Explaining Me

At our recent face-to-face meeting for the Research Methods class, we briefly discussed how the blogging assignment was going.  As usual, our diverse cohort had diverse opinions and I came to realize that my approach, and frankly my enjoyment of the assignment may be unique to me.  That's why, in this blog entry, I'd like to share some thoughts I've had since that discussion.

I appreciate the blogging assignment for the opportunity it presents to practice critical thinking and presenting that thinking in writing.  I consider this to be an important competency for becoming the kind of scholar-practitioner that I want to be and I'm glad to have the chance to do it. I use my blog to integrate what I am learning from class into the context of my everyday life and what interests me.  I also use it as a chance to practice developing and expressing my point of view on important topics in our field of study. 

In addition to active posting on my own blog, I have been active in making comments on blogs written by other cohort members and sometimes they take the form of challenging questions or provocative statements.  My purpose in posting these comments was to encourage more lively discourse, which is something that I have enjoyed in other learning communities in the past.  I was attempting to model a behavior that I desired from others.  

Upon reflection, I realize I was wrong to think that because I desire this kind of feedback that others do, too.  More importantly, I realize that my choices could be misunderstood and that there is a potential for my comments to be considered disrespectful or worse yet, as a kind of intellectual bullying.  I am sorry I created this situation, and I hope this explanation serves as an adequate apology to any of my fellow cohort members who may have misunderstood my efforts.

From the very start of our program, I have been questioning my obligations, and the expectations of me as a member of the cohort in supporting the other members.  I decided and still believe, despite this failed attempt, that we can and should learn from each other, and what I can contribute lies in sharing what I have learned from my experiences in working in organizations.  I'm not going to stop trying to help others, and will consider this a learning opportunity, as we so often extol the virtues of learning from our failures.  

But, you can't learn from failure unless you actually do fail at something - and admit it.  And what better place for failure to happen than in the psychologically safe environment that we consider our cohort to be.  So with that in mind, I wonder, why aren't we doing it more? Why aren't we challenging each other, expressing different opinions or stretching ourselves beyond our comfort zone? This is our chance!  It's our opportunity to safely fail and learn.

We have about 18 months remaining to take advantage of the psychological safety of our cohort and, speaking only for myself, I want to make the most it.  I will continue to use my blog to share my thoughts with contemplative or provocative posts - probably even after this class is over.  And I am imploring my fellow cohort members and other followers to comment with thoughts that continue the conversation and stretch our collective thinking - or just tell me that you think I'm full of "it" and why!.   In return, I will no longer use comments on other blogs for provocation unless it is specifically asked for.  

Thanks for allowing me to express my thoughts and for staying open.  And happy blogging.

"Don't it always seem to go, that you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone"  - Joni Mitchell