april 30

for our MOM: think of a word worth repeating to yourself. when you close your eyes, write the words on the backs of your eyelids with your mind.

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tune: "Signs" by The Five Man Electrical Band]
Why is it legal for businesses to put up all sorts of ugly signs, but graffiti is illegal?

-OR-

Choose your own.

AGENDA:

1. Journal
2. Empathy: part II
3. Use at least 3 ideas from today's conversation to improve yesterday's deliverable.
4. Finish the week strong by publishing all of your deliverables, including journals and mental/physical fitness.

notes on your masterpieces

Here are the notes I took yesterday (Wednesday, April 28) - please feel free to comment if you see anything that's incomplete or incorrect:

ZOE:

• Planning to write a show in Korean (with English subtitles and/or dubbing)
• Show will be about romance and cooking/food (Gitzel asked about mystery)
• NEEDS: help with video (Dael?) and character development (Gitzel? Dr. Preston?)

CAROLINA:

• Key Interests: dentistry and pediatric medicine
• Focus Group feedback - when people think of dentists, they think of 
• teeth
• smile
• cavities
• boring
• captive/victim/laying down
• how do dentists know what to look for and what to do?
• sharp objects - what ARE those things?
• dentists are actual people - very patient, caring, hardworking, and attentive to detail

GITZEL:

• Bringing together career paths with Key Interests
• AHC courses, FBI, medicine
• Mystery writing
• Planning a (short :) mystery book featuring herself as the protagonist, with the masterpiece presentation as a reading of the big reveal

GABBY

• nutrition/human behavior/baking chemistry
• (*Help! I got so excited about our conversation here that I forgot to write the rest of this down!) 

DAEL

• videography, real estate, cryptocurrency
• It sounds like real estate and cryptocurrency are the stories here, and video is the way to tell them

JESUS

• automotive, construction, welding, real estate, cryptocurrency
• how-to mechanic videos with a conversational / humorous tone?

NARCISO

• Formerly: construction, mechanical/structural engineering
• Currently: e-commerce & cryptocurrency
  

april 29

for our MOM: settle in and make yourself right at home.

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Homeward Bound" by Simon and Garfunkel; "Home Sweet Home" by Mötley Crüe]

Where do you feel at home? Is it the place where you live? Is it where your people are? Is it, like George Carlin said, "a place for your stuff," or like the old saying goes, is home "where the heart is"?

- OR -

Choose your own topic.

AGENDA:
1. Our MOM
2. Journal
3. Innovation and presentation as empathy
4. Discussion: masterpiece presentations as empathy

DELIVERABLE:

Publish a post on your blog in which  you describe how your masterpiece will be an act of empathy. (title: I TEACH YOU BECAUSE I CARE ABOUT YOU)

april 28

for our MOM: for all the times you've given an automatic response to the question, "How are you?" - take a moment to breathe and feel exactly how you are.

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Fever" by Peggy Lee; "Doctor My Eyes" by Jackson Browne]

How are you today?

- OR -

Choose your own topic.

AGENDA:
1. Our MOM
2. Journal
3. Discussion: Seasoning our masterpieces

DELIVERABLE:

What did you add to your masterpiece recipe today? (title: I AM A MASTER CHEF)

april 27

for our MOM:

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "It's Raining Men" by Weathergirls; "Here Comes the Rain Again" by The Eurythmics]

What are the pros and cons of rain? What do you like to do when it rains? How does the rain make you feel?

- OR -

Choose your own topic.

AGENDA:
1. Our MOM
2. Journal
3. P2P: Teach each other about your Masterpiece resources

• Briefly describe your Key Interest/s
• Choose your top 3-5 resources and explain how they'll help you learn (what info did you get from them? how do you know they can be trusted?)
• Choose your WEAKEST resource and explain why it's not as good as the others
• Invite questions and feedback

DELIVERABLE:

When you listen to a colleague describe their KI and resources, take notes and publish the experience on your blog in a post entitled: TODAY A STUDENT BECAME A MASTER

april 26

for our MOM:

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Trouble" by Ray LaMontagne [thanks Gabby!], "Trouble" by Yusuf/Cat Stevens; "Change is Gonna Come" by Sam Cooke [thanks, Zoe!] Nah. I'm not posting anything else until I get those emails. From EVERYONE.

self-assessment emails

Hi! Thanks to Gabby and Carolina for sending the progress report self-assessment emails we agreed on.

