This really resonates with me and I say this from the standpoint of a student. Although I have taught music lessons privately for a number of years I have never been a full time teacher in the public arena. That said I feel for teachers who are passionate about finding ways to teach that are effective when they are bound by assessment and results. We all grow at our own rate and learn differently, that said some of us grow more quickly in some subjects that in others and that's a beautiful thing. It would indeed be VERY sad if we were all the same to I think it's time to reevaluate that expectation. All that said, yes there certain things we all must learn and certain things that must be mastered once we choose a life path. I would like to see, and be part of, a turn in expectations. That's a huge ask, but challenging the norm can have great results, whereas sitting on the norm doesn't really help anyone grow or find better ways, or innovate.

Outside of many, many of the classic Disney stories (many of which are about a child or character who starts out with no parents and rises to the occasion to beat life's circumstances) is the Hunger Games series. I think it's famous, but that is possibly relative, or just a matter of opinion.

Taken as a whole I definitely see the Cinderella pattern and I also see pieces of it in each of the three books. As a whole we have:

1. Girl who lives in poverty, her father was killed in a mining accident which caused her Mom to check out. She has been the "adult" of the house, raising her sister for many years. Her sister's name gets called as a tribute in the Hunger Games and Katness (the girl) volunteers to take her place in the game. It might help those who are not familiar to know that this is a sick games set up by the government (the capital) to remind the general population that the capital is in ultimate control. The game is played annually by drawing names from a hat to see who the tributes (volunteers) will be. It is a survival game where in 12 young men and 12 young women go in, and only one comes out. The "game" seems sick and sad but we have certainly seen some other very real warped things happen in humanity so one has to wonder what is too far fetched.

2. She gets to know her mentor who won the game in the past. She earns his respect and he becomes her "fairy godmother" in the end as he guides her into the games, to the champion of the game, and to a lifetime high of returning to an upgraded home and living a life well outside of poverty.

3. Her elation doesn't last long as the next call for the games lands her back in them again, an heretofore unheard of situation, and she must face life's frustrations, and this situation once again.

4. She rises to the occasion, decides to make a difference for everyone and in the end outsmarts the "capital", the bad guys, and creates a life of freedom and happiness that far surpassed what she could ever have imagined when she embarked upon the initial unwanted quest she was thrown into only a short few years ago.

I imagine that since we haven't gotten down to the instructions to post to the private area yet, that the video comments are to go in the public realm.

I'm thinking the core content is that confidence is an underlying component in whether we engage and believe. The speaker can be saying anything really, or nothing, but speaker confidence has a strong impact on audience reception. For me confidence can be a real challenge, it definitely doesn't come naturally, for me it most certainly is a learned trait when I manage to pull it off.

Social media - currently still my nemesis. I'm working on it though, I know there is great value there, once it's all second nature I may find myself with a new hobby!

OK, well I love learning new things and this definitely falls into that category. I must admit though, I am deathly afraid of missing something I am supposed to be doing that is "hiding" in somewhere in a Hypothes,is annotation or something! I trust that within a few weeks into the semester it'll be old hat!

Hi, this is Shawna, Shawna Stushnoff. I enjoy most all types of music and I teach piano on the side, but I would be remiss if I didn't admit that currently my favorite artist is Jule Vera. Why? Well my youngest son, Kyle, is the drummer, and my eldest, Alex, is their manager. So what kind of a Mom would I be if JV wasn't my favorite artist?!! And they're actually very talented so that makes it easy to be their biggest fan.

Loving the creativity aspect of the course, but I can't help but ask... hmm... wouldn't a pecha kucha be a form of a slide show?

Games as an learning avenue have been of great interest to me for quite some time. From watching my kids play the Timone & Pumba typing game on a computer some 20 years ago and seeing my kids playing World of Warcraft as teens I recognized that there can be substantial benefits to game play. I am excited to learn about what has worked and what hasn't, as well as stretch myself recognition of the same.