A Different Sort of Journey

This week will take me to a different sort of journey than those I have been on recently. This journey is not one to move forward, but one to look back. I think that looking back may help move things forward. This weeks is my high school reunion. It is sort of fitting that it falls on the same year I received my Master’s Degree. It actually fits my cycle of a new degree every 10 years. 

I am looking forward to reconnecting with old friends. Many of these friends I have been in touch with virtually through the years but have not seen them in person for a long time. Some of them have even been a great help to me in recent trying times. 

The other part of this trip I am not looking forward too and will have to figure it out as I go. Heading back to the town where I grew up will also bring me physically closer to some people I do not want to see. So in facing the past, I may have to face a few demons along the way.

Another Post from the Father Zone: The Follow-Up

I can’t promise that this will be my last such post, but there seems to have been a stir created by my Father’s Day post a few days ago that is causing me to go back and see where my written mistakes were. If this is something you can not handle, or would just like to remain oblivious to the judicial system, the truth, and how things work in the family court of the US, then please, just stop reading. More than likely you will just look at the words and not understand anyway. 

Yes, I am angry at a broken system. I also understand that there is only so much I can do as one person. This is why I have joined up with many organizations to keep fighting.  Every situation is a bit different, yet every one seems to have the same result. Although some of my story is written in my last post (and other previous ones) I also refer to other stories from contacts and friends. I apologize to anyone who missed this. I did leave out names in respect to all of our wishes. I’m sure if you search out other postings on the day through father’s organizations, my story will be referred to in the same manner. It is what we chose to do. We may not have political power and a lot of money to change the system over night, but we can put it out in the world to make other people aware. Maybe some will even join us in our fight to bring justice into the “justice system”

Now for some specific clarifications. Divorce happens. I am not going to dwell on the why it happens. Some relationships just don’t work out. I think most people learn this when they begin making friends and dating. Sometimes it takes a while to figure out a relationship isn’t going to work out. Sometimes it’s easy, sometimes it’s not. Again, every situation is different and this post isn’t about the breakdown of a marriage, it’s what happens after that breakdown. Ultimately, there are 2 people involved. I still believe fully that it takes 2 to make it work and 2 to make it fail. 

There is no such thing as a part-time parent, this is a definition made up in a court system. I think I stated this clearly in my post. I spend the time I can (and even work hard to get more) with my kids. Every father in the above mentioned organizations does this. A lot of mothers do this as well. The difference is, (again stated in the previous post) fathers make good villains. So, as an active, caring father I am looked at as “not taking responsibility” for my kids because I work in a career (or two) that does not make a whole hell a lot of money. 

To say that a mother is struggling because of a father is just plain stupid and unfair. Anyone who makes this type of statement needs to get their head out of their ass so they can actually see something. Money isn’t everything. When a mother has a career that makes more than a father, there should be an equal division. When a father wishes to spend more time and works to be regularly involved, this should be granted in all cases. (unless there is proven abuse) When a mother just choses to struggle for appearance, this too should be acknowledged by the court. When a GAL states in a report that a person needs to seek anger management, it should be ordered for the safety of all involved. 

When this same woman states she is struggling without help from a father, she too, needs to take her head out of her ass so she can see. Making a comfortable income plus gaining financial support from the father shouldn’t be too much of a struggle. Also, mothers have a wide range of assistance available to them. Try getting any of this as a father. There are also fathers who offer to take kids when they are sick so the mother can work. Offer to have them for longer time and share in getting them to school so they do not have to spend time away from parents during the day or wake up at 5am to start school at 9am. When the father shows up on agreed times to care for his children and gets turned away at the door, it’s a sign that a mother does not want this type of help. When a mother denies a father time, hides his children from him for 20+ days at a time, there is a bit of an issue there. Maybe not paying an attorney to help lie every few months in a court room would save some of that money the mother is seeking. 

