tkt8763-01: SIP Class Discussion

[cdscales <cdscales@network-one.com>]

Today in class, we talked about sailboats and the significance of
sailing in relation to technology planning.  I would like to share with
you a poem entitled "George Gray" by Edgar Lee Masters.  The poem is
actually an epitaph that was written on George Gray's tombstone, and it
describes his life.  In the poem he says that he regrets the fact that
he was too afraid in life to take chances or experience new things. Now
that he's dead he realizes that he should have "seized the day" or
"carpe diem".  He lived a life in which he was always wondering what
things would have been like had he "jumped at the chance or
opportunity".  Now he realizes that his life-style was worst than the
one in which he would have taken the risks.  Here is the poem:

I have studied many times/ The marble which was chiseled for me--
A boat with a furled sail at rest in a harbor./ In truth it pictures not
my destination/ But my life./ For love was offered me, and I shrank from
its disillusionment;/ Sorrow knocked at my door, but I was afraid;/
Ambition called to me, but I dreaded the chances./ Yet all the while I
hungered for meaning in my life/ And now I know that we must life the
sail/ And catach the winds of destiny/ Wherever they drive the boat./ To
put meaning in one's life may end in madness,/ But life without meaning
is the torture/ Of restlessness and vague desire--/ It is a boat longing
for the sea and yet afraid.

This is one of the main points that Jim Rohn brought out in his
presentation--"Learn how to take advantage of the spring".  In other
words, we must seize the opportunity.  Times they are a'changin--and we
must stay abreast of these changes--especially when it comes to
technology and technology planning.  Don't be afraid to plan; that is,
to set goals and objectives and to work diligently in trying to achieve
those goals.  Our "Guidebook to Tech Planning" says to not panic if
something is not going the way everyone thought it would, but to
reevaluate.  This is a process that requires constant monitoring and
adjusting.  Sometimes a "detour" is necessary, but that's because there
are always different routes to the same direction.  Just don't give up
or take your eye off your goal!

Cheryl D. Scales


******* TKT 8763 Seminar in Planning for Instructional Technology  *******
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