Extended workshop facilitation affords me the opportunity for self reflection.
This latest stint, in Fenelon Falls, brought me two insights; first of all, that there are some damn fine butter tarts to be had in Ontario, and secondly that I am super lucky to have come into contact with certain people at just the right points in my life, to encourage me and move me forward in my growth mindset.
Where to get Ontario's Best Butter Tarts
So it turns out the best butter tarts do not reside – – as I had hitherto suggested – – at the Lindsay airport, nor are they found in the previously written about Chelsea bun bakery, nor even at my local farmers market where there are found to be for sale some excellent home-baked goods.
No, indeed, the world's best butter tarts come from a little place called Erin's Little Bake Shop, as discovered by the half dozen samples that were generously brought to me by one of the participants of my workshop this morning, on Day Three of our three days together.
This latest stint, in Fenelon Falls, brought me two insights; first of all, that there are some damn fine butter tarts to be had in Ontario, and secondly that I am super lucky to have come into contact with certain people at just the right points in my life, to encourage me and move me forward in my growth mindset.
Where to get Ontario's Best Butter Tarts
So it turns out the best butter tarts do not reside – – as I had hitherto suggested – – at the Lindsay airport, nor are they found in the previously written about Chelsea bun bakery, nor even at my local farmers market where there are found to be for sale some excellent home-baked goods.
No, indeed, the world's best butter tarts come from a little place called Erin's Little Bake Shop, as discovered by the half dozen samples that were generously brought to me by one of the participants of my workshop this morning, on Day Three of our three days together.
Two surviving tasty Erin's buttertarts
Sticky, sweet, delectable interiors of Erin's little Bakeshop butter tarts are ensconced with the perfect butter tart crust. (It has always been at my firm belief that entirely too much attention is paid to the centre of the tarts, and not nearly enough to the crust. The ideal butter tart crust, in my opinion, is somewhat flaky, somewhat crispy, somewhat chewy; the perfect marriage of all three of these qualifiers is what makes a crust "good".)
Of the half-dozen that the dear girl brought me, only two made it home this evening, the rest having been gobbled down ravenously by the same culprit who devoured the Chelsea bun from the previous blog post, as she was stuck in this wretched vehicle in slow moving traffic on first the 401, then the Don Valley Parkway, and finally the eventually-opening-up pavement of the QEW tonight.
Of the half-dozen that the dear girl brought me, only two made it home this evening, the rest having been gobbled down ravenously by the same culprit who devoured the Chelsea bun from the previous blog post, as she was stuck in this wretched vehicle in slow moving traffic on first the 401, then the Don Valley Parkway, and finally the eventually-opening-up pavement of the QEW tonight.
Home at last... Almost!
But enough about butter tarts already!
Growth Mindset
Watching the open-mindedness with which some of the participants embraced and wrestled with new learning over the past three days (and marvelling at the ease with which others did not), caused me to reflect on my own journey as a learner in general and with technology in particular.
Over the past two years or so, the latter journey has taken place primarily in the classroom. But as I was driving home this evening, I considered my own resistance to adopting a new technologies in the past, in realms of my life beyond the classroom.
I clearly remember my hesitation when a much younger friend of mine insisted I move my 400+ CD collection that was consuming various parts of my living and dining room onto a magical little box with the dial in the middle that all the young kids had begun using, about the size of a deck of cards, called an iPod, some years back. I have written in the past about how this friend convinced me to get over my mental hurdles, and how I finally succumbed to his pleas to let him transfer my music collection to this small and marvellous digital device over a series of several nights – – he was a student in the jazz program at Humber at the time, and we delivered homemade lasagna and brownies to him while he worked his magic with a computer and my newly acquired iPod – – and changed my life!
Truly, that experience was the beginning of a whole new journey with technology for me, and a recognition that I was getting old, and perhaps more importantly, that if I was not careful, and did not keep up with the ever-changing world around me, I would become one of "those teachers"!
My digital music playing device is now in its fifth incarnation since the lasagna and brownie escapades that my not-so-young-anymore friend had inspired, and while there have been a few bumps along the way, I can honestly say that I don't miss the cumbersome nature of my previous way of listening to music one bit.
It was the initial resistance, however, to try something new, that cost me considerable and unnecessary delay in moving forward with technology both then, and at other times since then. And while a little healthy caution can be a valuable lens through which to approach new ideas in general, I do feel that my lack of growth mindset has at times held me back in ways that have not been beneficial to my learning and my practice.
Thank goodness people like my technical and musically minded friend have been courageous enough to speak up and force me to consider different perspectives.
Good Friends + Good Food = Gratitude
As I devour the last delicious butter tart that I swore I wouldn't eat while dictating this blog post hands-free into my iPhone on the final leg of my drive home in this week's rental car, I realize how lucky I have been with the people placed in my life at just the right times. I am grateful not only for my music/techie friends, but also for others who have walked with me and moved me forward in my thinking when closed mindedness or resistance tempted me, or who have encouraged me to continue learning when I have felt tired or overwhelmed.
It was the initial resistance, however, to try something new, that cost me considerable and unnecessary delay in moving forward with technology both then, and at other times since then. And while a little healthy caution can be a valuable lens through which to approach new ideas in general, I do feel that my lack of growth mindset has at times held me back in ways that have not been beneficial to my learning and my practice.
Thank goodness people like my technical and musically minded friend have been courageous enough to speak up and force me to consider different perspectives.
Good Friends + Good Food = Gratitude
As I devour the last delicious butter tart that I swore I wouldn't eat while dictating this blog post hands-free into my iPhone on the final leg of my drive home in this week's rental car, I realize how lucky I have been with the people placed in my life at just the right times. I am grateful not only for my music/techie friends, but also for others who have walked with me and moved me forward in my thinking when closed mindedness or resistance tempted me, or who have encouraged me to continue learning when I have felt tired or overwhelmed.
I owe them my growth mindset, and my willingness to take risks and to persevere.
For them (and for the butter tarts) I am truly grateful!
For them (and for the butter tarts) I am truly grateful!
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