Sunday, October 28, 2018

Design your dream life


Some short notes from the workshop "Design your Dream Life", co-organized by Bright and One Life Connection on 27.10.2018 at Toong.

The 5 Rules for Optimal State of Being

1. Be honest: build trust, and inner confidence by sincerity and speaking the truth.
2. Speak up: open and love yourself enough.
3. Be engaged: focus and committed to your goal.
4. Be interested rather than interesting.
5. Be social: proactively engage, be connected, not socially influenced.

Think about these questions:
- If tomorrow was your last day, what would you do?
- Spend time with family (soul family).

Finding your life's purpose through analyzing your Ikigai - the reason you want to wake up every morning. Write one thing for each sentence:
- What you love doing.
- What the world needs.
- What you are good at.
- What you can be paid for.
Are they the same? Even if there is nobody pay you, you still do it. "This is what I want." Then, you are all in.

Our well-being includes Body, Emotions, Mind and Ikigai. Body energy comes from a healthy lifestyle. Controlled emotions. Calm, clear and strong Mind that can transform the negative patterns.

Ask yourself:
- Are you doing what you want to do or what others want you to do?

When you are true to yourself, then your life is your dream life.

Be yourself.
Be grateful for all the good things in your life.








Sunday, September 16, 2018

6 Habits of highly effective teachers


The group photo that we put right at the first page of our folder.

On September 15th, we were lucky again to have Natalie Pham with us for a whole day training on Multiple Intelligences and especially the "6 Habits of Highly Effective Teachers", which is also the name of her debut book. She was lively and wonderful as always, full of positive energy. Love her teaching and love her generosity. 

MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES
(actually there are 9 types, including the existential one)





LEFT BRAIN AND RIGHT BRAIN TEST



My result: 50% Left and 50% Right Brain.







*****

BLOOM'S REVISED TAXONOMY



*****

6 HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE TEACHERS


Habit 1. Lesson is focused on objective

Highly effective teachers have a clear plan of what they want to do.

SMART Objectives
Specific: State what exactly what you want to accomplish (Who, What, Where, Why)
Measurable: How will you demonstrate and evaluate the extent to which the goal has been met?
Achievable: Stretch and challenging goals within ability to achieve outcome. What is the action-oriented verb?
Realistic (Relevant): How does the goal tie into your key responsibilities? How is it aligned to objectives?
Time-bound: deadlines, dates, time, frequency...

Criteria: Students can explain what they are learning.

Habit 2. Delivering content clearly

- Emphasizing keypoints
- Dynamic presence (voice, walking around, clarity, enthusiasm)
- Tools to organize the content: vocabulary chart, venn diagram, mind map, analogy...

Criteria: Explanations are short and thoroughly explaining concepts in a direct and efficient way.
The teacher makes connections with other content areas, students' experiences and interests, or current events in order to make the content connected to build student understanding and interest.
Students ask higher-order questions and make connections by themselves...

Habit 3. Teaching Time is maximized

All the time in class is used effectively. 
- Think of procedure to minimize time wasted (step 1, step 2...)
- Timer, time keeper (can be student), agenda: set and reinforce time limits
- Classroom management, action plan...

Criteria: Routines and procedures run smoothly and students generally know their responsibilities and do not have to ask questions. 
Transitions are orderly and efficient.
No idle time.
Students share responsibilities for the routines in the class.
The lesson progresses at a fast pace, such that students are never disengaged and students who finish early have something else meaningful to do.

Habit 4. Engage ALL students

Strategies:
- Consider Multiple Intelligences, Left-Right Brain...
- Ask students to write questions.
- Think - Pair - Share (Think - Write - Pair - Share)
- KWL (What you know, What you want to know, What you've learned)
- Kahoot, Quizziz...
- Small boards
- A-B-C-D
- 5 Fingers
- Brain break: Go noodles...

Criteria: The teacher provides students more than one way to engage with content, as appropriate, and all ways are matched to the lesson objective (ex: a Socratic seminar might involve verbal/linguistic and interpersonal ways). 
Students respond positively and are actively involved in the work.

Habit 5. Check for understanding
  • Asking clarifying questions
  • Asking reading comprehension questions
  • Asking students to rephrase material
  • Conferencing with individual students
  • Drawing upon peer conversation/explanations
  • Having students respond on the boards
  • Having students vote on answer choices
  • Moving around to look at each group's work
  • Observing student work in a structured manner
  • Scanning progress of students working independently

- Exit slips
- A-B-C-D
- Five fingers
- Kahoot, Quizziz...
- Thumb up/down
- Small boards

Criteria: The teacher checks for understanding at all key moments. 
Every check gets an accurate "pulse" of the class's understanding.
The teacher uses a variety of methods of checking for understanding.
The teacher seamlessly integrates information gained from the checks by adjusting the content or delivery of the lesson, as appropriate.

Habit 6. Positive interactions

Love is natural.

Modelling, for more compassionate and kind kids, who are willing to help others.

