I have seen sides of myself I haven't seen before, or not often, and not sure I want to see again! For a start, 4 kids in a hot,dark,humid house, with a dog, a cat and no electricity or running water, is probably enough to try anyone, but throw in two thawing freezers, no flushing toilets or showers, a husband who is away for work (and staying in a nice hotel I might add!) and rain that just won't go away, and you have one very unhappy mum!
Last night however, as I reflected on my horrid day, my inability to study, my quick temper, my inability to have a hot shower or even lie in my bed and read a book, I told myself to 'suck it up!' and look at how lucky I am. Our house is still in one piece, we have food to eat, water to drink and no-one near or dear has been harmed or even remotely injured!
I then began to think about my own personal 'Habits of Mind', and how little voices in my head (no I'm not going crazy!) were responsible for the way I looked at my situation and the way I decided to 'be' in this post-cyclone moment. I decided there and then, with my glass of red wine by candlelight, that I was going to be more positive.
I have noticed that I have been feeling very frustrated, annoyed and even angry with the lack of power and it's ability to make my life comfortable and easy. However, then I decided to think creatively and make some other arrangments. For example, I need to wash my hair, so a friend suggested I use the shower at the gym. I was feeling stressed about not being able to study, so I decided to find an air-conditioned office with power to study, (fortunately my husband's workplace had a spare office today), I have several loads of washing to do and no power to turn on the machine, so I am taking up my friends offer to borrow her machine. My kids can't have a shower or bath, so this morning before school we all had a swim. You know what - being positive, pro-active and thinking outside the square made me feel better.
This whole cyclone experience got me thinking about Marzano & Pickering (1997) Dimensions of Learning, Dimension 5 - Habits of Mind. As I began reading, I realised that I had some very healthy Habits of Mind, for example, I was planning appropriately (fill up water buckets before it starts to rain again), monitoring my own (negative) thinking (look how lucky you are), Identifying and using available resources (a spare office at my husbands work, my gym for a shower, my friend for washing clothes) and evaluating the effectiveness of my actions (next cyclone don't buy so much fresh food because when the power goes out it won't stay fresh!).
I was also responding appropriately to feedback when my kids asked me for the hundredth time why they couldn't bake a cake or watch TV - I said, "no you can't watch TV because there is no electricity, but you can make a cubby house!"
Most importantly I have been persevering and will continue to do so.
From this experience, I can see that I have some very useful Habits of Mind, but also some unhealthy ones that are there, lurking in the background, ready to sabbotage my good intentions if I let them. I have learned through this whole cyclone experience, not only to appreciate what I have, but also to listen to those nasty habits that have a way of leading me down a pathway I just don't want to go. In this way, Cyclone Ului has helped to illuminate Marzano and Pickering's and Costa and Kallick's, 'Habits of Mind' at work in my own mind.
I can see how unhealthy habits of mind could stop or prevent students from learning from their experiences and instead lead them down a slippery slide of despair or hopelessness. I also saw, that sometimes you just need a helpful voice to guide you or suggest a different strategy, and that if you're open to hear this you can learn from it.
I hope I will be a positive guide for my students in the future and help them develop healthly and effective Habits of Mind.
Thanks for sharing Natalie! What a great posting. A cyclone would have challenged anyone's 'Habits of Mind', and you have done a wonderful job of making the most of a negative experience. Very admirable! I hope everything resumes back to normal for you and your family very soon.
ReplyDeleteAmazing posting Natalie, Congratulations on being so positive and being able to reflect on the 'Habits of Mind'. Continue to think like you did now and you will certainly make a wonderful Learning Manager. Sally
ReplyDeleteHi Natalie, it was wonderful to read your blog on the cyclone. We too experienced this phenomena and were so grateful to have made it through unscathed.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed how you illustrated your post with the Habits of Mind and I could relate to it immediately. It was only just today that I commented to my husband about the 'inconvenience' and then, as soon as I had said it, I realised that the negativivity of this thought immediately brought me down. As my husband was kindly arranging numerous leads to reach my low battery lap top and a few lights, connecting them to the generator we borrowed,and in preparation for tonight, I quickly changed my outlook and was thankful for so much.
I hope all is well for you soon. Certainly I am resolving to maintain an open mind, perservering, generating new ways of viewing the situation, monitoring my own thinking, identifying and using necessary resources and evaluating the effectiveness of my actions!
Darling, Great post about keeping your wits about you during trying circumstances. I however, would also like to contribute that sometimes we too often feel guilty when we are not coping in difficult circumstances because we feel we must be positive, especially if we compare it to people in wheelchairs or the people who died in Haiti for example. However, everything is relative. Sometimes, some things are just shit, and that's okay. It's not to say we don't seek solutions or find a better way out of it, but I have found it is better when I am REAL about a situation and go you know what this sucks, and then seek to find a positive solution, than deluding myself into thinking something is okay when it isn't. Personally, I find this a much better platform to work from, and one that inspires greater positive change at the end of the day X
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this inspiring learning story. I will know not to put too much in the freezer if I am ever unfortunate enough to be facing a cyclone.
ReplyDeleteI think its great you are able to incorporate learnings from GDLT into your personal life.
Hi Nat,
ReplyDeleteI'm from Cairns, and I must confess, I was so relieved when I found out the cyclone was going south. I was studying when Larry hit (was it)4 years ago and I really struggled to get back into the habits of study after having to take a few days off because of power shortages. But it sounds like the Habits of Mind are strong with you (I felt like Yoda when i said that. The force is strong with this one...). I really enjoyed reading about the Habits of Mind, particlularly Costa and Kallick's. I think, having a sense of humour (which you evidently displayed throughout your cyclone ordeal)is so important in life to keep your sanity. I also think that it is going to be extremely important when we are teachers. I have started my prac already, and in the staff room I have noticed that the teachers who seem to enjoy their profession and who have genuine affection for their students are the ones who have a sense of humour.
Anyways, keep up with the great posts...I enjoy reading them.
- Leesha