Monthly Archives: May 2013

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MAC Week 4 – Leadership Post

In my time with the U.S. Coast Guard, I underwent a number of training sessions, but the training that delivered the most significant impact was Leadership and Management School (LAMS). More so than the training itself, my instructor seemed to live and breath the best leadership practices. Perhaps it was an act, but I’d like to believe that there are still leaders who value the opinion of their staff, look out for the interests of their subordinates, and genuinely care for the well being of their most junior employees. Never before have I ever wanted to follow the example set by a fellow co-worker.

I do hope that someday I can be seen in such a light. I have future plans for starting a business and managing my own staff. I hope to relay what I have learned previously as a junior enlisted officer in the Coast Guard. Someday, I hope to set an example for other business owners to follow, when it comes to the proper treatment of employees.

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MAC Week 4 – Reading

“A “no” can so often dampen our fire in the world of the downward spiral.”

This passage from the text leaves a resounding echo across the span of many lives, the word “no” has prevented so many from attaining success. However, this limitation on success is often caused by those who fail to attain success in their own lives, which later leads to a failure in seeing potential in others. I see an overwhelming amount of this sort of cause and effect in our schools. Rather than having their dreams elevated by those capable of doing so, students receive contradictory/negative feedback from would-be role models. As educators we must learn to see the beginning curve of the downward spiral in our students’ thinking process and aid them in correcting it. More than anything else, it is this downward spiral thinking that haunts the creative mind, the wondering explorer, and the unmatched performer. We must ensure that it is properly removed from our learning environments and other arenas where potential must be allow to flourish.

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MAC Week 3 – Reading

“Abstractions that we unwittingly treat as physical reality tend to block us from seeing the way things are, and therefore reduce our power to accomplish what we say we want.”

This one quote from the book sums up so much of what limits us in our daily lives. Much like shackles, we allow words to restrain our ambitions and also our view of the world around us. We allow simple words like “can’t” and  “difficult” to inhibit our actions; we seem to fear or stray away from tasks associated with these words. Perhaps its begins during childhood, when a child is repeatedly told that they can’t do something which later leads them to see the word can’t as a restriction on living life.

A more recent trend of in events leads me to believe that we also allow words like “perfect”, “success”, and “beautiful” to hinder the progress we can make with our own personal ambitions. Individuals fear that they will fail to live up to these ordinary words that carry so much weight in society today. Of course we do have the bright lights who see these words as a welcomed challenge and they go on to challenge others to overcome similar obstacles. We all must learn to seek the understanding of these words that bind us so that we may truly live without the anxiety or fear they evoke. We should then find those words that truly define us and also the one’s we aspire to become.

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MAC Week 3 – Leadership Project Hub

Introduction

Changing one’s mind is one’s prerogative, but many people change career choices on a frequent basis which often results in unpredictable job vacancies and an undertrained workforce. A large majority of young enlistees and college undergrads are unfamiliar with the academic field or vocation in which they will train and later begin a career. This leads to disinterest in academic work and professional development later in their adult lives. Being unmotivated to remain with in the service or field of study, young people often leave that organization or institution and cripple the American workforce. Another disadvantage is experienced by the student who leaves college before a degree or desired job skill can be attained; they in turn must begin repaying an educational debt before they can acquire a well paying position. The instructional solution to this growing problem involves providing potential military A-School students with pre-exposure to the vocational and academic aspects of their chosen field. By priming military enlistees about available field ratings and providing career development counseling it is believed that military members will be motivated to re-enlist in the service and remain loyal to their original career paths; this practice in turn can be implemented within the college environment. It is for this reason that I would like to share my research with the Community College Journal features articles that will shed light on issues mentioned previously. I believe that college dropout rates and early enlistment discharge all result from similar causes, which is why I thought that readers of the Community College Journal could benefit from my research and findings. Both the military and post-secondary schools provide young adults with developmental skills and early vocational training that will help to determine life long careers (or the lack thereof). This research can be applied in both areas, since the goal of my research is to reduce the frequency of young adults (namely recent high school graduates) who make decisions about post-secondary education and/or training before being properly introduced or exposed to the material.

