Joyful Jubilant Learning

Book Obsessions: Must we really wait a whole year?

Wait? Wait for what?

Heard the talk on the street is...

Book Addict: Aw man, yesterday was the last day of March. You know what that means.

Reading Rambo: Yeah, A Love Affair With Books is over. How are we gonna wait for a whole ‘nother year?

Book Addict: Hey, I’m with you. I added almost all of the 38 books they reviewed at JJL to my must-read list this year, but that still leaves me a good 14 weeks or so to cover until March rolls around again.

Reading Rambo: My list is long too; happens every time. Those people can make book titles I’d never look at twice sound pretty darn great. Girlfriend in a Coma... a JJL homerun. Who would’a thought? And now they have me saying “thank you” to everybody... my folks keep askin’ what’s gotten into me.

Book Addict: Hey, maybe ya got something there... I’m not having much luck explaining my Perfect Mess experiment to my folks... they just ain’t havin’ it. I even got them that coffee table book, but it backfired on me because the cover kinda freaked them out.

Reading Rambo: Well, you could try reading The Opposable Mind one more time, or that Head Trip stuff again. But until we get the book, the gratitude and appreciation stuff can work.

Book Addict: Yeah, I guess it’s worth a shot. Those JJLers come up with great recommendations, that’s for sure. Well, far as reading more reviews goes, all we hafta do is subscribe to their feed. I like the email one. I betcha there will be more book reviews between now and next March ‘cause they can’t stop themselves for another year either.

Reading Rambo: Yeah, you’re right. Heck, any learners not buying books is just plain wrong. Betcha Kevin and that Josh Waitzkin guy would say so too... At JJL they say it’s the curiosity thing, but those people are brave! They even hunt down writers and authors, as a kinda Celebrity Experience thing so they can interview them.

Book Addict: That template that Tim, the JJL graphics dude came up with this year was pretty sweet. Did you use it?

Reading Rambo: Yeah, I did. The notes I scratched out came in handy when I clicked in to the JJL bookstore yesterday. Helped me decide. Had carted five books right off the bat, but then had to pick just three and return two to my wishlist for later; three were all I could afford for now.

Book Addict: Yeah, I used the template as a shopping list too... that’s using it the easy way! Saw that Annotation Anna printed a whole bunch and had this colored paper genre-sorting thing going on… I was like, “whoa dudette!”

Reading Rambo: She does get kinda intense with her book-hacking… have you seen that arsenal of highlighters she carries around? She could be poster girl for that full contact reading everyone kept talking about.

Book Addict: Yeah, we read just as much, but we’re cool about it. Gotta leave time to shoot some hoops, and get my new pup acclimated, know what I mean?

Reading Rambo: You know it... I got your back. Just like Matt says, you gotta “Learn to appreciate slowness.”

Book Addict: Yeah, I liked that one! So what’s coming up at JJL in April? I got the bandwith now, even with all the books I’m reading, thanks to that recommendation from Starbucker; that 4-Hour Work Week stuff was meant to be the story of my life! I’m all for having my own mission one of these days, like, sooner versus later, ya know?

Reading Rambo: Not sure about April, guess we’ll find out soon though... Hey I know, let’s ask Anna. She is always watching for the clues that Rosa and the others start to drop here and there since they work the site’s calendar ahead of time... JJL is getting to be like, an adventure or calling for them.

Book Addict: I don’t know dude, don’t really want to bother Anna until she’s got all her templates bindered or somethin’… You know what? I think she wants to be a Dervish now! Let’s go find Aurora Digital’s kid, Brex.

Reading Rambo: Brex? Well, okay. As Sir Richard Branson would say, Screw it, Let’s Do it! I’m ready for April... bring it on.

Mahalo nui loa

An immense thank you to all our generous, book-addicted, full-contact Rambo-reading, passionate and joyful book reviewers who wrote for us during March for A Love Affair with Books 2008: We have loved your reviews and have thrilled to the learning made newly possible by your recommendations.

We are ready for April too: Do YOU have your subscription ready to rock and roll in more learning with us?

