Cyndee
Fall 2011
Monday, March 4, 2013
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Friday, May 25, 2012
Wk 4 Reading: "We" "Spark" the "Board" of Life
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| Lil Spark and her big Sister, FLAMES Colonel Tatyana Carnes |
We can! The greatest blessing we have in life is the day we are given when God awakens us to go forth and spark others with the light he put in each of us. Our special gifts are ours for the purpose of benefitting others.
Everything in this week's reading relates directly to my faith and the board God made me to be. It is not for me, it is for others. When we focus on ourselves we lose the Wow factor, or the Spark that God gave us to brighten the lives of those around us. We are designed to be a blessing to all of creation and his special delight.
By creating our board within the framework of Christ's example we are the greatest blessing we can be to everyone around us. The abundance of life is our's for the taking. In order to take we must first give, because as we give, we receive the blessings of interconnectivity and love.
Have you ever seen a spark reflected in a mirror or glass? It is magnified and instantaneously reflected back upon itself. THAT is the power of the Spark. What you put into the lives of others will come back into your own. Spark someone today!
Ironically, my oldest daughter is Colonel of her dance/drill team at High School. They are called, the FLAMES. Every year the FLAMES hold a dance clinic for all the children in the community to come and have fun, learn to dance, and then perform at half-time at the first home football game of the upcoming season. The name of the the clinic is called, are you ready...............
The Lil Sparks Dance Clinic. The purpose of the clinic is to encourage children to participate in something bigger than themselves, get involved in the community and create a sense of hometown connectivity. It works every year!!! The children love it, the drill team is blessed by being a contribution to the children and the town, and everyone gets to see a heart warming routine during spring show and during that first home game. Tatyana has personally sparked the love of dance in many children already, including her youngest sister, Ciara.
Whether it is a dance team, sports team, chess club, big brothers/big sisters, teacher, neighbor, or stranger.....giving a bit of oneself to another human being in a positive way can spark the potential for greatness in someone else. BE A CONTRIBUTION AND LIGHT A SPARK TODAY!
Wk 4: Response to Katie Ross
Katie, great take on our weekly reading and putting what you learned from it to a very good use! I think that our biggest way to be a contribution in life is to shine the light God put in each of us, which will spark the light in others, or help brighten theirs and ours, any time we need a little "pick me up" in the shine department.
We are all connected as human beings and our collective energy has a lot more power when we work together with a positive view. Have you ever noticed that you can sometimes turn a frown upside down when you put a positive spin on a grumpy person's attitude? It may not work every time, but sometimes I just challenge myself to try and see if I can balance out the negativity in the room by being extra positive. It has some very rewarding moments. I want you to know that you have had a positive influence on me at different times in the course. One in particular I will never forget. One of our professors was taking an unplanned vacation during our course and was going to move our deadline up to a Saturday instead of the Sunday or Monday it would have been due. You and I were working online together and I mentioned that I was disappointed to have to do my work early because it fell on my Sabbath, but that of course I would complete the assignments I needed to. Your response was so sincere and caring that I was ready to speak up to the professor, when suddenly he changed his mind and left the due dates as they were originally scheduled. I will never forget your sincerity or concern for my situation. Thank you for that spark of kindness, I really needed it at that moment!
We are all connected as human beings and our collective energy has a lot more power when we work together with a positive view. Have you ever noticed that you can sometimes turn a frown upside down when you put a positive spin on a grumpy person's attitude? It may not work every time, but sometimes I just challenge myself to try and see if I can balance out the negativity in the room by being extra positive. It has some very rewarding moments. I want you to know that you have had a positive influence on me at different times in the course. One in particular I will never forget. One of our professors was taking an unplanned vacation during our course and was going to move our deadline up to a Saturday instead of the Sunday or Monday it would have been due. You and I were working online together and I mentioned that I was disappointed to have to do my work early because it fell on my Sabbath, but that of course I would complete the assignments I needed to. Your response was so sincere and caring that I was ready to speak up to the professor, when suddenly he changed his mind and left the due dates as they were originally scheduled. I will never forget your sincerity or concern for my situation. Thank you for that spark of kindness, I really needed it at that moment!
Friday, May 25, 2012
Wk4 Reading: Being YOU!
Excuse me, does anyone have a lighter because I have a light that needs to be sparked!
Over the past 11 months I’ve put a lot of things to the side to focus on school so that I could get the most out of it. I can now say, since I can see the end so close ( No worries Professor Joe, I’m not taking a break yet)I”ve been thinking what I’m I going to do with all of my free time. The answer finally came to me over a short vacation last week and it’s, volunteer for the Big Brother Big Sister organization here in Orlando. I want to spread my spark out to children who are just looking for a spark to follow. Who are looking for assistance lighting their own spark. As a small speck on this big universe I always try to give back. However the time has come for me to give back to another person. The ending of the EMDT program is a great time for me to pick up another life changing torch.
Sometimes in life it’s important to just let things go. When you can’t change the situation and you can’t make someone see your point of view, and you have done all you can do….you just have to let it go and move on. You can’t life let you pass it by like it did for the husband whose wife had cheated on him. It’s ok to let things go it brings so much peace to the situation. It also allows for growth to take place, which may even let you see a different point of view.
