Haiku for Dr. S.

 

I love our carpool

It enhances my learning

And keeps me on task.

Sioux Council from Dances with Wolves and Inquiry Based Decision-Making

I like the way the council met and addressed one another with respect.  Everyone's contribution to the meeting valued.  They did not interrupt each other.  At the end of the meeting, the leader said  'It's easy to become confused by these questions. It's hard to know what to do.  We should talk about this some more. That is all I have to say." and then the meeting was adjourned.  There was no dissent and rather than rushing to attack someone who had presented no immediate threat, they chose to sleep on it and think about their options.  I think this is a good example of an inquiry based approach to decision-making.

Fear of ...

“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear... And when it is gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear is gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.” Frank Herbert
I have loved science fiction writing from the moment I started reading 'This Perfect Day'.  My mother handed me that book one day and said I might like it.  I loved it.  I wanted more. Since then, I've spent quality time with Octavia Butler, Piers Anthony, Steven Barnes, Isaac Asimov and Tananarive Due. Frank Herbert was my main man.  I was so dissappointed when I got to the end of Chapterhouse Dune, the last book in the series (at least written entirely by him), not because I did't like it.  I just didn't want it to end. Perhaps, it is from him I learned to appreciate the value of overcoming fear.

As if we don't have enough going on, I give all of his books the thumbs up. I do of course believe you should start at the beginning of the series to get the meat, but... I digress.

I started off on subject of fear because I realized today we are all grappling with our fears in different ways. I appreciate the advice we received today and hope will take special heed to the part about sharing with your cohort.

Together, I know we can achieve great things. We have an awesome group of people with a wonderful diversity of perspectives, socioeconomic, political, thinking and communication styles, and so much more.  Don't be surprised to hear me ask for your advice or point of view.

Let's all be fearless together or at least pull together to overcome our fears and burst forth like caterpillers emerging from cocoons as butterflies.

RIP Whitney

Resource for Academic Writers

An organization I'm affiliated with recently hosted a workshop at Pepperdine for graduate students.  We had class that weekend, so I figured, it just wasn't meant for me. Yesterday, I received an email from one of the presenters wherein she shared a link to her blog as well as a pdf of her process for writing a literature review. I find it contributed to and supported what we've been learning.  I liked enough to download it, save it and organize my mendeley articles based on advice in it. 

The Writing Spa: Mental Massage for Acacemic Writers 

And now, I've shared it with you.

RIP Whitney

Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012)

Strengths Finder, Superman, and Baseball

We are in an age that on one hands requires us to develop skills and competencies in area that didn't exist in the 20th century and on the other hand encourages us to be introspective and find our innate passions, desires, and aptitudes.

At best, individuals find ways to integrate the new skills and competencies and their passions in a way that allows them to pay the bills as well as lead a happy and fulfilling life. People used to say, "Those who can, do and those who can't, teach."  I believe this is the type of thinking that has led to the current state of education. There are many working in the realm of education because they have skills, competencies and passions to be in education, but there are still those who are there by default.

Waiting for Superman

I recently watched 'Waiting for Superman' and it made me cry.

I think GW was a great baseball man.  You can see the love of baseball in the way he lived his life. While being elected POTUS was a great achievement and he accomplished a lot while he was in office. I just have to wonder, was he happier in baseball?

gw baseball

What is Comic Con?

Hearing the question "What is Comic Con?" gave me an idea of how I must sound when I say things like "What is Title 1?" or "What is Program Improvement?" or "What is NCLB?".

I genuinely appreciate the patience and compassion with which my questions are received by everyone.

Here are a few links for those you who would like some background info on Comic Con:


Youtube Content of Comic  Con 2011

Comic Con 2012

Transformational Leadership of Chef Michael Stebner

By LaWana N. Richmond

MGT 409C

January 2004

The article "What Insiders Eat" initially ignited gastric interests. The reviewer went to various restaurants and joined in on the staff meal. At first glance it offered a review of the favorite menu items of the staff at various restaurants. Any lover of fine dining and culinary explorations could appreciate a concept like that.

A closer look revealed it to be so much more than that. This article demonstrated transformational leadership in action as practiced by a particular Chef. Michael Stebner, the Executive Chef at the Nine-Ten restaurant is a great example of transformational leadership in action.

The staff meal is a restaurant tradition that involves having all of the restaurant employees sit together once or twice a day for a family style meal. For each of the establishments covered, the staff meal, its timing, preparation, focus, mood, and implementation process offered very telling information about each chef's management style.

