A Drama conference, if you choose your sessions appropriately, can greatly resemble what I imagine a hippy commune is like. Start your day with yoga; move into a session of ritualised stomping, group death, and reanimation; then conversely, head over to experience your birth as you exit your egg and blindly interact with a stranger. This was just in my first morning in Christchurch. Why is this relevant to you? Am I trying to get you all to experience Shaku-Hachi as part of the Suzuki Method of Actor Training? No. Although to be honest this was the most alert and present I have felt in ages. Am I wanting you to experiment with dissonant vocal sounds as you explore waving a scarf using four means of movement? No. To be honest that session, which was the last one of the weekend, was dreadful and I wish I hadn’t gone to that. Am I wanting you to explore the world blindly for the first time and have your only connection be with a stranger’s hand? No. Well, actually, yes. To be honest, I would love nothing more than to get the whole staff to try out this wellbeing exercise as it was truly extraordinary and the fact that afterwards everyone was able to locate their stranger was amazing and a bit woowoo. But I doubt I would get many willing to do that. Any takers, let me know. My Year 13s will be subjected to this in the coming weeks. What is relevant are the messages that came through again and again in these sessions about being creative, being strong, and being resilient. In order to further develop these key conference themes, the keynote address was delivered by Dr Viv Aitken an expert (unironically) on Mantle of the Expert. Aitken based her talk around ‘The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion’ by Jonathan Haidt. A subject she noted she had considered changing given recent events. Dr Aitken entwined Haidt’s theories on morality and righteousness with the theories of the Mantle of the Expert’s creator, Dorothy Heathcote. Here is where you come in. Brotherhood is part of the Mantle of the Expert process; Mantle of the Expert being the approach where participants take up the specialist knowledge required to perform a task. For example, a student could take on the Mantle of being a Roman baker and discuss bread fraud (which, fun fact, was a real thing) as part of a group’s exploration of life in Roman times. As part of this Mantle of the Expert work, you pause before a moment to think of the people who have taken a similar step/action as you are about to undertake. This could be in the present in New Zealand or throughout history and throughout the world. You are joining that brotherhood. “All those who” is a phrase attributed to this work. Aitken tasked us with adding in the opposite view too. Could we also think of “all those who don’t”? Those who would be adversely affected or would be opposed to the step/action. This is a fitting consideration in our current climate. Do you often consider the worldview of others? In fact, how can you consider the worldview of others? Have you ever considered your own? Have you, as Haidt explores, considered your righteous stances? An acting process that can be helpful in this also comes from Heathcote. This is her exercise on the 5 Levels of Meaning:
It seems a very important time to consider our actions, motivations, models, investments, and values. In education, we are not teaching the views. We are teaching that there are views. Contested and contestable. Who are your brothers? Who aren’t your brothers and why? Does it really matter? Considering our brotherhoods (a term that the feminist in me is a little snarky about using) is an interesting and illuminating challenge. Because we are not immune to the viruses of hate, of fear, of other. We never have been. But we can be the nation that discovers the cure. -Jacinda Adern ~Lauren Mackay
2 Comments
![]() In my family, I’m the flower grower and Jim is the veggie gardener. His enjoyment of all things veg has put him on the committee of the DVGC (Dunedin Vegetable Growers Club). Being a good supportive wifie, I go along to the meetings with him, and occasionally …. when they are really really desperate for a speaker, I do a little cooking demonstration or some other random presentation. The club is fairly well attended, with over 80 members. So far, I’ve done a presentation on homemade cleaning products, homemade castile soap, preserving food and making herbal teas. I think there are a few other ones in there but I choose to block them forever from my memory. So, a funny thing happens when you become a member of a group or a club and you do these kind of presentations. People actually believe that you are an expert!! How gullible is that? Then they talk to other people, who talk to people and so on. Hence, a phone call from our very own Mitre 10’s kitchen department. So, pretending to be Martha Stewart over the last month for two Saturdays I set up a kitchen with a small team of orange shirted helpers and demonstrated my amazing skills of reading and following recipes. Cooking and preserving in particular in the middle of a busy store, was certainly challenging. I completely