the elasticity of time...goodbye 2018...
As I write this blog, it is the last full week of 2018. This month’s blog post highlights the wrapping up of one half the school year. During December there was much reflection in my life. Three important themes surfaced: self-improvement, laziness, and stuff. The first was from Charles Chu in his 181201 Medium post, Where is the 'Self' in 'Self-Improvement'? questioned the approach of self-improvement. The second was from a Medium post, also written by Charles Chu on 171203 titled In Defense of Laziness, that questioned our society’s view on productivity & being lazy. Lastly because it is the holidays, I see and feel, what I call the “push of stuff” and my learning of The Story of Stuff Project (from a 2007 film project.) I am aware of 3D printing and creating more stuff on this planet. I believe that given what we know about plastics and climate change, this topic needs more focus and the technology should be developed within a larger concept of product life-cycles.
Before we continue on these topics, let us take a look at the STEAM projects happening at John Harris and SciTech. It was an important month because the Foundry Makerspace hosted a very helpful Professional Development event for the Harrisburg School District. This occurred on 181213 and involved both Principals and Assistant Principals, for a total about 25 people. During the day we discussed our process within the Foundry Makerspace and had each participant make their own certificate for attending the event.
STEAM Making @ John Harris Campus High School
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, MATHEMATICS:
STEM Lab (Mr. Gigac)
The students in the STEM Lab shifted from 3D Printing and CNC to programming using Microsoft’s Kodu Game Lab. This was a project at Mr. Britton created while Mr. Gigac was still on Administrative Leave. One group really connected to the programming environment, which resembles Minecraft (also another Microsoft product, formerly created by Mojang, founded by Markus “Notch” Persson.)
You can see great 2014 “How To” video by Harvard Law School 2024 that highlights to process - Kodu Game Lab Tutorial - How to Make a Game.
By using “block based programming” you can move your 3D character around the environment or have it autonomously navigate the world. The JHHS group decided to set it up as human controlled. As I talked with the students, it was clear that one single student was the most interested. I asked if they had worked in a group, and they did, but ultimately one student helped to build the world as shown in the image.
ARTS:
A/V Studio Lab (Mr. Williams & Mr. Burns)
Mr. Williams and Mr. Burns helped to close out the year by presenting the student “Don’t Quit” poem at the 181217M School Board Meeting. It was a positive uplifting presentation in light of the unexpected death of 3 year School Board member Melvin Wilson Jr. and the moment of silence for the deaths of two school district students.
The Don’t Quit poem involved Mr. Burns students reciting the poem from either a teleprompter, or from memory. They also included other Teachers and Staff to reinforce the idea of preserving through difficult times. The amazing thing is that a former Camp Curtin Academy Student, Camryn, was involved in the project. She participated in the CCA AV Studio from 2016-2017 during 8th grade.
Mr. Williams put together the edits using iMovie on a MacMini in the AV Studio. He is working to add music production to this lab in the spring. Both Mr. Williams and Mr. Burns are hoping that students increase their knowledge of camera work as they continue into next year. All of this is a capacity building process that does take time. Ultimately the capacity needs to build into grades 9-11 as seniors have been shifting their focus onto graduation.
STEAM Making @ SciTech Campus High School
TECHNOLOGY:
SciBots (Mrs. Worful, Mr. Group, Mr. Green)
As December progressed, the attendance of students declined in the 4th Floor Robotics Labs. Students were busy in many other after school activities, including studying for finals the week before the Winter Break. Some of the students did take some parts home to work on a robot so they could compete on 190106. It is extremely optimistic given efforts of the past teams. During the past two years that I have worked with the teams, they had robots that could move around the competition field.
This year, that is not the case. There has been a mix of factors including motivation, focus, expertise, prior input from seniors and an extremely challenging problem. From watching the Kick-Off video in September, and what was expected for competition this year, I knew that this year would be very difficult. Another point was the lack of time from our “resident Community Coach” Mr. Jon Wheat. He has been extremely busy this year and was not able to dedicate the time. We’ve been grateful that he has been working with SciTech students the past 3 years. His work in helping to show students how to program the robots in Android Studio is a huge support.
https://www.firstinspires.org/resource-library/ftc/technology-information-and-resources & FTC Robot Controller App https://github.com/ftctechnh/ftc_app and instruction video Connect to Programming Mode - Blocks on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BL0kvoQcjxU&index=3&t=0s&list=PLEuGrYl8iBm4A4yrRcatGcK7q0od0LYov
In all of this, even if the students do not go to a competition, we can continue to build two working robots that could be showcased in school-wide events: Celebration of the Arts event in March and the MakerShift event in May. It also provides some breathing room to allow for individual interests to grow. I hope that in January there can be a regrouping for a structured club to plan out for next year’s 2019-2020 FIRST Tech Challenge.
