MAC_Wk2_Post3_Response2

Photo by S. Noack

Melissa,

You reminded me of my first years teaching.  By that time, about fifteen years ago, I thought that the great teacher was the one who had few students passing the course.  I remember even competing with other teachers about who had the longest list of students failing the class!! This was in an undergraduate program.  What a big mistake!  I realized that two semesters later.  It was just reflecting on my teaching and what I was doing?  I think it was also seen the faces of the students and their frustration. 

It is great that now we have a reminder that we are part of the change and as you say it is not always easy, it is something to work on.  But maybe with the help of other colleagues we can keep reminding each other what is important in life and make others and ourselves happy and successful.

Original: http://mlodhi2.blogspot.com/2011/04/week-2-reading-presence.html by Melissa Lodhi.

This has been one of the most important readings that I have done over the course of this Master’s program.  Its lessons are vital to my contributions as an educator.  As a young teacher, I often misread the intentions of students and tried to bend them to my will and what I thought was best for them.  I was frustrated when they failed to engage or seemed sullen or defiant.  After many years, I began to engage them in a different way, I guess giving them the “A”.  In this way I have made much stronger connections with students and have seen them make contributions of their own.  Along the way, I sometimes lose sight of this power and get caught up in daily successes and failures.  This is a wonderful reminder to remain present and to pursue opportunities to make a contribution, not just achieve personal success.

By seeing life as a game in which perception is the only reality one is able to put things in perspective.  Much of the anxiety and stress I face is the product of my own desire to meet invented expectations, which have been constructed by myself and by others.  I am now practicing giving the “A” in my relationships and at work, focusing on contributions, not just winning.

The approach laid out in the book is not easy to ingrain in daily habits.  While I agree with the concepts in theory, it is hard to consistently put them into practice.  Old thought patterns continue to crop up and I must constantly remind myself that the obstacles are all invented.  This has definitely given me something to work on and a new way to approach life.