seth godin

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Choose.

Two kinds of practice

by Seth Godin

The first is quite common. Learn to play the notes as written. Move asymptotically toward perfection. Practice your technique and your process to get yourself ever more skilled at doing it (whatever ‘it’ is) to spec. This is the practice of grand slalom, of arithmetic, of learning your lines or c++.

The other kind of practice is more valuable but far more rare. This is the practice of failure. Of trying on one point of view after another until you find one that works. Of creating original work that doesn’t succeed until it does. Of writing, oration and higher-level math in search of an elusive outcome, even a truth, one that might not even be there.

We become original through practice.

We’ve seduced ourselves into believing that the this sort of breakthrough springs fully formed, as Athena did from Zeus’ head. Alas, that’s a myth. What always happens (as you can discover by looking at the early work of anyone you admire), is that she practiced her way into it.

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Progress Reports

UNIT 1: Learn Better and Filling Your Toolbox

In this unit, you have been provided with the opportunity to learn to

  • recognize the six key learning strategies;
  • describe the audiences and purposes of blogs;
  • identify and use the form a blog;
  • use conventions and techniques of blogging;
  • identify the characteristics of an effective comment and apply these characteristics to a comment on a blog post
  • identify how values and perspectives influence the ways in which we use and interpret grammar, spelling, punctuation, and word choice;
  • recognize competing perspectives on the use of grammar, spelling, punctuation, and word choice;
  • assess your knowledge and use of grammar and punctuation rules and set goals for next steps;
  • explain what constitutes academic dishonesty and how to avoid academic dishonesty;
  • select and use a style guide as a resource to correctly cite sources;
  • determine which styles of documenting sources are used in particular disciplines;
  • determine when and how to paraphrase, summarize, and use direct quotations;
  • name and describe the features of a variety of schools of literary theory;
  • examine texts from different perspectives so that we can uncover layers of meaning;
  • reflect on your learning with evidence;
  • set personal learning goals.

The problem with high expectations…

is that nothing will ever be good enough.

But the alternative, low expectations, is sad indeed.

The internet (like life) will always disappoint us. It will always be too flaky, too slow, too insulated. It will always have errors, hate and stupidity. And we had such high hopes, the promise was so big.

This is true of just about everything, and it opens the door to the realization that we can be brokenhearted or we can use those high hopes as fuel to make the next cycle even better.

Some people persist on grading themselves on a curve, ensuring that they’ll never be disappointed in what they create or in the opportunities they pass by. It’s a form of hiding, not an accurate insight into what you’re capable of. You deserve better than that.

Progress Report

The Story of My Learning: Unit 1

 

 

Grade 10 Class…. Academic Essay re: MLA formatting and Works Cited

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Learning beyond the classroom.

Stretching without support

One of the fundamental equations of our self-narrative is: If I only had more support, I could accomplish even more.

Part of this is true. With more education, a stronger foundation, better cultural expectations, each of us is likely to contribute even more, to level up, to make a difference.

The part that’s not true: “If only.”

It turns out that every day, some people shatter our expectations. They build more than they have any right to, show up despite a lack of lucky breaks or a cheering section. Every day, some people stretch further.

You might not be able to do much about the support, but you can definitely do something about the stretching. It’s under your control, not someone else’s.

And practicing helps.

via Seth Godin