ARTS:
Podcasting (Mr. Elo)
From the start of the Podcasting Project on 181108, Mr. Elo has now helped the students focus on repeating the interview process with other teachers at SciTech. So far they have interviewed 5 more teachers. In January they are looking at editing the audio and develop a good process. They recognized that with any podcasting effort, there must be a good bit of content created for a “launch day.” Specifically 3-5 quality episodes (Buffer.com reference). This helps to build the audience.
Parallel to this, Mr. Elo has pitched to students an idea to submit to NPR’s Student Podcast Challenge 2019. The contest opens on 190101 and runs until 190331. The hope is that this contest can help students focus on refining the process to get to an interesting story and reporting that will win. Even if the students don’t win, the involvement in a structured contest can build the necessary capacity for developing student reporting within the school. I hope that in the process it can link back to John Harris and build a larger structure for students telling their stories within the school and community.
As I said at the beginning of this blog post, December is usually a point of reflection in my life. It is good to take account for things. There is always much to be grateful for in life, even just the fact of breathing. We breathe automatically and forget how essential that it is to our very existence. Being aware of the present is something I try to every waking hour of the day. It is not easy.
I picked the title “the elasticity of time” because as I get older, more so this year, I’ve seen the passage of time in a different way. This became very tangible when our first daughter was born 11/24/2002 at Chestnut Hill Hospital. The circle of generations became very evident when I called my parents to pass along the news and my mom answered. Being responsible for another life changes things exponentially.
#3 - The Topic of Stuff:
Thinking back on generations I have fond memories of my grandparents who were makers. They had to be, seeing that they grew up in a line of famers and running a grist mill in Perry County. My father’s side of the family originates from this area, and my mother’s side also took up residence in and around Newport. Without getting into specifics, my grandparents moved from the Little Buffalo (bison) area back in the early '70s and established a life in Dillsburg. I grew up in New Kingstown and have many memories of traveling to Dillsburg to celebrate Christmas. Because my grandparents were makers, we usually received some kind of homemade gifts. This included wooden puzzles, handmade crafts or sewn objects. Sometimes it included desks or chairs, which were sometimes unfinished kits that were put together and finished.
One of the most impressive items that my grandfather built, was a working model of the mill. I remember this as a kid and we were never allowed to play with it. I never took the time to ask my grandfather why he felt the need to build such a model.
If I had to guess, I think it was a way for him to tell a little of his life's history and work through some of the thoughts of missing his former life. After leaving his homestead, he never returned.
My grandmother and other family members returned and all of us have enjoyed many family reunions reminiscing about this part of Central PA. The model is on display at the Little Buffalo State Park Visitors Center.
Around my house I have a few of these items made by my grandfather. We just never parted with them.
Some things we did have to part with because we’ve moved 4 times since moving out of the area and we had to keep things lean. After his passing on 5/30/2001, all the family members and grandchildren embarked on the dividing of things that were added to any previous gifts during our growing up.
Overall, I have mixed feelings about these objects. I’m thankful that I didn’t give some of these away. But I also wonder how to cut back and reduce. I know in the process of making things, it is very cathartic, but watching Bob Clark's A Christmas Story every year, Ralphie's pink bunny suit always reminds me of by-gone gifts. Our family and friends meant well. And at the deepest level they were appreciated. But looking back, I have to question if these are necessary? These are tangible relics of personal history. They are also a means for crafting something out of nothing.
In the weeks preceding the holidays I had to stop into Hobby Lobby for the first time since they opened in our area. I didn’t know what to expect, but it was a hobby store on steroids. I am familiar with stores such as A.C. Moore and Michaels, but this place seemed over the top. They had aisles and aisles of “country made stuff.” I didn’t know how to describe it, but I was reminded of the crafts that my family members used to make. The only problem was that the store bought items fit a look. It was surface, but had no depth of character from the making process. Above that, in most of the items, the tag “made in China” can be found. This goes back to a 140701 Huffington Post article on the topic. It makes one wonder how these products are made en masse and the lives of any worker connected to the process. I think the topic is best summarized by Hasan Minhaj's Patriot Act episode about Supreme (discussed in this 181118 Slate.com article) that first arrived on Netflix on 181118. They even made their own Supreme shirts to raise awareness in a tongue in cheek way.
