Part Two of the book explores the six R-Directed aptitudes that will help us to develop the skills and aptitudes needed for a successful shifting from a left to right brain mind set.
The book calls the process of putting different pieces together “Symphony”. It gives several suggestions (exercises) on how to develop and practice Symphony. Not surprisingly, the book suggests actually listening to five classical symphonies as a way to develop Symphony. Two of my favorites were mentioned: Beethoven’s 9th Symphony and Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture. Another exercise is to select 10 different publications (newspapers or magazines) that you would not normally have little interest in buying. This activity will give you a new perspective and outlook on different topics than you would usually read. Reading is a great way to expand your horizons and look at things differently. Learning how to draw is another way that you can get a change of perspective and get back in touch with the inner artist that we had as children. I found the idea of keeping a “Metaphor Log” interesting. The book suggests that a person should write down new metaphors encountered during the day for a week. The goal is to enrich your daily life and to become more creative both in our writing and in our thoughts.
Internet surfing can also be an exercise in Symphony by following the various links found under a topic that you are researching. Numerous connections can be made between previous knowledge and the new ideas you are learning as you follow the many detours from your original web site. Just be sure to allow some extra time to enjoy these new paths. Perhaps you will discover new solutions or ways to fix a problem by looking at it with a different viewpoint. If you have discovered a solution to a problem could that solution also be used to solve other problems? The book explores this idea by suggesting changing the default option on organ donations on driver licenses. For example, instead of the current default being organ donations are based on the person choosing to be an organ donor; the default would be if the person chose not to be a donor. The assumption would be that everyone wanted to be a donor unless a person specially said they did not want to donate.
The book encourages us to practice Symphony by creating an “Inspiration Board” of pictures, fabric, or anything that may be something that a person can make a connection with. Several books to read are suggested along with rules on how to successfully brainstorm in a group. The section concludes with asking the reader to look for the negative space in the big picture, to look at the overlooked sections in a picture, or their surroundings. You may be surprised at what you had not noticed before.
Chapter 7 explains the importance of empathy. Empathy is putting you in someone else’s shoes. It allows us to see the other person’s viewpoint. It has become a valuable aptitude as we move beyond the Information Age. Being able to correctly read emotions bases on facial expressions will enable people to be more successful at developing business and personal relationships. The book explains that damage to the brain’s right hemisphere makes it difficult for people to correctly recognize facial emotions. Damage to the left brain actually makes it easier to read facial expressions. In general women have brains that are more wired for empathy than men but both groups can increase their empathy abilities. An easy exercise to do is to eavesdrop on people’s conversations. Put yourself in the place of one of the people. What emotions do you pick up on? What connections can you make? Become a detective by examining (with permission) a person’s purse or wallet. What can you learn about them (without reading their names) based on what they carry with them?
The last few pages of the section give several ways to utilize empathy. A way to become more empathic with fellow co-workers is by trying to figure out what a person does on a daily basis. What are the highs or lows in their job? What frustrations do they deal with on a regular basis, what rewards? Discuss with your co-workers to see how accurate you were. Taking an acting class is another way to put you in someone else’s mind set. It will help to understand how and why people behave as they do. If you don’t want to take an acting class volunteering is a wonderful way that you can learn more about people that you may not normally meet plus you have the added benefit of helping others.
In summary, these two areas of Symphony and Empathy will be useful tools for teachers. Our students will need to learn how to see the big picture. Students do not often understand that writing and math can enhance the study of science. They think that everything has to be a separate topic and that they have no connection to each other. Students need to be encouraged to look at things from many different viewpoints. As teachers the more we use our right brain to understand and empathize with our students the better relationships we will have with them.
It is interesting that he chose Haydn's Surprise Symphony. Haydn added his own "design" to change audience behavior. Royals would go to the Symphony because it was the "rich" thing to do. They came because it made them look important, but they would often fall asleep watching. Haydn got tired of this and introduced a little "surprise" of his own to wake the often sleeping audience.
ReplyDeleteHitting the newsstands to get new ideas made me think of teachers hitting the internet... Why can't we as educators get new ideas/sites for our repertory? The ideas can come to us through many means. I also liked the idea of creating an inspiration board. I want to create an inspiration board for teaching ideas as well as sites.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of surprise, we often need to shake things up in education and I think introducing music/symphony is a great way to do it. Good for Haydn!) I also got a magazine in the mail that I did not and most likely would not purchase, but I did look through it and it made me think of different places for inspiration. Empathy, this class is making me realize how important it is to not let my students remain confused to the point where they get frustrated. I think I worked hard on it before, but now I am more aware.
ReplyDeleteAs I continue reading this book, I am beginning to see how inter-related everything is. It really is a crazy small world. I am thinking more about the six senses and how it all impacts my life.