Carolly Erickson creatively tells the tale of how treacherous is to be a wife of Henry VIII’s 1500’s England. In “The Unfaithful Queen”, Catherine is a young girl living in her grandmother’s house. Her mother is dead and her father is a destitute Howard with only his name to show for his lineage—no wealth or lands. Catherine is wooed by several men but when the king sees her he is reminded of his great love, Jocasta and immediately befriends the young maiden. Catherine is integrated into the royal household and Henry VIII leaves his fourth wife to marry Catherine. Henry VIII is old, smelly and sick and Catherine continues to see her true love, Tom Culpeper. The royal court is littered with deceit, rivalry and struggle for power and Catherine is too young and naïve to realize the court is not loyal to her. Of course, a wife or lover to the king is only valued if she can produce a son, an heir to the throne. Catherine is unable to produce the heir which leads to disastrous results. “The Unfaithful Queen” reads as if Catherine is telling you a personal story. Erickson writes vividly and realistically and I was pulled in from page one. The reader will definitely get a sense of what the royal court might have been like under Henry VIII’s rein.
Author: Seniye Groff
Engage Passive Learners
According to the January 2013 issue of “Chief Learning Officer” 60% of people are passive learners. I find this so interesting because when I design classes or content, I always focus on “active learning”. I want my learners to engage with the content, to actually have to use the new knowledge to change behavior. Randy Emelo suggests, “learning professionals need to construct learning environments, events and programs that encourage active participation and speak to employees in ways that trigger an innate need and desire to learn.
Sounds easy but it is actually pretty difficult. Think about all the “training” you have attended that is essentially information sharing. You are not asked to construct “new” knowledge or use the new skills and behaviors in thought-provoking, meaningful ways. Certainly social media has aided in engagement and collaboration, but more often than not, there are many that are “lurkers” staying in the background rather than getting involved in the conversation. But tap into someone’s passions or allow them to be an “expert” and motivation can increase. I think Trip Advisor does this really well. I was reminded of this during my recent trip to Palm Springs. When we wanted suggestions for things to do or places to eat, I would search Trip Advisor’s reviews. I was then compelled to “give back” by writing reviews after I visited places. And then Trip Advisor acknowledged my contributions by giving me a “contributor” badge and when another reader finds my review helpful, I get an email telling me someone thought my review was helpful. Genius!
The article suggests some ideas to foster active learning:
1. “Set up learning environments and systems that are personally motivating.
2. Look for systems that have push and pull.
3. Reward and recognize people for building the organization’s learning culture.”
Check out the complete article: http://read.clomedia.com/publication/?i=138586&p=32
Palm Springs for the Holidays
I was fortunate enough to vacation in Palm Springs over the holidays. I have never traveled over the holidays and it ended up being a nice reprieve. Who could complain about the nonstop sun and 20 degree warmer weather?! I also visited Joshua Tree National Park which is stunningly beautiful and surreal in its own rite. Attached are a few pictures.
Happy New Year everyone. Tonight I will spend the evening with good friends and good food…a great way to send off 2012!
2012 in Review
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
The new Boeing 787 Dreamliner can carry about 250 passengers. This blog was viewed about 1,200 times in 2012. If it were a Dreamliner, it would take about 5 trips to carry that many people.
Narita airport, Tokyo
My husband has been to Tokyo several times and every time he goes, he sends back the coolest pictures. These came from his most recent trip. It is an oragami store. He said it was so amazing and there was even an oragami that you needed to use microscope to see it. Definitely, Tokyo is on my list as a “must see”.
Social Media as Change Catalyst
In the December 2012 issue of Talent Management magazine, there was a great article titled, “Social Media as Change Catalyst”. Its premise is that organizational change can be enhanced by using social media tools. What is interesting is that in a current project I am working on, I suggested this very thing, but received a lukewarm response. Why not allow the super users the opportunity to post tips, tricks and key information to begin the conversation about these software enhancements? Users can post questions, concerns and even their own tips to help everyone learn the new system and processes and quickly and efficiently as possible.
Choo, et al, suggest that social media can enhance change initiatives by:
- “Sharing experiences across a knowledge network
- Building a collaborative culture
- Creating targeted and timely learning
- Improving employee engagement.”
