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parents education - Big Fish, Small Fish: The Parenting Pond

Faith is the key to success

September 11th 2009 10:01
Faith is the pierless bridge supporting what we see unto the scene that we do not.
~ Emily Dickinson, (American lyric poet,1830-1886) ~


As the Crow Flies

The term “as the crow flies” has its origins in maritime lore, when prior to the development of accurate navigational technologies ships would release a caged crow when lost or unsure of their position in coastal waters. The crow would fly straight towards the nearest land thus giving the vessel some sort of a navigational fix. Over time the term evolved into a colloquial expression used to describe the most direct route between two points on the Earth. As an aside, the tallest lookout platform on a ship thus became known as the "crow's nest”.

Of course sighting land at night, let alone a safe port, posed a far more difficult challenge, and using a crow to assist you would have been next to impossible. Fortunately, ancient peoples had long made a practice of banking fires on hills and mountainsides to bring their sailors home from the sea. A concept that underwent further development by the Egyptians in 280 B.C. with the building of the Pharos Tower, history's first, and also tallest, lighthouse. Its light, produced by a fire kept blazing on its roof, could probably be seen from up to forty-six kilometres out in the Mediterranean. The light from these ancient lighthouses produced a halo or arc of light that would silhouette the horizon thereby providing point to which those still at sea could navigate to.

Faith Underpins Success
Faith allows us to expand our horizons!

The adventurous nature of ancient seafarers was such that they would step beyond their comfort zone, into the vast emptiness of the ocean, and placing their trust for a safe return home in God, one another, crude navigational technologies, and a crow that held no loyalties to its captors. Such expressions of faith were paramount to the success of sailor explorers in opening our world and filling in the blank edges of the map.

Faith helps us to deal with ‘life out of context’ and confront those defining moments that test the depth and breadth of our character, challenge us to reflect meta-cognitively, and without exception leads us to a greater understanding of ourselves, our gifts, strengths, weaknesses and needs as well as those of others. Without faith our individual character is held in a kind of limbo. For it is when understanding fails us, and we are at the edge between the known and the unknown, that faith helps bridge the gap until our understanding has grown to the necessary point. At which time faith all but disappears, its work done, and insight is born. Faith also provides us with the optimism that leads to achievement, for nothing is ever fully realised without some degree of hope or confidence.

I believe that all things are possible for those who are able to maintain a healthy perspective between their core and dispositional beliefs, and in so doing are able to maintain equilibrium between the three key dimensions of faith …

Faith in one’s self ~
Based on a belief in the truth and strength of one’s core values; a trust in one’s integrity; and confidence in one’s ability to act in wisdom and with compassion.

Faith in others ~
Encompassing a fundamental belief in the oneness of all peoples which transcends cultural, economic, national and social boundaries; a trust in the good character of another; and confidence that we may live and relate to others in a Christ-like manner.

Spiritual Faith ~
Comprised of a belief in our spiritual heritage, trust in the morality espoused through our spiritual values, confidence that we are part of a greater whole.

It is through our sense of Faith that makes it possible for to successfully apply those habits of mind that enable us to …

venture out by trying new things constantly and taking responsible risks. It may be that this requires living on the edge of one’s competence for a time but that is what being adventuresome is about;

create, imagine, and innovate by trying things a different way thereby generating new and novel ideas with fluency and originality;

apply past knowledge to new situations by accessing prior knowledge; and transferring that knowledge beyond the situation in which it was learned.


Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.
~ Saint Augustine ~
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Somewhere Something Incredible is Waiting to be Known

September 11th 2009 09:58
In reference to the myriad of incredible things that are waiting to be known, the late American astronomer, writer and scientist, Dr. Carl Sagan once wrote ...

"The surface of the Earth is the shore of the cosmic ocean. From it we have learned most of what we know. Recently, we have waded a little out to sea, enough to dampen our toes or, at most, wet our ankles. The water seems inviting. The ocean calls so!"


