Whenever I visit a Chinese restaurant, I am entertained by
the place mats that explain the animals of the Chinese Zodiac. You may recall
the 12-year cycle of animals, such as the dog, the rat, the sheep, or the ox.
Each zodiac animal also contains a personality description and advice concerning
what other animals to marry or avoid.
I like the idea of focus that the zodiac provides. Each
animal in the zodiac represents a year. However, I do not know that I want to
wait 12 years for my zodiac animal to come around again. However, the idea
behind the zodiac – the focus point – is what I am interested in.
Our lives are full of distractions. There are many people
and items that demand our attention. Life moves at a frenetic pace, as
technological advances compete for our consumer approval. We need to constantly
update our electronic devices lest we fall behind in our ability to communicate
with each other. As a teacher, I see this communication gap widen between parents
and their children and sometimes between authority figures and students.
For example, I find there are still some parents who have
phones that are woefully out of step with the times. Please do not think that I
am trying to argue for more consumerism. Instead I want to put forth the idea
that parents should keep up with their children when it comes to technology.
Just as I advocate that parents read the same books and view the same movies
that their children read and see, so I also advocate that parents stay on top
of the way technology works. The reason I advocate this position is so that
parents are able to parent effectively.
When the Harry Potter craze started, I read the books
because I wanted to know what my students were reading. When I got to book 5, I
thought that the books contained incredibly frightening material for younger
children. I discovered that many of my students read the books but that their
parents had not kept up their reading. Sadly, these students were left to
process the disturbing subject matter on their own. In the case of those
parents who do screen what their children will read or see, please be sure to
be timely about this. I know of several students who had to wait a year for
their mothers to decide that some reading material was acceptable. Meanwhile,
all the students’ friends had read the books, explained what happened to the
non-reading students (and probably lent them the books to read secretly), and
then moved on.
I recall a discussion with one student about something related
to his phone. He remarked, “I don’t have a smart phone. I have a dumb phone.”
This student was only able to make phone calls; his text message capability was
prehistoric, time-consuming to use, and functionally useless. His mother joined
our discussion, and I discovered that the reason behind the technology “lag”
was that the mother was uncomfortable with the new technology. Instead of
trying to figure it out, this mother opted to plead ignorance and lack of technological
savvy. (Happily, this student is now in college, has purchased his own up-to-date laptop, and is humming along in step with the current technological trends, which fits his chosen profession related to sound recording technology.)
I understand that technology can cause a bit of fear and
uncertainty, but I do not believe that ignorance and lack of technological
savvy are really good excuses for not keeping up. I have seen two-year-old
students use my iPhone. They knew exactly how to turn it on and work the
buttons. (One of these same students actually called me one day on his mother’s
new iPhone. This mother had more trouble using her phone than her little
two-year old.) These same youngsters had mothers who still had not figured out
how to use their phone. Do these mothers want their children to be able to use
a smart phone in kindergarten when these mothers will not be able to do so?
Think of the dangers lurking behind the Internet gateway, while these mothers
will be clueless about how to protect their children. Why not just figure it
out? If a two-year old can do it, then a grown-up will be able to learn how.
My favorite example of the technology gap can be heard at
the university level. I frequently hear faculty complain that students do not
keep up with their email. I am amused, because I have found that students have
long passed by the email form of communication. Sure, they can still do it, but
email is not the preferred method of communication. If I want to send an
important message to my university students, I will send an email, because that
is the preferred method of communication at the university level. However, if I
want an instant response, I send a text message, and to cement the deal, I also
send a message via Facebook. My students respond to the text messages first and
foremost. I very seldom receive email responses, and occasionally, Facebook
rules the day, but still the exception rather than the rule.
I started this article about the Chinese Zodiac and the idea
of a year of focus, and I wound up with a discussion about the communication
gap caused by parents who refuse to keep up with the current technology and
trends. I know where I digressed and why, but let me get back to my original
point. I know I had one somewhere. Oh yes, the many distractions that compete
for our attention (and so many of these distractions are caused by technology
and electronic devices). You wonder how I will relate this to the Chinese
Zodiac?
I think we can take a page from the Chinese Zodiac and
create our own focus points. Rather than devote one year per focus point, we
can create our own calendar. Maybe we can devote a month or a semester or a
season to each focus point, or maybe a week. I know that I use many different
time frames for my focus points, and my points vary depending on the
circumstances in which I need to use them.
For example, I typically begin the fall semester with an
overall focus for my studio. This year, my focus is to help my parents and
students to find a way to record and track their practice efforts. I went back
to a handbook format that I had used for many years to keep my parents and
students on task with practice and listening assignments. I have put this
handbook back into play for the past two weeks, and already I have seen a big improvement
in the organization that parents and students have put into their home practice
sessions.
I may have a different focus for my university semester. For
the fall, I may have one focus related to getting my students going for the
university “year” and for the freshmen students especially. I may also have a
focus for each of my various university roles: teacher, performer, scholar, and
collaborator. Some of these roles and focus points may overlap. For the spring semester, I may have a different focus point related to student recital performances and opportunities to practice performing before others.
For the symphony or my performance opportunities as a professional
musician, I may have additional focus points. For the past few years, my focus
point has been “consistency,” where I strive to be consistent from one
rehearsal to the next, and I practice so that I have the capability to maintain
consistency. For my home, I may have focus points related to the upkeep of my home, my dachshunds, or the ranch animals (alpacas and donkeys).
I recommend that you select a focus point for the next
month. Choose one word to represent this focus (or an animal, as found in the
Chinese Zodiac), and put this word prominently on your calendar or somewhere
that you will see it and contemplate it frequently. If you can, devote a
morning page or two to discuss the meaning of this focus point to you:
- What does this focus point represent to you?
- How will it improve you or your life?
- How will it encourage your growth of character or personal development?
- What can you do to make this focus point happen?
- How will you decide whether you have succeeded at meeting your focus?
- How will you measure your success?
As many of you know, I am a big proponent of setting goals.
I like having the “finish line” set before me. I like having a picture of an
ultimate destination to aim for. I like climbing up mountains or running
distance races. I like these things because they stretch me. These things
demand more from me, and I grow stronger as a person of character, discipline,
and knowledge because I strive to accomplish them. I think of focus points as
those incremental stretches of road in between the larger goals. Some focus
points involve more effort because they are those nasty road patches between
miles 10 and 13 when the going is sluggish. Other focus points are those first
few miles of uphill struggle to get started on a new project.
Please leave me a comment about your focus point this next
month. I am interested in hearing what things other people are working around
in their lives. If you have an animal to represent your focus point, then I want to hear what you have chosen and why!
Have a happy week!
P.S.: All this talk about keeping current with technology has a purpose. I recently discovered that I am unable to upgrade to the latest software update for my electronic device. It is time for me to purchase a newer, more up-to-date computer. As much as I love my current laptop (MacBook), I recognize that I need to move on to the next level for many reasons. I will move on to the next level in the next few months and hand down my current laptop to my dear husband, who would be happy to lag behind technology another year or two.
