Leading From The Heart

by Tracy Rosen, teaching & consulting since 1996, blogging about it here since 2007. All views are my own and you should take them with a grain of salt, I do.

Month: March 2009

  • Hold on Tight

    Spring has sprung, love is in the air.

    I have received a spate of love poems from students lately, gotta be the spring in the air. Here is one from Sam, she has been with her boyfriend for over a year now. She stayed by his side through a horrible accident where he broke his back. This is how she feels about him.

    Hold On Tight

    I’ve made my choices,To no one else but you.
    I pledge my love to forever be true.
    I’ll take care of you in any condition and treat you right.
    I’ll lay beside you all through the night.
    I’ll gather us dinner and still kid around.
    I’ll hug and kiss you and let you in my open heart,
    listen to the sound.

    I’ll help you and guide you to a clear path.
    Like you helped me to a road to passing math
    I’ll listen to your problems,help you solve them too.
    I’ll be the the shining rainbows and let the sun shine through.
    I’ll take your side,even if you are wrong.
    Just to prove our love is still strong.

    I’ll plant us flowers and make them grow.
    They’ll be a symbol of our love that only you and i will know.
    I’ll whisper your name like i always do,When no one is near.
    So low that only you can hear.

    You’ll feel my love around you even if we’re apart.
    you’ll know that we are one in heart.
    So remember when your eyes meet mine.
    With how much i love you…you’ll never really know.
    With each touch of your hand it’s like a falling flake of snow.

    so these seven words i pray you hold true.
    “Forever and always i will love you…

  • Is ‘lecture’ a 4-letter word?

    I’m amazed at how my assumptions continue to be challenged by my daily practice.

    I clearly assume project-based work to be a richer form of learning than lecture for all kinds of reason – students need to collaborate and therefore work on social skills, students are asked to be creative, there is more depth than breadth in the learning, all students are actively learning rather than passively listening and taking notes…I could go on but you can fill in the rest yourself, I’m sure.

    Today I gave a lecture in Economics where I presented how we measure economic activity in Canada and different types of economies. I dread giving lectures. I assume that students will hate them, that they will zone out, that their time would better be used doing their own research. Today I encountered just the opposite. My students were actively engaged in their learning throughout my lecture. Really! They were calling me on everything, making sure I explained each concept until they got it, offering each other alternative explanations and examples to help in understanding. Granted, this was solely for the purpose of gathering knowledge, no analysis or synthesis or other creative activity was needed but I really believe that they are more prepared for such activities as a result of the class we had today.

    Lecture is not the 4-letter word I have come to equate it with.

    I like being thrown on my backside like that.

    props to my kids…

  • Student poetry: Love poem by Jean-Marc

    love

    Remember being in high school and in love? This poem is a perfect reminder of that time. Jean-Marc wrote it over the March break and I am finally getting around to post it!

    Let me tell you a love poem about what i feel in my heart, butterflies in my stomach whenever we’re together. You’re a flower in bloom ready to burst as my heart is for you. It’s you that brightens my day not the sun, you’re brightness is like a drug to me it makes me want you every day , every way as long as you’re with me. People say you’re to Young to know what love is but who are they to say what love is , i know how it feels , i know what it is , it’s because I’m in love with you. There are so many words i cannot say, I want to be able to tell you one day, your friend I’ll always be, a shoulder to cry on Ill always be , a hand to pick you up on your feet I’ll always be , what I’m trying to say is I Love You and that will always will be. (L):)xox

  • Sunday Inspirational Video

    Who would’ve thought that an old standard could be given new life?

    My friend Jeff Hall, fellow Human Systems Intervention MA grad, Anglican Priest, and Independent Organizational Development Consultant, turned me on to this phenomenal reprise of Stand By Me via facebook.