The lead Chef in a restaurant is so much more than just the person preparing the food. Chefs are also managers. The lead Chef manages at minimum the kitchen, but in many instances they also manage the crew or even the entire restaurant. The job requires extensive planning, organizing, leading and controlling.

In the restaurants covered in the article, there were examples of transactional as well as transformational leadership. One manager who struck me as very transactional said essentially that he offers no staff meal. He said his staff was welcome to purchase any item on the menu for half price.

Chefs somewhere in the middle of the zone between transactional and transformational offered staff meals, but there were elements to their approach that were definitely transformational. One chef offered meals but only from side dishes that were left over and never meat or desserts. Another chef fed his staff decent meals, but the entire meal was devoted to shop talk, so essentially they were glorified "working lunches". Then, there was the chef who fed only part of the staff and had a very departmentalized and segmented approach to managing. There was even an English speaking chef who wasn't sure if everyone on his staff spoke English.

The staff meals at one of the establishments resembled a high school cafeteria. There were cliques all over the room. The staff divided themselves by job function, gender and in some cases nationality. There was relationship building taking place, but it was in spite of as opposed to a result of management. Interviews with the staff at this establishment revealed potential turnover issues. Between the time of the interview and actual publishing of the article, at least two key staff members had stopped working there.

Chef Stebner was unique in many ways. He not only offered staff meals, but from start to finish he exhibited elements of transformational leadership. His staff meal was a collaborative effort that began in the kitchen. Many parts of the meal were prepared specifically for staff and weren't offered on the menu. His meals were prepared with the preferences and peculiarities of the individual staff members taken into account. He approached it as a labor of love. The meals, once prepared, were consumed sociably. They have standing rule that there is no shop talk allowed until the last ten minutes of the meal. They sat around the table sharing ideas, ideals and ideologies. They shared news and views. They ate in an atmosphere that facilitated relationships.

Crew members from the Nine-Ten, when interviewed, said they were encouraged to ask questions and learn as much as they wanted. They liked that they were encouraged to apply knowledge gained at Nine-Ten to other aspects of their life. They said they liked working there and that in fact the majority of the current staff has been there for the past year and a half. According to Ms. Virbila in her review for the Los Angeles Times, "The staff is so enthusiastic; it's easy to fall into the spirit of things."

Chef Stebner seems to have fostered a learning environment. All of the key elements were demonstrated. He leads with a shared vision and there is a great deal of collaboration. The organizational design is that of empowered teams. The information sharing is timely, open and accurate. The organizational culture appears to be one of community caring, with mutual relationships based on trust.

The Nine-Ten has received many awards and accolades since its establishment in 2002. A few of the honors they are most proud of are: Voted Best New Restaurant San Diego READER, People's Choice Awards 2002; Voted Best New Restaurant La Jolla Light, Reader's Choice Awards 2002; Awarded Best Hotel Value in San Diego, Travel Holiday Magazine January 2003; and Award of Excellence for 2002, Wine Spectator ~ for having one of the most outstanding wine lists in the world.

They have also received numerous favorable reviews. Apparently, in addition to taking excellent care of his staff and customers, Chef Stebner is committed to building and maintaining relationships with his suppliers. "Stebner is among the newer crop of chefs who pay attention to the provenance of their Brussels sprouts and baby beets, and make friends with local farmers." Caroline Bates, Gourmet Magazine, April 2003

In closing, it important to stress the fact that Chef Michael Stebner exhibited all of the key characteristics of transformational leadership as presented by Majors Donahue and Wong. His source of power with his people is definitely based on character and competence. The lack of turnover in his establishment is a strong example of his followers' commitment. The fact that he nurtures and develops as opposed to evaluating his employees is evidence of a long term focus. Again, his nurturing and development of his staff has contributed to their pride and self esteem not only at work, but in life. Chef Michael Stebner is an excellent example of transformational leadership in action.

References

"What the Insiders Eat" by Sharon McCullough, San Diego Reader, January 22, 2004

 

"Understanding and Applying Transformational Leadership" by Maj. Kevin S. Donahue and Maj. Leonard Wong

 

Nine-Ten website: http://www.nine-ten.com/

 

"Awakening" by Caroline Bates, Gourmet Magazine, April 2003

 

"Finding a Jewel on the La Jolla Shore" By S. Irene Virbila, Los Angeles Times, Sunday, December 11, 2002

As a followup, here is a peek at some of what Chef Michael Stebner has done since 2004: 

Chow Bella

Chef Michael Stebner Leaves Greene House For New True Food Kitchen

True Religion Modern Luxury December 2010

 

 

 

Chef Michael Stebner with Staff

Dr. Andrew Weil with Chef Michael Stebner

One Day It Will All Make Sense...