Ultimately, the “justice system” we have is a theatre. The major actors get the prize. Hire the best actors and storytellers and the hard evidence in front of everyone gets thrown out. So yes, there are lots of fathers out there fighting to change this. It’s fighting for change to better the future and help our kids. People who do not understand should do some more searching and reading. It’s out there, I’m doing my part. I also need to thank those who are not directly involved in a situation for speaking up in various forums in support of this cause. If you’re too stuck in the antiquated ways of our current system, I feel bad for you. I hope you will someday learn what a fair system is and look at two sides of any situation before casting any sort of judgement or favoring one side. especially if that side is not related to you. 

Until this is realized,  I will be considered a lower life form by my daughter’s mother and by other single mothers everywhere because..........

I am a father. 

Images from: http://desktoppublishing.com/clipart 

Happy Father's Day?

Yes, I put a question mark at the end of the title. Mrs. Chili will more than likely be the first to correct that (it’s her job, and my Master’s Degree thanks her) until she reads more.

It is no doubt Father’s Day today, this is not what I question. I do question the happy part. Today I think about being a father and it is the toughest, yet most rewarding job I have. Unfortunately, like many other fathers out there, my job as a father is seen as only  a part time one. There is no concept that I spend every day worrying about my daughters. People who are comfortably distanced from a situation do not worry about the fact that I only get to communicate with my daughters once a day at most (if their mother allows) and see them just 5 days a month 9 months out of the year. Again, this happens if their mother decides to follow a court order and not schedule things during my “parenting time”. 

My wish for this Father’s Day is not to be given a generic holiday greeting as with any other holiday. My wish is for the general population to stop and think about all of the struggling fathers today and to try and do something to help them. Ignore the minority of “dead beat dads” you read about in the papers. The media is there to tell one side of the story and dads make for good villains. (I never read in a popular newspaper about the drug using dead beat moms who still receive support even though their kids live with their father but there are plenty of cases) Reach out to community leaders, attorneys, judges, and anyone else who will listen to try and get some help. These laws and inequities must change in order for kids to have equal opportunities with 2 caring parents no matter what the relationship is between those parents. 

This father’s day, I will try and figure out how I will afford to feed my kids when I am forced by a court order to live below the national and state poverty limits because I must pay their mother most of my income. This must be paid despite the fact that my daughters live with me for half of the week through the summer. I will take an anxiety filled two hour Sunday drive to pick up my girls. Hoping that a conflict does not arise, and hoping that they will actually be there this time. I will be considered a lower life form by my daughter’s mother and by other single mothers everywhere because..........

I am a father. 

Images from: http://desktoppublishing.com/clipart 

Contemplating My Dream Job Part 2

Back in March I was given a prompt for my class to blog about my Dream Job. http://bobwalkjr.blogspot.com/2010/03/week-4-discussion-topic-2-contemplating.html

Part of that post talked about the job I applied for at a Music College. Two months after that post and almost one month after graduation, that job is open. Now, with the experiences and education I have gained from my Master’s program, the implementation of an LMS at the school I have been teaching (which has an Arts focus) and the development and implementation of a virtual platform to hold classes when the school building needed to be closed, I feel confident that this job is meant for me. 

This can also be tied into my coming full circle with my Master’s program. I entered the journey based on the let down of applying for this job a few years ago, learning that I needed a Master’s degree. Now I can bring to the table my love of music, ideas and projects that are developed. Online classes and platforms that are being improved and can be incorporated in the creation of online music classes at the school I earned my undergrad degree. Hopefully soon, I can post about the beginning of my next journey in this position. 

Illustration used with permission from www.cartoonstock.com

When Virtual Meets Reality

I had a surreal experience weeks ago. It was graduation day. Under normal circumstances, graduation is a time to celebrate with classmates, family, and friends. This was still the case but definitely not a normal experience at all.

I received my Master’s degree from an online program. There are a number of posts throughout my blog about this experience and the challenges it threw in my way. I also spoke often about the poor timing on my part to begin this program due to other circumstances in my life. There are also many discussions and replies about my classmates. This is a post to bring all of this together.

