Values and Training: How Do You Define Yourself?

Posted on December 10, 2009 by Tricia Ransom

“No single act accurately defines a person, but an adherence to a strong set of values does. “ — Jim Watkins

Everyone lives their professional and private lives according to a set of values. You might not have  articulated yours, but we all have them. So I ask you – what are you values when it comes to training? What are your core non-negotiables?

Here are mine when I facilitate a learning session:

  • Provide real and applicable value to my learners
  • Show my learners where to go to get help
  • Promise my learners that although they probably won’t be experts when they leave my training, they will know how to find and answer any questions they may have
  • Don’t teach what they already know
  • If we’re done, we’re gone; don’t use up every minute in a session just because it’s scheduled
  • Treat all questions with respect, and move off-line when needed
  • Listen to each learner, even if they aren’t speaking
  • Adapt to suit the needs of my learner, even if it means we deviate from the stated objectives
  • Give all of my enthusiasm and excitement for learning to each session, regardless of how many times I’ve taught it
  • Speak in a varied voice and not display nervous tics

Basically, I am flexible to give my learners what they need, not what I want.

There are times when I might veer off of one of my values, but that doesn’t define who I am as a trainer and facilitator. My adherence to each of these, session after session, class after class, year after year defines who I am.

So I ask you again, what are your values when it comes to Training?

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Reflections

Posted on December 9, 2009 by Tricia Ransom

There are times, days, moments even, when you realize that life is good, and everything is as it should be. Then there are times when you’re in the midst of an upheaval so catastrophic you can barely remember to breathe.

Remember those good times, days, and moments. Sear them into your brain and soul. Remember how you felt, the smells around you, what you saw through your eyes. Remember and remember so when you’re in the midst of an upheaval you can retrieve those good times and calm your soul.

Once you’ve calmed, you can then see what needs to be done, and how you’re going to do it.

I’ve never achieved perfect serenity, but I have achieved calmness in the midst of chaos. And to me, that is a pretty good accomplishment.

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Part I: Learning About Learning From My Ancestors — Mama

Posted on November 29, 2009 by Tricia Ransom

I’m rather fixated on learning. Actually, I don’t think I’m fixated; rather, I think that learning is just an inherent part of me. An inherent part that is inherited. Here is the beginning of my history, and you’ll soon see why learning is so important to me.

The writing is choppy, and sometimes disjointed. I wanted to get the feelings and words down, and to convey the emotion that I feel. If I were speaking aloud about Mama, Grandma, and Mom, I wouldn’t be polished and flowing. And I won’t be here either.

This is my story of Mama, my great-grandmother. I wish I could have met her.

MAMA

My great-grandparents -- Mama and Papa

This is my great-grandmother. I never met her, but I know Mama from stories my mom and grandma told me about her. She was 16 when my grandmother was born – I don’t think she ever graduated high-school. She didn’t know what it meant to give birth; when she was in labor she was told to go out to the cabbage patch to find her baby. Since she had three children, I guess she learned!

Mama and Papa never had much money or education by today’s standards — I think Papa graduated from high-school here in Chicago (Wendell Phillips High School which later became DuSable High School). In fact,  we believe they were both here in Chicago by no later than 1900. I feel so much closer to them now that I’ve moved here too. There is a street preacher who preaches every day on the corner of State and Washington in downtown Chicago (click here to see what he looks like). I told my mom about him, and that’s when I learned that one of Mama’s or Papa’s relatives did the same thing…100 years ago.

Mama was smart, and curious, and always learning and interested in new things. She had a telephone before anyone else in their neighborhood. She had a radio, and others would come over to listen to boxing, news, the war (WW II) and programs. She also traveled to women’s conventions with speakers such as Eleanor Roosevelt. I think it was with Mama that our phrase, “you’re never to old to learn” came about. Although at first she couldn’t vote, Mama was fervent about politics, and kept learning all she could about her world to better understand the speeches and intent behind them. Towards the end of her life she suffered a stroke and wasn’t as mobile, but passed her love of learning on to her daughter and grand-daughter.

I wish I could have met her. I have to think she would be proud to know how much of her lives on in her grand-daughter and great-granddaughter (and daughter when she was alive).

