Animoto - A Whole New Mind

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Final Post - A Whole New Mind

I am so glad that I chose this book and that I was a part of this group, as the insights on our blog have been truly wonderful. Overall, what "A Whole New Mind" did for me is it gave me permission in a way to use the side of me that comes most natural to me - the feeling side. Not everything in our classrooms and in education needs to be so directly tied to science and standards. Some of what we need to be helping our students do is developing their right-brain, creative, feeling side to their personalities. We can do that daily through our interactions, conflicts and resolutions, conversations, etc. The more we can be an example for our students or point out things to them in their days that will help them in life, the more well-rounded they will become.

The section of the book on "Meaning" was particularly of interest to me. I appreciated the quote by Dr. Lauren Artress that says, "We are not human beings on a spiritual path, but spiritual beings on a human path." This right-brained side of us is where that spiritual side is most deeply felt. We need to do our best to help those in our care to know this side of them.

Can We Play?

KC - I love this paragraph from your Super Summary: "The effective use and recognition of humor is one of the highest and most evolved human cognitive functions and indicates high emotional intelligence. The skillful use of humor can reduce hostilities, deflect criticism, relieve tension, improve moral, and help with communication. Research shows that laughter can decrease stress hormones and boost the immune system. People who laugh are more creative and productive, and work well with others."

We live in a world full of humor if we take a moment to notice it. And humor naturally leads us to "play." I appreciated the quote from this chapter from Brian Sutton-Smith who says, "The opposite of play isn't work. It's depression." That is what many of our classrooms are full of - not work, depression. If we can get our students to feel a sense of "play" in our classrooms learning will increase.

Final Reflection

I found myself engulfed in the part about empathy. Sometimes I wonder if I am actually too blunt or maybe should be more open to social cues I see or practice. In the section on empathy, I went to one of the websites and actually took the 60 question survey and got my results. I am happy to say I scored in the above average range for showing empathy. I found many of the things interesting, including the book about studying facial expressions. I think I am pretty good at reading facial expressions but some people are just plain hard to read about what they are thinking. Other people it is written all over their faces how they are feeling. This section was most interesting to me because of the career I am in. I believe as teachers we need to make sure we are empathetic with the parents we come in contact with because they have the best interests of their children in mind and want to be supportive. I need to work on being more empathetic in certain situations because sometimes I just like to tell it like it is before thinking it through. Great book!

Part Six Comments

I think it is safe to say that we must work for happiness and meaning. We must not take for granted that both will come easily without work. Everyone's vision of what these two ideas mean are different. Therefore, what we make of them is our choice and what we choose to do to find meaning in all things or find happiness in what we feel or want.

Comments of the section on Meaning

I agreed fully with Daniel Pink about people seaching for meaning. I do think that happiness should be taken seriously, but that happiness is really an outward thing that is dependent upon the circumstances. Joy comes from within, and I think maybe it would be better to strive for joy. I think if we depend just on searching for happiness, we will be disappointed. We can't always avoid negative events or emotions, but we can use them to become better people.. Our troubles can sometimes lead us to our passion or purpose. I became a teacher because of the way a teacher made a difference in my brother's life. He struggled with a learning disability and she made a difference.
I did think that this section was good, and it reminded me that attitude is everything!

Reflection of A Whole New Mind

I found this book to be interesting to read a second time. I remembered many of the parts he discussed of how we all think with different sides/parts of our brains. It was interesting to read what side of the brain controls our parts of the body and also how he explained the six senses of aptitudes and connected them with our thinking processes. Each chapter he wrote I found statements I needed to process more thoroughly of how they fit into my life and some things I need to work on to be more of a right brain thinker. The chapter on designs made me value the designers out there with their creativity to 'see the picture' before its built. Next the chapter on stories and how we are all the authors of our own lives and how those stories impact our lives. The chapter about symphony and how we all try to work together and learn from each other, which can be a challenge at times. The empathy that each of has definitely depends on the individual. Play, I need to have more of that in my life. I feel that is an important part at work or home that needs to be happening more these days. Finally, the chapter on meaning and how people have enough to live, but nothing to live for. We need to find some spirituality in our lives in which to be more satisfied.

I found myself listening more to people and their ideas and figuring out if they were left or right brained. I also reflected on how learning to think more right brained will take time and that we are all developed in our own ways. Many of our thought processes are also developed by events that have happened to us that make us think or react to situations in ways that are different than our colleagues or friends. Those that master the six senses will have a huge advantage over others.

Some comments that I found that I wrote down were:
Take the BUT our of excuses!
Take time for the Sabbath...even a few minutes.
Take a walk through a labyrinth for moving and meditation ( I need to do that, I have one a few blocks from my house).

The moral of the story is that change is inevitable when it happens the wisest response is not to wail or whine but to suck it up and deal with it!!!