I have spent countless hours this past year in virtual classrooms with classmates and instructors. We have all signed up for various online communication tools, became friends on social networks, passed around contacts and worked on a number of projects together. We have all shared news of what was going on in our daily lives even though we have lived miles away from each other. Even though we have spent this time together virtually, we all really met for the first time on May 7.

The closest comparison I can come up with is meeting a celebrity. We watch our favorites on TV or on the big screen. We can read stories about them in magazines and even have glimpses of their lives through blogs or other media. We know who they are when we run into them somewhere and talk about it to everyone we know.

I met a group of celebrities at graduation. Instructors came backstage before we processed in to talk to us and make plans for lunch. We all introduced ourselves to each other even though we knew each other. A lot of hugs and celebrations. We seemed to pick up conversations naturally and made plans to spend as much face to face time as possible through the weekend.

It was fun catching up with friends and just celebrating together. We all worked hard to reach a goal and sharing this step of this particular journey was a lot of fun. We ended as we began, creating new bonds and continuing friendships while sharing ideas and future dreams.

I waited a few weeks to write about this as it really needed to settle for me. I didn’t believe I actually earned my Master’s degree. It took walking across the stage with a piece of paper and shaking the hands of my instructors to make it real. I also wanted to settle into life without the large projects due each week to put myself into a new routine. Through these weeks I have had many conversations with my classmates as we have been sharing with each other what we would like to do next. (as well as sharing job openings) It was also great to meet some of our support network. The people behind the scenes supporting us. The classmates that could not make it were with us the entire weekend and connections and plans are still being made to get together and keep in touch as a group. In this case, a combining of the virtual and real worlds is a good thing.

Pictures from: http://www.hellasmultimedia.com/webimages/graduation

My Master's Journey

Here are the past 12 months of my life as a grad student wrapped up in under 4 minutes....

Presentation Video

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here is the picture of my content proposal of my thesis media project. 

Here is the video, stay tuned to hear about my final experience on Thursday.

River of Lies

When does a lie become the truth? Is it perspective or the absolute belief a person is correct? Is it hypocritical to call someone a liar when you have no issue making up your own story and changing it as it fits your needs?

Ok, so this is a bitter post today, but questions that I can’t help to contemplate. Recently I have discovered that lies are the new truths. It doesn’t really matter if there is solid proof or evidence available, the person who can tell the best story and get other people to believe it are the ones who will be held as honest people. The surprising part of this is the question of integrity. The honest person’s integrity will be questioned while the ones who make up stories to fit their needs will get away with whatever they send out to the universe. The way to survive then is to become the best story teller no matter if it is a true or false story. 

The best way I can put it is in a song. 

Photo Taken by Bob Walker, Jr NH Floods 2006, Dover, NH
Song: River of Lies ©2009 Bob Walker Jr Recorded by Bob Jr & the Martini Gardeners

My Chips Are Down

Going through an ordeal can take a lot out of a person. It’s something that can eat away at your very being on a daily basis. Then, once you think you are all through and you begin to move on, it hits you again when you least expect it. 

Recently, I was told that my chips were down as a result of an ordeal rearing its ugly head once again. What really happened is I decided to call out a group of people for being idiots in a situation. I wanted to pull the truth out, however painful it may be for me. I got the truth I was looking for and was not surprised at all from the outcome. Most of the group ignored what I had to say. Sometimes silence is louder than words.  Some friends contacted me with words of support and also stated that I am right on target with what I sent out to the universe. Those that really know me even acknowledged the responses I knew I would get from others. 

One response sort of caught me off guard. This is the response of where I was told my chips were down. I’m okay with the full blown rant and ignorance that was thrown my way from this person because it is what I expected. What stuck with me was this one statement. 

So, what it comes down to, is I need to be really happy that my chips are down. My current situation is: I am about to earn my Master’s Degree (I have a GPA of 4.0); I aced my thesis paper; I have an ok job (the pay sucks); I live in a nice home; I’m respected and active in my community; I have a girl who loves me (although drives me crazy on occasion); and I have kids who also adore me. Yes, I could use a better paying job and working in my ideal situation and there are a few rough spots as a result of mistakes I have made along my journey so far. If all of this is considered my chips being down, then there really is nowhere to go but up, so I’m cool with that. I now thank the crazy people in my life for pointing this out to me and will post pictures of my graduation next month if they care to see them. 