Joyful Jaywalking

Jaywalk through the JJL Archives with us?

On JJL a year ago today:

Sharing a common language/vocabulary is essential for learning by Blaine Collins:

Recent reading has me thinking about how important a common language is for collaborative learning. By "common language" I mean a shared vocabulary and consistency of terminology (not English, Spanish, etc.)

As I see it, much collaborative learning derives from individuals absorbing and building upon the thoughts, ideas, arguments and lessons of others. Common language is essential to this endeavor, lest we find ourselves talking past one another... Jaywalk to it!

On JJL a month ago today:

My bag gets filled by Steve Sherlock:

In this monthly theme of "Packing Our Bags of 2008", I have already learned to pack gratitude and to unpack my ears to listen.

I am a wordsmith of sorts and pack my bag with words where ever I go. Writing about the detritus was not enough. As an optimizer, I felt the need to do more.

I am packing my bag with some stuff but not like Rosa's stuff.

I am packing my bag with stuff that could go into a skip... Jaywalk to it!

On JJL a week ago today:

Learning Perspective: Use It Or Lose It by Tim Draayer

Growing up with a rural family of 5 I had a pretty sheltered existence. My world pretty much consisted of God, school, a family who loved me and my friends. It makes me smile now but I swear, my mother's favorite thing was to tell me 'you are what you eat'.

Her way of telling me to finish my veggies and eat healthy. At the time, it frustrated me to no end. After all, we kids know it all, right? Vegetables and eating healthy doesn't mean a thing when you've got more energy than the energizer bunny... right? ... Jaywalk to it!

Thanks for coming along!

Jaywalkers found on Flickr by voxeros.

February Ho‘ohana: A love affair with books 2005 ~ 2008

Dear Readers of the Joyful Jubilant Learning Ho‘ohana Community,

I hope you have been clicking directly in to our JJL site lately, for the comments we are getting right now are not to be missed.

And you know what? I am not in the least bit surprised. We have been looking back this month at what the books of our lives have meant to us.

We are finding that the words just tumble out in our passion to explain, yet as readily as these words flow, they somehow cannot describe our love affair with books adequately; there is simply so much to be conveyed. So much joy and reverence to be shared.

Books create extraordinary learning experiences. In the conversation that resulted from his posting, How To Read An Unfinished Book, Tim Milburn called what commenters have attempted to describe “Full Contact Reading.” He made me laugh out loud when I first read the phrase, but then I found I kept thinking, How absolutely true! If you have not yet read Tim's post, and the conversation he tipped off, believe me — you must.

If you have clicked in since yesterday, you will also have seen this wonderful art that Tim created for us, for what we are leading up to, and warming up for this month, is what is surely the highlight of our year at Joyful Jubilant Learning, our annual A Love Affair with Books (ALAWB) now held each March: A new book review published every single day. 31 days, 31 books, 31 authors.

History is who we are and why we are the way we are.
~ David C. McCullough

Although we just celebrated our first site birthday this past October 1st on Joyful Jubilant Learning, ALAWB will enjoy its fourth annual appearance next month. It originally appeared on my first blog, a site I still write for called Talking Story, where I invited our growing community of readers and learners, respectfully dubbed the Ho‘ohana Community, to write book reviews for me. Could it possibly be they were as nuts about books as I was?

Little did I realize how like-minded a community we were.

“Write a book review about a book I have loved? No problem Rosa! Umm, just one?”

ALAWB took off like an unstoppable army of Cupids, all with an unending supply of book-branded love-arrows in their quivers. Writing the book review was easy; choosing the book to write a review for was quite another challenge when so many were so madly and unapologetically loved. Yes, madly. There is absolutely no doubt about it; none: We the joyful and jubilant learners of the Ho‘ohana Community are Book People.