I keep hearing the words, "Trust me, it will all make sense." This reminds me of Common, maybe because he is on of my favorite hip hop actor poets. I sit in class and at home following the guidance given and applying it to my interests. Sometimes, I realize I have to rely on faith that if I continue forward I will get to work I'm trying to go even though I can't see the whole staircase.

At least I am not in this alone.  There are fifteen of us in the same boat.  In some instances, we will be able to take turns paddling. At other times, we will have to each put our individual shoulders and backs into it.

Every week, I am stepping further and further away from my comfort zone, I realize I have to reorient myself. I have to go beyond reviewing and reporting to actually evaluating and validating as well as coming up with theories and conclusions.

The hard part is you can start off with a theory and ask a question, but the answer can be something entirely different. Add to that the fact that you're quite often evaluating a moving target.  Politics, economics, technology and other environmental factors just make it even more convoluted.

One day it will all make sense, right?



He released an album by the same name.

You Can Get It If You Really Want

I was having the worst time trying to find articles relevant to my area of interest. I was beginning to think I was going to change topics.  The information I found was outdated or sponsored by someone with an agenda.  I seemed to be having no luck at all, and then EUREKA!  I had to keep changing my search terms and databases until I hit pay dirt.

Now, not only do I have relevant articles, they are recent.  It seems I'm not the only one interested in the education of single mothers and the impact of welfare to work and other welfare reform measures on education as a tool of transition. 

I believe access to the necessary resources and networks can streamline the process and help these women avoid wasting too much time on the false starts caused by lack of information, resources and a viable support network.

I would like to demonstrate the effectiveness of higher education in helping women transition from welfare to work as well as what factors contribute to or detract from the rate of progress. In many ways, the same tenacity that made me keep looking for articles is a trait that contributes to the rate of progress and effectiveness of efforts to successfully transition from TANF to self sufficiency.

This makes me think of Jimmy Cliff's movie The Harder They Come.  The theme song was 'You Can Get if You Really Want'.  Ivanhoe Martin represents the hopes and aspirations of masses who believe the only ways to overcome poverty are athletics, entertainment or crime.

Out of Constrictions

I have to wonder, what is or are the determining factor or factors that lead a person to believe they can create their own on reality? What I mean by that is why do some people accept the circumstances within which they find themselves while other use the same circumstances as motivation to work hard for a better life? Why do some people hear the word no and turn away while others hear the word itand think of how to turn it into a yes or how to move forward despite the no.

What are some of the barriers that keep people from rising above a challenging situation? Are there mitigating elements that can be made available which help people ascend from the muck and mire of poverty and ignorance?  What media is available to propogate the message that ignorance and stupidity are not the same thing?  For people who have made poor choices in the past, how can they learn a) they can always make better choices and b) how to make better choices.

Sometimes, people respond to my story as if I did something extraordinary when in fact, I did the only thing I could think of to do.  I didn't always make the best choices, I just made it a point to dust myself off and keep it pushin' when I stumbled, and I stumbled a lot. I still continue to make mistakes, I just hope I don't make the same mistakes too many times.

Click the picture or the link to see my nod to the late great Don Cornelius...

"So wide can't get around it
So low you can't get under it
So high you can't get over it
...this is a chance to
dance your way
Out of your constrictions"
Funkadelic - 1978

Sometimes, you have to dance your way out of your constrictions.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4supWXaFgbc&feature=fvst

Applications

Today was full of learning experiences. It seemed like every where I turned, I was learning something or gaining new insight. I met with and listened to several people who helped expand my view.

One helped me realize the value of the laboratory within which I currently work in terms of opportunities for practical application.  The demographics of our team provide a lot of opportunity to apply some theories. I work with retired military officers,
Another helped me change my perspective on the direct experience qualification filter to see how important it is to frame the cover letter and resume to reflect relevant direct experience and to associate transferable skills in a way that makes it less of the leap for the reviewer. Maybe it is the responsibility of the individual with the less 'traditional' experience to clarify the relevance of their experience.

Another talked to me about her experiences working in the community college district. She reminded me that the population I am most interested in connecting with and assisting is more commonly represented in the community college environment.   At the same time, growing up in Clairemont, I know what it's like to be from an underrepresented group in a majority environment.  People and programs with the focus of assisting my demographic weren't looking for me in the 92111 zip code.