ch. 6

One of the most interesting things in this chapter was the quote on page 133, “In a curious way, age is simpler than youth, for it has so far fewer options.” In a general sense, I think this quote is absolutely true. Our generation has been presented with far more opportunity and possibility then our parent’s or grandparent’s generations ever had. It will likely be true about our succeeding generations as well. However, the fact that we have had greater opportunity and privilege doesn’t necessarily mean that we have things “better” than they had it. The way of life my grandparents had was so much different than me. True, they had to physically work ten times harder then, but they had simple and uncomplicated lifestyles, you work hard and then reap the rewards of your hard work. It was that simple back then and as odd as it sounds, I sometimes envy them for the simple lives they had.

On Samantha’s comment, baby booms are almost always associated with war times, which it seems like we are never really “not” experiencing these days. It has become noticeable lately though, I agree. My family and friends from high school seem like they’re going through their own baby boom right now!

Chapter 6

One of the things that stood out the most to me was on page 143. It stated that if people chase profit goals, reach those goals, and still don’t feel any better about their lives; they are more likely to seek more money or greater validation which leads them to more unhappiness. The reason this stood out to me is because we have chosen careers that don’t offer a lot of money, yet we are okay with it because we know it is a rewarding career and we’re doing a good thing.

Another thing that was interesting and Stasia mentioned in her blog is the “why”.  I remember as an elementary student being told to do things or do things a certain way but never told why. I think is important to tell students why we are doing something because it lets them know the importance of the material or how they can use it in real life. I also think it helps students understand a concept better when they know why we do something the way we do. For example I remember when we started adding two double-digit numbers many students didn’t know why we carry the “1” but the teacher’s explanation was because that’s “how” we are supposed to do it. If the teacher would have explained why, I think we would have understood the material better and would have picked up on it faster.

Chapter 6

First, on Stasia’s comment about purpose in the classroom; this is extremely important for students to actually gain knowledge on a topic rather than memorize it short term for a good grade. The classes I have fewer memories about are classes that had no purpose for me: biology, algebra, etc. I think it would be extremely hard for a high school teacher to set a purpose for learning something such as algebra that most of the students will never use again in their life.

Next, a random thought I had while reading this chapter and I want to see if anyone agrees with me. The chapter talked about the baby boomer generation. Does anyone else feel like we are going through another baby boomer period?! I swear every time I blink my eyes, someone new is pregnant!

Lastly, I don’t really have any one specific thing I want to go on and on about. I just picked out little points throughout the chapter. I really liked the section about businesses such as TOMS. The book stated “..and to use profit as the catalyst rather than the objective.” I like that statement because sometimes in order to be successful, money and profit can’t be the main objective; it has to have a deeper meaning. Also, going along with our last class’s discussion on cheating- 56% of MBA students admitted to cheating. That is a ridiculous amount of people that admitted it; think about how many more there are that DIDN’T admit it! Yikes!

Ch. 6

I want to turn my focus of motivation from the student to the teacher.  I think Johnny started to do this in our last blog post, but I would like to build even more off of this idea as we start to talk about purpose. 
This chapter might be my favorite so far.  I loved learning about companies like TOMS, volunteerism, and Harvard Business student's pact.  However, Gary Hamel's words about business management struck me most.  I think business management and classroom management are closely related when we are examining motivation.  We've discovered that giving student's autonomy and access to mastery will motivate them in the classroom, but now we need to look at purpose.  Giving student's a purpose for learning is an obvious and practical step to take in the classroom because students will ask the question, "Why?".  Hamel said we must find ways to infuse mundane business activities (boring standards and benchmarks) with "deeper soul-searching ideas."  My challenge is for teachers to do just that.  Give your lessons purpose.  Students are not going to be motivated by lessons that don't interest them.  Lets create lessons that expose these "deeper soul-searching ideas".  Not only will the class benefit, but us teachers will start to see a purpose for why we chose this career field.

Chapter 5

The “Goldilocks tasks” are easily seen in the classroom. We shouldn’t have students do tasks that are too hard or too easy. The “Goldilocks tasks” remind me especially of guided reading groups. It reminds me of the “Goldilocks tasks” because groups are arranged according to their reading abilities and the books are chosen to be at their level.  There is a statement on page 117 that states, “When what they must do falls short of their capabilities, the result is boredom.” I related this statement to education because it reminds me of when students read books that are too hard for them they often get discourage and loose interest in reading.