The rest of you owe me. Please email tonight.

Mahalo.

april 23

for our MOM: listen to the sound of your breathing

JOURNAL TOPIC: ["Where Do the Children Play?" by Cat Stevens]
Since we're talking about the commons this week... where DO children get to play anymore? When I was a kid, we played at the park, in the street, in the yard of the abandoned house down the street... but in a world of driving long distances, concrete, pandemics, crime, play dates, etc., what do little kids do these days for unstructured fun?

- OR -

Choose your own topic.

AGENDA:
1. Our MOM
2. Journal (happy Friday, whatever that ever meant... :) Please remember to post your journals for the week on your blog
3. Me (yesterday): "Remember to send me those progress report emails."
You All: "Okeedokee, Dr. Preston! Don't you worry about a thing, we got this."
All My Inboxes: "Gabby's the only one."
3a. Unless you're Gabby, hang your head in shame (briefly) and keep the agreement we made by sending your email.
4. Last week we talked about the ingredients for a successful Masterpiece. The first thing everyone mentioned needing was high-quality information from a variety of trusted sources. In that spirit, please complete the deliverable below. I'm available via email today and over the weekend if you have questions or need help.

DELIVERABLE: Search online for topics related to your key interest/s. Find AT LEAST FIFTEEN (15) resources that: a) contain high-quality information; and b) are published by credible individuals or organizations.

As you search, document the value of your resources by writing the following information in a post on your blog (title: FINAL MASTERPIECE RESEARCH PHASE ONE):

• The URL (as a link, so that we can click and see what you saw) 
• A brief explanation (one paragraph minimum) of what you learned from the resource and how it helped you understand an idea or skill related to your Key Interest/s
• A brief explanation (1-5 sentences) of who published the information and why you consider them a credible authority in the field

This is due on your blog by 8:00P Pacific on Sunday, April 25. Mahalo.

april 22

for our MOM: Earth. Can you feel it?

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) by Marvin Gay; "Big Yellow Taxi" by Joni Mitchell/ bonus track: "Moondance" by Van Morrison]
Today is Earth Day. (Earth is the ultimate Commons. Everyone uses it and no one owns it.) According to the official website, "Every year on April 22, Earth Day marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970." I have a personal connection to this - apart from living on Earth and wanting you, my daughter, and future generations to live here safely and securely, I was also born in 1970. You also have a personal connection to this - the movement to take better care of our planet was partly a reaction to a massive oil spill off Santa Barbara in 1969. Today, the question is the same as it's always been: How can all of us human beings do a better job of protecting the places and resources that provide everything we need to live?

- OR -

Choose your own topic.

AGENDA:
1. Our MOM
2. Journal
3. Giving feedback to others and assessing ourselves: final progress report notes

DELIVERABLE:
Please email Dr. Preston with your feedback and self-assessment (structure/details provided during today's zoom. UPDATE: see below). Subject Header: FINAL SPRING PROGRESS REPORT NOTES

PROGRESS REPORT QUESTIONS:

• Before answering the questions and sending your email, please read your colleagues' blogs and make at least three comments on their posts.
  

1. What do you do best in this OSLA? Where are you strongest, most confident? What can you say you have actually accomplished or learned so far this semester? 
2. Where do you need improvement? Support? What can you or the teacher do to help you? 
3. On a scale from 1-10, how much effort are you putting into the OSLA? (*You can separate this out into categories; for example, if you put in a huge effort on your blog, but not so much on the reading or the journals or commenting on the course blog, please explain) 
4. What letter grade do you believe you have earned at this point in the course?

april 21

for our MOM: This moment is perfect. Take it all in.

