Joyful Jubilant Learning

Surprised by joy

I am a C. S. Lewis fan not because I understand all that he writes but because I don't. He makes me think and I appreciate any author who can do that. In his autobiographical work Surprised by Joy, he writes of his pursuit of "joy". Through a painful childhood involving a horrendous schooling and abandoning father he learns valuable, lifelong lessons.

The book's last two chapters focuses on his journey from atheism to theism and from theism to Christianity. Lewis ultimately discovers the true nature and purpose of joy and its place in his own life. In fact, at the end of the book, he points out that the pursuit of joy has lost all meaning since he met its Source (there's a great lesson there, too).

During his writing of this work, he begins a penpal relationship with Helen Joy Gresham who lived in New York. According to Wikipedia, "She was an American poet and writer, a radical communist, and an atheist before converting to Christianity in the 1940s." Ultimately, they marry and he is "surprised by Joy". Soon after their marriage, she dies of cancer, leaving Lewis to finish rearing her two boys from a previous marriage.

What does all this have to do with movies? One of my favorites is Shadowlands which tells this endearing love story. It is filled with marvelous lessons that everyone needs to hear and learn. Perhaps the most thoughtful is at the end of the movie. Lewis and the two boys are walking across a shadowed pasture land (powerful imagery); as you see them walking away, a closing summary lesson is presented:

Why love, if losing hurts so much? I have no answers anymore: only the life I have lived. Twice in that life I've been given the choice: as a boy and as a man. The boy chose safety, the man chooses suffering. The pain now is part of the happiness then. That's the deal.

~ Dean Boyer

JJL Editorial Notes:
Read more from Dean here at Joyful Jubilant Learning! Most recently he has written:

• Teaching with the heart of aloha in a digital age
• A Celebration of Children
• Children and Their Books

Teaching with the heart of aloha in a digital age

Throughout this school year, I have been diligently researching 21st Century students and how to effectively teach them. Route 21 has been a rewarding resource for me. 21st Century Themes focus on Global Awareness, Financial, Economic, Business and Entrepreneurial Literacy and Civic Literacy. Surrounding these focuses, there is an integration of core subjects with skills such as Critical Thinking and Problem Solving, Creativity and Innovation and Communication and Collaboration.

From this report:

We all know that learning doesn’t stop when school does, but now more than
ever, learning must be a lifelong pursuit. The rapidity of change, the
relentless advance of technology, the diminishing half-life of knowledge, the
far-reaching effects of globalization – all these factors contribute to a growing
conviction that the best thing we can teach our children is how to teach
themselves.

Certainly the challenge before us in education is how 20th Century trained teachers, with 20th Century developed materials and tools are to reach their 21st Century students. Even though the pieces and structures are generationally different, there is at least one facet that hasn't changed - reaching the heart of the student. In a time when students can learn more independently, communicate more frequently and access information more readily, it is even more important that the teacher personally encourage the hearts of students.

People are more digitally connected than ever before. 29 billion text messages are sent each month according to CTIA! This is up from 7 billion in 2005. However, with increasing distant relationships, students find themselves more alone than ever before. One researcher quoted students to say they felt abandoned.

Enter the teacher who desires to reach the hearts of her students. What a profound impact she can make as she adjusts teaching methods to her students' learning and finds a way to reach their loneliness. As our digital age offers a myriad of opportunities, life change still occurs personally. More than ever, this generation needs teachers who are on the cutting edge with their skills; but, even more than cutting edge approaches is the need to teach with the heart of Aloha.

If you would like to know more about 21st Century teaching, I recommend you begin with these resources.

Essential reading: the why, what, and how of effective technology integration:

· Adopt and Adapt: Shaping Tech for the Classroom

Twenty-first-century schools need twenty-first-century technology.

· Synching Up with the iKid: Connecting to the Twenty-First-Century Student

Educators must work to understand and motivate a kind of digital learner.

· Technology Integration Instructional Modules

Free modules are available for use by workshop presenters, college professors, or individuals interested in getting started with integrating technology into the curriculum.

(Photo courtesies: Partnership for 21st Century Learning)

~ Dean Boyer, Teaching with Aloha

A Celebration of Children

I love children! Throughout my 30 year educational career I have spent my life with thousands of them. I have had the privilege of rearing two endearing sons and being a grandpa to two of the most fabulous children I have ever met. In short, I am a blessed man.

