Whew! Snuck these in just at the last minute.
Listening I will admit is a weakness. To hear and process information is actually quite difficult for me. I do my best when I have a chance to visualize and interact with information. For example, when attending a lecture, I am able to better understand what is being said when I doodle or take notes. The physical act of moving my hand some how allows me to keep my focus on the speaker. In school my class notes were all in sketchbooks for this exact reason, even back to high school.
Now for the exact opposite example, I hear everything in my classroom and know when students are off task even when I am not directly watching them. The whole eyes in the back of the teachers head is clearly a lie, it's our hearing that gets student's in trouble! This is also different because I don't have to process anything.
So this month, I tried to be a better listener. Maybe it's my overactive creativity, or my in ability to sit still. Either way, listening is a skill I haven't mastered, and probably never will. At this point, I am relaying on the tricks I have picked up in life to help me deal with this deficit. If you're wondering, no this month didn't make me a better listener, but at least I am trying.
I am that classic case of in one year and out the other ...
- Patch & Chels
I, too, doodle at a certain point in meetings. I can start out just listening and taking notes but after awhile my hand starts making shapes in the margins or exaggerating a letter and then adding to the shape of it. If I didn't do this, I wouldn't be able to concentrate. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI think we could all do with being better listeners! Love those blocks :)
ReplyDeleteListening as a form of learning doesn't work for me, either. Doodling and meticulous notes were the only way for me to actually learn and process. I like the way these blocks work with that theme - the sharp, bright, pointy stars in the middle feels like conversation and talking to me, and you have used low volume fabrics and softer background supporting colors in the blocks to support the conversation. Just like the skills you have learned to help you a better listener. :)
ReplyDeleteNice blocks - one day I will have a go... one day :)
ReplyDeleteFor some reason I tend to hear things incorrectly. I honestly hear something completely different but after I stop for a moment, my brain re-processes what I heard and can usually figure out what was said. You wouldn't believe the mis-heard lyrics I've used! Seriously though, listening is truly a skill that needs to be practiced in order to do it well.
ReplyDeleteI'm a notetaker too - think its the visual aspect of learning that I rely on rather than the aural! Love that you have managed to keep up with the sugar blocks club (I haven't! - maybe next year!)
ReplyDeleteI listen ok, but remembering ... that needs something written down!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful blocks.
Where is this perfect wall/surface in your house for your photos?? I am so jealous of it with every post it pops up in!
ReplyDeleteWay, way, way cute blocks!
ReplyDeleteI learn by watching and doing, not by hearing. Funny thing is, we as teachers get so cross when the students aren't listening!
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