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Perfect Day" by Lou Reed]
Describe something you think is perfect. What does it mean to be perfect? Is it being good enough? Accepted? Why don't little kids care about perfect? Should perfect be important to adults? Asking for a few million perfectionist friends. Please explain your answer.

AGENDA:
1. Our MOM
2. Journal
3. Tying up some loose (imperfect?) ends around the commons, collaboration, deliverables, and your masterpieces

april 20

for our MOM: when we breathe, we exchange air and connect with the space around us. Do that.

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Good Idea" by Sugar]
Describe a time you gave or got an idea that helped make something better.

- OR -

Choose your own topic.

AGENDA:
1. Our MOM
2. Journal
3. The Commons (continued)
4. Laura Ritchie's students/ collaboration

DELIVERABLES:
1. Please summarize our conversation of the last two days and publish in a post on your blog (title: WHAT'S MINE IS MINE, AND OCCASIONALLY WHAT'S YOURS IS MINE)
2. Please comment on the piano post and these two blogs: meet Georgia and Harry

april 19

for our MOM: You and I are breathing. Whose air is it?

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Breathe (In the Air)" by Pink Floyd; "Soak Up the Sun" by Sheryl Crow] Some things we own. Some things we own, we also share. Some things we share, but we don't own. Today's journal has two parts: 1) Describe something you own. How do you know you own it? What makes it yours? Then, 2) Explain the difference between sharing something you own, and sharing something you don't own (like the beach, the sun, or a day at the park).

- OR -

Choose your own topic.

AGENDA:
1. our MOM
2. Journal
3. Research and Discussion: Ownership, intellectual property, and the Creative Commons

april 16

for our MOM: be a noodle.

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Star Wars (Main Theme)" by John Williams; "The Planets, Op. 32:6. Uranus, The Magician" by Gustav Holst]
Human beings have searched the night sky since before recorded history. Before the ancient Mayans, Greeks, and Mesopotamians started connecting the bright dots of planets and stars, cave paintings and even a carved woolly mammoth tusk suggest that people were paying attention. Why? What is the attraction? Is it a natural wonder or curiosity? A desire to connect, to feel part of something cosmically larger than ourselves? Or to create order by making sense of a universe that can seem mysterious and chaotic? What do you think about when you look up at the night sky?

- OR -

Choose your own topic.

AGENDA:
1. Our MOM
2. Journal (*please publish yours for the week)/ Dr. Preston's show-and-tell
3. Connecting our dots 

• Creativity
• Curiosity
• Collaboration
• Curation
  
  
  DELIVERABLE:
  
  Please publish a post on your blog that describes how today's work helped you think about your masterpiece, and how you helped someone else (title: IT IS BEST TO GIVE AND RECEIVE)

april 15

for our MOM: breathe out. keep breathing out. breathe out until you can't breathe out any more. now, breathe in - and enjoy it.

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Distant Memories" by James Horner; "My Heart Will Go On - Love Theme From 'Titanic'" by Celine Dion & James Horner] Today is the anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. Who cares? What do you know about it? Why did someone make a movie about it? Is there a lesson or a moral to this story? Why do we observe anniversaries in the first place?

- OR -

Choose your own topic.

AGENDA:
1. Our MOM
2. Journal
3. Discussion: presenting our ideas from yesterday
4. The Lab: working on our questions
5. (if time) The Making of a Masterpiece

april 14

for our MOM: [Inhale deeply. When you exhale, say "hmmmm..." like you're being really thoughtful.]

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Curious George Theme Song" by Dr. John; "Questions" & "Supposed to Be" by Jack Johnson]
Today we will curiosity how it relates to success. This is an interesting topic to me, because our Western/American culture gives us mixed messages about it. On one hand, we are told to ask questions in school and express enthusiasm for learning new things. On the other, we grow up with lots of sayings and stories ("Curiosity killed the cat," "Don't fly too close to the sun," "Don't disobey orders or eat from the tree of knowledge," for example) that teach us to NOT be curious.

What makes you curious?

-OR-

You can use your journal simply to write about life and your experiences in these unusual, challenging times.

