It was an long week for me and getting the reading done was something that I really didn't want to do. I had two weddings to attend on the same day and major dental work that was going to happen. I as I reflect on the reading it was something that I am so excited that we had this book to read this week. As I embarked on chapter 3, I was already engrossed in the book. I was intrigued with that idea by giving an student an "A". I really thought that Zander was out of his mind just a little bit and figured that this would never work out. Then I kept reading and it really touched me what his students had to say. We as educators try to seperate our students by the ones that are smart and the ones that just don't care. This allows for all the students to care and lets them know that we care for them too. We can enrich their lives as they can enrich ours. There will be better collaboration in the classroom, students will want to work and students will come out with self confidence. I am going to try give this a try and tell my students they all have an "A" on the first day of school. They must work hard to keep the "A" and at the end of the year tell me the reason why they get to keep the "A". I think that I will be surprised with the responses that I will recieve. I am really liking this book and must keep on reading.
Resources:
Zander, B. and Zander, R. (2000). The Art of Possibility. New York: New York Penguin Group
Photo taken by me traveling to see my parents
Excellent observation. One thing you might want to change in your plan, is that in the beginning when you tell them that the will automatically get an A, the "buy-in" is that at that point they need to thoughtfully write (or tell you) imagining themselves at the end of the grading term what they did or what they learned to get the A. They need to, in essence, enter into an agreement with themselves about what they are going to do from the beginning. In the end they can reflect honestly on their success and areas that need further attention, but it's important for them to visualize and put themselves in the position of "victory" in the beginning. Hope that this helps. :-D
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