Changes

Hi. Hello there. Have we met before?

Oh...yes, I'm CW. It's so nice to see you again.

Oops. Apologies for my extended absence from the blog. Things have been...crazy.

You see, there's a lot of changes that have happened in the past 3 months, and a lot of changes that will hopefully be happening soon. I'm in this odd state of finishing up both undergrad and grad school all at once, I have my Teaching Associateship rapidly approaching, I'm moving somewhere in a 3 month time frame as well, and essentially starting life in the real-world(ish). Hell, I even bought a car; that practically screams "Welcome to the real world, grown-up!" I think my mind just imploded on itself in the face of all these adult prospects.

But there have been a few constants in my life that I've become supremely grateful for these past few months:

1. Coffee. In copious quantities.
2. The rescue squad, and my utterly dysfunctional, yet completely adored crew mates.
3. My mentor-slash-adopted grandfather, the ever present voice of reason and encouragement.
4. The solitude of the children's books room in the education library.
5. Coffee. In even more astounding quantities.

Yet, in spite of all these lovely, and much needed, constants, I have come to the conclusion that I, in fact, fear change. Which is a shocking revelation because I have spent much of my life trying to convince myself that change and fluidity are good, and that I am an adaptable person by nature.

This is, apparently, false.

Never have I been more frightened of what the future may hold in my entire life.

This, alone, is a frightening realization in its own right, given some of my past life experiences; for this to be the single most frightening prospect I have ever faced is, in many ways, ludicrous--irrational. I've faced down tougher stuff. I should be stronger than this. I should be more courageous than this. I should be fearless.

But I'm not.

There's a part of me that's crying out, "This is all happening too soon! You're only 21! You're too young to be taken seriously by the real world, much less have half a chance of making it out there." That part of me desperately wants to believe such things to be true. That part of me is clinging wantonly to the familiar, kicking and screaming in protest in the face of change, and that is the part of me I find most disappointing.

So from here on out, there will be some changes. I refuse to disappoint myself; to fall short of my own expectations. I refuse to let the prospect of change confuse and paralyze me with fright.

"The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance."--Alan Watts

What Is Creativity?

Hi y'all! Sorry for the recent falling-off-the-face-of-the-planet-ness. I'm still here, still writing and still thinking about all y'all that are kind enough to read my ramblings.

And that kind of brings me to today's post. It's the start of a new semester. My last true semester of real college classes--the classes that I will be taking this summer don't count in my mind--living on the college grounds, and RA-ing for all that I'm worth. It's bittersweet in some ways, and in others, I'm just ready to get out and get in the classroom full time, like I will be next fall. But aside from my emotional conflict over this semester, I'm starting to get in the swing of things for my new classes, and there's one that I'm super excited about!

This semester, I'm taking an education elective called "Creativity and Problem-Solving", which to me is probably one of the coolest classes to ever be offered. As someone who's primary academic interest is what many others consider "boring" or "dry", I can't wait to really explore all the different things that I can do in my classroom to get my students thinking creatively about history. (Teaching geek moment, I know...)

Anyways, for this class we have to keep a journal of sorts, and each week we can either choose from a prompt that the professor has suggested, or write/draw/creatively express ourselves on a topic of our own choosing. For the first week, I decided to go off of the professor's simple (yet surprisingly complex) topic of, "What is creativity?"

The following is my un-edited, somewhat stream-of-consciousness, and personal insight into creativity. I'd be interested in hearing any feedback or additional thoughts that you guys have on this topic. This is the fundamental question that I will be wrestling with for the rest of the semester in this class, so any and all perspectives are welcomed and appreciated!

Enjoy!

Creativity is the capacity to think in new and unique ways about a situation or problem. Creativity is being able to risk failure in an attempt to create something new or different or better. Creativity is enthusiasm and passion and a whole lot of spunk—a confidence that you will succeed in your endeavors. In my mind, creativity and safety are antithetical. When I think of some of the most creative people I know, I think of a group of individuals that constantly astound me with their willingness to stretch the realms of possibility to the point where they border on the brink or complete and utter failure, or a revolutionary success. There is nothing contained or typical or predictable about these people. They are the kind of individuals that can talk you into your wildest dreams and make them come true, and then some. They have a combination of foresight and insight in a striking balance that leaves you wowed, yet a seeming lack of belief in negative consequences—in spite of all that foresight. I guess another element of creativity is inherently related to my understanding of people. I have no understanding or example of creativity that is not attached to an individual I know and the workings of their mind. Creativity is thus a uniquely human characteristic. Creativity goes beyond resourcefulness and an ability to adapt—characteristics that are instinct to most organisms with a nervous system and a brain. Rather, creativity is the convergence of a visionary understanding that anything is possible and the rare ability to apply logical patterns of thought to make it so. In some ways, I picture true creativity as the meeting of two minds in one person—the wonderfully and gloriously abstract and absurd collided with the brilliance and logic necessary to make the absurd a reality. To me, that is the epitome of creativity.

A Really Interesting Perspective

Twitter introduced me to this blogger, Marginal Revolution, and a recent blog post really got me thinking.

In his post, Cowen suggests that while creativity in the classroom is often stifled by teachers, there could be hope in the trend of personalized learning through resources like the Kahn Academy.

Which begs the following question: is online, personalized learning one of the directions that American education could be headed? And if so, what will the role of classroom teachers be in this new educational setting?

People tell me, in the way of career advice, "Oh CW, we always need good teachers." But I have to wonder, will that truly be the case much longer?

Pondering,
--CW

Holiday Cheer in EMS

This is what happens when you let us out in public. Happy holidays folks!

--CW

"What Teachers Make"

This is why I teach.

--CW

Oh, How the Tides Have Turned

My station is currently in the process of releasing several probationary EMTs who are all one or two calls from getting the "Senior EMT" stamp of approval. Recently, I ran a call with one of these probies where we ended up calling in medic back up for a chest pain patient. This EMT happened to need an ALS assist to finish the last step of his release process, and this call was the perfect opportunity to achieve that, as the medic wanted to start a line on our patient. Our sparky EMT had just reviewed how to spike a bag of saline, so clearly, the stars were in alignment for this EMT, and his excitement was palpable. In fact, his excitement was so palpable that I found myself giving advice that--not too long ago--I myself would have been on the receiving end of:

"Hey, kid...deep breath. Focus."

It was amazing to watch the effect my single comment had on the quality of his patient care. It was like a flip was switched, and his mind and body jumped out of overdrive, and I could see him remember why he was there and what he had to do beyond spike the IV bag and get the assist.

Then about five seconds after I watched the effect of my comment hit him, the effect of my comment turned around and hit me: in this situation I was no longer the "sparky", no longer the EMT that got jacked up over every big call, and I became the EMT that others look to for guidance.

After the call, the probie found me as I was wiping down the cot outside of the EMS room: "Thanks," he said, "I really needed that in there. You, know, to refocus and stuff." That simple "thanks" may have been the most rewarding moment of my career thus far.

I will be hitting my two year mark of being in EMS in two months, and am becoming a preceptor in two weeks; it's kind of strange to think about just how much the tides have turned.

Interlude

Okay y'all. The second part of my "basic interventions" series is in editing and should be posted in the next few days or so. Until then, I thought I'd share a tune with everyone.

This song has been stuck in my head for a few days now, and has become an increasingly appealing pipe dream to get me through this week.

May you be able to unwind and unravel all night long,
CW