Photos from www.coolclips.com

Week 4 Final MAC Post - What is Work?

I was recently told, “anything that has to do with work is not your thing.” This comment brought out a few reactions, the first of which was shaking my head in disbelief that this would be a comment aimed toward me. I then started thinking about what people generally perceive what work is and what I do on a regular basis to possibly see why this comment would be made. 

What I love to do is make music. This is my occupation. I perform, write and teach music. When I am not performing, writing or teaching, I spend time listening to music and help support other musicians. When musicians meet each other, one of the first questions is always “what instrument do you play?” When I tell someone I am a musician, the question is “what kind of music do you play?” No one ever asks what instrument I work or what kind of music I work.

Now that I am earning a technology-based degree, I have to think further. I’ve spent the past eleven months on my computer (it seems non-stop at times). I’ve created music, videos, podcasts, images, web sites and interactive lessons (for playing music of course). I have logged time in SecondLife, Tweeted, posted to FaceBook and even spent a month playing games. Putting these activities together with the fact that I am still a musician, I can begin to believe that work is not my thing. 

I have to now wonder if the term work is an appropriate one. The people at www.whywork.org will agree with me on this one. Isn’t life about more of who we are than what we do? What we do builds our character and some of us are lucky enough to be doing what we love to do on a regular basis as a career. This is the path people should strive for. There are great mechanics, engineers, builders, electricians, and plumbers out there (just to name a few occupations). I even know people that do these things for enjoyment; their career is what they love. I would never second guess their motivation. So why is it I put in long hours honing my craft, as well as twelve months improving my knowledge so I can better serve those I support and teach, yet I am told  work is not my thing or I am considered “underemployed”? 

If showing up to a place for forty hours a week just because it is expected is what it takes to be considered successful, even if it’s drudgery, then I would rather fail. If this is what work is then I guess the comment made to me is correct, work is not my thing. However, if work is the effort exerted to complete a task, or reach a goal, even if it’s something that is considered fun by most, then this is what I love. Maybe I just need to send this person a copy of my current transcript along with the things I have accomplished at my place of employment in a short time. I could also send along the 40+ projects I had to complete these past eleven months. I think, I’ll just enjoy what I call success instead, it’s better energy and not as much a waste of my time; I have too much work to do:-)

Week 4 Post - Coming Full Circle

There have been many posts about getting over walls and hurdles while completing the last steps of our Master’s program. Some of my past posts have compared this process to similar challenges I have taken on in the past. During all of these challenges, something always gets in the way of success. The challenge of completing this program is no different. This post is about coming full circle with the process.

I took on this challenge at both an ideal time and probably the worse time in my life. It was ideal as I have begun the personal process of moving on and improving my life. Earning my Master’s degree has been a goal of mine and it is now becoming a goal obtained. The opportunity found me and I tool advantage of it. 

It came at the worse time as there were a few personal life matters that needed to be resolved. My first month coincided with the peak of this difficult time. My hesitation to begin this journey was due to the other aspects in my life I needed to deal with. Through the push of friends, I began the program in spite of everything else I needed to work through and focus my energy on. 

I am happy to announce that both events went rather well. I survived my personal ordeal and my first mont of FSO. I was also gained a group of friends in FSO who stuck together throughout the program. 

Now, I am about to enter the final month and I wonder where the time went. As I pull together all of the pieces from the past year to create a final media project, I find myself where I started. Some of the personal ordeal has resurfaced, at the worse time possible. I am learning how to pull together aspects of a project while still holding down work and family obligations. It will be an adventure entering the next cycle. 

Photo Credit: From en.wiki: Calligraphy by Kanjuro Shibata XX "Enso".

