Movement

“Nothing changes until some thing changes.  Change your position.”  Lofty ideas can concretize into postulated literary monuments.  Authenticity in reflection and true conviction creates a shift — movement — another step in the journey.

– My Contemplation

Identity

“Tension is who you think you should be.  Relaxation is who you are.”

-Chinese proverb

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 #11

Role Call

6:00 a.m.  Overslept again.

5° C.  Armpit 102.5° F.

9:00 a.m. meeting.  Late train.

Morning coffee in the boardroom.

Where’s John.  Missed the elevator.

Take the stairs.

“Present!”

6:00 p.m.  Late meeting.

Rush hour. 

Thermometer 97 degrees.  Two painkillers.

Game time 6:30 p.m.  Where’s dad?

Suit, tie, briefcase and hotdog.

“Present!”

1:00 p.m.  Congregation full.

Motorcade stretch.  Hearse in tow.

Last Amen.  Ashes to ashes.

Dust to dust.  Where’s John?

Dead silence.

Dead.

Silenced.

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 #9

I had intended on travelling light

taking nothing for this journey

Didn’t want to be hindered

with yesterdays’ and yesteryears’ baggage

But I needed some of the luggage.

Though some would no doubt hinder me,

some were a matter of survival.

So each stop I find myself packing

and unpacking,

as I travel.

Each time I stop I check the luggage.

What do I still have?

What do I still need?

Got some old things still.

Got some new ones now.

I’ll take these — old and new — for my journey

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.