Give It 5 Minutes Says Jason Fried.

Why can't I disagree with this guy?

There are two things in this world that take no skill: 1. Spending other people’s money and 2. Dismissing an idea.

Dismissing an idea is so easy because it doesn’t involve any work. You can scoff at it. You can ignore it. You can puff some smoke at it. That’s easy. The hard thing to do is protect it, think about it, let it marinate, explore it, riff on it, and try it. The right idea could start out life as the wrong idea.


Roger

"Play-iure"

Why do so many fear looking at challenges this way? I read somewhere that 'getting up' from being knocked down is what makes a person good.

Any practice – athletic, artistic, even social – involves repeatedly failing till one gets the experience or activity right. We need to “keep the challenge constant so players are able to fail and try again,” she said. “It’s hard and it leads to something rewarding.”
This is from an article written by Mindshift.


Roger

Safety creates Community

A strong sense of community creates safety. Open up space for students (players) to interact with one another, a space for which you’ve created 1) a need to know, 2) a need to share what they know, and 3) the infrastructure for that sharing. “Sharing should feel like a gift,” Salen said. Let players/students participate in the designing too. In participatory learning, like open-source code writing, the design keeps getting better.

http://mindshift.kqed.org/2012/03/fun-failure-how-to-make-learning-irresistible/

I've heard kids chuckle with this. It really does work. The article, Fun Failure: How to Make Learning Irresistible,  has great insight. 

Roger

Walking the Fine Line

Letter to TEFLers!

I was glad to see you last week as you were in class taking your finals and presenting your final projects. The teachers have shared that you are an amazing bunch! They have said that you have worked hard, and responded well to the content. This makes me feel really good.

Now you have a couple of weeks off. I know that it is short, but still I hope you have time to get some well-deserved rest. I, myself, will be at the TESOL convention in Philadelphia, and afterwards, I will be taking a week off for a real vacation. So, I won't be around physically for the next two weeks, but I am still just an email, text, or phone call away should you need to contact me. I will be updating our program blog as much as I can as long as the WIFI holds out.

During this first quarter, some of you have been brave enough to stop by my office for questions, help or to chat. Thanks for stopping by. I really had a great time being there for you. In the coming quarter, I will be your teacher for the Teaching Young Learners class. I am really looking forward to it. I hope it is a challenging, thought-provoking, yet fun and warm class. I can't wait to be your teacher!

I will leave you with some thoughts to think about during the break. "Teaching young learners a language-or anything requires a totally different perspective. You need to completely wash your mind clean of adult thinking and sensibilities or you will not reach them. What is hard is that at the same time, you need to peer above this thinking and-with laser-like precision, make key decisions in real-time, reacting to the dizzying chaos that is children's behavior."

I am not yet a master of this, but I am trying to walk on this fine line.

Want to walk it with me?

Roger