Book Review: Reviewing Leadership by Banks and Ledbetter

Posted on November 13, 2007 by Israel Galindo

It seems despite voices of woe in the industry the number of books put out by publishers, in any number of fields, will not be abetting anytime soon. Whether or not that is a good thing may be a matter of debate. Some subjects are worth discussing at length, because, trawling for deeper meanings or drawing out the nuances of the matter, yield more insight and expand our understanding with each new layer of data—whether by contrasting it against the hard edge of another discipline or by the overlay of the veneer of a new metaphor. But some subjects, once having been examined, leave one with the impression that “everything that needs to be said has been said.” Continue reading →

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Posted on November 12, 2007 by Israel Galindo

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Learning is not an outcome of teaching

Posted on November 9, 2007 by Israel Galindo

I’m finding many interesting instances of “misunderstanding” in this year’s fall tour of educational workshops and seminars. Mostly they arise from audiences of lay and volunteer teachers, sincere and passionate people who step up to engage in the noble and important work of teaching others. But I still find many tenacious misunderstandings about teaching and learning even among experienced and professional teachers. One misunderstanding I’ve addressed twice in recent workshops is the idea that learning is an outcome of teaching. Continue reading →

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Real Estate, Techtonics, and Discipline

Posted on November 8, 2007 by Israel Galindo

The following is from the book Myths: Fact and Fiction about Teaching and Learning by Israel Galindo. How well do you know fact from fiction?

MYTH: If you want to get rich, you can’t go wrong investing in real estate because, as they say, “they ain’t making any more of it.” Continue reading →

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Ideas people fall in love with

Posted on November 7, 2007 by Israel Galindo

It seems that we have a tendency of falling in love with certain concepts now and again. Some of these concepts come and go, others are more pernicious. Some concepts become popular, then wane with time or over-familiarity. What I mean by “falling in love” is that people develop an uncritical romantic notion toward the concept. They love the sound of the word or phrase, love to use it often. Continue reading →

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Higher Ground

Posted on November 5, 2007 by jbennett

Although I no longer serve as pastor of a congregation, invitations to preach come my way from time to time.  The latest instance was yesterday when I helped a Presbyterian congregation surprise their pastor with the opportunity to worship among them, free of leadership responsibility.  The occasion was the thirtieth anniversary of her ordination and the tenth anniversary of her ministry in that place.  Not knowing what the lectionary for the day was, I was pleased to learn that they were accustomed to hearing their pastor preach from it.  I love the tussle with scripture that pushes me to stay grounded in its teaching while saying something useful about its bearing on our lives today.  Continue reading →

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Posted on November 5, 2007 by Israel Galindo

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BFST and individual personality theories

Posted on November 2, 2007 by Israel Galindo

I’d no sooner sat down to lunch at a recent conference, at which I presented on Bowen Family Systems Theory (BFST), than a participant asked, “Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure,” I said, wondering what answer I’d have to compose while munching on my sandwich.

“How do you reconcile Bowen family systems theory with individualistic personality type theories like the Enneagram?”

In case you don’t recognize it, that’s a loaded question. I’d probably mentioned the Enneagram as an aside during one of my presentations. My lunch companion was echoing a question often raised in certain circles.

I playfully, responded, “Are you a BFST purist? Because I’ve heard they can be snobbish.”

She chuckled, getting the joke, which was a good sign. It meant she may be receptive to a reasoned (if not reasonable) answer. Continue reading →

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Performance art by Joe Castillo

Posted on November 1, 2007 by Israel Galindo

A student in my current on-line course, Educating in Faith, shared her memories of an evangelistic ”chalk artist.” Reading her comments I too remembered those presentations. I’m not a big fan of the graphic arts as ”performance art.” My early cognitive mapping related to art seems to have created a taxonomy that wants something to be one thing or the other, but not both. It’s either art or it isn’t; it’s ”craft” or high art; it’s a painting or a sculpture; it’s a drawing or a painting. Obviously, I’m not a big fan of ”mixed media,” and photorealistic Photoshop creations launches me into a philosophical aesthetical inner debate about whether what I’m looking at is ”art” or not. Continue reading →

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Rick asks about reactivity and being non-anxious

Posted on October 31, 2007 by Israel Galindo

I haven’t heard from Rick in a while, so it was good to get another good systems question from him. Rick asks about the concept of non-anxious presence and reactivity. Specifically, he shared his observation that some people seemed to try to act as a “non-anxious presence” by showing no affect (feelings or emotions) in a given situation. Like the character of Spock in Star Trek they attempted to stay emotionally aloof and non-responsive.

Rick said,

“My point is, would it be a misunderstanding to conclude that one never showed emotion? One can show appropriate emotion to lower anxiety or keep from binding it, right?”

Continue reading →

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