passions

Jesus at Gethsemane — Matthew 26:36-47

On 04/14/2011, in faith, passions, by Daniel Christian

Jesus at Gethsemane — Matthew 26:36-47 — from BibleGateway.com (emphasis DSC)

³⁶ Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” ³⁷ He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. ³⁸ Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

³⁹ Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

⁴⁰ Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. ⁴¹ “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

⁴² He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”

⁴³ When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. ⁴⁴ So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.

⁴⁵ Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. ⁴⁶ Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”

From DSC:
As I read these verses this morning, I was reminded how huge Christ’s suffering was at this point. Christ doesn’t use words like overwhelmed — another version says “exceedingly” — very often. In fact, I’ve often marveled at how understated He puts things. (Contrast this to today’s manufactures who have the nerve to play the Halleluhah Chorus for a new model of car or a new product; Christ didn’t do that kind of thing, though He had every right to).

He must have wanted this cup to pass without having to drink from it. Later, when a fight started to break out, He said to His disciples, “Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will Provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?” In other words, I don’t need your swords. I need to drink from this cup in order to fulfill scripture.

I reminded of His bravery and courage; and most of all, His love for us.

Thank you LORD!

TEDxNYED Talks

On 04/06/2011, in change, dangers of the status quo, education, education reform, education technology, engagement / engaging students, K-12 related, love of learning, passions, pedagogy, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

Some presentations:

From DSC:
A couple of my take-aways from Will’s presentation:
We need life prep, not test prep.
We need a “different” system vs striving to make the current system “better”.

Also see:

Also see the TEDxNYED Speaker Lineup:

Don Buckley, Co-Host
Sylvia Martinez, Co-Host
Rinat Aruh
Steve Bergen
Patrick Carman
Luyen Chou
Brian Crosby
Maria Fico and John Ellrodt
Lucy Gray
Heidi Hayes Jacobs
Dennis Littky
Morley
Stacey Murphy
Will Richardson
Alan November
Gary S. Stager
Samona Tait
Homa Tavangar

Tagged with: change • dangers of the status quo • education • education reform • educational technology • engagement • Keeping students engaged • love of learning • motivation • passions • pedagogy • vision

Why so few computer science majors? (Also dotdiva.org)

On 03/22/2011, in computer science, passions, project-based learning, by Daniel Christian

Why so few computer science majors? — from voices.washingtonpost.com by Jenna Johnson

The lives of college students revolve around technology — yet not enough are studying computer science to keep up with industry demand.

Computer science programs across the country are scrambling to change this, often by trying to make coursework more relevant to the lives of students. One example, which I wrote about in today’s paper, is a professor at Virginia Tech who helped his students create a mobile application that tracks city buses.

But why the lack of interest in CS in the first place?

Here are just a few reasons, according to several professors and others I interviewed for the piece. (I know there are additional reasons, so please share them with me in the comments section.)

Many don’t realize the world-changing potential of CS.

Also see:

Tagged with: computer science • passions • project-based learning

The incredible potential of location-aware educational materials! Enabling a student to pursue their passions.

On 03/16/2011, in 21st century, creativity, Daniel S. Christian, educational games / serious games, ideas, innovation, lifelong learning, love of learning, mobile technologies, passions, play, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
The incredible potential of location-aware educational materials, which could greatly enable a student to pursue their passions.

The other day, I was talking to my son after he had just finished playing a Wii-based football game. As we were talking, the situation made me reflect upon the power* that could come into play when a game/resource knows your (general) location. For example, in this NFL-based game, the system might ask if my son wants the Detroit Lions involved in the game. If he said yes, then the system might ask if my son were interested in knowing more about the Detroit Lines upcoming schedule. Again, if he answers in the affirmative, the system could provide a link to instantly take him to that information.

Now…take that same concept into the world of education, as a student attempts to pursue her passions, interests, and gifts. If she’s using a device that is teaching her how to draw, the “game” might present a list of art shows and exhibits in her area, along with information on how to get tickets to such events. In this manner, she could feed her passion. Such applications could open up a network of opportunities — in real-time — and present to a student what’s currently happening around them that could further involve them in the very thing that they are working with at that time (be it music, art, math, physics, or whatever discipline that’s involved). This is especially powerful if one were traveling or on a field trip.

Museums and educational institutions could tag their events so that such software goes out looking for such information and would bring such information back to the “game”.

It seems to me that if such technologies uncover chances to further one’s passion, the student will develop more of a love for learning. If a student develops a love for learning, the chances are better that that person will become a lifelong learner.

My bet? Some pretty cool teaching and learning times are ahead…

* I realize there are reflections going on in my mind — and others’ minds as well — that such power needs to be taken seriously, responsibly…and not abused from a commercial standpoint nor from a security standpoint. Software may even be needed to absolutely block such inquiries — but if we get to that point, we’ve let the bad apples out there control everything…again.

