{"id":35186,"date":"2024-01-24T13:16:19","date_gmt":"2024-01-24T21:16:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=35186"},"modified":"2024-01-24T13:16:19","modified_gmt":"2024-01-24T21:16:19","slug":"a-dusting-of-frustrations-and-serendipities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/a-dusting-of-frustrations-and-serendipities\/","title":{"rendered":"A Dusting of Frustrations and Serendipities"},"content":{"rendered":"

When reading about threshold concepts, the song \u201cToyland\u201d began playing in my head. \u201cToyland, toyland little girl and boy land. While you dwell within it you are ever happy there.\u201d[1]<\/a>\u00a0 It is not a song that has been part of my repertoire. Several times I tried to push it aside not really wanting to be distracted. But the song would not leave. I \u00a0was frustrated because each time I read the assigned books this week, the song reappeared. If I am learning anything, it is to yield to what God may be trying to show me. So, I set about trying to find a primary source to get the lyrics for a song that was first written in 1903 by Victor Herbert.[2]<\/a>\u00a0 Regardless of the many ways I worded the queries in Chat GPT, the George Fox library and even google, there was nothing that seemed to meet the standard I was seeking.\u00a0 I was almost ready to give up on this cycle of dead ends when I saw a local public library while driving and took a detour. Once inside I met with a reference librarian who was excited to talk with me. She opened doors to new sites that are available using all the city branches and digital resources. It was a serendipitous encounter.<\/p>\n

Trying to find resources that offered a different approach to learning did not yield anything that seemed significant to my reading. However, I am becoming aware how the lessons and value of the readings are \u00a0not limited to academia.<\/p>\n

If my memory is not too faded, I recall that when we were in Oxford, Jason talked about learning with our whole self and needing to jump into learning feet first. One of the concepts that stuck with me was how can learning be about death and resurrection? [3]<\/a> In a number of ways, I need to let go of the ways I have learned in the past. I obviously learn by watching others do things and listening to their experiences. But during my bachelor and master\u2019s studies, there were facts to digest and theories to learn. Education was about learning to pass national exams. The process we are in now is quite different and a shock to my system. If this is about death and resurrection, it has to be in concert with God each step of the way. I need to be willing to stretch outside of my comfort zone and to die from old ways of learning and thinking.<\/p>\n

This may not appear to connect to our reading, but threshold concepts are about learning things that change us. Death and resurrection are about change and new life. To participate in that, I need to stay the course and trust God\u2019s presence with me. Each week brings something new, and while I have a long way to go, the journey itself is an education.<\/p>\n

When I finally got all the words of the song \u201cToyland\u201d I smiled. The last verse of the song made the connection. \u201cChildhood\u2019s joy land, mystical merry toyland. Once you pass its borders, you can never return again.\u201d[4]<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0When threshold concepts are learned, we cannot go back.[5]<\/a><\/p>\n

Another serendipity occurred at work. I work as a CEO of a mid-large nonprofit organization that serves people living with developmental differences. The State of Florida only pays a portion of the cost to provide care. Consequently, we raise a lot of money. Our goal for this year is over $1,000,000.00.<\/p>\n

Several years ago, I embarked on a journey to help us decrease dependency on State and donated dollars by opening a thrift store. That became a reality on November 30, 2023, when the store finally opened. The store manager and his two employees all have retail experience, which I do not. However, none of them ever worked with volunteers. No matter how I explained how and why to work with the volunteers, they would resist. This week at a committee meeting, the store manager told the group that he wants to learn more about having volunteers partner with the store. I thought, he gets it! Then I remembered reading that repeating words to an instructor could be a first step to learning but it also could be a barrier to real learning. I knew I would need to pay attention to his actions more than just words. Interestingly, a parent volunteer was working in the store with one of our program participants. They were chatting, laughing, and hanging clothing. I brought the store manager back to watch the interaction. A light went off and he was excited. He needed to see volunteerism in action. Different approaches are needed for different learning outcomes and learners.<\/p>\n

I need to press on with doctoral level research. I feel as though I am standing in a threshold and cautious about moving through. Caution can become a barrier to learning unless I let go of my fear that when I polish my final draft, I polish my summary notes in a way that, unknowingly reverts back to be too close to an original text, thus plagiarism. As I practice this, I will keep citing and rereading text. It is not an insurmountable mountain but definitely a steep climb.<\/p>\n

Two final thoughts, I appreciate being able to see how the things I am reading in this program can help me be a better leader in my current situation. Finally, the only way to jump in feet first and succeed is to cling to God\u2019s presence and grace.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Herbert, Victor, comp., \u201cToyland\u201d BBC Music Magazine<\/em>, Nov. 17, 2022, David Rose Publishing Co.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> \u00a0Traubner. Richard. \u201cHerbert: Songs.\u201d \u00a0American Record Guide <\/em>Vol.75, Issue 5, September-October 2012, pp. 124+. Accessed Jan. 23, 2024, Gale OneFile: Fine Arts<\/em>, link.gale.com\/apps\/doc\/A338417108\/PPFA?u=fjp_jvpl&sid=bookmark-PPFA&xid=7026b49c.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Jason Clark, \u201cPlenary Session,\u201d lecture, DLGP Oxford Advance, Oxford, UK, September 20, 2023.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Herbert, \u201cToyland.\u201d<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Meyer, Jan H.F., and Ray Land, eds. Overcoming Barriers to Student Understanding: Threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge. <\/em>Oxon OX. Routledge, 2006.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When reading about threshold concepts, the song \u201cToyland\u201d began playing in my head. \u201cToyland, toyland little girl and boy land. While you dwell within it you are ever happy there.\u201d[1]\u00a0 It is not a song that has been part of my repertoire. Several times I tried to push it aside not really wanting to be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":211,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","cohort-dlgp03"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35186","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/211"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35186"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35186\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35187,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35186\/revisions\/35187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}