My Reflection on My EDD Classes this Fall

11/30/23 • 8 min

And we are talking about citizenship and civility.

While I get quite bored of discussions about politics, I was able to reinforce some of the beliefs that I have around certain things. I think my biggest takeaway from this class is being able to articulate some things that I'd had thoughts about, but hadn't been able to articulate previous to taking this class.

And, there's value in that.

[00:00:58] Defining Our Own Values

Number one, I really doubled down on my belief that we each have to define our own values, and the only way that we are going to have any success in our own personal life is if we really do define our own values and then stick to them.

I was coaching a school principal outside of class and this idea of her acting in alignment with her values came up and what made that conversation so powerful is that there was a situation where something happened and she didn't say anything but in her heart she knew that that thing that she didn't comment on was really important to her.

But she didn't comment on it. She was not acting in alignment with her values.

And when I suggested to her that she should act in alignment with her values, then she suddenly saw how important that was to her personally and what that meant.

This really helped her see that it's not about the values of the organization that you're working for, or about the values of the society that you live in, but it's about you acting in alignment with your own values.

When I mention this, people say, "Well, what if your values don't line up with my values?" Well, that happens. The real issue is can you respect and love someone enough to allow them to act in alignment with their values, even if those disagree with you? Now, in order for us to have a society that is civil and worthwhile, there are certain values that we need to have across the board like, it's not okay to kill people. We need to respect others. And if somebody doesn't have those values, then that can certainly make relationships with that person difficult. That can make interactions with them difficult.

But part of this is also that I truly believe that if left to their own devices, we all have goodness within us that helps us decide to have positive pro social values.

Personally, I call this the Light of Christ.

There are aberrations and people who are sociopaths who don't have those values, and there always will be. That's why we have laws as a society to make sure that people are acting in appropriate ways.

And this is a personal reflection for me. When you act in alignment with your values, then your story doesn't change. And this is something that I personally have struggled with, that my actions and what I do would change, and my teachers and people that I've led would say, Why is Jethro making this decision?

He made this totally opposite decision just a couple days ago. Why is he now making this other weird decision? And what I've personally realized through the discussions we've had in this class is that when I'm saying something to be heard or to be seen as special or doing something for attention, then my performance is going to be different.

When I act in alignment with my values, then I'm consistent with those values. Anytime I'm not acting in alignment with my values, I'm not consistent in how I behave. And that was a really powerful self awareness piece for me.

There were a couple instances this semester where People that I coach would say things like, "Yes, Jethro, I've heard you say that before," or "Yes, Jethro has told me this before." And what's reaffirming to me is that those were phrases that are deeply aligned with my values, and I think that that was a really powerful experience for me personally.

[00:05:26] See Others

The next big point that I want to talk about is that all the suggestions for civility in our conversations ultimately came down to one simple thing. That is to really see other people and see their value as human beings. The way I personally describe this is that I see them as children of God who have great potential.

And that's what works for me.

But regardless of whether or not you agree with that particular approach, really seeing people makes a huge difference.

That was a really big awakening for me.

We talked about all these different ideas and ways of doing things, and ultimately what it always boiled down to was just see the other person and make sure they know that you see them, as a human being. That was really powerful for me.

[00:06:17] Education is the responsibility of parents

And then finally...

And we are talking about citizenship and civility.

And, there's value in that.

[00:00:58] Defining Our Own Values

But she didn't comment on it. She was not acting in alignment with her values.

And when I suggested to her that she should act in alignment with her values, then she suddenly saw how important that was to her personally and what that meant.

But part of this is also that I truly believe that if left to their own devices, we all have goodness within us that helps us decide to have positive pro social values.

Personally, I call this the Light of Christ.

[00:05:26] See Others

And that's what works for me.

But regardless of whether or not you agree with that particular approach, really seeing people makes a huge difference.

That was a really big awakening for me.

[00:06:17] Education is the responsibility of parents

And then finally...

Previous Episode

Jethro Interviews Stacey about her experiences with this podcast

[00:00:00] Jethro: this is Jethro the producer for the Build and Public Podcast here, talking with Stacey about how it's been going and what she's thinking about the Build and Public Podcast. You've done 33 episodes so far, Stacey. That's crazy, huh?

[00:00:15] Dr. Stacey Gonzales: Yeah. Yeah.

I told my husband this morning at breakfast that my podcast is my playground and my, it's like my practice playground, and. After doing it 33 times, it's helped me not take myself so seriously. It's helped me have a space and a place to use my voice and process in a way that is safe. And so I've really appreciated this practice space.

[00:00:52] Jethro: What I think is funny is you're like this safe place where Anybody on the internet can go listen to it and figure out what I'm saying. That, that, to you is safe, is pretty remarkable.

[00:01:03] Dr. Stacey Gonzales: Thank you.

[00:01:04] Jethro: Yeah. So how do you feel about reception? Do you feel like people are listening? Have people reached out to you or mentioned it?

What do you think?