All of this was swirling around in my head in November and December. It made me think about our desire to outfit our lives with things and in doing so which things make the cut to exist in the spaces we exist. This seems to escalate during the holidays when people are still dashing around for gifts. I know I am still trying to turn of this internal mechanism from years of indoctrination in Central PA. Personally, it has taken a great effort to shift my own focus back to people, ultimately building up social capital. This while acknowledging that things are still necessary to accomplish tasks. Maybe that is the greater purpose to look at this life cycle loop and consider the overall impact. I've dug up two diagrams that show both Life Cycle Thinking and Waste Management Thinking. Both are important to consider in light of global impacts.
I have to admit that I didn't learn about The Story of Stuff project until this past fall. It started back in 2007 as a film to explain consumption and production. It is a great overview in 20 minutes. Since then everyone involved in this project has continued to develop more films that relate to the objective to have each of consider what we purchase and use in our daily lives.
They partnered with Facing the Future and developed curriculum around the topic for grades 5-8 and 9-12.
While I haven't reviewed the content of the curriculum, I have found the films from The Story of Stuff to be helpful in daily discussions.
I want to leave this section with an impactful blog post by George Monboit from 121210 titled The Gift of Death. There is a lot in the post discussing the global connections in benefitting from production to how advertising pushes a desire for new technology.
He ends the post rather bluntly, but fitting during the holidays and the topic of making, and I would add "give them a hug"...
"Bake them a cake,
write them a poem,
give them a kiss,
tell them a joke,
but for god’s sake
stop trashing the planet
to tell someone you care.
All it shows is
that you don’t."
#2 - The Topic of Laziness:
Dealing with time over the holidays is tough because time is in a constant tension of high speed and slow motion. The high speed rush exists because there seems like there is always much to do. “I’m busy” is a common statement as we rush around. I can also attest that it is fraught with angst because there doesn’t seem to be enough time. There are holiday carols on the topic searing the sentiments in our brains as earworms (a TED Talk explanation.) One of my favorite tunes is by The Waitresses called Christmas Wrapping.
On the other end of the spectrum there is a noticeable slowdown in productivity. Having experience in working in architecture firms, in colder climates, there is a construction slowdown in the winter because of frozen ground. This means that a lot of design work is done through the fall and winter getting things lined up for “breaking ground” in April/May. Sometimes this does cause a slowdown, particularly if financing or proper decision making hasn’t occurred. In working at StartupHbg, I did notice more lingering around the kitchenette area...conversations lingered. Granted this is much easier to happen in a co-working space because people are working on different projects within different companies. It is easy to free-chat with others if your own deadline is a bit relaxed. One should be more mindful of the time of others and that is always a difficult balance.
For more data on the topic, take a look at the numbers that Toggl.com pulled during 5 weeks in 2012 and 2013.
More data suggests that productivity increases. Marketwatch published a story on 181226 that shows the productivity only drops 5% this time of year.
"overall business productivity
only dropped 5% between
Dec. 25 and Jan. 1.
In fact, productivity even
increased 25% in
business services, healthcare,
education, media and
entertainment."
- (2016 data analysis by Egnyte)
The changes of productivity seems to connect with the cycle of academic schedules when the winter breaks occur. This is just a personal observation. I know that I purposely try to make time to slow down. This means giving up on certain things and prioritizing.
One thing that caught my eye recently was a discussion of laziness. Based on a Medium post by Mike Sturm titled The Myth of Laziness. It was published back in 180409 and surfaced in an email year summary from Medium.
This article is important because our society has a harsh view of laziness. I see this when I talk to teachers or parents about their children. Digging deeper into a surface level method of operation is important. In the blog, Sturm points out that...
“More often than not,
if we attempt to explore
why someone was ‘lazy’
and didn’t do what we asked,
we’ll find the same thing to blame:
our inability as humans to deal with the
fact that people simply feel differently than
we do about many things.”
This is an incredible insight if you work with any other human beings on the planet. We must have some empathy to see all of the little complexities that are in play within a person. For 2019, I am trying to strike this term from my vocabulary.