AGENDA:
1. MOM
2. Journal
3. Research & Discussion: Curiosity
4. Playtime

DELIVERABLE:

Please publish a post on your blog in which you discuss what you learned about curiosity today (title: CURIOSITY BRINGS THIS CAT TO LIFE)

this just in from laura ritchie

I told [Laura/Professor Ritchie, depending on where you stand on the name/title issue] that we watched her students play yesterday, and she responded by offering these two links. Let's have a look today. Dael, I'm especially curious to know what you think about the process!

https://www.lauraritchie.com/2021/03/07/resonance-and-making-music/

https://www.lauraritchie.com/2021/03/27/resonance-recording/

april 13

for our MOM: ***nothing***

JOURNAL TOPIC:
"Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink." Find the source of this quote, and explain what it means. How does this relate to scarcity and abundance, and why do you think Jesus (Garcia) eats his last meal on retirement home time and goes to bed so early?

- OR -

Choose your own topic.

AGENDA:
1. Our MOM
2. Journal
3. Discussion: review collaboration and connect with feedback
4. Answering our questions - how do we know when we're done?
5. Work on our questions

april 12

for our MOM: breathe - no one else can do this for you.

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "With a Little Help from my Friends" by The Beatles; "Friends" by Led Zeppelin; "Help!" by The Beatles; "Cooperation" by Big Bird/Sesame Street]
At this point in history, none of us live our lives completely alone. We all need support, critique, and resources from others. What do you need to live your best life? Who provides what you need?

- OR -

Choose your own topic.

AGENDA:
1. Our MOM
2. Journal
3. Collaboration
4. Preparation

DELIVERABLES:
1. Make sure ALL the posts you've created are published and visible on your blog.

buckle up

This will be - by far - the busiest week of our semester yet. I hope everyone enjoyed our long weekend (or Spring Break, in Zoe's and Narciso's cases). Now it's time to dial in. Please make your three check-in appointments on the calendar. Please dust off your blogs. Please make sure you are checking in with yourselves about your time investments, the routines you've created to help you get things done, and your mental and physical fitness. Ask for help if you need it. I'm excited: this is the fun part!

meet (some of) laura ritchie's students

As we discussed a couple weeks ago, we will be collaborating with Laura's students - from England, Canada, and Hong Kong - in a few ways.

For starters, please watch this video and share your thoughts about it in a comment to this post.

april 9

Today's theme is freedom of choice.

Please choose what you'd like to think about for your MOM.

Please choose what you'd like to write about in your journal - and choose some music to listen to while you write!

Please choose to complete the work we agreed to for this week: post your journals, update your mental and physical fitness entries, complete the scholarship posts and email, and please post your answers to those questions I posed in the chat for you about your key interests and your previously programmed courses.

As always, please choose to email and ask for help if you need it. Have a great day!

april 8

for our MOM: experience each second

JOURNAL TOPIC:
[today's tunes: "Time of the Season" by The Zombies]
Today's journal time will be quick. Our whole meeting will last less than 30 minutes. In these moments, I'm mindful of sayings I've heard my whole life, like "haste makes waste." It makes sense to me that rushing causes people to get sloppy in their work. This gets worse when we combine rushing with cycles of procrastination. But getting things done also requires decisive action that sometimes needs to be speedy. The best advice I ever received about this came from Hall of Fame UCLA Basketball Coach John Wooden, who put it this way: "Be quick but don't hurry." What are some things you do quickly, but not so quickly that you cut corners on quality?

- OR -

Choose your own topic.

AGENDA:
1. Our MOM
2. Journal
3. Check-in / status / plan

DELIVERABLE:
1. Please send me an email in which you describe your scholarship process. What did you find? Have you applied yet? Would you like me to help you brainstorm or edit? (subject header for email: MY SCHOLARSHIP SEARCH)

2. I will be auditing your blogs this weekend - and sharing them with my daughter, who is nearly 12. As we read, we're going to talk about what makes sense, what shows mastery and promise, and what can be improved. So, pro tip: make sure your blog is up to date and represents your best thinking :)

april 7

for our MOM: abundance

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Life's Been Good" by Joe Walsh]
How much is enough? Why are some people so happy with so little, and others so unhappy with so much?

