Week 3 - Photos and Images

I like this photo for a number of reasons. The first is because the phrase "old school" is used a lot and this is truly old school. My dad owns a set of desks like those pictured. I love the artistry of the iron scroll work on the desk supports. As children, my siblings and I pinched our fingers in the seats that slid up and down and  we dropped things through the ink well hole into the desk as we played school.

I also like the colors. With the warm colors and the sunlight streaming in through the back window it looks like an inviting place to pick out a book and just read - although a comfortable chair or plush carpet wouldn't be completely unwelcome.

Lastly the willow tree outside the window looks like the perfect place for a warm summer day. A place to sit beneath and read, nap, or daydream.

The scuff marks and signs of wear on the flooring and desks suggest years of use and streams of endless knowledge.

Week 1 & 2 - Lifelong Learning and Blogging

1.      Begin with the end in mind – I feel like I’m fairly competent in this area. Generally speaking, I know what I want to know or what I want to accomplish, but what keeps me awake at night is trying to figure out how to successfully get from the beginning to the end.

2.      Accept responsibility for your own learning -  If it is something that interests me or seems useful to me, I have no issues taking responsibility for my own learning. If it is something I “should” know or something that doesn’t apply to me personally, I am less motivated toward learning.

3.      View problems as challenges – Usually I can view a problem as a challenge, though sometimes I have to take breaks from the problem because if not it gets to the point of frustration and I shut down and make personal attacks on people.

4.      Have confidence in yourself as a competent, effective learner – see #2. I feel like I learn useful things that are applicable to me fairly well. At the same time, when I look at everything I could know or everything I perceive that I’m expected to know, I feel more like the idiot a village lost.

5.      Create your own learning toolbox – I hate to say people are tools, but to be completely honest when I need to know something, I have a specific person I go to. I also have my favorite sites and get comfortable with what I know. Comparing it to my real toolbox, there are multiple hammers of various sizes, weights and head-shape. My favorite - my go-to hammer – was given to me by my dad. It is graphite so it weighs less than steel but still carries a powerful impact when used to strike a surface and it has a rubber-coated grip on the handle to absorb some of the shock. My learning toolbox is like that. I have my favorites. I generally gravitate to the same thing. I do not seek change … until I find out how amazing the next thing is.

6.      Use technology to your advantage – When I understand it, yes. I struggle to learn new programs because I get comfortable where I am and with what I understand.

7.      Teach/mentor others –  I’m skillful at this to a certain extent. Sometimes my patience wears thin if the person I am teaching/mentoring doesn’t pick up on what is being taught.7.5 Play – This is probably my favorite part of learning because I think this is the application step. The step where what has been learned is learned and then I use it to my advantage or to the advantage of those around me.