The framework of possibility is being YOU! When we stand up to right is right and we stand up to people who are doing wrong we are creating the framework. Sometimes that means doing something that you don’t want to do to create a better situation, and other times it’s just speaking the truth.
I believe I have had the pleasure to lift people up to help them do and be more. At times I’ve been lifted up. One thing that I love is that my husband and I both lift each other up and we also always help push each other towards the next best thing. This chapter is one reason why I think it’s very important to surround oneself with good people. It’s important to be around people who you can help make better and who can help make yourself better.
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| Example of just trying to be a good person. |
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Wk 4: Leadership Role Model Reflection - The led and the Leader
This is an interesting topic for me to discuss. However, I am not sure how much it will tie in with the leadership project from this month's course. Creating the presentation about my Action Research Project and finding a place to present it to a conference is not really related to the leadership role models in my life.
That said, follow me on a journey of 20 years in the Army and you will see that Leadership is something I have developed over the years. I learned early in my career about how NOT to be as a leader, by watching the poor leaders around me, and by being directly affected by their uncaring attitude for others, or their incompetence. Enough about the bad, they are many, but their influence was just a tool for my leadership toolbox.
On to the few, the good, the LEADERS in my military career. My first memorable leader was my Brigade S-3 shop (Operations) Sergeant Major, SGM Tanna. A quiet, unassuming man who was confident, compassionate, and a stickler for quality work, military courtesy, and respect for people. As a new Soldier, a mere Private First Class (PFC) working in the Aviation section, I didn't know what to think of this new SGM as he took over for our outbound SGM.
It was one act, one day that solidified my opinion of this man and convinced me that I would follow where ever he led. We worked in a three story building in Germany and were receiving new office furniture. There were no moving men to do the work, we, the Soldiers, moved all the old stuff out, and replaced it with the new. We carried a lot of desks, file cabinets and chairs up and down (basement level) three flights of stairs.
When I saw my new SGM, take of his jacket and help us move ALL the old furniture out and the new furniture in, I knew at that moment that this LEADER was different from the others that used their rank as a right to not work. Instead, he led from the front and never asked a Soldier to do anything he wasn't willing to do first. THAT is what made me respect him as my leader and willingly follow him, even when I didn't like the task, or the assignment.
Command Sergeant Major (CSM) Tanna was my SGM/CSM in many duty assignments over the years, Aviation is a small community, and when you are a good Soldier, the leaders you work for have a tendency to make sure you work for them again. He and his wife Song became our lifelong friends. My oldest daughter thought of him like a grandpa when she was little. CSM Tanna has been retired for many years, but we remain in touch and he still offers me good advice. I trust him, respect him, and love him like a second Dad. We have known each other for more than 20 years, and if the call came today, I would bear arms next to him and follow him into battle.
The leaders over the years have varied by race, gender, ethnicity, religion, age, experience, military occupational specialty (MOS), marital status, etc. None of those things had any bearing on my opinion of their leadership. The bad all had simliar qualities; uncaring, selfish, rude, incompetent, unable to make decisions, spineless, and worked for their evaluation paper.
The actual LEADERS all had simliar qualities too: caring, standard bearers, compassionate, listeners, team builders, and led from the front.
The Army has seven core values it teaches with the acronym -
LDRSHIP
Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless-Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage.
CSM Tanna epitomizes this acronym. He led me despite myself........
The 25 year old young woman pictured below, was only four months into the Army in this photo. She had completed Basic Training, Advanced Individual Training (to learn her military job), and Airborne Paratrooper School (to learn to jump out of airplanes into combat). She had no idea in 1991 that 12 years later she would be responsible for 45 other lives, besides her own, as she led her platoon into combat in Iraq. THANK YOU CSM (RET) TANNA for instilling in me the right leadership mentality. I was blessed to bring all of my Soldiers home. GOD BLESS US ALL
That said, follow me on a journey of 20 years in the Army and you will see that Leadership is something I have developed over the years. I learned early in my career about how NOT to be as a leader, by watching the poor leaders around me, and by being directly affected by their uncaring attitude for others, or their incompetence. Enough about the bad, they are many, but their influence was just a tool for my leadership toolbox.
On to the few, the good, the LEADERS in my military career. My first memorable leader was my Brigade S-3 shop (Operations) Sergeant Major, SGM Tanna. A quiet, unassuming man who was confident, compassionate, and a stickler for quality work, military courtesy, and respect for people. As a new Soldier, a mere Private First Class (PFC) working in the Aviation section, I didn't know what to think of this new SGM as he took over for our outbound SGM.
It was one act, one day that solidified my opinion of this man and convinced me that I would follow where ever he led. We worked in a three story building in Germany and were receiving new office furniture. There were no moving men to do the work, we, the Soldiers, moved all the old stuff out, and replaced it with the new. We carried a lot of desks, file cabinets and chairs up and down (basement level) three flights of stairs.
