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Trust and Business and Teaching

I’m firmly embedded in a discourse of teaching, learning and supporting now. It’s everywhere around me and as with every time you are really into something everything is related to that. Kind of like relating everything you see to that great movie you just saw, etc.
Teaching is a great honour. You’re given the responsibility to help people change their lives and you have to take it seriously…but you don’t have to be too serious… but anyway… One of the most important and difficult things to do in the classroom is to build the trust between learner and teacher. To not control people, but to build a safe, trustful space where learning can take place.
It applies to business too. Putting more controls and barriers up doesn’t make people want to buy something. Doesn’t trust work? I still see roadside stands in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick when I’m driving that have vegetables out and jars or boxes to leave money in. Someone may rip the money or produce off, but it’s a risk that they’re willing to take. I have lots of faith in people and if you have faith in them, they’ll give it back to you.
This entry was kicked off by a blog entry by Jason Kottke “Business lessons from the donut and coffee guy” which tells of a donut and coffee vendor in New York city who trusts his customers to make change. It restores your faith in humanity every now and then to read something like that.

July 17, 2003 business, kottke, teaching

Summer Institute

The Summer Institute is about halfway through and I’m tired and happy
as I think about the experience here in Truro. Whether intentional or not, when a group of people live in the same building, eat and study together, socialization will take place. Shared values will emerge, and if the hiring procedure works as it should, they should be coherent with the values of the institution.

One can’t underestimate the importance of staying in the residence in the whole process. A great deal of learning and sharing takes place outside of the classroom, but it is almost always connected in some way to the events of the day. While the long days filled with stimulating discussion, group work, writing and eating should result in early nights filled with peaceful slumber, for many it is an energizing experience. We work until the time that we’d usually go to bed and then socialize.

A group of teachers is the most difficult group to teach. It would be similar to the task of a stand-up comedian who must face a group of stand-up comedians who sit and say, “O.k., make me laugh.” It’s a tough crowd and requires great courage to face people who can second-guess both the ideas and the way that they are presented. For these reasons it also can be difficult to learn as a teacher. I find that I must often take a breath and remember that I am here to learn and resist the temptation to teach.

The most positive part of the experience is the sense of collegiality that I feel. We are a community of learners and a community of teachers. With shared values and goals we can work together and challenge each other. We often complain about the workload, but we’re all putting much more effort in than is needed. It is a positive feedback loop with everyone wanting to be challenged and to grow. This is our chance to try out new things and to grow and we’re loving it.

July 16, 2003 ccedp, learning, nscc, summer, teaching

Learning in Truro

Working for the Nova Scotia Community College has been a great experience in that I’ve been able to meet some great people, teach things that I love and be able to develop my skills as a teacher. Now I’m in Truro at the Truro Campus taking a series of education courses to become a better teacher. While the courses are the main reason for being in Truro (and they’ve been great courses), what is amazing is being able to network and get to know some of the people who make up the college. There are an incredible number of people with diverse backgrounds and skills here. For the most part we talk about teaching…in the morning, at lunch and dinner and after hours. We stay up late into the night and get up early in the morning. They are long days, but I wake up every morning ready to dive back in again.

July 7, 2003 ccedp, learning, nscc, truro

Sports Night

Last week I was able to get the full series of “Sports Night” on DVD. It’s a 6 DVD set with the pilot, first and second seasons on it. I remember watching it when it was airing normally and becoming completely sucked in to it. It wasn’t a comedy and it wasn’t a drama. Unfortunately many of the episodes had a laugh track that ruins some of the pacing and subtlety of the writing and later episodes were thankfully free of the canned laughter.

“Sports Night” was a series created by Aaron Sorkin before “The West Wing.” It was odd in that it was a half-hour “dramadey” which had elements of a sitcom and drama in the shorter slot. With a great ensemble cast and rapid-fire dialogue, it is clear that CBS didn’t really know what to do with it. The show was a critical hit, but I remember that it was hard to find it with a time slot that changed and a sporadic airing and a slow decision not to renew the show. The DVD falls into the category of corporate tolerance in that it crams 45 episodes onto 6 discs, which means that the are fairly highly compressed with a bit of a loss of the visual quality. There are also no special features, but the episodes themselves are great. I’d put it in the same category as “Monkeybone”, “Ghost World”, “The Guru”, and “Mr. Show” in that they stretch beyond easy categories and you have to look around to find them. Now I have to find the time to dip in and keep watching all of the episodes… all 22 1/2 hours of them!

July 2, 2003 aaronsorkin, dvd, review, sportsnight, tv

Trust and Business and Teaching

Summer Institute

Learning in Truro

Sports Night

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