Creating a Culture of Reflection

This is what I feel makes the difference between folks I refer to as talkers and those who I feel are movers and shakers (those who actually accomplish something and make a marked difference).  Here is the tall order of authenticity as stated by Brookfield:  “You must make full and continuous disclosure of the reasons for your actions, you must keep your promises, and you must work to make your words and actions as consistent as possible.”  (Brookfield, 1995)  The sum of the matter for me is integrity, authenticity and congruence between my teaching philosophy and my practice.

Here’s to the Journey

Power & Pedagogy in Higher Learning – Journal #12

Tao te Ching #9

Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill.  Keep sharpening your knife and it will blunt.  Chase after money and security and your heart will never unclench.  Care about people’s approval and you will be their prisoner.  Do your work, then step back.  The only path to serenity.

Power & Pedagogy in Higher Education – Journal #10

She ran home with joy to share the good news.  “Come see what I have found!  I’ve seen the light! I’ve found the treasure!  Gather ’round let me tell you the thing that is right.”

They did not draw near.  They stood afar. “We did not know you lost that!  The light has been on here!  There has been no darkness to speak of!  Our treasures are still safe, and you weary us with your tales!”

She departed sadly.  Empty, longing for their embrace and wondering, “Perhaps they are right!  Why did I go searching?  What is this I see?  What light is this that guides me? Ahh! Lonely road!”

Power & Pedagogy in Higher Education – Journal #8

The contradiction:  I see it; I concur; I profess; I do nothing different.  It’s a contradiction to assent intellectually and practice otherwise.

Water is a vital element of our existence.   In some parts of the world they have little or none.  I grieve over their plight.  I know that it is irresponsible to waste it but my long, hot showers are the way I indulge myself.

I lead a dichotomous existence when I feel powerless to make a change that I know is necessary.  The grief of vulnerability and helplessness is too much, so I turn off my mind and numb myself into emotional unconsciousness to survive.

It’s a contradiction:  dying while living.

I assent without conviction; then there is no call to action and no commitment.  Nothing has changed because nothing has changed.

Power & Pedagogy in Higher Education – Journal #5

Long before I knew
of Knowles and Mezirow
I knew him
Before I could articulate
on principles and theories
we were friends
When his audience was
indifferent I listened
and heard
I was his companion
in loneliness
When they said,
“throw out this heretic
with his books and ideas!”
I took him in
“This subverter of peace
charms only with his phrases;
he must be gone,” they said
So, we left together, he and I
because I knew him.

Blog Contents at a Glance

Power & Pedagogy in Higher Education – Journal #4

Power is strength, physical force and the ability to do. It is control , influence or authority over. One can have power over, power in and power with. It is a tool to be wielded with wisdom, humility and compassion, all in appropriate measure.

These beliefs connect most with the humanistic theory. The humanistic paradigm is based on assumptions that people’s actions are value-based and driven with intent. From the humanistic perspective learning facilitates self-actualization and the achievement of one’s full potential.

Power & Pedagogy in Higher Education – Journal #3

“… I always have a crisis of meaning, I begin to wonder what my life is all about and what I have been put on this earth to do.” (Hooks, 1994) This is what Bell Hooks describes as her feeling or state of mind each time she finishes a project and gets ready to turn her attention to another one. It’s almost as if the previous project was a “call to action” that was answered and having fulfilled that call to action, something inside turns and asks “what next?”

Power & Pedagogy in Higher Education – Journal #2

My word cloud is speaking. It is telling me and those who read my writings what I am thinking and talking about, what I’m reading, and what I am experience. It is chronicling my journey. I have stepped from education and experience and moved in my musings to choice. And for my journey I brought education and experience with me. I did not leave them behind.