Week 4 - Reading - Be the Board

This week’s reading has been a bit difficult for me to get my head around as it seems to go against some personal philosophies as well as the difficulty I am having with other aspects of my life.  There may also be misunderstandings on my part on how this practice works. 

I often have followed the philosophy that I am responsible for my actions. I realize that I have limited control over what happens to me but I do have total control over how I deal with it. 

Zander (2002) offers the practice to take yourself out of a situation and choose to be the framework of your life. Although I understand taking a step back and looking in, I often keep myself as a player. I not only need to see the situations that are happening in my life, but I need to see myself as a player and how I react to the different situations. Overall, this practice seems similar to some of the practices I use in my life but the terminology is quite a bit different. My possible misunderstandings of this chapter could be me just not getting out of my own way to understand the terms of the practice. 

I often use visualization in my life through difficult situations. I become an observer, rather than a player in my practice. When I put all of the people and situations in front of my, I watch what happens. When I was in a Directing course for theatre, our instructor took us through a practice called center stage. In this practice we would have the actors work out the scenario we needed to work through. There would be a stand-in playing ourselves. As director in this visualization we could move actors to different places on the stage and even change the script. Once happy with the scene, we would take our place on stage where we had a stand-in. Outside of the visualization practice, it is then up to us to objectively assess the circumstances and move on without blame (of others or self) to learn from the different situations that arise in our lives. 

The consideration of being the board is possibly to put all of a situation on yourself to visualize how the game is going to be played. Then put yourself as a player in order to make a difference.

Sources:

Zander, B., & Zander, R. S. (2002). The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life. Boston: Penguin (Non-Classics). (Original work published 1942)

Game Board Art from: http://dir.coolclips.com/

Week 4 - Response to Bianca’s Post - Getting past the wall

This is definitely a feeling everyone has at some point no matter what they are working on. It happens generally in life, in work, and (in our case) grad school thesis projects. I have hit this wall often in the past with various projects. I was in the Monday group to share projects. This was both the dumbest, yet smartest thing I could have done. I pushed for three weeks to complete the paper and get the project started. My project totally turned around from what I had envisioned a month ago but I sprinted to the March 21/22 deadlines. 

The good news is there was success. I managed to meet the goal and hit the breaks a bit so I can tweak the project and work outside of the whole to get the pieces well developed for next month’s presentation. This week has been tough after Monday, as the let down of some of the stress left me a bit unmotivated to do other things (that and life issues got in the way as well). My attitude adjustment was filling out graduation paperwork. We are there. Only one more hurdle to jump over to bring all of our hard work together. As I have been looking forward the past 11 months, I can’t wait to look back and see what I actually did. See you on the other side:-)

Getting past the wall

Posted by Bianca at 10:51 PM Labels: assignment, week 4

*sigh*

I had the worst problem getting started on my media project. Well, to be more specific, I had the worst problem getting started on the media portion of my media project. I'd had my idea, a branching dialogue customer service simulation in Udutu, solidified since our first week. I had the whole idea all mapped out, but when it came to actually creating it in Udutu I had the most terrible time getting started. I hummed and hawed and vaguely poked in its general direction until just finally getting it properly rolling and working today (status update: got a great chunk of it in order and I feel confident about having it more than 75% done by the time I do my presentation).

It's not that I wasn't excited about the media project; in fact, I was kind of elated to be putting my thesis materials into practice finally. It's more that I'm starting to just get TIRED.

I've been pushing myself in both my school and work life for the past 11 months and it turns out pushing myself past exhaustion is finally starting to catch up with me. I just want to crawl into a fetal ball and sleep for a month or so to recover. Alas, there's still 5 more weeks to go, so no recovery hibernation for me just yet.

I thankfully hit a second wind (or, well, maybe eightieth wind to be more accurate) today and getting the project to work finally will definitely get me through this week at the very least (although I'm hoping the delight of finally getting a breakthrough will boost my energy for longer).

I'm hoping this will all work out like the exercise class I took the other week. It was my first yoga/pilates/tai chi-style class in a long time and around the middle I honestly thought I couldn't go any further. Not long after that, though, I caught a second wind and by the end of the class I felt fabulous.