As February 2008 continues, we are working behind the scenes to prepare for ALAWB in March. With each new year, we are sure ALAWB will be the best ever, and this year we couldn't even wait for March to start talking about what our books have meant to us. Be sure to keep checking your feed readers, and watch for an announcement before the month ends where we'll be inviting you to participate too. (Could we possibly go for two books reviews a day?!?! It will be up to you :)

For today, I would like to bring back the first essay I had ever wrote about ALAWB if I may. A few of our newer contributing authors have asked me where the name “A Love Affair with Books” came from. Therefore, what follows is a reprint of the first time I published the phrase on February 1st, 2005.

Indulge your love affair too. Keep reading and discover how books will love you back, as will the people you choose to discuss them with. That learning experience you feel is that oh so sweet pinching of Cupid's arrow.
~ Rosa Say

February Ho‘ohana: A love affair with books

This is the month normally associated with Valentine’s Day, and if I could, I’d send a valentine to every author who has stolen my heart. I am continually amazed at the power of influence a book can have on me, and its ability to have me fall in love with ideas, with stories, and with characters.

Recently I’ve gone through a bit of a dry spell in my reading of books, partly due to the events surrounding my own book and keeping up with things on Talking Story, and partly due to reading so many blogs instead. Choosing a well-written blog is in some ways like choosing a good book, so it’s a good thing too, but the two are so different in the experiences they create for me. I’ve written a good deal about blogs lately, and this month I want to go back to being the book crusader I love being. There is something very special about books.

From the MWA Coach: 25 Reasons to Adopt Rapid Fire Learning

Rapid Fire Learning is always a fascinating exercise for me. I love that we have this feature for Joyful Jubilant Learning, and even if the day should come it is discontinued here, RFL-ing will remain packed in my bag.

When I first sit to write my RFLs, I truly go for the intention of the exercise: Rapid fire recall, stream of consciousness, trusting that what needs to come out and get chronicled IS in fact my learning. If I have to go back and re-read blog postings, make sense of my morning pages, and skim my weekly reviews I couldn't have learned what I thought - goodness, not if I can't even remember it!

However I freely admit to you that my rapid fire recall at that first sitting can get edited quite a bit before I do share it with the rest of you. The writer in me grabs hold of what the self-talker let spill out, and necessarily so; often my stream of consciousness sounds like pure gibberish, for after all, I know what I mean.

I also have a way of writing too much (she writes as she starts a fourth paragraph...) so while I may not have learned it yet, RFL does help me to keep learning to edit.

So why am I sharing all of this? If you are not yet participating in our Rapid Fire Learning, I urge you to do so. It is such a valuable learning exercise.

This month, I am bending the rules of the exercise a bit with my participation. As we head further down Jubilation Way, I am hoping these reasons will convince you to pack Rapid Fire Learning in your bag too. You'll be surprised how it doesn't take much space at all, yet makes such a huge difference for you.

25 Reasons to Adopt Rapid Fire Learning

1. You learn to trust in the wisdom of your recall. There is some magic that happens there, and you tap into it. It gets easier and easier with each new month. You wonder at the all of who you are - gosh, who knew?

2. You learn how much of a learner you truly are. It dawns on you that the seemingly-constant goal you have had to be a "lifelong learner" is something you have already achieved.

Tell us like it is: What would you want our JJL Comment Culture to be?

We ended up building a campfire alongside that picnic table we stopped at on Jubilation Way, then broke out the marshmallows, and started roasting them. Swapping our stories got to be so much fun!

When evening came, finding us still there and trading the marbles, we looked for some kindling to build our campfire with, figuring that settling in for a night and resting would be a good idea:

Keep the conversation going more easily.
"You can now follow your comments like you do your feeds...."

Once a small fire got going, several people added more twigs.

The flames burned off some captcha bark that was still on the kindling, and the embers took pretty quickly after that. Before we knew it, there was enough light for Joanna to start journaling furiously,  and Steve helped her dot some i's and bold her P's. Then he shared an Irish Blessing with Dean, which got Ariane to come sit by the fire too, a book by Beverly E. Taylor called Clutter to Clarity tucked under her arm for sharing.

When Dave sat down (he had packed the marshmallows, smart man!) we started to talk about the value of effort over outcome, deciding that Dave did great with both.

