Watching...

Watching: Selecting a Topic.

It's time to begin thinking about Playing with the Porpoises! This sounds like such fun yet it is frustrating. I have struggled all this week to decide on a topic for the CourseQuest 1. It is as if I have never been given such liberty to chose. Generally speaking professors, teachers and my supervisors have provided a structure. I then ,within that structure, have some latitude. It might be a choice between three or four research question but then I select.

I must be honest, I have got a wee bit of a headache from this process. In order to learn to relax into the process, I began to journal about my interests. I simply spent yesterday observing what interested me. It was wild! Here is what I wrote.

9am: A patron came into the library today. She asked for some books on interior design. She continued on to share that she wanted it to be about Craftman House design and interiors. I began to watch my feelings and thoughts. I was attracted to the concept of houses that Frank Loyld Wright built. What inspired Wright to create this type of home? Where were they built? Who were the clients? I continue to think about his influences on architecture and lifestyles.

11am: A short break. I walk down by the river. There I saw some lovely bird and then I heard a sudden splash. Right before me was this huge turtle. He or she was adorable. I wondered about reptiles. I thought about my soon to be step son who just got a snake. His new pet lead me to inquiry about the life of reptiles and also what they might be like as pets.

1 pm: Today is 9-11. The horrors of that day five years ago has come back in full force. The sorrow of uncertain times is real. I also know that 6 years ago my mother passes away. That day forever changed my world. What could I do in this Coursequest to honor her? I began to think about her roots. The years she lived in France. My name Lorraine. I was named for her province in her homeland. Perhaps a study into her homeland would be a fine topic. Could this fit with the Indiana standards? Mmm.

Late afternoon: The idea of porpoises came to mind. I used to live a long the ocean in Vancouver, Canada. I always dreamed about the under the sea world. I wanted to study about whales, or take scuba. Maybe.

3 pm: Vancouver and Alaska are beautiful parts of the world. The Pacific Northwest is just so unique. Let's see- what do I remember about living there? The ocean, fish, nature, environmentally balanced lifestyle. Mmm. Looking at my artwork I see colorful pierces reflecting the fishing community. Haida Indians live in this area. They are master artists, and fishermen. I'd love to learn more about them!

8pm: Stress!!!! I feel it. Heck we all feel it. Decisions are the tough thing for me. What about learning about Stress- what is it? How do we move to a healthier life?

9:45 pm - Last thing today: No closer to a decision. I love nature, history, family and cars! Ah yes, I saw an old Pierce Arrow at the Auburn Car show two weeks ago. I'd love to study about the history of that car. The history of the clothes, the homes and times around the Pierce Arrow from 1930-1935.

The journal day was fun. It began to feel a bit like playing. Montessori believed education cannot be effective unless it helps a child to open up himself to life. This process helped me come to more of a focus about what excites me, concerns me, motivates me. I sincerely wish I had time to invest in studying all of the topics.

After completing my journal process, I went on to survey a few people. I simply gave them some of the above topics and asked which would be most interesting for a grade four or five class. The responses varied. In many cases it lead to talks about what they knew about the topics. I found many knew little about Lorraine or Haida's.

I decided to really focus on what would exicte me and would give me a feeling of passion. Author Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly (1990) discusses this passion as Flow; "Flow is a mental state of operation in which the person is fully immersed in what he or she is doing, characterized by a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity." When I flow- I get fully involved in the process. What topic would bring about such enthusiasm?

Right now I am leaning toward The Haida Indians because the connection to my time in Vancouver. I also believe it is an excellent topic for student's from Indiana. Learning about other worlds is an amazing discovery. My next question is can I connect it to the Indiana Standards?

At this current time I am engaging in Pappas & Tepe stage of appreciation and enjoyment. I have moved from that frustrating stage of watching towards wondering. This is a fun and exciting place to be!


Source:

Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly (1990). Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. New York: Harper and Row.

Lamb, Annette. http://eduscapes.com/info/pathways.html


Montessori, Maria. (1995)The Absorbent Mind. (reprint)Henry Holt & Co. New York, N.Y