So here's to us ALL catching that second wind, making it through the rest of the program, and coming out the other end feeling amazing and refreshed... or, at least surviving the next 5 weeks. Yes, just surviving would suffice ;)

Week 4 Discussion Topic 2 - Contemplating the Journey to My Dream Job

Topic #2: What stands in between you and your dream job? Why do you deserve to work in a dream job environment? What do you bring to the table? Be specific.

In order to move forward into the future, we should look back at our past. My past has been full of obstacles that stood in the way. I have overcome most of these, but as one obstacle is taken down, more seem to pop up. Sometimes I wonder if it’s just me not getting out of my way, but there are other outside forces that can go against your goals as well. Things that have stood in my way are people who called themselves family, money, a few crazy people with too much power and control, mistakes I have made in my life, and the lack of a Master’s degree. 

The good news is, that despite the obstacles I have faced and continue to face, I have always managed to reach my goals. I will always have to deal with some obstacle along he way but have made valiant efforts to move past them. One ideal job I applied for I was told I had the experience and was the type of person they were looking for but I lacked the degree. I am now eliminating that obstacle, I just need to find the opening.

The job I was looking at was at a music college. The position was to be part of the new online programs they were building at the school. Recently, thanks to Full Sail and programs I have implemented at my current job, I have discovered that online teaching is definitely an aspect of my dream job. 

I bring a lot to the table at any place I work. I offer creativity, drive, a solid work ethic and a laid back demeanor which allows me to handle difficult situations. I deserve my dream job because of the work I put into obtaining the tools I need to work there. I have taken a lot of chances to achieve my goals and worked hard to get where I am in less than ideal circumstances. It’s about time the non-crazy person wins and moves on to success after being help back for so long. 

Please email me directly and I will answer any questions you should have about my work experience and how I overcame obstacles. I have references available and look forward to working with you in the near future. 

Photo from back cover of Journey From the Darkside - Bob Jr & the Martini Gardeners. Artwork from Tarsila Kruse

Week 4 Discussion Topic 1 - My Ideal Teaching Environment

Topic #1: Briefly share what your dream teaching or presentation environment would be like, be specific about what such a place would include (beyond just the tech toys).

My ideal teaching environment need to be a place of respect. All teachers, staff and students need to demonstrate respect for themselves and each other. this respect will generate a positive teaching and learning environment. My ideal environment also includes a drive to achieve goals for both staff and students and work would be done in a collaborative effort. 

The Physical space needs to fit the needs of the classes taught. I would need enough space for the number of students in my class plus their instruments. There should be enough room to move and change the look of the room as needed. 

Every student and teacher should have a laptop (preferably a Mac) and available and working internet. These laptops will be loaded with all of the software needed for courses available in the school and full time tech support will be readily available. 

My space would have a full functioning performance space with stage, lights and sound system that can remain in place and cover a wide variety of ensembles. It would also include a full functioning recording studio, equipped with mics, cables instruments and recording hardware and software. the recording studio would have a control room, a sound proof main room and isolation booth. There would also be sound proof practice rooms available to staff and students throughout the day. 

Lastly, my ideal teaching environment would have an ideal time schedule. The master schedule would make all classes available to students and would have flexible start and end times in order to meet the needs of faculty who are teaching artists. 

Week 3 Reading Response - Get Out of Your Way

This is a theme I encounter all the time as a musician, both in myself at times and with other musicians. Performing in front of an audience is a very vulnerable position. Everything you do is watched, heard and judged. I often encounter students (and even some professionals) who go through phases of stage fright. They shut down in fear and this brings about what they envision, a poor performance. It is often hard to get out of this circumstance. I always ask these performers why they are afraid of the stage. The reactions I get to this question vary, but usually involve an odd look and a thought of “this guy is crazy.” I then ask a routine number of questions about how the stage has treated the performer. Has it ever tripped you? Did it call you names? Did it bite you? Usually by now I have confirmed my insanity. 