This quote alludes to the wondrous possibilities that rest at our finger tips. Throughout history the pool of knowledge that we all share has evolved through a combination of chance discovery, exploration of possibilities, and opportunism driven by the wonderment and awe of what is to be known about the world in which we are immersed. This is the way that it has been for the countless generations that have preceded us, and will be for those that follow.

In the great scheme of things it doesn’t matter whether you make the finding yourself or are the last person on Earth to see the light; in taking the first steps toward finding those incredible things that are just waiting to be known there are two things required of us. The first is an attitude that involves opening our minds to possibility, and being opportunistic enough to seize a chance presented. Being open to possibilities and opportunities prepares our mind to think flexibly and thus be more alert to, and receptive of, those incredible things to be learned.

The second requires the application of perceptive thought processes – the ability to look at things another way through the ability to change perspectives, generate alternatives, explore possibilities and consider options. For the most part we tend to do this by hypothesising (creating tentative theories) about as yet unverified ideas, concepts or knowledge concerning the world around us. If, through the various processes of testing, our hypothesising proves to be true, we reconfigure those ideas and concepts already held. However, in this regard we tend to be limited by the inflexibility of traditional thinking processes that tie us to a ‘this’ or ‘that’ scenario.

‘Rock’ or ‘Water’ Thinking
Edward de Bono , who has built a reputation on providing thinking tools that are very simple to use and yet powerful in their effect, contends that traditional modes of thinking are static and unproductive, as they are based on the solid and inflexible foundations of 'is' and identity. In contrast to the traditional 'rock’ thinking, he proposes the notion of 'water’ or perceptive thinking which is based on 'to' and the flow of the mind (ie. 'What does this lead to?' as opposed to 'What is...?')

De Bono argues that in traditional (rock) thinking we tend to make judgements based upon right/wrong. Whereas when we are in a perceptive (water) thinking mode our judgements are made around the concepts of 'fit' and 'flow'. Where we apply the concept of 'fit' by asking questions like: 'Does this fit the circumstances and conditions?' Then, after acknowledging the possibility of fit we then move on to the notion of ‘flow’ and questions such as: 'Is the terrain suitable for flow to take place in this direction?’ Hence, fit covers the static situation, flow covers the dynamic situation.

For instance, in a conflict situation both sides will argue that they are right I which they can invariably argue logically. Traditional (rock) thinking would seek to discover which party was really 'right'. On the other hand, water logic would acknowledge that both parties were right but that each conclusion was based on a particular aspect of the situation, particular circumstances, and a particular point of view.

The point is that water logic is highly dependent on defined circumstances or conditions, whereas the very essence of traditional rock logic is that it is circumstance-independent. However, we tend to be so immersed in a rock-like thinking mode that water thinking often seems so pragmatic that 'anything goes' and there is no way of making judgements, or getting a decision. As a consequence, it is likely that many of those incredible things that are waiting to be known will pass us by unnoticed.

There is wonderment and awe to be found just about everywhere!


Helping children to recognise those incredible things that are waiting to be known.
Children have the most amazing imaginations, they view the world with wonderment and awe, are open to possibilities, and are unwavering opportunists. We see this in their play and curiosity about life and the world in which they live. There are a couple of simple little things as parents, mentors or teachers that we can do to assist our children to explore possibilities well beyond their imaginative play years. These include:

encouraging them to continue to view their world with wonderment and awe.

encouraging them to remain open to new ideas.

redirecting their thoughts when they start falling into the trap of traditional ‘rock’ thinking.


This may be done by asking simple questions such as:

Where does this [idea or thought] lead to?

Does this fit the circumstances and conditions [of the situations]?


However, it is not always easy to change perspectives, generate alternatives, consider other options or come up with the right sort of probing questions. It takes time and patience, and a good deal of effective role modelling on our behalf as parents. But as Alexander Graham Bell, once said ...

