How my THINKING Was Challenged in EDL 670: Central Michigan University

My thinking was challenged when Dr. Jeffrey kept reiterating students are not "like a bad batch of steel or blueberries that you can send back" to the manufacturer. They are people that deserve to be treated with dignity and respect and given all of the opportunities possible. I know this is true and challenges your thinking and when you hear coworkers say, that is a bad class or a bad student-there is not much you can do with them but keep passing them to the next teacher or grade.

My thinking was further challenged when I heard the book report presentations on leaders today from my classmates. Everyone put their best foot forward presenting with passion that further established the positive effect the leader that they presented had on them, and to the world. I was impressed by how many different types of leaders there out there from Gandhi to Jesus including music artists, Dave Ramsey, Abraham Lincoln and Eleanor Roosevelt. The leaders were very different people personalty wise but many had a lot of things in common like having a dream or a vision and the ability to have sustainable leadership. Where Blankstein (2010) in our class text defined it as the, "length of the leaders impact over the long haul, beyond the individual leaders" (p219). All of these people showed courage and were willing to work hard to make a difference. Like when Lincoln stayed in a small room next to the telegraph to keep up with any current news on the Civil War. They were not afraid of change and sometimes had to push the limits to make an impact in the lives of people. Jesus died on the cross, Gandhi did political marches, Lincoln kept our country together in a time of turmoil and different opinions, Eleanor Roosevelt showed strength through her husband's illness and started programs for women and children that improved not just the people's lives at that time but ours too.