[RE:CON]VERSATIONS :: JENNIFER SERTL's #RESOURCES for #RESILIENCE :: PT 4 :: an ODE to TEACHERS and a CELEBRATION OF #LEARNING
In this weekly [RE:CON]VERSATION series-within-a-series, thought leader and strategist Jennifer Sertl brings us #REFLECTIONS : a curated list of links mined from her substantive, expansive social technology practice. These resources span geographic and disciplinary bounds to identify sources of guidance and resilience that promise to be of use as we grow in our personal and community behaviors, seeking creative and professional evolution.
Today’s post focuses on #learning and on appreciation of teachers — both in the new, social technology landscape as well as in our quieter spaces where we practice #reflection and come to appreciate the training something as seemingly simple as reading requires.
See the series introduction here, Sertl’s Memorial Day resources for resilience here , and scaled reflections from the recent Social Innovation Summit at the UN here.
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I was doing a leadership exercise recently and asked the team I was working with to share a someone who made the most impact on them and why. Almost without exception a teacher was named. I can remember my 9th grade teacher Ms. Neal from Cedar Shoals High School in Athens, Georgia. She told me I was a humanitarian.
I didn’t know what that meant at the time. Now I am trying to be that person she saw so long ago. I think people over-estimate leadership and under-estimate the power of modeling. When we are forming our beliefs and habits we spend more time with our teachers than we actually do our family and parents. We need to value and appreciate our teachers more for how they shape and mold us. It might be nice to send a letter of acknowledgment to a teacher who challenged, inspired, or mentored you.
Thank you teachers, all, for your contribution to our future leaders.
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Teachers are Artists
Teachers are artists.
The art they practice is awareness. The canvas they use is the curriculum upon which they bring forth an effervescent picture for the world. The students arrive at the canvas, each bringing a unique and vibrant color.
The mixture of the student population gives beauty to the canvas. The more diverse the population, the more colorful the painting.
The artist’s strokes are the skillful, gentle questions that she asks her students. Some strokes are broad, confirming understanding. Some strokes are playful, discovering student’s current knowledge to find a benchmark to begin the lesson. Other strokes are so delicate that they barely touch the canvas. These strokes are the questions that stretch the student’s imagination and
foster sensitivity.
Bloom’s taxonomy provides hue to the masterpiece.
The artist adds perspective to the painting by facilitating meaningful discussions and sharing observations. Once all the color has made its mark on the canvas and the painter has cultivated a glorious picture of a “spot in time,” with bittersweet emotion the artist gently places the work of art on the wall of life.
It is now time to stretch and prepare yet another
canvas.
(Jennifer Sertl , January 2000)
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1) #learning : Teaching Smart People How to Learn ( Argyris classic) | un-learn to learn ∞ #a3r
2) #learning : Data-> Information -> Knowledge ->Understanding -> Wisdom insight by Russell Ackoffhttp: …HT @stevebrandt
3) #learning : Passion & Flow : Edge Perspectives by @jhagel
4) #learning : TQ [Trainability Quotient] vs. IQ in a Digitized Landscape by Michael Schrage | Trainability Quotient #a3r
5) #learning: My interview with Thomas Friedman ~CQ + EQ > IQ (curiosity + passion > intelligence)
6) #learning : Building personal capacity for #reflection my point of view with @dramitinspires
7) #learning : How reading can increase critical thinking my pov with @dramitinspires
8) #learning : Here are the three fundamental books I’d love all educators to have #edu #a3r
9) #learning : How serious are we about learning? … sobering view @cdnorman #a3r
10) #learning : Overloaded Circuits
I will close this post with my favorite quote of all time:
“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea” ~ Antoine de Saint Exupéry
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Jennifer Sertl is an internationally respected author, keynote speaker & the president and founder ofAgility3R. Agility3R is a training and development company dedicated to strengthen strategic and critical thinking skills. As a thought leader in the emerging field of corporate consciousness she uses neuroscience and existential philosophy to inspire leaders. Jennifer’s book Strategy, Leadership and the Soul, published by Triarchy Press in the UK provides an innovation model that integrates personal development and business strategy.
Most recently she was a speaker at the Asian Banker Summit in Bangkok, Thailand and at Sibos in Osaka, Japan discussing leadership, globalization and innovation. At the recent, invitation only 2013 United Nations’ Social Innovation Summit, Jennifer was selected as one of three Social Media Ambassadors charged with amplifying the groundbreaking work being done in that space across the virtual plane.
Jennifer runs a business simulation strategy game called Interplay™ that facilitates awareness and personal accountability focused upon quantifying intangible assets and human capital.
Caring very deeply about the intersection between human values and technology, she is a strategic advisor to Washington, DC’s think tank Center for Policy and Emerging Technology (C-PET). She was also included in documentary Well-Being In the Digital Age produced by @RDigitaLIFE.
Jennifer has three children ranging in age from kindergarten to high school and is active in her community. She holds dual majors in English and philosophy from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
