Service-Learning

What is service-learning?
 

Picking up trash on a riverbank is service.
Studying water samples under a microscope is learning.

When science students collect and analyze water samples, document their results and present findings to a local pollution control agency... that is service-learning.

Service-learning is a teaching method that enriches learning by engaging students in meaningful service to their schools and communities. Young people apply academic skills to solving real-world issues, linking established learning objectives with genuine needs. They lead the process with adults as partners, applying critical thinking and problem-solving skills to concerns such as hunger, pollution, and diversity.

Source:
National Youth Leadership Council

Never panic, life is never easy

Never panic. We all experience a crisis at some time or other, either in our personal lives, professional activities or in my case, often on a mountain or in the jungle. The greatest piece of advice I can give is
Don't panic.
Try to avoid reacting immediately.
First of all work out all possible options or alternatives.

There is usually a way out or at least an opportunity to deal with the problem, no matter what it is. Often the problem itself can be the making of you and give you another chance to take another direction.

( By the way, it's interesting to note that the derivation of the word 'panic' arises from the sight of Pan; the primal fear of meeting this half-man creature. ) Sometimes you don't have so much time, but if possible, sleeping on a problem, waiting 24 hours, is all that is necessary to see things in a different and more acceptable perspective.

Maxim for the millennium 
Life is never easy, even for those that seem to have more than most. I always remember Sylvester Stallone saying in one of his interviews that if he'd understood at the beginning that the downside of fame was going to be as it really is, he wouldn't have taken that rocky road. Perhaps then he would have muscled in on another profession! Always keep your mind open and above all learn from your mistakes.

The philosophical tenet I would offer is:
He who learns but does not think, is dead. He who thinks but does not learn, is in great danger.

Source:
Seize the Day
3 Jan
Tips by Neville Shulman OBE
Edited by Nicholas Albery & Stephanie Wienrich
Chatto & Windus
ISBN: 1-5573-8290-5

Scout Values

What are Scout values?

 

Scout values are in the Scout Law. The Scout Law is:

A Scout is to be trusted.

A Scout is loyal.

A Scout is friendly and considerate.

A Scout belongs to the worldwide family of Scouts.

A Scout has courage in all difficulties.

A Scout makes good use of time and is careful of possessions and property.

A Scout has self-respect and respect for others.

 

Source:

Scout Law

Scout Association

Values

What are values?
The word "value" comes from the French verb valoir, meaning "to be worth." Gradually it evolved an association with valor and worthiness. Values describe how we intend to operate, on a day-to-day basis, as we pursue our vision.

A set of governing values might include: how we want to behave with each other; how we expect to regard our customers, community, and vendors; and the lines which we will and will not cross.

Source:
Society for Organizational Learning

Edison Notebooks

Edison relentlessly recorded and illustrated every step of his voyage to discovery in his 3500 notebooks that were discovered after his death in 1931. Keeping a written record of his work was a significant key to his genius. His notebooks got him into the following habits:

They enabled him to cross-fertilize ideas, techniques and conceptual models by transferring them from one problem to the next.

For example, when it became clear in 1900 that an iron-ore mining venture in which Edison was financially committed was failing and on the brink of bankruptcy, he spent a weekend poring over his notebooks and came up with a detailed plan to redirect the company's efforts toward the manufacture of Portland cement, which could capitalize on the same model as the iron-ore company.

Whenever he succeeded with a new idea, would review his notebooks to rethink ideas and inventions he'd abandoned in the past in the light of what he'd recently learned. If he were mentally blocked working on a new idea, he would review his notebooks to see if there was some thought or insight that could trigger a new approach.

For example, Edison took his unsuccessful work to develop an undersea telegraph cable and incorporated it into the design of a telephone transmitter that adapted to the changing sound waves of the caller's voice. This technique instantly became the industry standard.
 
Edison would often jot down his observations of the natural world, failed patents and research papers written by other inventors, and ideas others had come up with in other fields. He would also routinely comb a wide variety of diverse publications for novel ideas that sparked his interest and record them in his notebooks. He made it a habit to look out for novel and interesting ideas that others had used successfully on other problems in other fields. To Edison, an idea needed to be original only in its adaptation to the problem he was working on.

Edison also studied his notebooks of past inventions and ideas to use as springboards for other inventions and ideas in their own right. To Edison his diagrams and notes on the telephone ( sounds transmitted ) suggested the phonograph ( sounds recorded ), which in turn suggested motion pictures ( image recorded ).
 
Source:
Cracking Creativity
Pg. 105
Michael Michalko
Ten Speed Press
ISBN: 0-8981-5913-X

Ernest Shackleton leadership qualities

Who is Ernest Shackleton?
He is an Antarctic explorer.

Why do I choose to learn from an Antarctic explorer?
Today we face more unknown challenges than before. We do not know how to manage the unknown. No proven records to learn from. No schools to learn from. An explorer who sets out to discover the unknown territories is in a similar situation and thus a good example to learn from.

What are the leadership qualities that we must learn from him?

1. Be optimistic
2. Obtain feedbacks to improve
3. Be flexible
4. Lead by example
5. Boost morale

Source:
Shackleton's Way
John Hoult
Fast Company 2000 Dec

Pay attention to what you are noticing

Pay attention to what you're noticing. That's to say, when you find yourself noticing something, look at it again. If something takes your interest, even if you can't understand why it's important and even if no one else thinks it is, don't dismiss it. Trust yourself as an antenna.

 

This idea came into sharp focus for me when reading a book about Chicago detectives. One of the particularly successful ones was asked how he'd developed such an accurate nose for trouble. He said: "If you find yourself doing a double take, do a triple take." So don't say "Ah... it's probably nothing important" and rationalise yourself out of looking at it. Say instead "If I noticed it, it must be important. Now in which way is it?"

 

Isn't this where all the best science comes from - someone deciding to take seriously something that millions of other people could also have noticed but didn't?

 

Sense from:

Seize the Day

15 May

Tip from Brian Eno

Edited by Nicholas Albery & Stephanie Wienrich

Chatto & Windus

ISBN: 1557382905

Blake Ross next big thing

What single philosophy does Blake Ross ( co-creator of Firefox ) swear by in life?

The next big thing is whatever makes the last big thing usable.

When Firefox began, the browser market was "dead," client software was "outdated," and many entrepreneurs were working on podcasting tools for goldfish and other "next big things." We focus on the everyday problems that nag at everyday people. There are more than enough to go around without imagining new ones.

Source:

My Golden Rule

Michael Copeland

Business 2.0 2005 Dec