Lessons are everywhere

One thing that is nice about teaching is that if you keep your eyes open, there are lessons everywhere. When you are teaching freshman, you have to be careful how you present things as their experiences usually aren't plentiful. It makes it a challenge to present abstract concepts.

So, I spend a bit of time trying to find examples that the students can relate to. I also try to keep the examples (at least initally) in their environment.

This week, events on campus have given me a great example of how organizations face adversity.

Each winter, our campus has a winter festival, complete with snow sculptures. These sculptures are begun as soon as the students return to campus for the spring semester and take a month to build. Many of them have components that are 2 stories tall. This week, temps have approached 40 degrees. Not great for sculptures. This is the 2nd year in a row we have faced this. Last year, some groups abandoned their scultures, others built modified versions. They were still amazing, but not what was intended. You could feel the frustration from the students that their vision was not met.

It's a great way to talk to my class about how organizations react to adversity - do they go to plan B and continue to work toward their prize (in this case bragging rights), or do they decided that there are more important ways to spend their time (i.e., studying, sleeping) and move to another project.

I'll be interested to see how the students in my class will view the fish or cut bait discussion. Many of them tend to view things in black and white. The fun of my job is helping them see the shades of grey.

And speaking of facing adversity, check out my girl Jenelle who decided to sit in a chair for her brother's (Birthday Boy) party. Check out the pics on Kelly's blog or you can go directly to Jenelle's Journey to see her story