Saturday morning video -- Meet Phil Dunphy, yo

Good morning. I don't usually use this site to promo stuff, but I love this new show "Modern Family" -- here's a snapshot (that is funny even if you don't want to check out the show):

Meet Phil Dunphy, yo

Good luck with the work!

Harriet

Lesson learned -- slow down.

A few weeks ago, I had a very full day of meetings and other commitments. Anyway, I got back to my office and didn't have a lot of time before class. I had just downed a quick dinner and was going to wash up. I grabbed my toothbrush and toothpaste and headed for the bathroom, still in a big hurry. I put toothpaste on the brush and started to brush my teeth and AAGGHHH, the toothpaste tasted terrible! I looked down and realized that I had grabbed hand lotion, not toothpaste. Lesson learned. Slow down. Breathe.

Cheering you on in your work!

Harriet

This is what procrastination looks like!

My very good friend Lisa is working on her dissertation. She is also one of the funniest people I know (and in fact is researching humor -- how cool is that!). She blogs about her dissertation process and earlier this year, posted the following re: procrastination. This is reprinted with Lisa's permission. Enjoy! And then get back to work! This is called:

"What to do when I don't want to do"

1. Make a list of the things I should be doing
2. Reorganize the list of the things I should be doing
3. Search for software that will help me keep track of the things I should be doing
4. Check e-mail
5. Check Facebook
6. Check Linked-In
7. Post to my blog
8. Read other people's blogs
9. Subscribe to new podcasts
10. Sync my iPod
11. Clean out my closet
12. Buy stuff, preferably clothes or shoes
13. Search for journal articles that I don't really need
14. Think about working out
15. Avoid working out
16. Think about making a really healthy dinner
17. Eat some string cheese
18. Pet a dog
19. Make a list of improvements we need to make to the house
20. Call Charles to see when he'll be home

Staying Motivated - revisit your early goals

There are a range of feelings that can make this time of year challenging for students. A few that come to mind... feeling overwhelmed and lacking motivation. As we near Thanksgiving, final papers, projects, and tests are on the horizon. This intense amount of work along with the regular responsibilities of life (not to mention any crisis that may have emerged!) can be overwhelming. Other folks may be looking toward winter break and having trouble staying motivated. One approach to counter these feelings is to revisit the goals that you set when you began graduate school. What were your motivations for engaging in graduate study? Personal goals? Academic goals? Career goals? Reviewing these goals can help us refocus and also remind us that we are progressing along the path.

keep at it!

Harriet

Photo by HLS

Free (cool) art!!!

One of my former students, Ali Spagnola, is a painter with a fun and distinctive style. A few years ago, she began a free painting project wherein she creates paintings for free, on request. She has shipped her work all over the world. You can write to her and be very specific ("please paint front loading washing machine with an orange background"), or less specific ("please paint a dog"), or totally open ("surprise me"). She will then create and send you, for free (!!!!) the painting. Some of us choose to send a little money her way to support her work, but plenty of folks take the paintings for free and Ali is totally cool with that.

Ali is nearing her 1000th painting!!!!!! Be part of this wonderful project and snag a cool painting for your home, office, or for a gift.

Ali Spagnola's Free Art Project

And if you think of it, tell her I sent you.

Congrats as you near 1,000, Ali!

And to the rest of you, I'll be offline most of saturday, so no video this week. I'll see you back here on Monday. Keep at it!

Harriet

To study is to co-create

"To study is not to consume ideas, but to create and co-create them."

-- Paulo Freire

How do you co-create ideas with your classmates? With your teachers?

A more traditional view of education is that teachers teach and students learn. Contemporary and progressive thinkers including Freire, Jane Vella, Stephen Brookfield, Parker Palmer and Kenneth Gergen believe that knowledge is co-created through dialog.

Think of an idea that emerged in dialog with a friend or classmate. When I do this, I get this sense of the energy between us -- the "stuff" that we create together. I love this notion. It seems almost magical to me, the knowledge that is created between us.

Cheering you on!

Harriet

Keeping it light on a Monday - all hail the binder clip!

Check this out:

alternative uses for the binder clip

Have a wonderful start of the week!

Harriet

Photo posted by PhotoCharlie on Flickr