"Kind" comments

This morning I received the evaluation summaries for the two ALA pre-conference workshops I did in Anaheim last month. I don't know about others who take the craft of teaching adults seriously, but I give the evaluation comments I receive a great deal of attention. I bask in the complimentary ones and agonize over the critical ones. I really do. Participant comments are really the only information I have to help me improve my professional practice in presenting and conducting workshops.

At the risk of sounding like I am bragging, I am sharing three interesting, and to me, novel comments from the workshop on Web 2.0 tools:

• I really enjoyed meeting Doug in person. He's been kind enough to become an online mentor. He's as kind in person as virtually.
• Mr. Jackson [sic] was excellent, knowledgeable, humor[ous], and kind.
• Great presentation - relevant. Took the angst out of it all.
  

I don't remember ever being complimented before for being "kind." I don't remember feeling particularly compassionate the morning of the workshop. Nor do I remember any particular actions or comments that called for kindness. No one, like, broke down sobbing or anything.

I am just wondering if working library media specialists (and many classroom teachers) are accustomed to, but getting tired of, being beaten up by the "experts" at conferences. They are deflated when constantly told just how much they need to change in order to stay relevant. They are shell-shocked from being bombarded with comments that make them feel out of the loop, left behind, inadequate for not using at least 200 Web 2.0 tools, and lazy for not running a 24/7 virtual library/classroom.

Is the least degree of empathy for the practitioner now what passes for kindness?

I have to admit the Calvin and Hobbes cartoon strip from which this graphic comes resonates with me. In it, Calvin is offering at his stand "A Swift Kick in the Butt - $1.00." When Hobbes asks "How's business?", Calvin replies, "Terrible. I don't understand it. Everybody I know needs what I'm selling."

I suspect all of us in libraries and education, myself included, need a good swift kick. And, of course, would like to administer them fairly often to others. But do you suppose people get tired of being too often the recipients of verbal kicks? Doesn't your butt go numb after a while?

Ed psych tells us that rewarding good behaviors gets us a good deal father ahead with people than punishing poor ones. When do we start to apply this principle in creating change within the profession?

Or maybe I am just reading too much into a couple "kind" remarks...

See you ALA and NECC

In the airport on my way to San Antonio via Anaheim. I'll gone 11 days. I actually had to check a  bag. I didn't much like the shirts I packed anyway...

Here are somethings I'll be participating in at these overlapping ;-( conferences:

Friday, June  27 at ALA, preconference workshops:
Eating Elephant 2.0 One Bite at a Time: Using the Read-Write Web in Classrooms and Libraries 8:00 am – 12 Noon E-Books, E-Kids, E-Flat! 3 Trends Schools and Libraries Will Ignore at Their Peril 1:00-5:00

At NECC
Sunday, June 29, preconference workshops:
E-Books, E-Kids, E-Flat! Three Trends Schools Ignore at Their Peril 8:30am–11:30am
Are You Punishing or Preventing Plagiarism in Your School? 12:30pm–3:30pm

Membership meeting, 4:15 

Tuesday, July 1
ISTE SIG MS Membership Breakfast, sponsored by Linworth Publishing, Inc. and ProQuest 7:00-8:30am
SIGMS Forum: NETS or AASL Standards for 21st-Century Learners?—A Standards Debate 10:30am–12:30pm
Tech directors panel at the Bloggers Cafe, 2-3

Wednesday, July 2
Session: Policies 2.0:  Safety and Ethics for the Social Web, 12-1

I am not sure where the locations of these events all are. I am hoping people will point ME in the right direction.

Oh, if I promised to do something at a public event for you that is not on my list, please let me know.

Hope to see lots of you there. 

Second Life Presentation on Monday

BlueSkunk Johnson, my Second Life avatar, will be participating in National Library Week by giving a talk in Second Life next Monday, April 14th. I am scheduled to speak on the main stage of ALA island on Monday night at 6 PM SLT (Pacific Time).

Beating the No U-Turn Syndrome: A New Approach to Teaching and Enforcing Copyright Compliance: For too long librarians have been seen as “copyright cops,” impeding the use of copyrighted materials by students and staff. This presentation suggests we redefine our roles, helping those we serve take maximum advantage of fair use provisions, finding authorities with a “user-centric” view of copyright enforcement, and teaching others to consider not just the legal, but moral side of intellectual property acquisition, use and re-use. Heated discussion to follow.
(Can you imagine!)

This is only one event being planned for NLW on SecondLife. For more information, check Joyce Valenza's NeverEndingSearch for more information, including how newbies can get started with SL.

Special thanks to my SecondLife guru, Lisa Perez, who is very patient helping me prepare and practice for these events. We're trying voice instead of chat this time so it should be lively!

 See you there.