Just like Stasia and Samantha I also liked the poem at the beginning of the chapter. I think that when someone is passionate about what they do it is noticeable by looking at the way they do it. I have seen teachers that are so passionate about teaching that someone can see it just by the look on their face. On the other hand, you can also point out the teachers who are just there for a paycheck and not for the love of teaching. It’s easy to point these teachers out because like the poem states they don’t have “that eye-on-the-object look.”

Chapter 5

The first thing I want to say is like Stasia, I also loved the poem at the beginning of the chapter. I was going to write about it, but I think she summed up how I felt about it. It is amazing to be able to tell when a teacher is passionate about their vocation because of the look in their eyes and the way they treat their students. Another statement I agree with that Stasia said is if the government wants our children to have the best education, they need to give teachers more freedom. They are putting more restrictions and requirements on teachers and it is putting a damper on the whole education system.

Next, there were so many things that I could talk about from this chapter that I don’t know where to start. One of the first sections I put a star by was the section that Pink talked about the “Goldilocks tasks.” This reminded me of one of the problems I face in the classroom. It is very hard for me to take a task and make it hard enough so the “TAG” students don’t become bored, yet easy enough that the lower end students are able to do it. This is one of my biggest fears in teaching because this can create a huge classroom management problem.

ch.5

I think it is a very realistic figure that 70% of people are either not very engaged or are entirely disengaged from their work all together. This reminds me of the film “Office Space.” In the film Peter tells the two Bobs that he really only does about fifteen minutes of “real” work once he comes into the office. He sneaks in through the back door because he is always late; he hides from his cubical in the bathroom, etc. I honestly think this is common in more than just the work place, but in the school system as well, and it all ties back to the chapter on autonomy, just as Stasia pointed out. And it isn’t just students who are unengaged, but teachers are just as guilty.
I feel that with autonomous freedom comes a desire to actually master these skills and crafts although according to Pink, once someone gets close (for instance Cezanne), they feel as if there are still gains to be made in that craft which realistically they cannot meet even when others feel that what they have accomplished is “perfect” in their eyes. I think we expect too much of ourselves sometimes to ever be satisfied with something that is actually “good.”

Ch. 5

First off, I just wanted to mention how much I loved the poem at the beginning of the chapter. It spoke so purely of the passion people have for their vocations.  You can tell so much by looking into someone’s eyes and I absolutely love when I see this look on students’ faces.  It tells me they are engaged, passionate, and in discovery-mode.

So far in our blog we’ve spoken a lot about our students.  Last chapter, Samantha mentioned that her teacher was beginning to lose interest in teaching because it was becoming less autonomous.  I am making the assumption that her teacher is also having less of a desire to gain mastery in the field.  This is something that I think many teachers are feeling and it needs to be changed.  This chapter points out that the best way to achieve that engagement, passion-in-the-eyes kind of look is to provide people with autonomy.  If the government wants our students to receive the best education, they need to give us teachers more freedom.  Pink says engagement is the only thing that can produce mastery.  So, I best understand it as an equation.  Autonomy + Engagement + Mastery = Success in the classroom for both our students and ourselves. 

ch 4

I agree with Pink’s concept of autonomy, and it’s pretty obvious from my experiences in practicums and observations that rewards are usually great for everyone when students are given that autonomy. Same goes in the workplace. You don’t even need to be a teacher to know that. I have similar experiences as Maria noted. It was easier to keep happy employees in that autonomous environment, but the minute that sense of independence is gone, so is joy that was associated with that specific task; work or otherwise.

The way Pink contrasts his work experiences with that of his father (pg.85-86) is intriguing to me. You can notice this trend across generations how older society viewed working as a way to be a resource to society, rather than the trend we see today as partners in society. The same is true in the classroom today. Yes, a teacher is a resource of knowledge to students but I think students are in fact one of the most important resources a teacher or coach could ever have; gaining experiences, exposure to diverse situations, etc. But doesn’t this actually place them in a mutual partnership together rather than a resource to one another?