Be the Board (Wk4 #2 EDM613)

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This scene from The Karate Kid (1984) clearly conveys what Zander is saying in The Art of Possibility when describing the idea of Being the Board. The example Zander gives is when the boss of someone does not listen to his advice. Instead of blaming the boss, he looks at the situation and decides to "design a conversation that matters to him," enrolling him in his idea.

Once again, this is another example of a paradigm shift in looking at the student who is totally disinterested. I have found myself too often quick to blame the student in this situation. The student may be upset not with the content itself, but with the fact that he is not engaged with the content. On some level that student desires to be engaged with the material. As a teacher, how do I engage him? A "good" teacher, like Miyagi, will find a way. I will have to be like "Daniel-san" in this instance and become a good student in order to strive to be that "good" teacher. Wax on, wax off.

Video copyright Delphi Films (1984).

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