I just finished reading Pink's chapter six "Symphony" and now I'm listening to Beethoven as I formulate my thoughts about what I just read. As I listen to the classical pieces I am very aware that it's not just one instrument, it's many coming together and that together is the "big picture." Of course it's essential for a composer to see the big picture or else the orchestra would not produce the end result that we expect of its many members.
As I read and underlined important or interesting facts found in chapter six, I realized how essential Symphony is to many facets of life. There are those that are good at one thing, but it's those of us that see the big picture that will gain more from it. It amazed me how Pink's self-portrait changed once he allowed Symphony to be a part of his life.
It's almost eerie how "specialized knowledge work can quickly become routinized work - and therefore be automated or outsourced away." But, of course if one notices relationships that are unrelated but can work together, that person has an advantage over the rest of us. Additionally, college students double major on account of being more marketable because the world is looking for connections that are unconnected, but can be. So, I guess I never thought about it before, but now that I'm made aware of it Symphony does make sense and in turn, as educators we should try to teach in a way that makes our students see the big picture.
To link Symphony directly to education and what we do on a daily basis, I think means to ask for creativity and novel concepts in the assignments we have students complete. We should require of our students to create projects that make them think on all levels and design work that depicts the big picture and not just a narrow-minded concept. Also, we can work with other colleagues so that our students get exposure to interdisciplinary lessons because that too integrates Symphony.
Getting back to some points I still want to mention dealing with chapter six, I happen to really enjoy Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and I chuckled as I read the bit about the commercial in which two individuals collide and that's how chocolate and peanut butter came to be as a Reese's. So, it's a given that powerful ideas can come from two existing notions, now it's just a matter of uniting them.
This leads me to the next point that resonated in my mind for a while. "The guy who invented the wheel was an idiot. The guy who invented the other three, he was a genius." And isn't that the truth? One wheel will give you a unicycle, but four wheels can give you a car. Obviously the latter is better.
The last point I want to make is to say as a poet at heart, maybe there's hope for me to be a systems thinker - but only when and if I get tired of the teaching profession (lol). How fascinating that Sidney Harman doesn't find it all that valuable t0 hire MBAs, but instead would like some poets as managers because they are the original system thinkers.
Oh, one more thing...I've now stared at the negative space in the picture of the Hershey's kiss and the only thing I can think of is what is found between the "K" and the "I" which is a mini Hershey's kiss - is that the negative space Pink is talking about?
7 comments:
You brought the points of the chapter together very well. Your point about interdisciplinary rings the truest for me. We live in a multi-discipline world, yet school was and still is taught as a singular focus every 40 minutes.
You brought up a great idea about Symphony which is teaching our students to see the big picture. Sometimes as educators we get lost in teaching to the test. Covering all the material needed and many times leaving out the big picture. When we take a step back, we can see it for ourselves. I do disagree with your reasoning about the guy who invented to wheel. He is not an idiot. If it was not for him then the other guy would have never invented the other three. Life is about growing and learning from the past. The first guy got the wheel rolling the second guy kept the wheel in motion.
I know that saying "the guy who invented the wheel was an idiot" sounds harsh, but I didn't mean that whole-heartedly. That is a quote from Ch. 6, which I partly agree with.
On the other hand, you are absolutely right in saying that the one who came up with four did build upon the idea of one, so credit does have to be given to him.
It' funny Maria...that quote about the inventor of the wheel actually stood out for me as well. I, as Joe said, did not agree with what Pink said. Yes, a car is better than a unicycle. However, if we don't grow and learn from our past, what will we learn from? I know that I (personally as well as professionally) have changed so much based simply on past errors. I, as an educator, am always attempting to teach my students that life is not only about my classroom...it is about the big picture. They need to learn so much more than what is going on in the four walls of my room. Thanks for your beautifully put together blog...I always enjoy reading them!
Mary, thanks for your compliment. Additionally, you're right the best way to learn as an educator is from our mistakes.
I'll never forget one of my first lessons student-teaching (that was over ten years ago), where I taught Tale of Two Cities to seniors and they just didn't get the importance. I left school that day feeling defeated, but my cooperating teacher told me to look at the big picture and come back the next day ready to learn from my mistake.
The next day, once I encompassed a lesson that showed them relevance to life (the big picture) and not just questions and answers about the chapter a light bulb turned on for many and I achieved my goal. With out a "big picture" we don't fully teach as we should.
Fellow group members, what do you think about that negative space in the Hershey's Kiss ad. Do you think I'm right?
If you want to reread my thoughts on it - it's the last paragraph of my original blog. I'm just wondering if you agree?
I believe that Symphony plays a major role in the world of education. Seeing the relationship is about understanding the little details, which leads to the big picture. Such as the first guy to invent the wheel, he saw the details but the guy who invented the other three saw the big picture.
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