[00:01:14] Dr. Stacey Gonzales: No, I've not really heard anything from other people. I also think though, I've yet to figure out how to put contact info or anything like that. Like I sent you a potential opener. I don't know if you saw that or not, but like thinking about how do I frame an opener and a closer that's maybe prerecorded.

So that I don't have to every day when I start, have to worry about the opening and the closing piece. So cuz a lot of times I don't necessarily tell people about it in the podcast

[00:01:48] Jethro: Yeah, Uhhuh.

[00:01:49] Dr. Stacey Gonzales: The other thing that I was just thinking about is I wanna put it in a link to my podcast in my signature line, in my email. So I've been thinking about where are places and spaces that I can put this. As now I feel like, okay, pe people, if I put it out there, people are listening. This is where they can access it without me having to extra take extra time to think how do I promote it and where do I put it and do I tweet about it?

Do I, just some places I can put the info.

[00:02:19] Jethro: Yeah, so a couple things on that I would suggest. Number one, I would just have a script for the opening and the closing that you read each time, and then it will be it should be very short, like 15 to 20 words. And, hey, this is Stacey Gonzalez. This is in Public. You can connect with me here and then at the end, thanks for listening.

And. Blah, blah, blah, whatever you wanna say. Call to action, whatever. I think because you're talking so much about soul growth and your process through building that I think having people go to soul Growth and do whatever your lead magnet is there for. For that would be a powerful and worthwhile thing to do.

That's what it seems like to me. You can do whatever you want, of course. But that's what I think would be beneficial. Have a script and then just read that at the beginning and the end of whatever you do that day.

[00:03:16] Dr. Stacey Gonzales: Okay. And when you say have 'em go there, what? What do you mean by there?

[00:03:21] Jethro: Two, whatever you have set up for soul grow, soul growth of how people connect with you there.

[00:03:26] Dr. Stacey Gonzales: I see. Okay. Okay,

[00:03:29] Jethro: That to me that seems like the smartest place to send people.

[00:03:33] Dr. Stacey Gonzales: Okay. I see. Versus the B Podcast Network is, which is what I put at the front of it, I'll probably say as a part of the b podcast network.com.

[00:03:42] Jethro: Please do say part of the B podcast network, cuz we do want people to know that it is part of that. Yeah.

[00:03:48] Dr. Stacey Gonzales: Okay.

[00:03:48] Jethro: So the other thing that that I would suggest as it relates to that is you want people to connect with you on Twitter, on LinkedIn, and put that contact information in there as well.

And then that way you've just got this regular stuff that you're saying each time so that people know how to reach out and connect with you.

[00:04:12] Dr. Stacey Gonzales: Okay.

[00:04:16] Jethro: So what I'll do is I will get you a link that you can put in your signature that will get it out on all the platforms so that people can people can subscribe wherever they're comfortable. It's what I shared with morning motivation for educators. It's a similar link to that, that I shared in our base camp for the network.

So it'll have, Google podcast, Spotify, everything. And that's pretty easy to get and I'll get that for you so you have it. So what has been the hardest thing about doing this podcast?

[00:04:47] Dr. Stacey Gonzales: The hardest thing. Not knowing sometimes what to say, what to share. Days are really long and thinking what is the most relevant or salient or important thing that's top of mind wh...

Next Episode

undefined - This episode explores the significance of perception, the advantages of planning, and the idea that we are all striving towards our best as we journey through life.

This episode explores the significance of perception, the advantages of planning, and the idea that we are all striving towards our best as we journey through life.

In this episode, we kick things off with a reflection on the internal battle between staying in bed and getting up to tackle the day. It's intriguing how something can feel incredibly important one moment and justify not doing it the next. This realization highlights the power of perception and how it can shift our priorities. Moving on, we dive into the week's productivity. Personally, I've struggled with organizing my days in the past, often preferring to go with the flow. However, this week, I've decided to embrace planning and it's been a surprisingly positive experience. Though it's still challenging and not exactly my favorite task, I believe that doing so will contribute to long-term success. Like everyone else, I'm just trying to figure things out and navigate this journey called life. It's crucial to acknowledge that we're all in the same boat, trying our best amidst our individual challenges and imperfections. Perfection is not the goal; instead, it's about pushing through each day and giving our best effort in the present moment. Ultimately, that's all we can ask of ourselves. So, let's explore the power of perception, the benefits of planning, and delve into the understanding that we're all just doing our best as we navigate our paths.

(00:00) - The Benefits of Cold Plunging
(00:32) - The Internal Battle of Getting Out of Bed
(01:03) - The Power of Shifting Perspectives
(01:35) - Productive Planning for Success
(02:18) - Techniques for Cold Plunging Success

Build in Public Daily - My Reflection on My EDD Classes this Fall

Transcript

Jethro00:00:00.000

As it is the end of the first semester of my doctoral program, I thought it'd be worthwhile to reflect on what I've learned from my class this time around. I have, taken the class EDUC 7610, it's called the Learning Community. And, We are talking about citizenship and civility. While I get quite bored of discussions about politics, I was able to reinforce some of the beliefs that I have around certain things. I think my biggest takeaway from this cl