way or another:
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Why do I care about this?
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Why do I care about you?
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Why should you care about this?
I care about this work we've been doing for the past 10 years because we still need - perhaps now more than ever - to continue to improve teaching, learning, and the ways in which people communicate and treat each other. We need to use information technology responsibly and thoughtfully.
I care about all of you who engage, even rarely, in acts of "compassionate pioneering": who work hard to develop these improvements and help each other use them. I am inspired by your commitment, persistence, judgment, goodness, and sense of humor.
You should care for the same reasons I do. And because this can be lonely work. We can support and sustain each other.
We are not alone!
Steve Gilbert
PS: From Reuters Website
http://www.reuters.com/article/peopleNews/idUSN1852541920071218
"NEW YORK (Reuters) - The entire archive of New York photographer Diane Arbus -- known for her images of dwarfs, nudists and carnival performers -- has found a home at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
"The estate of Arbus, who committed suicide in 1971, is giving her archives to the museum, which will turn it into a resource for scholars and the public, the Met said on Tuesday."
See, for example, " Child with Toy Hand Grenade in Central Park, New York City, USA (1962) "
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_with_Toy_Hand_Grenade_in_Central_Park
PPS: "Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus" see: http://www.furmovie.com/main.html
This photo downloaded 2007-12-19 by Steven W. Gilbert, TLT Group from
Flickr Photo
Title:
"Holding Hands"
Person who uploaded the picture to Flickr (username listed in Flickr profile on this date):
"Polka Dots Fill The Sky / Vicky"
Creative Commons License "BY:"
URL for photo
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9058249@N04/1464030092/
Shadow on pavement of 2 people holding hands
This photo downloaded 2007-12-19 by Steven W. Gilbert, TLT Group from
Flickr Photo
Title:
"Holding Hands"
Person who uploaded the picture to Flickr (username listed in Flickr profile on this date):
"delgaudm / Mike DelGaudio"
Creative Commons License "BY:"
URL for photo
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mydailycommute/135619006/
Photo of couple holding hands
This photo downloaded 2007-12-19 by Steven W. Gilbert, TLT Group from
Stock.XCHNG
Title:
"Hold my hand"
Source referenced by SXC:
"befresh/Real name: Paul Fris"
SXC Photo No.: 143066
URL for photo
http://www.sxc.hu/browse.phtml?f=view&id=143066&rnd=
SXC Image License agreement:
http://www.sxc.hu/info.phtml?f=help&s=8_2
SWG sent email notification of use via SXC 20071219