-OR-

Choose your own topic.

AGENDA:
1. our MOM
2. Journal
3. Discussion: Personal finance, budgeting, value of money, cryptocurrency, and setting goals
4. FREE MONEY (Part III)

REMINDER:
Please use these days to complete anything remaining on your blog, answer your interdisciplinary questions, and pursue your Key Interests. If you need help, please ask :)

DELIVERABLE:
Please publish a post on your blog in which you explain your short and long-term financial goals. (title: THE WORLD DOESN'T OWE ME A THING)

april 6

for our MOM: enjoy what you can't possibly know

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "The Riddle" by Five for Fighting; "Magical Mystery Tour" by The Beatles]
Why do you think some people like brain teasers and riddles and puzzles that others find frustrating?

-OR-

Choose your own topic.

AGENDA:
1. our MOM
2. Journal
3. Discussion: Self-assessments
4. FREE MONEY (Part II)

REMINDER:
Please use these days to complete anything remaining on your blog, answer your interdisciplinary questions, and pursue your Key Interests. If you need help, please ask :)

DELIVERABLE:
Please publish a post on your blog in which you explain why you are worth investing in. (title: I'M WORTH IT)

happy april 5!

Good morning! I'm posting at the leisurely hour of almost 9:00A (*yawn, stretch) - hope those of you who wanted to enjoyed sleeping in! Today we'll be meeting on Zoom at 10:00A.

for our MOM: relax

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: TAKING REQUESTS]

What do you do when you want to actively, purposefully relax? (NOTE: This is different than plunking yourself down in front of a screen and wondering where the time went.) Do you read, exercise, meditate, listen to music, garden, cook, or ...? Asking for a few million friends who need to find ways to calm down and de-stress.

AGENDA:
1. Our MOM
2. Journal
3. FREE MONEY!!!

DELIVERABLE:
Publish a post on your blog in which you describe your scholarship search. (title: FREE MONEY)

april 2

for our MOM: take a break. From everything.

JOURNAL TOPIC: ["Working for the Weekend" by Loverboy; "Vacation" by the Go-gos]

I loved our conversation yesterday. You proved the truth of the Chinese proverb: "If you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life." Afterward, I found myself thinking about all those times I've heard people on campus say things like, "Thank God it's Friday," or telling me that there are 29 days until the next three-day weekend or vacation. I understand counting off days until the end of a prison sentence, but we are free - aren't we? Doesn't it make you wonder? Why do we crave Wellness Weeks, Breaks, Vacations, Weekends... what the hell are we doing to ourselves the rest of the time?

- OR -

Choose your own topic.

AGENDA:
1. Our MOM
2. Journal (please post your 3 for the week!)
3. Group plan
4. Individual/team breakout rooms and work (catching up, goals, interdisciplinary subjects)

april 1

for our MOM: Breathe deeply, close your eyes, and observe how completely you can experience this moment.

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Your New Boyfriend" by Wilfred Soot; "(Now & Then There's) A Fool Such As I" by Hank Snow; "Ship of Fools" by Robert Plant] You have seven minutes to write an epic poem about a unified theory of consciousness and the history of the papacy concentrating especially but not exclusively on its social, political, economic, religious, and philosophical impact on Europe, Asia, America, and Africa. Be brief, concise, and specific. Be ready to recite your poem from memory in any ancient language (except Greek) to the 2000 people who will be waiting expectantly on the field outside your front door in eight minutes. 

[OR] Attempt to explain why people like the experience of making/being made a fool at least once a year.

[OR] 

Steve Jobs gave a famous commencement address at Stanford University in which he told graduates to do what they love. At the end of the speech, Jobs quoted Stewart Brand's Whole Earth Catalog: "Stay hungry. Stay foolish." On the surface, this may seem like odd advice to graduates of a prestigious university. What do you think Jobs meant? 

[OR]

Choose your own topic. 

AGENDA:

1. Our MOM
2. Journal
3. Let's make some decisions together