Turns out it was good we stayed and got the fire started, for then David came with a whole bunch of people. They had stopped to pick up April after some game she didn't want to miss, and they were having so much fun on the way over, they missed the signpost the first time they drove by, and so boy, were they ever ready to get warmed up quickly as it got darker and the evening air turned brisk.

So now, there is a true, road warriors party just waiting to happen here.

For this evening though, the mood is a bit more calm and subdued as we get our energies back from the very eventful day. Marshmallows and eggplant make an interesting, and surprisingly good dinner, and the discussion is getting very thoughtful.

We're talking about Joyful Jubilant Learning, where we all had gotten our directions to make it this far, and about the comment culture there. The phrase "comment culture" is one a few of us had read about over at Skellie's place. She had written:

Create a comment-culture on your blog. We all want more comments. If you want something, sometimes the route which seems too obvious to work is actually the answer.

One of the reasons the Four-Hour Work Week blog consistently gets a lot of comments is because the author actively encourages them. Asking readers what they think, responding to their input, holding comment-competitions and using comments as case studies (or answering questions in posts) are all simple things you can do to create a comment-culture on your blog: where readers feel as if it’s not only OK to comment, but that it will be worth their time and that you’re interested in what they’ve got to say. Participating in comments at your own blog is another highly effective way to build a comment culture.

Comment Culture has a nice sound to it, don't you think? Most of us sitting around the campfire think so, and so for tonight, we're still talking about it. We probably will until the marshmallows are gone and people start yawning and break out their bedrolls.

It will be a while though... Do you want me to tell them what you think about it when I go back to the fire?

We want to get up pretty early, because Dean is excited about some sundials he says are nearby, and Tim remembers them too. A few of us have been thinking about helping Dwayne on his "elder honor" mission, for we understand so many of them are wonderfully wise gatekeepers, maybe even here along Jubilant Way.

Are you an early riser too? Steve is positive there will be geese honking in the morning overhead, waking us up anyway. He says they can make way more noise than roosters when you're out in the open like this.

Have a marshmallow and think about it, okay? No, not the geese (maybe later), think about our comment culture.

Oh good, there is still some grilled eggplant left for you too.
~ Rosa Say, for Joyful Jubilant Learning

Yella Mella Macra on Flickr by flattop341

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So what do you think?

Besides those things Skellie got us started with, what would you want our JJL Comment Culture to be?

If you have never commented here before, this would be a great time to jump in and start! We would really, truly love to hear from you.

 

Keep the conversation going more easily

You can now follow your comments like you do your feeds.

We asked TypePad to place us on the list of potential beta testers for their comment feed update. They turned it on for JJL just yesterday, and you will see the feed option pop up now each time you comment here. We think its another great way to start 2008! Small improvements in our digital learning make it easier for us to communicate every day.

Our best possible offering for you would be just one feed for ALL your comments to be aggregated, and you can bet we've petitioned TypePad (along with many of their other bloggers) to please work on that for us, but meantime this may work out for you as another good option.

We have occasionally had a post specifically written to call your attention to some of the in-the-comments conversations had here, and I'd like to take this opportunity to ask that all our contributing authors help do that more often for you (Joanna is an ace at it both here and at her Confident Writing!)

An Update: We have also turned off the TypeKey authentication - you do NOT need a TypePad account to comment here - and that annoying CAPTCHA. In the past we put up with it for its effectiveness with filtering out spam, and now feel that TypePad's improvements in that regard will help us. We want to encourage you as much as possible!

We officially started January 1st with 1743 comments.

Any guesses as to where we will end up on December 31, 2008?

Any wild imagining on how much we will learn from conversations with each other between now and then? The possibility boggles the mind...

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...for all the slick advancement of RSS and evolving, ever-improving feed readers, I sometimes wish the entire concept of reading sites in a reader had never been conceived of. RSS lulls us into subscription-happy quantity versus quality, and people miss so much good stuff when they don’t click in – they miss the collaborative, “power of we” stuff. They may also miss their chance to intercept certain conversations, and add their own voice at the times that may prove to be golden connective opportunities for them.

