Intention vs. Intuitioin

Intention vs. Intuition

At the outset of a new year, many resolve to make changes. Businesses plan to improve marketing strategies and drive up revenue. Organizations aim to increase memberships to advance their causes. Individuals purpose to pick up healthier habits and steer clear of pitfalls from their past. All good intentions are sound motivation. However, crossing the finish line requires much more than intent. 

I know you think you've heard this all before, "stick with it...", "don't give up..", " stay the course...". So I won't waste your time or the effort it took to grab your attention by telling you any of those things. Rather, I would like to offer you a slightly different train of thought to consider; an alternative impetus, if you will. Strong willed, determined, driven, motivated, charged, and ready to "kill it" individual...meet, your intuition. 

Now, for those of us who like to consider ourselves highly effective and task oriented people this may be a new concept. Nevertheless, I seem to find myself leaning more and more heavily towards my own intuition with new endeavors I have set out to pursue. Despite my type A what some may describe as controlling personality, I am finding this new experience to be full of excitement, energy, optimism, and refreshing. The heavy weight that usually comes with resolving to change is nowhere to be found. Following my intuition has given me the liberty to alter my course at will and go in another direction without guilt, shame, or fear. I am forging my own path. I have taken the reigns. 

There is some caution to be taken on intuition's highway. Some measure of sensitivity is required. You will want to be certain to check your motives before departure or you may find yourself quickly running on empty with no fuel left to reach your goals. You will also do well to examine the pressure in your circumstances to avoid any preventable blowouts along the road that may detour you from your destination. By heightening your senses and tuning in to your inner GPS, you are likely to find that the road you travel leads you to your appointed place right on time.

A Critical Look At School Aged Children of Alcoholics

Research Study Article Critique

Introduction    

Reading an article or publication laden with generalizations or determinations about social groups always requires a healthy dose of skepticism. Despite the writer's spin, the reader employs her own objectivity as a filter to try and score balance. After reading and reviewing “School–age children of alcoholics and non-alcoholics: Their anxiety, self-esteem and locus of control” an article published in Professional School Counseling in 1998, I realized just how important a critical eye can be (Post, 1998). The following is my analysis of the article mentioned above. I discuss the accuracy and validity of the article, relevance and applicability of the resources, instruments used, and the proposed results. In sum, I share my opinion of the overall value of the publication and it’s contribution to the field of research.

Accuracy and Validity

            The research topic addressed in the article regarding school-aged children of alcoholics was stated at the beginning of page one. It is important to describe the topic at the start of a publication for the reader’s benefit. This serves the reader by informing him of the issues to be addressed in the coming pages.  However, the entire article, including the first paragraph lacked consistency and uniformity in how the subjects were addressed and who the actual subjects were.

            On page one, in the introductory paragraphs, the subjects of the study were introduced to the reader as “young children of alcoholics (YCOA)” (Post, 1998). However, in the title the subjects are referred to as “School-age children of alcoholics” (post, 1998). On page two, the subjects are referred to as “school-aged COA” (Post, 1998). Finally, on page three the subjects are referred to as “COA” and another group “ACOA” is mentioned with no introduction at all (Post, 1998). The clear inconsistency in how the subjects are referred to may raise questions for the reader about who the actual subjects really are.  Furthermore, because of the inconsistencies, the reader may begin to question the true validity of the entire article.

Relevance and Applicability

            A primary source for any research publication must include references to previously published sources. Information from past research is always applicable and does impact the shape, plan, execution, and outcome of any new projects. With this in mind, a thorough review of previous research in the field is a fundamental prerequisite to prevent redundancy. Reviewing past research also helps to design projects most relevant and applicable to present needs.

            The article on “School-aged children of alcoholics” did mention many sources, however, those sources were quite outdated with some dating back more than 10 years from the date that the article was published (Post, 1998). At best, this is poor practice. Without reviewing more recent data, research could be unnecessarily repeated as well as time and resources wasted pursuing results that may not be relevant based on other, more recently published, data.

            The article also included a variety of tests as instruments for determining which children did have alcoholic parents and the impact of that parenting. Theoretically, there must be some way to distinguish between children with and without alcoholic parents and determine the impact to the child. There were four test instruments used to gather the results presented in the study.   

Results

Each of the tests instruments used in the study of “school-aged children of alcoholics” had proven test-retest validity except for one, the Nowiki (Post, 1998).  The Nowiki test was used to determine where the subject’s locus of control rests. As the results of this test were directly related to the primary prediction of the article, which is, “that school-aged YCOAs would score higher on anxiety, lower on self-concept, and higher on external locus of control than a control group of school aged non-YCOAs”, the results should have been amongst the strongest. However, the internal consistency of this test was only .12 compared to .96, .87, and .63 of the other tests used (Post, 1998). This causes reason to question the validity of any assertion made based on the results of the Nowiki test.

Also, the primary test used to determine which children had alcoholic parents, “CAST Questionnaire”, was so leading that it was not at all a reliable measure for the purposes intended. It was also a very long and laborious test for a school-aged child to take all at once. This likely impacted the responses, further compromising the results of the study.

