Photo from Darren Hester courtesy of creative commons at http://www.flickr.com/photos/darrenhester/3989949630/
Let me first say that I don’t care for the term measurement when it comes to people. To me a measure is a basis for comparison regarding weights and size, or the music between two bar lines, as in a measure of music. The idea that we are taking a standard and using it to compare students or ourselves against others is ludicrous. I can see taking a stone and saying that it is a unit of weight for all things. A stone of chicken will be the same as a stone of wheat. However, the concept of creating a standard for comparison of what must be taught, or how one is doing based on all other populations, places, cultures, backgrounds, beliefs and experience just makes no sense.
Yet, I am a total victim of doing just that. In The Art of Possibility (2000) The Zander’s say that in order to understand, comprehend and see where we are or need to go we compare ourselves and our associations with others (p.19). This is complete measurement and exactly what I do. Do I have enough education, is this the best material for the subject, what are others writing about, will it get me a good grade? And so it goes. Some of this pressure comes from the outside sources. For instance the state places measurement on my performance as a teacher based on the measurement of my students using NCLB testing. Tell me that isn’t confusing, using one measurement to create another.
Since some of the measurements in my life are imposed by outside forces and are, at this point, it becomes difficult to ask the question presented on page 23. I know how, but I can not stop these measurements from influencing my thoughts and actions if I want to keep my job. The point I think that the Zander’s are trying to make here is that you can’t let these measurements rule your life. By understanding they are there, and that they are not truly tangible, but they do not control your attitude. You can still be happy, productive, creative and produce unique work in spite of them if you chose to do so.
Zander, R. S., & Zander, B. (2000). The art of possibility (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
Everyone hates to think that they "measure people up" so to speak. We like to think that we are open and do not judge others. And yet, like you said, as much as we hate to admit it, everyone does it. It is a necessary thing in order to function in this society. If we did not measure others we would not be able to function. Yet this cannot be an excuse. So many would use this as an excuse for measuring people harshly. This goes along with giving everyone an A. Giving everyone an A allows for generosity in measuring others, and helps others to succeed. It does not allow for measuring others in harsh terms. And good point at the end. None of this stops us from being happy and positive. Giving the A will help that in our interaction with students and others. Interesting thoughts!! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteGreat assessment and summary of your thoughts. Love the honesty.
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