Previous Leadership Blog Posts

Week 1 – https://becominganexpertinmyfield.wordpress.com/2013/05/10/mac-week-1-leadership/

Week 2 – https://becominganexpertinmyfield.wordpress.com/2013/05/15/mac-week-2-leadership/

Leadership Document

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XSyNduIgAVe7J-Ztf3iipcCKLq5XsWdIjWvtqY12vFk/edit?usp=sharing

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MAC Week 2 – Leadership

I have decided that due to the time constraints for this submission requirement that the Community College Journal would best suit my needs for publishing an article based on my Action Research project. The Community College Journal is currently published by the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) both in hardcopy format and digitally online at: http://www.aacc.nche.edu/Publications/CCJ/Pages/digitaljournal.aspx.

The Community College Journal features articles that shed light on issues concerning higher education. Because I believe that college dropout rates are of just as much importance as early enlistment discharge I thought that this type of publication (and its target audience) could find value in my research topic and findings. As I briefly mentioned in my literature review, both the military and post-secondary schools provide young adults with developmental skills and early vocational training that will help to determine life long careers (or the lack thereof). The research I’ve conducted can be applied in both areas, since the goal of my research is to reduce the frequency of young adults (namely recent high school graduates) who make a decision about post high school education and/or training before being properly introduced or pre-exposed to the material.

LaToya V Smith

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MAC Week 2 – Reading

I thoroughly enjoyed this week’s reading, but I especially enjoyed reading chapter 3 because it reminded me so much of Sir Ken Robinson’s The Element. To shift from viewing the world of limitations to a world of possibilities is essential in helping every adult and child achieve their full potential.  Giving an A to a child tumbler can cause them to become a world class acrobat, and giving an A on a teenager’s self designed t-shirt can lead to them becoming the next fashion phenom.

The letters mentioned in this chapter further demonstrate how removing bonds such as earned grades can liberate individuals and allow them to triumph over self made obstacles and fear of failure. When we tell a student that their measurement of success is self-determined, we can either help or hinder their growth potential. However, when we add that they must decide at this moment, how that success will be measured, the outcome is most likely positive. Rather than allowing the unforeseen future to hamper the beliefs and goals for the student, we provide them with a constant source of reassurance and encouragement.

LaToya V Smith

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MAC Week 1 – Leadership

I have considered a number of options for both presenting my Action Research project and publishing an article. The Coast Guard offers a number of opportunities to present my work, unfortunately, the current timeline will not allow for these venues. The Innovation Expo would present a wonderful opportunity to collaborate with like-minded Coast Guard personnel in an effort to improve recruiting and Coast Guard A-School training. I am still considering submitting my Literature Review and Capstone Implementation & Evaluation Planning (ADDIE) Proposal to the Innovation Council for consideration.

In the meantime, I have reviewed the Journal of Applied Learning Technology (as suggested by my fellow cohort, Gloria Gray) for publication consideration. Since one of the main focuses of the journal is resolving issues in training and education, I can apply what I have learned from my research in the civilian sector of vocational training. While I still hold out hope that I will be able to submit my work and present before a Coast Guard training and recruiting audience, I believe I have been presented with a suitable “Plan B” which would be to publish rather then present.

 

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MAC Week 1 – Reading

While viewing this week’s video segments, I learned more than I expected about copyrights, Fair-Use and Creative Commons (more than I had bargained for). I was especially surprised to learn about the current impediments associated with documentary filming. When I looked further into the issue I came across an article titled “The Hidden Cost of Documentaries” by Nancy Ramsey, where its pointed out that the cost of following the rules of copyright law can be quite expensive. Ramsey notes that, “[t]oday, anyone armed with a video camera and movie-editing software can make a documentary. But can everyone afford to make it legally?”

 With so many obstacles, it is easy to empathize with filmmakers and those who’d like to republish works of historical and cultural significance.  At a tune of $10,000 for four seconds in music clearance costs, or $500,000 for relicensing fees, I’m shocked that there aren’t more black market videos in circulation. It appears as though the laws that were created to protect works of art and literary expression are now used like a double-edged sword, causing just as much harm as good.

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