But... OK: Reflections on 2014 9x9x25 Challenge

I shouldn't.  I'm spread so thin, but..

I can't.  I don't have time, but...

No good this year.  I really don't have anything to say, but...

Why?  Does anyone really read those things?  But...

OK.

There are a bazillion reasons why I shouldn't have participated in this year's 9x9x25 Challenge.  The lines above are just the beginning of a very long list.  But...

I knew the benefits, from last year's challenge.  I knew it would be good for me, my teaching, my students.

Added stress?  Yep.

Frustrating?  At times (not so much about the challenging, but just about another thing on my plate, my life).

Here is my short list of why--when I probably shouldn't have--I decided to participate.  And some suggestions for making the decision to participate again not so difficult (hopefully).

Participating in this project causes me to think and reflect.  Between classes, meetings, special projects, grading papers (not to mention a semblance of a life outside Yavapai College), often times I admit I kind of get in "auto-teach" mode.  I really try to be conscientious, progressive, innovative, on the cutting edge, yada yada yada.  But honestly, some weeks its just survival.  Committing to writing about teaching each week forces me into self-evaluation mode.  That's probably the biggest benefit.

This challenge motivates me to try new things in the classroom.  After all, who wants to read about the same old stuff, different day?  (Not me!)  Several ideas that had been percolating in my brain for some time (even years) get an excuse to come out and play.  It's kind of exciting!  And I've felt (justifiably so, I hope) that it is "safe" to share failures as well as successes.

I love pilfering others' ideas.  Again this year I'm reminded of what creative, motivated and brilliant colleagues I work with.  I've stolen several ideas that have been shared through these blogs (although I'm not saying what, for fear of retribution and to protect the innocent).  My teaching is definitely better for it.

The whole deal gives me a chance to write.  I really love writing.  Just seems I don't do enough of it (and it probably shows).  But I get to set aside time to do what I'm passionate about--writing, and writing about teaching.  Ok, I shouldn't need an excuse.  But it helps to have a little "push" from Todd and the folks in TELS.

Most of all, the Challenge inspires me.  I've been doing the full-time teaching gig for almost 30 years.  Seen a lot of things come and go.  And as much as I would like to think I keep myself fired up each semester, the truth is I can use all the help that's out there.  Getting to read the musing of others in the same boat really does fan the flame.  (Although I'm not sure about my mixed metaphor here--fires in boats aren't usually a great combo!)

What would I change?  Not much, but here goes...

* I'd make it shorter--not the length of the blogs but the number of weeks.  It's probably  just me, but I find myself losing steam after about six weeks.  What about a 6x6x6 Challenge--xix weeks, six blogs, six paragraphs?  So "666" may not be the best number to choose, but the product (216) isn't so bad, is it?

*I might suggest that the format be simplified for those who want to read.  I had several people who weren't writers come to me and say that they wanted to read more, but had a hard time finding their way around on our site.  Too many clicks, too much scrolling, too confusing?  What about a Table of Contents of some sort where readers could see the name of the articles (maybe a one sentence abstract) and the author, and just click on what or who they were interested in reading?

*How about, instead of just "comments" on each blog something more interactive, along the lines of a discussion board, where readers could actually dialog with the authors?  And maybe auto-reminders when someone made an entry on your article, so you could go look and respond?

*Maybe don't do it in November.  From a personal perspective, the Challenge competes with National Novel Writing Month (Nanowrimo), which challenges insane persons (present company included) to write 50,000 words in one month.  (I did it last year, but am failing miserably this time around).  I'd love to do both, but it's become a bit much.  Besides, November starts getting crazy when it comes to classes, grading, etc.

That's it.  Should we do it again next year?  ABSOLUTELY!  I can't, I shouldn't, BUT...

Serendipity...

I admit, I was annoyed.  Tired.  Irritated that, despite a fairly "strict" cell phone policy for my classes and my feeble attempts to enforce it, several of my students check their cell phones more often than they take a breath.

So today, mostly out of a sense of frustration, but with the ever-professional tone of a seasoned instructor, I admonished:

"Ok.  Every pull their cell phones out."  (And literally EVERYONE did.  It's rare to find a student without one these days.)

"Hold it up high over your heads."  (They were mildly amused by this.  My hidden motive was to check their compliance with my instructions.)

"Turn it on silent--not vibrate or cutesy music or clever ring tones, but completely silent."  (Their amusement was short-lived, but I sensed the instruction was not unanticipated.)

"Now, set your phone in front of you, face down, as far to the front of the table as you can."  (They did, with no protest.)

The lesson today in this First Year Experience class was, coincidentally, on focus.  So I quickly wove that theme into my instructions, making it appear that this action was purposeful and premeditated (which it was, but not for the reasons I stated--a "test" to see if they could maintain focus for the remainder of the class.)

For the first time in weeks, Every student (except one) was locked in to the lesson instead of staring down at their crotch, fiddling in their pocket or trying to discretely rifle through their backpack.

At the end of the class, I asked how many of them had be tempted to reach for their phones.  No one said they were, and by their relaxed body language and facial expressions, I believed them.  Totally serendipitously, I had discovered something... something that I already knew in another context.

When I facilitate growth groups, we talk about "keeping our 'shadow self'--the part of that we hide, ignore and deny--in front of us so we can be aware of it's influence on us.  It can be illustrated like this:

Have someone stand behind you, with their hands on your shoulder, and try to shake them off without putting your hands on them or facing them.  It's virtually impossible, because for every move you make, they can make a counter move way before you are aware they are doing so.  As long as you can't "see" your shadow, it can hang on to you and even control you.

Now, have the individual stand in front of you, and move where you want to move.  Unless the person is a 250 pound lineman for the NFL, even if you are not as strong, you can actually DIRECT THEM to where you want to go.  Your forward leverage is more powerful than they are in this position.

Having their phones in front of them seem to make the students feel they had more control.  I would hypothesize that if their phones were even placed at their sides, the effect would not have been as great.  By having their eyes on their devices in a setting in which they didn't need to use them gave them POWER over their technology.  It was amazing.

I wish I could say I had the genius to realize this before.  I didn't.  It was just a "defensive maneuver" born out of desperation.  But it worked, and became an awesome teaching moment.  Any time when students become empowered it is.

Serendipity.