MAC Week 2 Reading

(Photo from Creative Commons: By Peter Skwiot Smith)

 

While reading, I was very excited to see the nine-dot puzzle. The first time I saw the puzzle was about two years ago in an undergraduate class. To this day, I remember spending the entire 2-hour class trying to figure out how to connect the dots with only four straight lines. What I vividly remember was not drawing my lines outside of the confines of the nine dots. For whatever reason, I could not bring myself to create a straight line outside of the nine dots. After I saw the answer two years ago, there was like this ‘aha’ moment and I found it very amusing that most of my classmates had the same mentality as I did. It is amazing how great our minds can be, but at the same time it almost seems like we have blinders on. Another part of the reading from It’s All Invented that caught my attention was the last area of The Practice. One of the statements was asking about assumptions. My favorite line that I love to repeat is, “Don’t assume, it will only make an ass out of you and me.” This phrase has definitely been proven true many times in my life so far. It amazes me how much making an assumption can really derail you from the truth or a bigger and better idea.

As a teacher, I know all too well about living in a world of measurement. Within the classroom alone we worry about testing of all kinds, No Child Left Behind, scores, assessments and so on. Thinking outside the box will offer more possibilities for forward and creative thinking. Take nothing for granted and live everyday to the fullest extent. Among the possibilities in life, are the phenomenal children in our world. This year in the classroom definitely made me take a step back to really appreciate children. Working with 5 and 6 year old children with Autism is definitely an eye opening experience. They have such innocence about them that you just with you could embody.

The suggestion about being a person that can make a difference definitely hit home with me. Coming from a hard working family, I am always around to help family, friends, and coworkers when needed. Really, however, I don’t see it as being a contribution – I luckily see it as something that I enjoy doing. The examples of the ripples in a pond are a wonderful analogy. The problem is, is that people think that someone else will be the trendsetter or the help that is needed. If we do not step up and realize that we are the ‘other person’ to someone else, nothing will ever get accomplished.