Conducting research that involves the study of large groups should always be done on the broadest scale possible. Sample group size is particularly important when the results will be used to make generalizations about all people within that group. In the case of the article regarding “school-aged children of alcoholics” this rule appears to have been neglected (Post, 1998). The size of the group was 108 children, all of whom were from the same area, attending the same school (Post, 1998). This narrow test group is not nearly reflective enough of the entire population of school-aged children of alcoholics to make any reasonable generalizations or predictions. Results gathered from such a narrow research study hold very little validity or general pertinence.

Conclusion

            There are limits to the applicability of any study. In addition to those mentioned above, this article itself also mentions “generalizing the findings too broadly” on page four, and that all the measures are “self-reports from the student” also on page four (Post,1998). These findings undeniably reiterate the necessity to think critically about the information we read. We must take care not to place too much confidence in the validity of information we hear, read, or see presented, in the relevance or accuracy of sources, or in the reliability of results.

Reference

Post, P., Robinson, B.(1998). School-age children of alcoholics and non-alcoholics: their anxiety, self-esteem and locus of control. Professional school counseling. Vol. 1 Issue 5, p36. Retrieved from MasterFILE Premier database.  

Idealistically Pragmatic

Idealistically Pragmatic

I have always been a strong believer in the power and value of education. However, unlike many who chose to teach, my interest and passion has not always thrust me in that direction. Nevertheless, I do consider teaching to be much more than just a profession, occupation, or job. I consider education to be a natural and inevitable part of life that I have had the great opportunity to be more involved with through teaching. My educational philosophy is a compilation personal beliefs as it relates to teaching and learning, students, knowledge, and what is worth knowing. As I considered my personal educational philosophy, I found, ironically, that my thoughts were both idealistic and pragmatic. The following is an examination of the above in the context of my professional and personal goals and values.

Teaching and Learning

             Teaching and learning are two of the most basic functions of life. From infancy, every person begins a journey into the world of knowledge and education. Initially, we focus on the information essential to existence. However, we quickly acquire preferences and appetites for information above and beyond what is needed for sustaining life. These preferences make each of us unique and exclusive. Over the course of a lifetime we all have the opportunity to be the student and the teacher in one regard or another. Those who actually chose to become formal teachers quickly realize that it is in that capacity that the most learning takes place.

Students

            Students are like clay in a potters hands. A teacher has such great influence over her students that she virtually determines what their outcome will be. For a formal teacher, students are those who attend their classes and institutions. However, in a less formal capacity, students are those who can benefit and learn from our experience, knowledge, intellect, and wisdom. While student are heavily influenced by the expectations of their teachers, they also have their own responsibility and role to play in their educational journey. A great teacher is able to find the motivating factor for each individual student and use it to draw the student towards success.

Knowledge

           The more knowledge we acquire, the more we realize that we don’t know much at all. Knowledge is such an intangible yet priceless asset, not only to individuals, but also to groups such as families and communities. Varying types of knowledge become useful in diverse settings. Most relevant is the sum of information that ultimately promotes health and wellness. In some contexts this may be academic or intellectual knowledge, in others it may be social skills or street savvy, in yet another context it may be familiarity with routes and terrains.  Whatever the context, some things are undeniably more worth knowing than others.

Worth Knowing

Knowledge certainly is power to the extent that it is applied to practice. The information that one acquires over time is the knowledge base that should be drawn from for decision making, critical thinking, and conceptualizing the world around. However, knowledge is most profitable when it is used to benefit others or facilitate some type of productivity. Each person holds a completely exclusive bank of knowledge based on their experience and perspective. Nevertheless, without application, knowledge is useless. Therefore, it is only the useful, timely, and effective application of knowledge that makes it precious.

My Philosophy

            My personal educational philosophy is made up of my values, beliefs, and attitudes toward education. I believe that the role of education and knowledge in each person’s life is paramount. I believe that formal education holds relative value, however, I also greatly value informal means of  learning. My views on the process are quite flexible, however, the value, importance, and in some cases urgency remains critical. My opinion aligns closely with both idealism and pragmatism. Idealism in the fact that I believe in  absolute truths. I believe that education proves most valuable and useful when established absolute truths are supported and acknowledged (Kauchak, 2005).  By observing this principal, we are able to avoid repeating prior research and mistakes as individuals as well as a society.

            Interestingly, idealism and pragmatism, in some aspects, actually may appear to be contradictory philosophies. However, as part of my own personal philosophy they work in perfect harmony, complementing one another. Pragmatism is reflected in my personal philosophy by placing equal emphasis on the content and the process of learning (Kauchak, 2005). I believe learners glean a great deal from simply  progressing through the learning process, in addition to the content itself.

Conclusion

          Our education determines who we are and become, as well as how we operate in every function of life. Naturally, each of us is born with an exclusive set of gifts, talents, and abilities. Knowledge and education are the boosters that catapult us from good to great, normal to exceptional, student to teacher. 