It is no secret that employees are faced with a tremendous amount of change in their daily organizational life…new policies, software enhancements, job reductions and management changes all play a significant role in the amount of change and information an employee must take in. Change is the “new normal” and with that comes creating a shared vision, gaining buy-in and learning the new product or process. So it makes sense that connecting employees to be able to share experiences and learning will benefit everyone. Furthermore, it will be easier for management to gauge how the change is being accepted and implemented in the employees’ daily lives. Even more importantly, are the pitfalls or mishaps that need to be addressed immediately in order to continue to ensure the change takes hold. Social media tools allow for “real-time exchange of ideas”.
The article suggests that management play a role in the dialogue, too. Not only should management be active participants, they should be available to dispel incorrect information during the online exchange of ideas and experiences. Management can also keep the messages focused. It is no secret that learning needs to be more focused, targeted and learner-driven. Social media allows those three things to happen by allowing employees to teach and/or get the specific information they are looking for quickly and easily. Ultimately, social media tools help information to “flow in multiple directions” which alleviates the common issue of little or poor communication during a change initiative.
Read the full article.
Life and Cake
With adversity, comes toughness, grit and love. I know this because I see this where I live and I live on an amazing street. There is such a sense of community. The families on my street often get together “just because” or to celebrate holidays like Halloween. The moms on the block get together with even more regularity. It is easy to celebrate when times are good. But what separates people is what they do when times are bad.
One of the gals on our street is fighting ovarian cancer at the ripe ol’ age of 39. She has two children aged two and four. As soon as we heard the details, we banded together and created a menu calendar–meals are being taken care of for months to come. Neighbors have their kids over and someone even raked their leaves yesterday!
She turns 40 today, on the day of her second chemo treatment. I decided a celebration was in order. No one should “celebrate” their 40th birthday doing chemo so I invited all the moms on the block over for cake and wine last night. Eleven women showed up and it was heartwarming to see the love and solidarity in the room. One of my friends (that does not live on the block) offered to bake the cake for the party. The cake was delicious and paired well with the laughs and conversation. I believe our fighting friend and neighbor stands a chance of beating this ugly disease because she knows we are all rooting for her…she can do this! And we will be an even stronger community when she reaches the end of her chemo treatments.
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly
I read this book upon the urging of my daughter’s fifth grade teacher. Even though this book is considered a “middle reader”, it really held my interest. The book centers around the notion of possibility. Calpurnia forms a relationship with her distant grandfather, who lives with them on their Texas pecan farm. The year is 1899 and there are certain expectations for a girl at this time in history. Cal’s grandfather sees himself as a naturalist and introduces Cal to his love of science and observation. Cal is quickly drawn into her grandfather’s world, but her mother keeps trying to pull her back into the world of “training to be a good wife” by learning how to cook, play the piano and sew. Cal has other ideas for her future but is uncertain how she will break with her parent’s expectations. This is a Newberry Honor Book and definitely worth reading.
Red Ridge Farms
We went to Dundee to stay with Eric’s parents overnight for the Thanksgiving holiday. Despite the downpour today, I really wanted to go on a little field trip to the gorgeous countryside that surrounds Dundee. It is amazing how many wineries there are. I have had my eye on Red Ridge Farms, in particular. It is Oregon’s first olive grove. Apparently they have over 13,000 olive trees over 17 acres. We tasted seven different oils and the lemon-infused was my favorite. We also tried three different balsamic vinegars; the fig was my favorite and the passionfruit was Eric’s favorite. Needless to say we picked up a few bottles to take home and a few Christmas gifts, too. The scenery was stunning and the grounds were beautifully landscaped. I can only imagine how picturesque it would be during a sunny summer day! It would be a great place for an event or party, too. We will definitely go back!
We then headed over to the quaint town of Carlton for lunch. There were several tasting rooms and unique lunch spots
and gift shops. We had a great field trip today. It is fun to not let the weather dictate what we did today. And even though the girls protested being out in the rain, I think they came home pretty satisfied, also.
The Final Product
seniyegroff 