Believe It and You'll See It

On Saturday we viewed Celebrate What's Right with the World with our learning community. It was a National Geographic documentary where Dewitt Jones took us on a journey about looking closer at life's treasures. One of his taglines was "Believe it and you'll see it". I was instantly reminded of the quote from The Santa Clause movie, "Seeing isn't believing, believing is seeing". Such a great movie and who knew that it had a meaning that I could tie into my graduate degree!

I challenged myself to think back to a time when I believed in something and it happened. It was harder than I thought it would be! Eventually I thought about when I first learned to water ski. I was eight years old and had the awesome tied-together skis. My dad and uncles had all learned to ski at about seven years old so I was feeling more than capable. The first couple of times didn't work but I had all of my extended family cheering me on. I distinctly remember my dad and Uncle Chris holding my life jacket and giving me tips. I wanted to try one last time (because I was getting tired!) and put my mind to it. I yelled "Hit It!" and popped right out of the water. I could heard the cheers from the shore and did a nice little victory lap hanging on for dear life. I don't think I've ever had a bigger grin than when I was coming back towards shore to the cheers and applause.

How much of a hand did you have in creating the outcome you were hoping for? 
I think I played a pretty big role in creating that outcome. If I had given up or not had my heart in it I don't think I could have done it at that moment. The support from my family certainly helped as well.

Do you agree with Dewitt's claim that we need to "believe it, and then we'll see it?" 
I do agree with his claim. It won't always be the case but sometimes our biggest hurdle is our own inhibitions. If we can get past our own fears and be optimistic towards a goal I believe we have a better chance of seeing a pleasing end result. This isn't to say that there are moments when knowing you have a realistic goal and it is attainable. Sometimes seeing people succeed (thus believing it's possible) will light a fire in someone that maybe wouldn't have otherwise happened.

How closely linked is creativity with the idea that "you have to believe it and then you'll see it?" What is the implication for the conference? What is the implication for your students?
Creativity is a powerful thing. I think of the Art teachers in our learning community and how they go into so many assignments without any idea how it's going to go or what students will create. That feeling is very liberating when I experience it in my own classroom. When it comes to the conference, I have to believe that what I have to share will be meaningful to and appreciated by my attendees. If I second-guess myself I will show up less excited or willing to share. When it comes to my students, I need to be okay with putting forth effort without knowing exactly what the results will be. This ties in really well with my implementation with guided math. I had to dive right in, there wasn't much time to splash around in the kiddie pool :) I want to continue that frame of mind beyond May 9th and for the rest of my career.