They definitely miss the commenter's links, and a way to meet someone who is very like-minded ... a special relationship or mentoring possibility may be just waiting to happen. ~ Rosa Say in this comment conversation

We couldn't wait to show you ~ Eggplant, Joy, Aloha

... what we've been cooking up for the New Year!

If you are reading this in an RSS reader, CLICK IN!

Mahalo nui loa to our Art and Graphics Editor Tim "Leaders are Learners" Milburn for our fresh and fabulous new look for 2008.

We have heard that Eggplant is THE fashion color trend for 2008, and starting right now, it will certainly be one of ours! Our Hawaiian hibiscus blooms rich with promise for the dawning of a new year.

Visit our three new Pages too... A few things we will be packing for Jubilant Way.

• A 2008 Letter from Rosa on our new About Page

• Take a Joyful Learning Tour

• Answers to your Frequently Asked Questions

Thank you JJLers, for reading our pages throughout 2007 when you have had so many choices. We sincerely appreciate the aloha filled attention you have granted us, and we promise to keep earning it.

These are our mile markers as we take our first steps down Jubilant Way in 2008 ... 433 posts and pages... 1,743 comments... 346 trackbacks... 38 Mea Ho'okipa (contributing authors)... and at least 426 subscribers via FeedBurner alone... Priceless voices, each and every one. Abundant Joy and Aloha.

2008, we are the Ho'ohana Community, and we're ready for you!

Pack your bag! Our January Journey Starts Tuesday!

When we think of January, we imagine a lovely stretch of road beckoning us onward. There are two signposts. One looks like the one in the picture; creative, and with so many choices! However just before it, the first one we see says,

This Way for 7 Wonders of Joyful Learning.

The road is marked Jubilation Way. We are a mixed group, yet magically, within the melting pot of our common humanity we are each able to read the road's name in our native language.

Looking a bit further, we see a picnic table nearby under a broad shade tree. On the way toward the table, like a lighthouse beacon showing us the way, is a huge cooler full of water, lemonade and sweet tea, sort of like those open chests you see on commercial fishing boats (wait a minute...is that one with the pineapple wedge a Mai Tai?!?) Halfway under the tree's canopy and halfway warmed by the sun is a birdbath on a safely-tall pedestal, and the delighted birds playing there seem to be singing just for us. Again we are struck by our common understanding, for they seem to say to us, "What's your hurry? Sit for a moment."

So we reach in the cooler, grab something to drink, and sit.

On the table is a large basket with an odd collection of surprises. Individually wrapped fortune cookies. Blank journals and pencils without erasers. Colored chalk. Compasses without arrows. Harmonicas. Band-aids. Match boxes and dental floss in mini ziploc bags. Sunscreen in disposable packets. Wi-Fi cards. Marbles.

Underneath everything, and best of all, a thick stack of shipping forms prepaid to the "Packer's Home" by someone named "Benevolent Baggage Keeper." We then notice the bin of neatly stacked cardboard boxes on the other side of the tree. A placard attached to the basket reads,

Refreshment stops are plentiful along the way, easily found by those who look for them. Just pack what you feel you need and are happy to carry with you on the journey. Leave the rest.

As I consider this offer I free a fortune cookie from its cellophane wrapper. I snap the cookie in half, and take an appreciative bite. It's just-right crisp. The fortune reads, "As you pack, remember: You are not alone. Your friends will be with you." I look at my friends and see JJL faces. We are all reading, and we are all smiling.

Taste. Believe.
Trust. Reconsider.
Adapt. Experiment.
Adventure.

Imagine and Dream.

Then, repack your bags. Fill out your shipping form.

Now hoist the backpack you decided to keep, for we walk from here. It's so much lighter, yet you've thought about it carefully, and you know you kept the right things. And guess what? You have room for that harmonica and tiger-eye marble after all...

