The opening keynote at BLC09 was given by Benjamin Zander and my main take away was to live a life that radiates possibilities.

I was thinking how teachers look forward to the new school year as a time to be excited, a time of possibility. They have spent the summer thinking of ways to improve upon their craft, looking at new lessons and strategies, and searching for new resources.  Just before the first day with students they receive their class lists and begin to look them over. I too look over the list of teachers I will be working with.  When we look over our lists do we see the possible gifts or the possible problems?

I am a person of faith and this does influence how I view and interact with people.* I believe all of us are created and have been given a range of gifts and talents and that it is our role to help uncover these gifts and talents in each other.  It is as if we are participating a life long  treasure hunt.  Sometimes we will reap the rewards, sometimes others will reap the rewards, of what is uncovered.  But if we do not help unwrap the gifts and talents in each of us then we as a society will not reap the benefits.

As I was thinking of this I remembered the Life is for Sharing commercial by Nokia. I think all talents are like the dance, the joy, spreading from one person to the next, to the next and soon we are all dancing, we are all connected. As we begin the new school year, or each day for that matter, it is important to look for the possible gifts and not the possible problems.

Notes
*At least this is how I wish to treat people each day. The reality is sometimes I don’t. I get frustrate and I see the problems and not the gifts, but it is my goal and I reflect on it often.
The list of links I discovered or re-discovered at Edublogger Con East and BLC 09 is found at Diigo.
This post was inspired by the key notes, and sessions with Bob Sprankle and David Truss among others.