Reference

Kauchak, P., Eggen, P. (2005). Introduction to teaching: Becoming a professional

(2^nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

What do Education and Sexual Orientation Have in Common?

Education and Sexual Orientation

Introduction

From birth each person begins to acquire knowledge. We learn how to communicate our needs, wants, likes and dislikes. We learn to articulate our feelings and share our emotions. We also learn about our environment and our communities. Each person, at some point, develops an understanding of what it means to be a part of a culture and begins to decide where they personally fit. Such is the case with California's youth. However, in 2007 legislation changed the course of the progression of knowledge and self awareness forever. The law is known as California Senate Bill 777 (SB 777), and it is designed to protect the rights of those who experience discrimination (Ponte, 2008). However, from the time this legislation was put in place it appears it may have done a great deal of harm rather than help. The following is a brief discussion of SB 777, the specific legalities involved, the politics that surrounded this movement, and the result as it pertains to expected guidelines for teachers.

Controversy

In October 2007 Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, of California, signed a controversial measure into law that subtly but markedly redefined the way that gender and sexuality may be addressed and taught in public schools. The law is SB 777 and what it effectively does is redefines the specific terminology used to describe what is permissible in school materials, discussion within the classroom, and even extra curricular activities (Ponte, 2008).

            SB 777 adds a new law to California's established educational code. Under the previous law it was illegal to present instruction or any type of activity that "reflects adversely upon persons" due to sex, color, race, creed, national origin, ancestry, or handicap (Ponte, 2008). Under the new law the list of protected persons is revised to gender, disability, ethnicity, nationality, race, religion, and sexual orientation. The new law also changes the verbiage in the phrase "reflects adversely" to "promotes a discriminatory bias (Ponte, 2008)." Ultimately, what the new law does is deletes the original definition of sex as completely male and female and creates an environment of ambiguity and neutrality to permit students to decide for themselves what gender they are.

Conservative Views

            Clearly, with an issue as controversial as this one, there are many strong and opposing views. Some more conservative critics and politicians say that SB 777 is a means of promoting the homosexual agenda throughout California. This law can be used to eliminate the portrayal of marriage and family as exclusively a union between a man and a woman. Other conservatives fear the repercussions of male students who feel more appropriately oriented as females and therefore feel it necessary to shower, share a locker room, and participate in other all female activities, all of which are now protected by law. In the Los Angeles Unified School District a policy has already been implemented that permits a boy perceiving himself to be a girl to use the girl's lockeroom and restrooms (Ponte, 2008).

Liberal Views

In contrast, those who hold a more liberal perspective hold that SB 777 is not a means of destroying the traditional pictures of "mom" and "dad", it simply changes the content requirements for instructional materials such as text books (Ponte, 2008). Many assert that this new law, in fact, does not actually change very much about California's Education Code. This new law simply provides a consolidation of definitions in one location for reference by administrators and parents.

Impact to Teachers     

The impact to teachers is marked and clear. While the original law was not violated when a prom king and queen were elected, or if a transgender student felt uncomfortable in the girls locker room. Under the new law, however, legal action can legitimately be brought against all of the above as "promoting discriminatory bias (Ponte, 2008)." Sacramento Bee columnist Dan Walters describes this new legislation as "another troublesome step down the slippery slope of politics dictating what version of history and current events children should be taught…. [L]lawsuit-leery educators may see it as forcing them to censor or repress anything that even indirectly touches on sexual orientation in a way that someone somewhere might consider offensive (Ponte, 2008)."

Conclusion     

SB 777 illustrates the progression of State and Federal agendas and interests in education. The Governors office and a third grade class in Spring Valley are worlds apart. Yet, one is controlled and manipulated by the other with no recourse. The results can be detrimental to the morale, effectiveness, and possibly even deter the interest of individuals with a more conservative view from teaching. Ultimately, the most amicable solution that I can imagine is that both conservative and liberal perspectives meet. Clearly there is a huge difference between the original law that prohibits those things that "adversely reflect" on some groups and the new under which it is illegal to "promote a discriminatory bias" towards some groups (Ponte, 2008). While homosexuals and groups that choose alternative lifestyles typically feel discriminated against, Christians, Jews, Muslims an other conservative groups are also among the less tolerated and more excluded groups in schools. I feel that the best solution is for all groups to use SB 777 to maintain the balance between value systems, conservative and liberal alike.

Reference

Ponte, Lowel (2008). New Law Redefines Gender in California. Newsmax. Retrieved April 25, 2008 from http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/Schwarzenegger_education_/2008/01/11/63761.html 

One in a Milli

What separates you from the crowd? Are you one in a million? Be completely honest with yourself. Are you really different? Everybody wants bigger, better, faster, stronger, but very few manage to ascertain it. Have you ever stopped to ask yourself why? Is it because the "system" is set up for you to fail?...Because there are forces working against you? Alright, if that's the case then why even try?

Either you believe you can or you don't. You can not have it both ways. If you believe that you can, let absolutely nothing stop you until you have. It's just that simple.