Did you ever have one of those days where you suspect that, despite all those years spent in college or university, you know absolutely nothing? It’s as if everything that you believed you knew turned to jelly and leaked out of your ears!

It could be sleep deprivation, hunger, or a bad case of self-confidence destroying stress. I just don’t feel myself today. I find my usually short fuze has fizzled down to a centimetre in length and every new crisis today has made me question my competence and ability to do anything useful.

I’d advise everyone to stay a good 5 to 10 metres back. Like Ste. Helens, I’m likely to blow at any time…

Since the dawn of time those sneaky leprachauns have been trying to convince us that a pot of gold resides at the end of a rainbow. The members of the 408 Squadron (Canadian Forces) on exercise in Wainwright in September 2005 were able to discover that the “pot” at the end of the rainbow is not filled with gold.

Technorati Tags: rainbow, pot of gold

“Every act of conscious learning requires the willingness to suffer an injury to one’s self-esteem. That is why young children, before they are aware of their own self-importance, learn so easily; and why older persons, especially if vain or important, cannot learn at all. Pride and vanity can thus be greater obstacles to learning than stupidity.”
– Thomas Stasz

I think this quote says it all. In my experience, adult resistance to learning experiences has far more to do with shifting a person’s internal perceptions of their own worth and fear than it does with time, money, familiarity with technology, or personal life issues. If we want to, we can work around most of these ‘barriers’. The one that is most difficult to surmount is internal. Egos and icons..

Technorati Tags: resistance to learning, internal barriers

I love my job. Ok, if I’m being honest, I love chunks of my job. I especially love the analysis part. I love asking questions, getting answers, then asking even more questions. I love sifting through piles of data trying to find the key that helps me find the right questions to ask so I can work on developing an approach that may, in the end, provide the answers.

Life isn’t a bowl of cherries – it’s a constant search for the right questions to ask.

I do have a confession to make. I really don’t like the development bit. Despite the cute whoosing sound they make going by (didn’t Scott Adams say that?) I really don’t like deadlines. Of course, my current dislike of dealines is likely fueled by the close-of-business Friday deadline I’m currently facing.

Other things I’m not so fond of? Having to rely on others. Teamwork. Not having complete control over every aspect of a project. I know I need to learn how to let go. I need to learn to actively solicit help and learn to graciously accept it when offered. I’ll get right on that as soon as you find the cure for my type A work-til-I-drop personality.

Technorati Tags: work, instructional design, project, deadlines

I’ve often complained in this blog about Canadians (safe at home) demanding we pull our troops out of Afghanistan. With the CTV reports of the most recent deaths of our troops outside of Kandahar, I expect the clamouring to begin anew.

One thing I don’t think I have done well is explain why I think we need to remain in Afghanistan despite the losses on both sides. As Canadians – I’m sure I’m guilty of this – we tend to sit back and watch world affairs from afar. We then pass judgement on other countries politics, behaviours, etc. from on high while smugly sipping our coffees and munching on Timbits.

There needs to be stability before there can be lasting peace. Peacekeeping requires both sides of any armed conflict to be willing to put down their arms and commit to a cease-fire. Afghanistan is not a good candidate for peacekeeping at this time. What use is laying down arms to build schools if the Taliban will destroy all that you build? Why should the people and democratically elected members of the Afghani governement be asked to sit back, stop fighting, and resign themselves to a return to the “old ways” of the Taliban? Isn’t this what we’d be condemming the citizens of Afghanistan to if we walk away now or replace our fighting force with a band of peacekeepers? Peacekeepers are not allowed to intervene – even if they’re watching someone being murdered in front of them – unless directly fired upon. Ask Romeo Dallaire how successful UN peacekeeping measures are in a country where one or both sides of a conflict are bound and determined on slaughter, occupation, domination, and death.

I’m sure it’s obvious that I don’t believe the main purpose of the Canadian Forces is peacekeeping.

There’s a near mythical attitude towards the term peacekeeping in Canada amongst civilians. Modern Canadians have deluded themselves into believing that the only reason why Canada was respected on a world scale was due to it’s peacekeeping efforts. They completely ignore the actions of Canadian soldiers in WWI and WWII where Canada proved herself worthy of standing up for her convictions. Peacekeeping is but one tool in a chest of options to select from. When you’re building or repairing anything, you have to choose the best tool for the job. At this time, I believe it would be folly to select peacekeeping as the preferred course of action in Afghanistan. There is no point in selecting a hammer to repair a leaky pipe…

Additional Reading
Sun columnist, Licia Corbella, hits the nail on the head in her response to Jack Layton‘s most recent call to negotiate peace settlements with the Taliban. I’ve often argued that we cannot hold our heads high and claim we support international women’s rights and yet walk away from the current conflict in Afghanistan. Ms. Corbella paints a vivid picture of what life under the Taliban was like for Afghani citizens, especially women.

Technorati Tags: Kandahar, Afghanistan, Canadian Forces, Taliban, Peacekeeping, Romeo Dallaire