The I message: "I feel.....
When you....
and I want....."

Positive comments, praise and compliments
- Good job!
- Well done!
- Awesome!
- Close enough.
- Almost there.
- Nice try
- Excellent...
- Amazing!
- I love it.

Personalized handshakes....

Criteria: Students are invested in the success of their peers (collaborating with and helping each other...) and may demonstrate frequent positive engagement with their peers.
Students may give unsolicited praise or encouragement to their peers for good work.
There is evidence that the teacher has strong, individualized relationships with students in the class (the teacher might demonstrate personal knowledge of student's lives, interests, and preferences.

Feedback

  • 3 things I liked / and / or learned
  • 2 questions I still have
  • One strategy I will use in my class
  • Feedback for Presenter





Monday, July 30, 2018

QU1. Leo Study Report – Course 120. History of Humanity

120.1 The Pre-Individualized Races of Proto-Humanity
What is the meaning of individualization?
Individualization is the great event that marks one important step of evolution, when the animal-man starts to become a human being, a thinking entity, through the implantation of the Spark of Mind (the Mind Principle).  The basic concept is correct. It is a good idea to begin with the general statement that you are making here.
Do you have a clear idea of the process?
The process is not very clear to me. And to most of us.
Describe the process as clearly as you can from the perspective of the Solar Angels; from the perspective of pre-individualized animal man (a); and in relation to the formulation of the egoic lotus; in relation to the implantation of the spark of mind (b).
The Solar Angels are the producers of the individualization or the realised consciousness and the builders of the Ego (Egoic Lotus or Causal Body) out of their own substance. The planting of the Spark of Mind at Individualization begins the work of building the Causal Body.
The pre-individualized animal man had lived mostly by his instincts, with his physical senses. Thus, passing through the door of individualization, the animal man has now started to become self-conscious with the infantly (recently- nascent????) forming of his mental unit.  Adequate answer to show that you hold the correct concept.

120.2 Atlantean Rootrace and Atlantean Consciousness
What planetary energies are involved with the expression of Atlantean consciousness? Explain.
The Atlantean consciousness is related to the astral and emotional consciousness, which is corresponding to the Water sign of Cancer and the planetary energies of the Moon and Neptune. Because the two rulers of Cancer are the Moon (Mother of All Forms, the exoteric ruler) and Neptune (God of the Sea, the esoteric ruler).
If we conceptually understand Humanity as the expression of the self-conscious stage of developing the aspect Will on the dense physical plane, and assume that the Root Races represent certain developing stages of that Humanity through the aspects of (i) intelligence (ii) love and (iii) will, then the energies expressing in the so-called Atlantean Root-Race (and the other Root Races – see below) analogize to the development of the “love” stage in Humanity. This was done through emphasizing the astral activity aspect of that Root Race.

120.3 The Aryan Race, Sub-races and Aryan Consciousness
How would you contrast the consciousness of the members of the Aryan root race with those of the Atlantean and Lemurian root races?
The differentiation among the consciousness of the members of the Aryan root race, the Atlantean root race and the Lemurian root race is in the level of focusing.
For the Lemurian consciousness, the level of focus is in the physical world.
For the Atlantean consciousness, the level of focus is in the astral, emotional, sensuous world.
For the Caucasian or Aryan consciousness, the level of focus is in the mental or intellectual world. They will have the ability to function with clarity upon the mental plane, collating, rightly interpreting and relating information, creating the needed thoughtforms or concepts for these interpretations. The intellect aspect of both concrete and abstract, lower and higher minds is steadily unfolding and the power to organize and to work individually is developed. Thus, human starts to sense the Divine Will and Purpose, and comprehend the great evolutionary Plan. 
Very good; also that whole subject can be summarized by continuing with the analogy stated in question #120.2, the corresponding aspect of intelligence was developed in the Lemurian Root Race and the aspect of Will is developing through the Aryan Race. We have to note here that the Will aspect in man is presently still limited to the power of self-consciousness (the little will in man) and that Humanity has to reach group consciousness before it can show a substantial difference.

120.4 The Coming 6th & 7th Rootraces & Anticipated Scope of their Consciousness
Speculate upon the consciousness and appearance of man during the 6th root race and the 7th root race.
Human consciousness during the 6th root race will be intuitive and will have the ability to actively function in the buddhic plane. The power of abstract mind to comprehend and generate abstract thoughts will be developed.
Human consciousness during the 7th round will achieve the fullest spiritual manifestation of the soul and its vehicles. Humanity will have the ability to actively function in the atmic or nirvanic plane.
In terms of the appearance of man during the 6th and the 7th root races, they might not be so gigantic but their bodies and senses would be very fine and keen. Very good!
In the same vein of thought, the 6th and 7th Root Races will usher in budding and continuing the evolution of group consciousness. This is done by the overall development of the Race of Man through the Rays on the planes and the merging of etheric energy in the human unit as it ascends the planes.
J. (Mentor's comments updated on 12.11.2018)