Tagged with: 21st century • creativity • Daniel S. Christian • educational gaming • ideas • innovation • Lifelong learning • location aware/enabled apps • love of learning • Mobile learning • passions • play

Lessons that inspire a love for the arts

On 03/09/2011, in art, creativity, drama/theater, engagement / engaging students, ideas, love of learning, passions, pedagogy, writing, by Daniel Christian

Lessons that inspire a love for the arts — from Edutopia.org

The Importance of Creativity in the Classroom
Blogger Jim Moulton on why an effective arts education requires that students be given freedom within a structure.

Staging Plays for Active Learning
Playwriting teaches kids how to construct a plot, write dialogue, tell a story through action, and much more.

How to Set Up a Literature Circle
Get tips for laying the groundwork, setting up protocols for discussions, and implementing strategies for motiving students to read.

Tagged with: art • creativity • drama/theater • engagement • ideas • K-12 • literacy • love of learning • passions • pedagogy • writing

Big ideas from TED 2011: Letting students drive their education

On 03/04/2011, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, education reform, engagement / engaging students, passions, personalized/customized learning, student-related, by Daniel Christian

Big ideas from TED 2011: Letting students drive their education

The implications of Khan’s work are nothing short of a total reevaluation of education. In a world in which the only constant is the increase in the pace of change, we simply can’t afford to give our kids anything less than an education system that actually gives them what they need to be successful.

Tagged with: 1:1 • customized learning • education reform • engagement • Keeping students engaged • passions • personalized learning • student-related

@GOOD Asks: How can we lower high school drop out rates?

On 03/04/2011, in change, education reform, engagement / engaging students, K-12 related, motivation, passions, by Daniel Christian

@GOOD Asks: How can we lower high school drop out rates?

We’ve covered the drop out epidemic before. In the United States, a kid drops out of high school every 26 seconds. Over the course of a year, that adds up to 1.2 million students. How can we lower this number?

From DSC:
This is unbelievable! Again, I’m reminded of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion — spilling out valuable resources that are going untapped. What a waste of God-given gifts!

Addendum on 3/8/11:
Summary of Research Statistics

40 million American adults did not complete high school.
The high school graduate, on average, earns $500,000 more in a lifetime as compared to an individual who did not complete high school.
Most high school dropouts (70%) have the intellectual ability to complete the courses needed for high school graduation.
Most high school dropouts do not feel a connection between high school courses and future employment.
75% of high school dropouts stated that if they could relive the experience, they would have stayed in high school.
81% of dropouts expressed a need for schooling that connected academics and employment.

Addendum 4/5/11:

Great graphic that illustrates the COST to us when students drop out of school

Tagged with: engagement • engaging students • K-12 • Keeping students engaged • love of learning • motivation • passions • reform

Grades: the candle snuffer of the love of learning

On 02/22/2011, in Canada, love of learning, passions, by Daniel Christian

Grades: the candle snuffer of the love of learning — from “for the love of learning” by Joe Bower

From DSC:
When I look at the gradebook functionality within Moodle, my head begins to spin. If we really need that much complexity built into our grading systems, we are probably emphasizing grades waaaaaaaaaayyyyy too much.

How can we get more towards passion-based education/learning?

Tagged with: Canada • love of learning • passions

Tagged with: love of learning • passions • STEM

Focusing on strengths; following one’s passions; creating Win/Win situations; other reflections re: STEM

On 02/16/2011, in economics, education reform, love of learning, passions, personalized/customized learning, STEAM-related, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
The first portions of Kelly Tenkely’s solid blog posting — 17 ways to meet individual learning needs in the math classroom — stirred up some thoughts from a training-related session I was in earlier today. Kelly writes:

Differentiating instruction can be challenging. Student’s educational strengths and weaknesses can be widely varied, making it a difficult task to meet each student’s needs in any given lesson. Math is one such subject area where student skill levels can be very different.

…

For most students, math takes a lot of practice. Unfortunately, the students who need the most practice are the most reluctant to do so because they haven’t been successful in the past. Many of these students have convinced themselves, through negative self-talk, that “I’m just not good at math.” What is a teacher to do with such a mix of skill and comfort levels in the math classroom?

Though there could be several lines of thought that I could pursue here — such as the good and bad sides of self-efficacy, personalized/customized learning, 1:1 initiatives, other — my thought process was most influenced from a training session I had attended earlier today. That session featured a video from Marcus Buckingham’s short-film series entitled Trombone Player Wanted.

Marcus asserts that there are several myths that many of us grow up with (such as our personalities change as we grow; we grow most in the areas of our weaknesses; our teams don’t need us to show up with our strengths, instead they need us to do ____). Marcus asserts that we should identify and develop our strengths (and manage around our weaknesses) — as we seek to create Win/Win situations. This perspective is consistent with my economics training that states that everyone benefits when each one of us does what we do best.