When I saw my new SGM, take of his jacket and help us move ALL the old furniture out and the new furniture in, I knew at that moment that this LEADER was different from the others that used their rank as a right to not work. Instead, he led from the front and never asked a Soldier to do anything he wasn't willing to do first. THAT is what made me respect him as my leader and willingly follow him, even when I didn't like the task, or the assignment.
Command Sergeant Major (CSM) Tanna was my SGM/CSM in many duty assignments over the years, Aviation is a small community, and when you are a good Soldier, the leaders you work for have a tendency to make sure you work for them again. He and his wife Song became our lifelong friends. My oldest daughter thought of him like a grandpa when she was little. CSM Tanna has been retired for many years, but we remain in touch and he still offers me good advice. I trust him, respect him, and love him like a second Dad. We have known each other for more than 20 years, and if the call came today, I would bear arms next to him and follow him into battle.
The leaders over the years have varied by race, gender, ethnicity, religion, age, experience, military occupational specialty (MOS), marital status, etc. None of those things had any bearing on my opinion of their leadership. The bad all had simliar qualities; uncaring, selfish, rude, incompetent, unable to make decisions, spineless, and worked for their evaluation paper.
The actual LEADERS all had simliar qualities too: caring, standard bearers, compassionate, listeners, team builders, and led from the front.
The Army has seven core values it teaches with the acronym -
LDRSHIP
Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless-Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage.
CSM Tanna epitomizes this acronym. He led me despite myself........
The 25 year old young woman pictured below, was only four months into the Army in this photo. She had completed Basic Training, Advanced Individual Training (to learn her military job), and Airborne Paratrooper School (to learn to jump out of airplanes into combat). She had no idea in 1991 that 12 years later she would be responsible for 45 other lives, besides her own, as she led her platoon into combat in Iraq. THANK YOU CSM (RET) TANNA for instilling in me the right leadership mentality. I was blessed to bring all of my Soldiers home. GOD BLESS US ALL
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| PFC Cyndee Taresh July 1991 |
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Wk 3 Response to Lori Hobbie
Lori, I loved this week's reading! It seemed like I left one chapter smiling, just to finish the next one smiling even more.
Your paragraph about the kids playing with the symphony reminds me of that commercial where the parents are in the audience to watch a piano concert, but when the curtains open their son is sitting at the piano plunking away when the famous pianist comes up and instead of getting angry, he sits down and plays with the child. That is one of my favorite commercials of all time. That is just one way of giving away greatness while leading from any chair.
Your paragraph about the kids playing with the symphony reminds me of that commercial where the parents are in the audience to watch a piano concert, but when the curtains open their son is sitting at the piano plunking away when the famous pianist comes up and instead of getting angry, he sits down and plays with the child. That is one of my favorite commercials of all time. That is just one way of giving away greatness while leading from any chair.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
MAC Week 3 Reading Blog: The Art of Possibility Chapters 5-8
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| Ode to Joy! |
Chapter 5
Any Chair
Our 4th grade class went on field trip to the
symphony today. Over nine hundred 4th and 5th grade
students from our district attended. The students had been practicing playing a
small portion of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony on their recorders all
year. As the conductor turned to the kids and began guiding them to join with
the orchestra, I couldn’t help but think of the chapter. I’ve never heard Ode
to Joy sound more beautiful. Wonderful things can happen when you are “willing
to give away greatness!”
Chapter 6
Rule Number 6
Again, I thought of my students as I read this chapter. Many
of my students feel so incredibly pressured by standardized testing and the
resulting “data” that their educations have become something to survive rather
than enjoy. It is sad to see kids so stressed about learning. I make “a
practice” out of making mistakes in my classroom. I tell my students how
wonderful mistakes can be; I try to do what I can to help lighten up the
academic mood that is prevalent on my campus. Educationally, I think this
“rule” speaks to a social/emotional capacity that our students will need to
survive. Our social/emotional classroom
instruction is driven by data we receive from students in the form of body
language and facial expressions. Meeting each kid’s needs is an art but with
rule number 6, it’s impossible to make a mistake!
Chapter 7
The Way Things Are
I love the diagrams in this chapter. The diagram of the
closed conversation (spiral) verses the open conversation (sun with rays).
There is a lot to be said about assumptions verses assessments (or facts) here.
That can be a little confusing at times because what often seems like “fact” is
actually just something we started believing at some point and it seems as real
to us as the actual truth. I like the quote by Anais Nin, “We don’t see things
as they are; we see them as we are.”
Chapter 8
Giving Way to Passion
The 2 steps written about in this chapter are easier said
than done. Sometimes “noticing where you’re holding back” can be like trying
see a color you’ve never seen before. I also think that noticing is the hardest
part. If I can stay open to noticing, then letting go and following the
possibilities becomes more like going with the flow.
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Being the board was an interesting picture analogy for me. I hadn't really thought of it like that before, and because I am a chess player, I could totally relate to "being the board" and determining how the game gets played. Loved that chapter too!
You are absolutely right with your final sentence. I haven't met an effective leader who told "I" stories. Blessings are for us and we. Teamwork is a "We" story and the best way to accomplish anything is as a pair, group, etc. If God intended for us to have an "I" story, Eve would never have been created......hmmmmm
MAC Week 4 Reading Blog: The Art of Possibility Chapters 9-12