underestimated the amount of time it would take to set up and look like I knew what I was doing. Together, with my team of little orange helpers, we muddled along just nicely. The first demo was jam making and chutneys. Before long the delicious smell of caramelized red onion chutney and home-made jam filled the store. A couple of hundred pikelets with jam and cream, crackers and chutney were happily consumed by those who wanted to check out the process and ask questions. Believe it or not, there seems to be a real revival on making home preserves at the moment, and I was amazed at the number of folk who were just learning for the first time how to go about this. ![]() A couple of weeks later, I did my last demo and this time it was bottled beetroot and bottled pears. Seriously, there is no comparison to the home grown delicious bottled beetroot and the insipid pale canned rubbish we buy at our local supermarket. At one stage I think I had about 20 people gathered around watching me ladle pears into hot jars whilst sampling beetroot. In this crazy, mad world, it’s nice to go back to the simple things in life. Growing good food, enjoying that same food around the family table and sharing a bit of knowledge with others who wish to do the same. Even though (with my other commitments) it made this last month a bit on the insanely busy side for me, I really enjoyed the change of environment, the lovely folk who got involved and making some new friends in the foodie world. I had fun. I know you are all probably wondering when the tv series will begin … but in the meantime, here’s my “award winning”, kidding, recipe for Caramelised Red Onion Chutney. Caramelised Red Onion ChutneyOnion chutney requires only a few ingredients - onions of course (any will do, but red onions give the nicest colour and sweet taste), a vinegar - sherry, red wine, or balsamic are all ideal, and brown sugar, together with some bay leaves and peppercorns or chilli for flavour.
Ingredients 6 large onions– finely chopped 3 cups vinegar (2 cups balsamic & 1 cup white vinegar is good) Olive oil (approx 1 tbsp) 3 cups brown sugar 2 bay leaves 15-20 crushed black peppercorns Method In a good sized saucepan heat the olive oil and add the onions. Cook until softened. Add brown sugar, vinegar, bay leaves and peppercorns. Bring the mixture to the boil and then simmer gently for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until the onions have gone translucent and all the liquid has evaporated. Pour the hot mixture straight into hot sterilised jars, seal, and store somewhere cool and dark or in the fridge. The chutney should keep for at least 6 months. To ensure the chutney can keep even longer (1 year plus), put the sealed jars in boiling water and simmer for 15 minutes. Chutney should be left for 4-6 weeks to mature allowing all of the wonderful flavours to develop and mix. Chutney Recipe Variations Additional ingredients can be added to this recipe according to your personal taste. A couple of garlic, cumin, thyme, redcurrant jelly, cloves, sultanas, mustard, apple, and tomato puree all work well. Add a tablespoon of cornflour to thicken up the chutney if desired. Recipe has been modified, but original idea came from: http://www.self-sufficient.co.uk/Make-Caramelised-Onion-Chutney.htm ~Robyn Bazika In our PLG discussion on Tuesday, the terms grit and resilience came up. Are they interchangeable? What’s the difference between them? we wondered. When looking to the experts, here’s what we found: What is Grit?![]() According to Angela Duckworth, a researcher, a MacArthur Fellowship winner and with a TEDtalk with over 13 million views, grit is “perseverance and passion for long-term goals.” Duckworth’s research has evolved around discovering why some individuals accomplish more than other individuals despite having the same talent, intelligence, and resources. Grit is the motivational drive that keeps you on a difficult task over a sustained period of time. “Grit is passion and perseverance for very long-term goals. Grit is having stamina. Grit is sticking with your future, day in, day out, not just for the week, not just for the month, but for years, and working really hard to make that future a reality. Grit is living life like it's a marathon, not a sprint.” - Angela Duckworth How gritty are you?How is grit different from resilience?Resilience involves the ability to get back up when you’ve been knocked down or to come back fighting stronger after a loss. The subtle differentiating factor between these two deeply entwined character traits seems to be that resilience is the optimism to continue when you’ve experienced some failures and times are so tough that others see continuing as futile or impossible. Testing your Resilience Characteristics The 5 common topics which are explored in resilience questionnaires are: Self-Control: This concept in a resilience test measures your ability to make rational decisions, to suspend judgement, and to act rather than react to provocation. It also tests your ability to finish up boring and menial tasks. Adaptability: This is your ability to improvise, exhibit