I also love the work of Edith Schaeffer whom I have had the privilege of personally meeting twice. Eight years ago, at 86 years of age she penned her 20th and perhaps her last book, A Celebration of Children. It's not a best seller - in fact, you can get this 80 page book for less than $5.00; though brief and inexpensive, it is rich with wisdom and imagination to help "parents-in-training and "parents-to-be" who are striving to create a loving atmosphere for the next generation. I chose to write about such a book because of its vital importance; no compensatory strategies or philosophies will overrule the tragedy of a lost generation. And, the sobering truth is, we only have one chance to parent rightly.

Edith weaves 26 truths throughout her book, starting with "Our First Home", the place of the greatest intimacy, the mother's womb; the book ends with "Flowers in the Field", a convicting check-your-heart story about the long reaching significance of a momentary action. At that moment, which is most important? A fist full of muddy flowers, picked just for you, dripping onto a just cleaned floor or the visible reality that once again, the child burst through the wrong door and forgot to take off his shoes? The blend of the moment and the ongoing. Life starting in the most intimate setting being lived out with an ebb and flow of joys and disappointments.

The family is to be a perpetual relay of truth encouraging the thrill of unending wonder. It sets an example for children to follow; teaching by life is so much more important that teaching with words. But, parents must also speak with words of wisdom, guiding their children to a bright future while building character. Family life is pictured as a patchwork quilt covered with living designs which are often sewn at the most inconvenient moments. Edith blends the art of loving children and sharing with them, inspiring creativity, encouraging independence while preserving their childhood.

A Celebration of Children is not a shallow, quick 10-step approach to child rearing. It promotes an ongoing change of heart in each member of the family. It does not sugar coat the incredible responsibility laid upon parents; she, too, honestly talks about her failures as a parent. I connect with this book in so many ways for my wife and I have experienced many parenting successes and failures. Now that those years are gone and grandparenting has come, I can honestly say with understanding, "Celebrating children is a work of heart."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dean Boyer is a contributing author for the Teaching with Aloha Blog, and has been an educator for nearly 30 years in the United States and Taiwan. He has been a guest speaker at the East Asia Regional Conference for Overseas Schools, the Indiana Association for the Education of Young Children and the Association of Christian Schools International. Currently he serves as Superintendent at a Christian school near Seattle, Washington. He has been happily married 32 years and enjoys being “dad” to his two sons,their wives and “grandpa” to his two grandchildren.

Costs, U-turns, Clarity

Looking back over the short month of February I have come to better understand:

• Faithful service is costly. It seems like this month the importance of both words "faithful" and "service" have challenged me. Leadership requires faithfulness and service; collectively, it requires faithful service which can be challenging in so many ways. The foundation of quality leadership is humility.
• Whatever unrested my soul was allowed to do it by the decisions I made. My decisions lead to the unrest; this truth is difficult to accept for it is my nature to say, "You caused this..." But, no, it is my reaction and attitude that lead to the decisions that can lead to the anxiety. Once again, it's me...not them.
• Always do the next right thing...sometimes, that means turning around. Have you noticed that U-turns are not allowed on the very roads that need them? I have found myself needing to turn around a little this month. I am so glad the U-turns were legal!
• Everything matters...everything. The smallest act, word, gesture...it all matters!
• Clarity...clarity...clarity. In Buckingham's book One Thing You Need To Know, he mentions that anxiety in an organization can be caused by a lack of clarity by its leader. With this truth, I have been increasingly aware that I, a diplomat by nature, tend to drift toward complication, away from clarity. I have also taken steps to become a person of greater clarity, which has been refreshing in many ways.

Children and their books

Rosa and Angela have started this month with a look at children, books and lessons; before I read their articles, I decided I would also focus on what adults can learn from children's books...not what children can learn but what adults can learn.

One of my favorites that I discovered as an adult is The Velveteen Rabbit. I cited it in one of my articles during our "unlearning series." My favorite portion of the book was quoted in that article and I return to it here:

"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."

"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.

"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."

"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"

"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in your joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

What a lesson for us adults! Accepting ourselves and others as Designer Originals...embracing others not as you would like them to be but as they really are, encouraging all they are to come forth - these are profound challenges! And, the process can hurt...but when you are real you don't mind being hurt.

On a lighter side, yet just as lesson-filled, is my favorite book as a child, which I checked out of the library many times, Stop That Ball! by Mike McClintock. First published in 1959, it is the adventurous tale of a little boy who hits his big red ball out of his yard, and all that happens to him as he has tries to catch up to it. Who would think it would be so difficult retrieving something lost! Falling down a manhole, riding on a dumptruck, being blown up along with a hill top, landing in a band member's tuba only to have it blown back into the lad's own back yard teaches a powerful lesson. Let nothing detour you from your passionate pursuits! This, too is a lesson for us adults who often give up too early and trade in the old for the new. After all, the boy could have gotten another ball...For me, the greatest lessons learned are often taught by the master teachers, children and their books.