Miller/Murphy house in Idlewild, Michigan. Built by my great-grandfather and grandfather

My grandfather and great-grandfather moved the family from Chicago to Idelwild, Michigan in the 40s. In order to earn money, the men worked in Grand Rapids during the week (Grandma went with them), and came home on the weekends. By that time, Mama had had her stroke, and had to stay in Idlewild. My mom stayed behind with Mama in a house with no electricity or indoor plumbing. She faced down little to no food and loneliness and learned to eat snake, squirrel or whatever meat Grandpa could bring home. Mom told me that before biting into it, they would have to search for buckshot. I cannot imagine moving from the South Side of Chicago to this small community with no electricity, running water, or even street lights. Yet Mama did, with no complaints, and learned what she needed in order to survive. I’ve thought about it, and don’t know if I would be that strong.

Papa wasn’t always a nice man. He drank – a lot. And apparently he was a mean drunk. Yet Mama stayed with him, and still found ways to thrive. To me, that is the essence of learning. To always grow, even if the constraints around you are bound so tightly it seems impossible to break them. Yet that is what Mama did. She broke the constraints of being a poor black woman with little education to become an inspiration to generations of her family.

Mama believed in God, family, and learning – probably in that order. Based on what my my mom and grandma told me, she is a person I should strive to be worthy of, and to emulate. She is no longer physically here, but her spirit lives in me thanks to mom and grandma. I wish I could have met her.  I have two shirts that belonged to her, and when I was much thinner I wore them. The shirts hang in my closet wherever I move, and provide a physical connection with Mama. I wish I could have met her and told her how much she means to me.

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What I’ve Learned about Photography, Knitting, and Feedback

Posted on November 24, 2009 by Tricia Ransom

The purpose of this blog is to document my thoughts, ideas, and journeys through learning.

PHOTOGRAPHY
Right now, I’m learning photography, and it’s soooo much harder than I thought it would be. I mean, I have a digital camera, so you just point and click, right? WRONG! I’m learning about composition, rule of thirds, and just the basics. I still have to learn about depth of field, apertures, and a whole host of other things.

Click here to go to my photostream on flikr. Let me know how I’m doing, and if you would have done anything different to make the pictures even better. That’s my phrase…it can always be better! Here is one of my current favorites:

Window

KNITTING
And about knitting…I learned how to cast-on and how to knit, but I have absolutely no idea what to do when the ball of yarn runs out or I come to the end of my scarf. I still have more to learn. If you have any suggestions or ideas, or helpful tips/tricks…I’m all ears!

FEEDBACK
What I’m learning about learning is that you need to get feedback from others, and most importantly, you must open yourself to that feedback. How many times have you been trying to learn something, and you have no idea if you were going down the right path? How did that make you feel? As trainers, we need to remember that feeling. I have no idea if my knitting is right, so I’m happily going down my merry path. What if I’m learning and reinforcing the wrong movements?

Also, lets remember that we are training adults. Praising them for each correct action they make, no matter how small is just as damaging as giving them no feedback. As with most things in life, it’s all about moderation and balance.

UPCOMING TOMORROW
I think that tomorrow I will ruminate on what I would do if one of my students learned the wrong thing, and how I would deal with that situation. I really have no idea, but I’ll ponder it tonight!

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Thoughts From My Window

Posted on November 22, 2009 by Tricia Ransom

I’m sitting in our dining room looking out our windows at this great city of Chicago. We’re on the 10th floor, and look south over the Museum of Science and Industry and east over Lake Michigan. On a clear day we can see the smoke stacks from New Buffalo, Michigan and the smoke belching from the steel mills in Gary, Indiana. Occasionally we can see a tanker slowly slicing through the lake on their way to or from Gary to ports unknown.

Just like the city, our view is constant and constantly changing. You can see the weather fronts moving over the south suburbs and Northwest Indiana, and people using the lakefront walking/bike paths.

The traffic along Lake Shore Drive is constantly moving. In the summer you can hear the whine of motorcycles as they race each other with the wind from the lake ripping through their clothes.

Here is a link to some pictures taken from our window courtesy of my husband. Here is what it looks like during a snowstorm — this is looking over the lake  (click the pic to see it larger)

And after the snowstorm looking south over the museum:

As I sit here looking at all of this, I realize that my life is good right now. And that that is all I need.

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