Quickly I switch to the music being performed. What is it about? What kind of message do you want to say with your performance. It is usually at this point the performer starts to laugh at the idea of being afraid of the stage and some of the true fears come out. These performers are afraid of the performance; the idea that people will judge them and the ramifications of poor judgements. 

Once these ideas are voiced, I tell the performer to get out of their way. Play out like you mean it. Especially if you think it’s a “wrong note”. If we can let out the meaning of what we want to express, then those mistakes will not sound like mistakes. There really is nothing to lose because all of the people listening are really wishing they were the ones performing. A show of passion and love for what you do will inspire the audience to move forward with what they love to do. This passion we put into our work is infectious and is the energy that connects; it is really up to us if we are going to give a positive energy or settle on a negative one. 

Photos taken by Bob Walker, Jr as a storm was approaching during an outdoor performance Summer 2009

Week 3 Dig Deeper Discussion Post - Video Use In Education

There are many video sources I use n my classroom. Currently, I am teaching a Music Business class. My favorite place for this class is Artists House Music: http://www.artistshousemusic.org/Musicians+Strategy

The videos include conference recordings and interviews covering just about every topic in the music industry. 

Another useful site I discovered in a previous class was the Internet Archive of videos. In particular I found a clip that tells the history of adding sound to film. http://www.archive.org/details/FindingH1929 

The site has searches for a variety of subjects and topics. 

Hulu has come in handy for video clips and shows as well. One I use often is Live from the Artists Den http://www.hulu.com/live-from-the-artists-den

I use the clips for performance critiques and to show how artisits adjust their performance based on the venue they perform. There are also other concert videos and movies in the Music channel I use often. 

In order to give a wide range of style examples, as well as read, hear and watch music news in all genres I bring my students to http://www.npr.org/music/  There is a vast list of concert videos including a link to the podcast for Live Concerts from All Songs Considered. I use these sources in most of the music courses I teach for a variety of lesson plans involving style and performance. 

Week 3 - Response to Jorge's Discussion Topic

I was one of the many who responded to the discussion topic about difficulties starting new programs with the complacency issue. I love your comparison to the cattle grazing out in the fields. I did have success recently initiating a program at my school. Just this past week I began another new program. This one is coming up against the uncertainty of change. 

In presenting the new program to the board, the question posed was, “how do we know this new program is stable?” It was a bit of an uphill battle but we are going to move forward. We are slowly integrating the new program and there are a few pioneers making the leap to be testers in order to have the final say of how things go. 

This all goes back to our reading from last week and allowing people to lead from any chair. 

Wk3-1 Difficulties starting new programs/breaking the norm - Jorge L. Rodriguez

Having been an industrial and manufacturing engineer for close to 30 years, part of my function was to introduce new processes, methodologies and train on innovative skill sets required to having one accomplish ones job.

The resistance to adapt to these learning's came in the form of two distinct characteristics in the mainstream workforce here in the United States. 

The first was 'complacency' where there are those who have been used to doing thing in one fashion and ONLY ONE FASHION felt too comfortable with that environment. And changes to that environment threatened their ability to scathe through life similar to the cattle grazing out in the fields.

The second was lack of confidence in one's self. Too often, our labor force are faced with little to no choices in what their form of employment is to be comprised of. When this exists, it becomes destructive in their physique and perpetuates the feeling of uselessness leading to questioning their own ability to do better.

Week 3 - Final Thesis Draft - A Visual Journey

Today, I uploaded the final draft to my Thesis. Here is the journey:

The Annotated Bibliography : August 2009

Letter to the Program Director: September 2009

The Research Proposal: October 2009    

The Rough Draft: January 2010

The Final Draft: March 2010

The full thesis paper can be read here: http://web.me.com/bobwjr/BobJrs_Thesis/Bobs_Thesis.html

Week 3 - Media Project Link - A Work in Progress

I'm not quite sure why I am posting this before the thesis paper. Maybe it's just to get away from the paper for a while.