Questions:

1. What books do you remember reading as a child?
2. What lessons did they teach to children and what do they now teach to you?

Dean Boyer is a contributing author for the Teaching with Aloha Blog, and has been an educator for nearly 30 years in the United States and Taiwan. He has been a guest speaker at the East Asia Regional Conference for Overseas Schools, the Indiana Association for the Education of Young Children and the Association of Christian Schools International. Currently he serves as Superintendent at a Christian school near Seattle, Washington. He has been happily married 32 years and enjoys being “dad” to his two sons,their wives and “grandpa” to his two grandchildren.

5 Lessons from Max

On December 26th, a beautiful one year old Chow/Husky dog found himself in the humane shelter. For five days, he waited for someone to pick him up. In a cage with two other dogs, he found himself imprisoned with a doubtful future. A couple of days later, my wife and I adopted Max and brought him home. What a wonderful companion for us! He is fully trained, smart and has learned to walk properly on a leash, sit, stay and lie down.

Not only has he learned new things, I have been taught by him. Here are my 5 lessons Max is teaching me:

1. Routine is good. My wife and I tend to be routine people, especially during the workweek. Max thrives with routine and disciplined structure. He also enjoys letting it loose on our quarter acre!

2. Enjoy simple things. One of his favorite toys is a sock ball that my wife made for him. He enjoys throwing it around and sleeping with it. He loves the nightly routine of being brushed!

3. Obedience leads to blessings. Doing the right things lead to rewards; we all know this but sometimes we forget that all we need to do, at every moment, is the next right thing.

4. Exploration and getting to know others are fun. Exploring his new yard and neighborhood has given him such joy. He loves "approved" people, the next door dog and every bush in our yard. He even enjoyed meeting the vet and his staff who all thought he was "magnificent".

5. Be who you are. Max is Max and enjoys it. He is no other dog and appears to be proud of it. He is a Designer Original!

I'm sure there will be more stories from Max in coming days...like this morning's squirrel challenge...

Sundials in the shade

I have just begun reading Now, Discover your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham and Donald Clifton. On page 12, I read that Benjamin Franklin called wasted strengths "sundials in the shade." When I read this I thought about the many students who are not being given the opportunity to personally demonstrate their learning by their strengths and interests. Can you picture a classroom of 20 students? Now, picture 15 of them as "sundials in the shade".

In education jargon, differentiated instruction is an approach to teaching essential content in ways that address the varied learning needs of students with the goal of maximizing the possibilities of each learner. As each child is unique, there is not one comprehensive way to learn or demonstrate knowledge. Therefore, lessons and assessments must include a variety of approaches. Students will grow most when their learning is complementary with their abilities and interests.

What is true of students can be true of anyone. What are your strengths? How do you enjoy learning? Are you striving to maximize your strengths? Or, are you finding yourself fitting into a restrictive mold? Adults who use their strengths are more powerful and effective than those who try to measure up to an unnatural profile. Where you are naturally strong will be where you will grow the most. With this in mind, and our month's theme of "packing" I believe this process and simplify packing for you!

May I encourage you take some actions?

1. Read Now, Discover your Strengths, or the updated book entitled Strengths Finder 2.0 as soon as you can.
2. Evaluate your strengths. This book will help you do that through an on-line assessment related to 34 strength themes. I took the test and was most strong in five areas (3 qualities and 2 roles): responsibility, belief, connectedness, developer and achiever).
3. If you are a manager or leader, assess your employees or colleagues. With the book as your guide, evaluate your organization to see if you are among the 20% or 80% (you'll have to read the book to know).
4. Adjust what you can to maximize working from your strengths.

May you be a well-packed sundial in the sunshine!

(photo from schwong at Flikr.com)

Packed and ready

Packing my bags is the story of my life! It seems like no one but a fugitive has moved more than me. Until college days, I had lived in only two places. Over the last 30 years, seventeen different addresses (in four states in the USA and two countries) have been called home. Packing and moving have defined my life. When my wife, children and I moved to and from Taiwan we sold almost everything and started again. Perhaps these were the easiest moves. In fact, the transient lifestyle gave us an invalid but typical excuse for not fully connecting with others - soon, we would be gone again! Because of this history, I believe I can really connect January's focus, Packing our Bags.