This made me reflect on the massive, systemic pressure most of our current educational environments/policies/curriculums put on students to get everyone to be at the same place. It seems like our systems stress conformity — in the goal of “level-setting” everyone.

This made me wonder:

Why are STEM-related topics the most important topics being focused on by legislatures and policy-making bodies?
Why do we attempt to make every child pursue a STEM-related field?
Why do we assume that students should be interested in a STEM-related topic/course?
What about all of the other gifts that students bring to the table?
What if a child could pursue their own passion(s) — STEM-related or not?

I realize that there are basic skills that are very helpful for all adults — balancing a checkbook, being able to read and write, and many other skills. However, the question I started pondering today was…”At what point should we call it quits on a subject area — say that’s good enough — and then allow the students to pursue their individual strengths (rather than try to hammer out performance increases in an area they will rarely use)?”

Examples:

Does a First Violinist in an orchestra need to know everything about Chemistry?
(If not, what should they know? What is the minimum level that they should know for operations in the “real world” — really — and why?)
Conversely, does a Chemist need to know everything about Music?
(If not, what should they know? What is the minimum level that they should know for operations in the “real world” — really — and why?)
Does a Computer Systems Analyst need to know everything about Biology?
(If not, what should they know? What is the minimum level that they should know for operations in the “real world” — really — and why?)
Does a Biologist need to know everything about Computer Science?
(If not, what should they know? What is the minimum level that they should know for operations in the “real world” — really — and why?)
Etc.

Tagged with: cognitive psychology / computing • customized learning • economics/business • education reform • love of learning • passions • personalized learning • STEM

The answer to teacher retention: Find passion (not data) driven schools

On 02/14/2011, in K-12 related, love of learning, passions, student-related, teachers, by Daniel Christian

The answer to teacher retention: Find passion (not data) driven schools — from The Innovative Educator

From DSC:
It seems to me that this principle — of finding ways for students to pursue their passions — doesn’t just benefit teachers (in terms of retention). It also greatly benefits the students, and would help develop more of a love of learning.

Tagged with: K-12 • love of learning • passions • student-related • teachers

Google Teacher Academy London 2010 Video: Motivation and Learning

On 02/08/2011, in K-12 related, learning, love of learning, motivation, passions, by Daniel Christian

Tagged with: K-12 • learning • love of learning • motivation • passions

Curiosity-Driven Education

On 01/27/2011, in education, education reform, love of learning, passions, pedagogy, strategy, teaching & learning, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

Curiosity-Driven Education — from Futurist Thomas Frey

“If a teacher can be replaced by a machine, they should be.” – Arthur C. Clark

Wilhelm Konrad von Roentgen became famous for “accidentally” discovering x-rays. Roentgen found something in nature that seemed useless, but fascinated him. He devoted countless hours to studying how electrons move from one point to another within a gas. He did this because he had an amazing sense of curiosity that was driven by a need to understand nature.

X-rays weren’t discovered by chance. Chance is when something comes from nothing. Yes, his discovery was serendipitous, but it was followed by a lot of hard work. Today, a scientist in a similar situation would be confronted with the challenges of finding the funding to proceed with this type of research.

Roentgen’s story is a classic example of a scientist who didn’t begin with a well-defined question. So, how do we remove the constraints and incentivize people to build on a hunch, with the remote possibility that their hunch may lead to an enormous breakthrough in society?

We do it by creating systems that empower our curiosity.

Tagged with: love of learning • passions • pedagogy • strategy • teaching & learning • vision

Education-related quotes from “Poverty: ending the cycle”

On 12/20/2010, in education, education reform, passions, psychology, sociology, by Daniel Christian

Education-related quotes from:
Poverty: ending the cycle
A 36-year study by Concordia University looks at the cycle of poverty through three generations of Montrealers

The third generation, growing up right now in this technological society, has no bright future without high school, Serbin says.

“Lack of education causes huge barriers, and these kids have a lot farther to go than others,” she says, “because they come from backgrounds with little education and stimulation.”

So is it any wonder that the dropout rate isn’t budging? Serbin asks.

“(Premier Jean) Charest talks about parents providing support, which is great. But how do you enable parents to do that?”

We need to teach parents the skills and offer them programs and support, so they in turn can support their children academically, she says. If poverty places parents in acute stress, how is it possible for them to help their children without outside support?

From DSC:
To me, this begins to get at the heart of the matter of education reform — helping develop stable, solid families with parents that actively support the education of their children.

It’s tough — if one was never taught the importance of education, how does one acquire that perspective? We need to help parents build a respect for education. But I realize that when a person is out there just trying to get by at all, it’s hard to worry about education. That’s why next year, I hope to begin offering a program on developing digital literacy to those children who come out of a background of significant need. I want to help them identify, develop and use their passions.

Tagged with: education • education reform • passions • psychology • sociology

Tagged with: K-12 • motivation • passions

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