tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-135271386745914871.comments2011-09-30T11:48:31.240-07:00The Montessori ConversationTino Cogin of Samoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07995713740509502767noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-135271386745914871.post-10307532797317704962011-09-30T11:48:31.240-07:002011-09-30T11:48:31.240-07:00Our family absolutely loves this! We've had it...Our family absolutely loves this! We've had it since the Library started it from the beginning. Going to sleep by having a story being read to you is wonderful. We put it on after we've read books to the kids ourselves and I have the AudioBooks on while I'm working. They've got a great selection. We have the OverDrive Media player downloaded on our laptops & we can access these eBooks & Audiobooks from anywhere there's wi-fi. It's a wonderful, free way to get more from your library!Destiny Connectionshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03591483986651590464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-135271386745914871.post-38123660857497428232011-08-10T13:03:37.213-07:002011-08-10T13:03:37.213-07:00So, here we have a sort of chicken and egg situati...So, here we have a sort of chicken and egg situation. I am making the case that self reflection leads to self direction leads to self responsibility is the core intent of the Montessori system. At the same time, I am not convinced that you can be an expert or a proficient self reflector if you have conditioned the common fear of mistakes/error that society is clearly working hard to cultivate in every human being. I particularly find this sentence interesting:<br /><br /> "Errors divide men, but their correction is a means of union." <br /><br />Have you ever been involved in a conversation with yourself? If you look at that phenomenon from this perspective particularly in the context of a situation in which you took some action that produced some result which could have been labeled as 'an error' and allow for the possibility that you already have assumed that you are more than one person, this suggestion here, i.e. the suggestion to view error/mistakes in a different light allows for you to become less divided with yourself. <br /><br />I am sure that you can see how it gets then a bit complicated but with some consideration, it should become clearer. When error is anathema, you are divided not only from others but from yourself. When you shift focus to define error/mistake as the difference between what was and what might have been i.e. make this observation a bit more impersonal, your focus shifts to what actually happened (something that you can then take action on in a future occurrence of a similar situation) rather than the randomly labeled outcome or how you feel about that outcome or how you feel about how someone else might be thinking about that outcome, which is now unchangeable.<br /><br />Example: I have been thinking about this in terms of music. My belief is that an expert musician (I am not) can make the distinction between a b sharp and a b flat. Does not matter if the sound comes from a flute, a violin, a piano or any other note producing device. If you can make that distinction, you can take some action to produce one or the other. If not, well, do you get the idea? This is a matter of developing a very fine skill in terms of making distinctions. When you have that skill, you have the foundation for accelerated learning growth.Tino Cogin of Samoshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07995713740509502767noreply@blogger.com