“but ‘they’re just lazy’ is the
laziest reason you could possibly use”
It is tough to break from this, particularly when the idea of “being productive” is ingrained within a system. It has been reinforce in my life through school, family, community, college, and professional life. It is all that seems to be discussed. However, in some of my previous articles I’ve discussed how to make use of time in the best way possible. This is in my favorite concept of the 168 Work Week, discussed in Laura Vanderkam’s website. My June 2017 and September 2017 Foundry Makerspace blog posts talk about this insight.
It has surfaced in a book that I received as a Christmas gift from my parents. Paul C. Gorski and James A Banks put together Reaching and Teaching Students in Poverty: Strategies for Erasing the Opportunity Gap and acknowledge structural issues within our education system. In Chapter 4: Embracing a Structural View of Poverty and Education, they explore the issues of Deficit Ideology and Grit Ideology and how pervasive these ideas are in our society. They connect right with this topic of laziness. I hope to dig into this a bit more as we enter into 2019. In doing some research for this blog post, I stumbled upon a Harper's Magazine archive from 1932, where Bertrand Russel wrote an article In Praise of Idleness. This is will be something to dig into for a future blog post.
Lastly, in a 171203 Medium article titled In Defense of Laziness by Charles Chu, he includes a quote from Rory Sutherland’s book The Wiki Man that is important to consider in our perception of laziness and people’s individual situations…
“If you dedicate your life
to eliminating waste,
you will undoubtedly succeed
in a grubby kind of way.
But, along with waste,
you will be eliminating perhaps
90% of something
far more important —
your chances of
getting really lucky.
If you clamp down
on frog-kissing,
you don’t have
much chance of
finding a prince.
This may explain why
actuaries very rarely
become rock stars.”
(my apologies in advance to any actuaries
who might be rock stars and are reading this.)
#1 - The Topic of Self-Help:
Yes 2019 is here and it begins...New Year's Resolutions. This is a much talked about topic, so I’ll keep it short. In light of everything discussed for my December blog post, I am writing to remind myself of the complexities of self. I would like to turn 2019 into a focus of DO IT TOGETHER. Not DIY (Do-It-Yourself.) This goes back to a 100218 Harvard Business Review article on the topic within Chris Anderson’s ideas summarized in his 2009 book Free: The Future of a Radical Price.
It would do our planet good if we all realize that we work better in collaboration. This is probably most felt through the holiday season. In my favorite holiday film, It’s a Wonderful Life, Clarence’s inscription in the Adventures of Tom Sawyer book that he leaves for the character George Bailey states…
“Dear George: -
Remember no man is a failure who has friends. Thanks for the wings! Love Clarence.”
Related to It's a Wonderful Life, for another diversion, there is a great 161223 The Atlantic article by Bourree Lam and Gillian B. White that dissects the financial themes that are still with us today.
Getting back to the topic of SELF-HELP. In another Medium article by Charles Chu from 181201, he pulls a quote from author Kathryn Schultz who in a 2013 New York Magazine wrote...
"[In the past 1600 years],
we’ve made very little
empirical progress toward
understanding our
own inner workings.
We have, however,
developed an $11 billion industry
dedicated to telling us
how to improve our lives.
Put those two facts together
and you get a vexing question:
Can self-help work if we have
no idea how a self works?"
The helping of one’s self seems to be a very complex and difficult task. As Chu continues in talking about what Schultz wrote, is that we need more randomness in our life. This helps us to, as Schultz points out, “TRY EVERYTHING.”
All of this connects to many of the ideas of a Maker Mindset and Experiential Learning (David Kolb.) We grow from our experiences and experimentation. In my years living on this planet, I find that if there are any limits to these, we lose an opportunity to grow. There are some very spiritual discussions to be had around this idea. Being placed in very difficult places is never easy, but if they were eliminated from our lives, we would not be the same.
I have to leave with one final book that I haven’t had time to fully digest. That book is The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure by by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt. In light of what we experience, the topic of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is mentioned in many of the books I am currently reading. It is important to consider this type of working through bad thinking and moving towards a better awareness of self.
The book looks at 3 Untruths:
1. The Untruth of Fragility: What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Weaker
2. The Untruth of Emotional Reasoning: Always Trust Your Feelings
3. The Untruth of Us Versus Them: Life Is a Battlefield Between Good People and Evil People
Each of these are thoughts for another blog post.
So for 2019, be present, make fine adjustments, and seek the company of others for a feedback loop.
12/13/18R HSD Principal Professional Development