I have been working on the pieces to this project for quite some time. It's coming together slowly, but I am looking forward to making it a focus now that the paper is complete.
Here is the link to my work in progress: http://web.me.com/bobwjr/Media_Project/Welcome.html

Check back often for updates and changes as it develops.

Cheers!

Week 3 Discussion Post #2 - Fear of Technology

Topic #2: Why do you think educators are so resistant to change, especially when it comes to technology? How do other institutions, such as business, deal with technological change?

Educators are resistant to change due to fear. Humans in general react to change this way. There is fear and anxiety in the unknown. Especially with technology because some educators see the computers as a distraction rather than the tool they really are. Other factors are comfort level with the technology and possibly cost and time to learn. 

It seems as though other businesses grab ahold of technology sooner for the most part. Take the grocery store for instance. Here is a business where inventory was done by a person counting and cross checking lists, and checkout was done by a single register or by hand. Now both of these tasks are done simultaneously through a scan and consumers can even scan and check out on their own. Cell phones, texting, and conference calls are all a regular occurrence in the work place, yet forbidden in the school. 

PS I tried to add some photos of old tech equipment, but they were too afraid to show up here tonight:-)

Week 3 Discussion Post #1 - Introducing New Programs at Work

Topic #1: Briefly share any experiences you've had when you've had a part in introducing a new program or a new way to do things at your job site. Please share any triumphs or frustrations you've had trying to improve the system or when you've pioneered or piloted some outside the norm.

I’ll go for a triumph in this case. Last school year we had a number of school cancellations due to weather and other unexpected events. This added two weeks of school to the end of the year. This has happened in the past to me and I ran into a lot of scheduling issues with my summer performance schedule. As we sat in out first teacher meetings this year we discussed the calendar and realized that if we have the same amount of cancellations, our last day of school would be July 1. I brainstormed and offered a solution to hold classes online when the building needed to be closed. I hunted for a cost effective program that would fit our budget (free) and began the process of training staff and students to use the platform. We presented the plan to the Department of Education and received the green light. We have had 4 cancellations so far this year but have not had to add any make-up days to the end of our school year. 

Photo from Cocheco Arts and Technology Academy staff training session of WizIq

Week 3 Post - Response to The Rise and Fall of the Music Industry

Joe Bustillos sent me a link to his post with this interview. The link can be found here:
http://web.me.com/edm613/edm613/Tech_%26_Media_History/Entries/2009/6/18_Important_Media_History__the_Rise_and_Fall_of_the_Music_Industry_(NPR__Fresh_Air).html#

This is my first reaction:

Steve Knopper’s book, Appetite for Self-Destruction is now on my must read list after listening to the interview on NPR. There is quite a bit of information on the price increase the record labels put on CDs in order to get more money. Some of this information fell through the cracks with me as a smaller, non-label musician in the early to mid 90s. I may also have to blog about the various topics discussed in other posts as there is quite a bit of information in this discussion. 

I do find it interesting that the title and the focus seem to be aimed toward the Music Industry as a whole, when in reality this is the destruction of the major record labels. Within the history of the recording industry there have been bad negotiations and decisions that have led to mergers and closings of record stores. 

The end of the interview covers the positive side of this new technology. Ultimately, it is about the music and musicians who create. There are now more opportunities for non-major label musicians to be heard. The technology allows for minimal costs of distribution and immediate world-wide releases. This used to be a large undertaking with vinyl, cassettes, and cds. The multi-million dollar records may have dwindled, but the wealth is now spread around where a struggling musician can still get music out there and for sale and manage to make ends meet. This can be done through bypassing the major’s cut and pay minimal costs of distribution. 

I would describe this shift as the small mom and pop businesses taking back the market in recording. I do worry about the hype of focusing the industry in just recordings. The industry covers quite a bit more such as scoring for film, TV, and games. There is also this world of live performance where ticket sales are the money maker for the musicians. Within the touring there is work for a number of skilled people outside the direct lines of the music such as promoters, venues, merchandise, etc. The large live shows also bring people into the towns of venues which continues to drive local economies. This change and direction of the recording industry I see as a positive one. Stay tuned for more.