I came from work early today so I could mow the lawn. We are leaving for NECC tomorrow (5 AM for me) and I wanted to make sure the the house looked occupied for the next week. I like mowing the lawn. It is a time to put one foot in front of the other and to think.
The first topic to consider was what books I would take with me so my airport time would not be wasted. I worked on this topic for most of the back yard. There is a book with a nude woman on the cover (The Decency Wars) my youngest daughter gave me. I am not sure what this book is about, but reading it on the plane would make me self conscious. People would probably stare at the cover and wonder about what kind of person I am. There is Mensa Brain Bafflers my son-in-law gave me for Christmas. Way too tough for me and no need to make myself frustrated. I think I will bring one political book and one educational technology book.
My wife and I have different approaches to professional development. She reads blogs and I read books. It is not that I object to blogs. I just don’t buy the small pieces approach to big issues. I want to understand someone’s entire model as it relates to some issue and compare it to me own. There are so many issues (e.g., blogs) that sound great when viewed from one perspective (e.g., active involvement), but the issue has many facets (e.g., safety, bullying, assessment) that must be considered in combination. A thought here and there leaves too many loose ends. So many things work as a system with pieces that interact. The more pieces of the system I can consider simultaneously, the better feel I get for whether I agree or disagree. A book author typically organizes and interrelates more ideas for me to consider.
(Time for the front yard).