Throughout January, our contributing authors will let us know what they decided to pack, and perhaps, what they decided to ship back home. Be sure you have your JJL subscription ready! Think of it as your free ticket to Jubilation Way.

Would you like to Guest Post for JJL in January?
Take a look at all these "signpost" clusters, and tell us, which one would you be most inclined to follow? What do you imagine you will learn along the way? Write your story and email it to our Community Mailbox. We'll publish it in January for you.

A wooden Signpost buried in sand by Richard Leonard on Flickr. The Rural Signpost above was snapped by Marvin Beatty, and also found via Flickr.

~ Rosa Say, JJL Contributor, and author of Managing with Aloha Coaching
on behalf of Joyful Jubilant Learning

Subscribe to Joyful Jubilant Learning by Email

Please Welcome Angela Maiers to Joyful Jubilant Learning!

“Teachers need to be great learners to lead great learners. I believe that learning is a lifelong journey, an ongoing exploration and way of life. I challenge myself and others to always be striving to find and share big ideas in every million dollar conversation.”

Sounds like someone who should be writing for Joyful Jubilant Learning...

We thought so too!

Today we have the great pleasure and good fortune of welcoming Angela Maiers as our newest Contributing Author to Joyful Jubilant  Learning. A new blogger, and the author of several books, articles, and curriculum support materials, Angela strives to connect research and scientific theory to real world practices in her work as an independent consultant dedicated and committed to helping DOE’s, schools, districts and teachers reach their goals in literacy and literacy education --- take a look at the resources and innovative workshops she offers on her site.

For the past six years, Angela has created, developed, and organized multiple literacy institutes reaching thousands of educators across the United States. These summer institutes provide an innovative and unique venue for educators, administrators, and curriculum developers ready to take on leadership roles. As you can imagine, we are eager to be among Angela’s newest, very eager students, and we are sure you will too!

The first article Angela has written for us is called Teaching With Learning in Mind. Thoughtful to be sure... yet do visit her blog as well for a full intro to Angela and her more playful side. You will find she was game for bloggy tag, bravely offering 7 random/weird facts about Angela Maiers.
(I couldn’t resist Angela! Jack Bauer, huh?)

Aloha and welcome Angela, we are thrilled you will be sharing your many talents with our joyful and jubilant Ho‘ohana Community of learners.

~ Rosa Say for Joyful Jubilant Learning

Visit our new JJL Store on Amazon.com!

When you scroll down our sidebar columns, you will see that we have cleaned up our old book links by creating a one-stop shop for them via Amazon.com, called Joyful Jubilant Learning: Community Favorites.

Click in now to take a look: We have set up three different categories (pages) to start with...

1. A Love Affair with Books 2007. These are all the books we reviewed for you in our annual forum held each March.
2. Recently Recommended will be maintained as a page of the nine most recent items we have written about. Presently they are all books as well, but this may change with future postings in light of all the product categories that Amazon.com offers.
3. Third, we have a page with which we hope to support our community. For now it is called Written by our Contributing Authors, but if you are a regular reader and commenter with an addition for this page, let me know!

One of the things I personally love about the Amazon aStore program is how our recommendations generate Listmania! and Similar Item offerings. You can discover quite a few goodies there. For instance, when I clicked to page 3 of our ALAWB category and Oh, the Places You'll Go! (Classic Seuss) popped up (Dave Rothacker reviewed it here) these were the lists the site pointed me to:

• The Simple Science of Getting What You Want
• Raise your toddler to have character (or to be a character).
• Books that I love to read to my children

We do receive affiliate income from this Store, and are most grateful if you click into Amazon.com via our links. No one individually profits from any proceeds we make on Joyful Jubilant Learning: We use any income to offset the cost of our web-hosting, and thereafter would make additional purchases for our 70+ literacy initiative. For more on 70+ read the section in the next link called, How does A Love Affair with Books keep on giving? ... 70+.

Thank you so much for any support you can give us. And do check out Listmania! Great fun, and a fascinating way to add to your wishlists.
~ Rosa Say for Joyful Jubilant Learning