"The most successful men in the end are those whose success is the result of steady accretion. It is the man who carefully advances step by step, with his mind becoming wider and wider - and progressively better able to grasp any theme or situation."
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Helping children to become life-long learners

September 11th 2009 09:49
"You gotta quit waiting for something to happen and start doing something about it."
~ Anonymous ~


When the world was a much bigger place, the edges of maps were uncertain and Britannia ruled the seas; a slate tablet was kept near the ships helm on which the watch keeper would record the speeds, distances, headings and tacks during the watch. If there were no problems during the watch, the slate would be wiped clean so that the new watch could start over with a clean slate. This is the origin of the expression: starting over with a clean slate.

A key wishes for our children should be for them to be eager and effective life-long learners. Remembering that the effective life-long learner does not rejoice on the hubris of their success, nor do they assume that by simple iteration of action their success will be repeated. Rather, they tend to wipe the slate clean as they look to new and better ways of learning.

Learning Continuously
It is often said that education is about preparing our young people for the future and that is logical, because that is where we will live. The problem is that we do not know precisely what that future will look like, nor what issues we will face – it is not a precise science. Particularly in light of the exponential growth in the given that our children But whatever the future, our community is depending on our young people to be the bearers of the wisdom to carry humanity and society forward with integrity, compassion and faith.

While our children we enjoy a great deal of success which can measured through a wide variety of curricular and co-curricular activities such as (eisteddfods, academic competitions, Sporting competitions as well as the high-stakes curriculum impositions of major exams such as the HSC, VCE, QCS, SATs, etc...). However, it would be a flaw of character if they, or we as parents, were to bask in the hubris of recent or long-term successes and say that they have got it right, that what they are doing, in and out of the classroom, represents best practice. Because learning is a dynamic and intensely social practice, and in a world in which traditional notions concerning the interchange and interplay of information, communication, and educational dynamics is suddenly developing blurred edges we cannot take anything for granted. Therefore, success in any field of endeavour is about having appropriate habits of mind that allows one to adapt their learning rather than just reiterate it.

Consequently, among the core values that we should endeavour to instil in our children is that of the life-long learner. This particular value is not determined by how knowledgeable a person is, just as wisdom is not a function of intellect. Rather, it evolves through the humility of knowing that we don't know. This is one of the highest forms of thinking that anyone will ever learn although paradoxically, unless we start off with humility we will never get anywhere. So as the first step in encouraging children to become effective Life-long learners is to develop within them the virtue of the humility to know, and admit, that there are things that they don't know and not be afraid to find out.

As children develop and refine this form of humility their confidence as a learner grows, which in combination with their natural inquisitiveness opens up a whole new approach to learning as they begin to seek new ways of enhancing their learning processes, and subsequently the depth and quality of the knowledge, understandings and skills that they begin to acquire. As their mastery of this Habit of Mind continues to develop they move into a mode in which they are always striving for improvement, always growing, always learning, always modifying and improving themselves. They seize problems, situations, tensions, conflicts and circumstances as valuable opportunities to learn.

An opportunity to start with a clean slate!
The end of each school term marks an opportunity for every student to reflect on their learning journey to date; to use the down time of the holiday break to and assess their strengths and weakness, and plot new and hopefully profitable courses of action. Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can renew their efforts. In starting over with a clean slate, our goal is to be better today than we were yesterday. A chance to approach life and learning with a new outlook, fresh ideas and have the humility to acknowledge the limits of their knowing and understanding.

Albert Einstein once said insanity is continuing to do the same thing over and over and expecting different results.ť Now is the time for students to assess whether they are in the habit of doing the same thing over and over again without demonstrating any significant progress and to develop new strategies for a more productive future. Any change in behaviour will inevitably involve a degree of responsible risk taking; this takes courage but if the learning process is to be effective we must be prepared to move beyond our comfort zone and try something different occasionally.

Therefore, we should encourage our children to take on board the advice provided not only through their reports but also by way of the feedback that has accompanied the return of their various assessment tasks. In so doing, they should ask themselves, at the very least, these three questions: What have I learned? What is it that can I do better? What can I do differently?
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Helping children to become life-long learners

September 11th 2009 09:49
"You gotta quit waiting for something to happen and start doing something about it."
~ Anonymous ~


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