creativity and inventiveness. It highlights your flexibility based on your capacity to absorb feedback, separate the wheat from the chaff and make the best use of feedback. Optimism: Another key trait explored is your ability to maintain an informed positive outlook on issues. This includes your ability to find solutions and find ways of adapting to all different manners of situations with enthusiasm and passion. Self-Sufficiency: This is your ability to trust in your own talents and solutions. People who display a greater awareness of their innate gifting, and practice self acceptance, tend to be more self-sufficient and resilient. Persistence: The stick-to-it attitude counts a lot in how you fair in resiliency questionnaires. Most successful ventures tend to be the product of people who stuck to it long after others had quit. It’s the inner willingness to continue working on something even after the excitement has worn off. How Resilient are you? A Growth MindsetCarol Dweck’s work has shown that you can change your mindset. Her research found that when students had a growth mindset; a mindset which perceives a challenge as an opportunity to learn rather than an obstacle to overcome, they responded with constructive thoughts and their behaviour showed persistence rather than defeat. “How are we raising our children? Are we raising them for now instead of yet? Are we raising kids who are obsessed with getting As? Are we raising kids who don't know how to dream big dreams? Their biggest goal is getting the next A, or the next test score? And are they carrying this need for constant validation with them into their future lives? Maybe, because employers are coming to me and saying, "We have already raised a generation of young workers who can't get through the day without an award." - Carol Dweck So what can we do? How can we build that bridge to yet?From Dweck’s research into the growth mindset in regards to tenacity and its effects on achievement, especially in an educational setting, she discovered: 4 factors that affect ongoing tenacity or grit:
Below are 5 suggestions to increase your grit and resilience through developing a growth mindset. 1) Focus on Your Language Choice Praising efforts fosters resilience and reminds people of their role in a successful outcome. Too often young children are praised for “being smart” rather than having a good plan. Use language that encourages perseverance and praises effort. 2) Surround Yourself with People Who Persevere Surrounding yourself with people who have both passion and perseverance towards their goals, will help to strengthen or grow the mindset required to increase resilience and grit. 3) Adopt Flexible Thinking Patterns Being less rigid in your thoughts and actions allows resilience and grit to blossom. Simply because flexible people don’t see problems they see opportunities for growth and learning. When every challenge is met with enthusiasm and creative thinking you will see yourself as capable and this confidence breeds resilience. 4) Set Tiny Goals That Align with Your Purpose People with a sense of purpose are happier. However, your purpose is very abstract and often difficult to define. By creating smaller short term goals which align with your bigger purpose, you increase your success rate and your speed of accomplishing goals. This will keep you motivated to keep persevering. 5) Build Time into Your Day for Reflection When you take time to reflect, you bring awareness in a focused way to the things you have accomplished and the path you want to take to continue. Whether your reflection takes the form of meditation, a journaling session, talking with your Critical Friend, a gratitude exercise or a walk outside while you think back on your day, when you give yourself time to think back on your day in a non-judgemental way, you can see what you have accomplished and what actions you need to take tomorrow to keep moving forward. Take Home MessageGrit is our passion and perseverance towards reaching a long-term goal while resilience is the optimism to keep bouncing back from failure. Both of these traits for success are rooted in a growth mindset, and the good news is that a growth mindset means you can learn, develop and build your resilience and grit. Like most valuable skills, this will take practice and dedication. However, these efforts are well worth it because fostering these traits of a growth mindset will have positive impacts on every aspect of your life. ~Rowan Taigel References: https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/5-ways-develop-grit-resilience/ https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/resiliency-questionnaire/ http://resiliencyquiz.com/index.shtml https://testyourself.psychtests.com/testid/2121 https://www.ted.com/talks/angela_lee_duckworth_grit_the_power_of_passion_and_perseverance/transcript https://www.ted.com/talks/carol_dweck_the_power_of_believing_that_you_can_improve/transcript#t-209464 |
AuthorsWe'll have a variety of authors from OGHS over the year sharing their thoughts and experiences about education, teaching and learning Archives
June 2019
Categories
All
|