I remember the process we used to determine what we would try to pack when moving overseas. We asked questions like:

• can we live without it?
• is it irreplaceable?
• how old is it?
• if we need to replace it, will it cost more than paying for it to be moved?

It's amazing the emotions one goes through when answering these questions. It's even more agonizing when someone walks away with your things they have just purchased. But, if the decisions have been made correctly, you are left with much less of a packing challenge.

When I think about packing my bags for a vacation, I have learned the art of packing a bag I can carry. My family and I have backpacked through Austria and Hungary, taken only carry-on sized luggage and have toted the large monsters which are overweight when empty! Practical packing is an art!

As a new year lies before me, I have looked at my "baggage" and concluded a "garage sale" is in order. I am still needing to "unlearn" things; this simplifying can be part of the packing process for me. I also realize that the decisions I pack require accompanying disciplines. It does not make sense to pack clothes for three days and not plan to do laundry!

So, with the January challenge before me, I have decided to simplify my packing to what is essential and what I can easily carry. No extra "stuff" or luxuries; no "weighty" things that require forklifts! I have found it so easy to pack the past, regrets, missed opportunities, etc. These take up room and weigh down the traveler.

Sensitive to the packing, this year I have chosen to walk a balanced journey of adventure, compassion and hospitality. I found this marvelous trio of words in a book I have ordered entitled Seven Secrets of the Celtic Spirit. One of my goals this year is to become more acquainted with my Irish roots.

Well, I think I am ready for the 2008 trip...my bags are packed and I'm ready to go!

Christmas memories

Each year, I cannot help but look back and think about the Boyer family Christmas adventures. Memorable Christmases include: Tokyo Disneyland on Christmas Day, a candlelight Hawaiian Christmas-eve service at the Mokuaikaua Church in Kona, Hawaii, meeting my son's bride to be for the first time and, of course, special times with family and friends. But, there was one Christmas that was very difficult - our first one in Taiwan.

The Boyers had moved to Taiwan in 1990 where I had accepted a position at an international missionary school. It was our first Christmas without family, in a country where Christmas was not celebrated. As it was so expensive to move, we had sold almost everything. Starting over has some benefits but it is much more difficult that one can imagine. Toys that the boys wanted were expensive so our gift giving was very limited. It was not one of the Christmas highlights, for sure.

In retrospect, I now understand that I was unable to see what I had been given because my focus was on all I had lost. When my eyes were opened to the beautiful Chinese people and the many benefits of this new culture, it was a little easier, though never totally the same.

Some lessons this experience has taught me:

• Appreciate each Christmas, each person, every moment! This will be the first Christmas for two of my administrators without their fathers. That's hard; Christmas will never be the same for them.
• Hold with an open hand what you have been given. I must release my grip on people, possessions and plans. Holding them with an open hands means they are no less held.
• Open your eyes and behold what you have been given - and be thankful!
• Open your heart to those around you who are experiencing a different Christmas this year, for whatever reason.
• Receive with gratitude and give unselfishly.

Lessons from our first Christmas in Taiwan still affect me today. Our second Christmas was much better; friends from Japan came to visit along with some neighbors on our street. But, that was also the Christmas that my wife got the flu on Christmas day and left me in charge of fixing dinner...which is another story.

What I dread is the shopping - an idea

Rosa recently said, "

What I dread is the shopping.

I don’t want any part of it. I’m trying to figure out how I can give great gifts without any shopping at all, giving them only by creating something that people will welcome much more gratefully. I want them to be gifts from the heart that you cannot hold in your hand, or wrap in a package.

I am with her in many ways; so, last year, my wife and I began to do something different at Christmas. Instead of a hand-held gift, we purchased experiences! Last year, for my sons and their wives, we purchased a weekend away. One family lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma; so they received a weekend away to Branson, Missouri. Little did we know that this trip would be part of the recuperation process after my son's heart attack. The other family lives in Spokane, Washington. They created a snow trip out of their present. It's really easy to go online and purchase a vacation package; they are not as expensive as one would think. The dates are open so they can select when to enjoy their gift.

This year, my wife and I agreed to give experiences to each other. One of my wife's lifelong dreams was to see a professional presentation of the Nutcracker. So, last weekend, we dined at a restaurant we enjoy and attended the Pacific Northwest Nutcracker performance. Additionally, we are going to attend an Hawaiian Christmas concert this week.

So, Rosa and all who think like we, there are creative ways to provide meaningful Christmas experiences that, in memory, will last a lifetime. Perhaps you have some ideas about providing experiences. Let us know!