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January 01, 1970
January 01, 1970
Hi Prof. Westfield,
This is a timely article because I am in the midst of collaborating and renegotiating the exhibit and have a plan a and B in the event one is going to fizzle. This is the first time at Drew that I needed to address various persons to assist in setting up the exhibit but first convince them of the idea. The responses are conflicting between acceptance and concern in getting this done during the height of the holidays. There is a need for an ongoing dialogue about projects that are going to be held at the local church. The time needed to collaborate runs beyond the time limitations of a fifteen week course. In my case going through this process while physically being absent from routine and particular events organized through the efforts of the pastor creates less interest. I am projecting this self interest rather than community engagement perspective to the congregants and leaders of the church. In order to respond to all that is needed at Drew and at work; the relevant space that I am doing all of this for becomes neglected. How does any one individual feel when they are ignored or neglected? There needs to be a structure in place before the class is offered that can be shared with the theologians local church and congregation. Anticipating these ideas where meetings can take place with a committee of the church to actually include the process with others and ultimately create these ideas as a group. At least at the local church that I am involved with operates this way and with the support of the pastor this collaborative idea can “get off the ground”. Boy, I can give you an example of a failed attempt at collaboration while trying to salvage for leaving this important step out of the “equation”. I am fortunate that I have a space to conduct this exhibit if all else fails but the desired space for me is with the local church. The message of Hope, Faith and love was for the wonderful and hard working Latina sisters of our church led by a great mentor Rev. Martinez. I recommend this class be set up into two courses that allows for more time and in organizing. When I curated photographs for an exhibit at the college it literally took four months. One month to organize and work with the photographs and I invited another artist to set up his 27 photographs with me. I had collaborated with the dean who collaborated on my behalf with administration then sent out the flyers and our secretary assisted with several others for the reception. The exhibit was a success because of all the persons who assisted for this event. Working on an exhibit when indicating to others as a requirement for a grade is viewed from another perspective. That is why I am suggesting a time frame that invites one from the very beginning to begin the process of a working through process. This would shift the perspective from student collaboration to people collaboration and lead to a moment where everyone is clear about the purpose. Where everyone can see how necessary this event is for the community and how each person will benefit. In this case understanding why this is important for us as women of color. The digital age can be a useful tool and has its place; as long as we continue to dialogue with one another in a connectional manner.
I can see how future colleagues are going to benefit from your efforts. I am sometimes the lamb that shakes before taking on a new event. It was through the efforts of the dean at our college who encouraged me to consider this exhibit because of photographs I developed in the past and shared with him. God has a way of using others to “wake you up” and facilitate your gifts. With todays’ technology we can accomplish more in less time if we utilize those persons highly skilled in this field. Thank you again
Dr. Westfield. I would certainly support your desire / pull towards more collaboration, although admittedly I’ve always felt a sense of anxiousness and an initial reaction of … ugh … when such assignments are put forth. Logistics of a challenging schedule and that nagging desire to achieve a certain grade generally provide my concern. But what’s that about? The logistical concerns are real in that life is filled with so many priorities and the additional unscheduled time required around collaboration feels like a minor hardship. My concerns around grades are, admittedly, insignificant and fail to see the value of collaboration and the additional richness of experience possible when we create something “together.” Not to mention that, ultimately, the belief that a grade may be impacted most certainly includes some sense of arrogance in my own ability vs. the belief that a greater inter-dependence and diverse experience will produce a more worthwhile end product.
So … I stand in support of more collaboration in seminary while admitting, when it comes … I’ll probably still sigh and wish to be able to lock myself up in a room and hammer out “my” “own” assignment.
Working together with individuals on a project has the potential to be successful or it can be an absolute nightmare. It all depends who you are working with; there is a direct correlation between outcomes and attitudes.
More collaboration is an ideal that we should strive to attain since the world in which we live and work is collaborative by nature. In my ministry setting there is no place for a “lone wolf.” Collaboration is a must and is often a challenge to say the least. Over time I have learnt whom to choose for certain tasks. I collaborated successfully this semester on a research project; it was purely coincidental that we came together. Our success was possible because we both approach assignments in a timely manner. As a result of our compatibility the experience was devoid of the logistic stress that accompanies such projects.
I suggest that at the start of the semester students should be encouraged to get to know the work attitudes of their peers. This will help them identify those whose styles are compatible to theirs and form alliances for collaborative efforts.
Dr. Westfield, I agree collaboration is not for the faint of heart. Collaboration requires all to check their egos at the door, a willingness to explore and engage in some negotiations. I have learned collaborations can forge a friendship or destroy all possibilities. In the grand scheme of things I am all for collaboration on projects, however, this realization resulted once I viewed each collaborative project as an opportunity to challenge my learning.
Oh my… Ouch! This W-Blog is the synopsis of my semester, every Monday was a learning encounter with my colleague to be in conversation and stimulate or give rise to our creativity for the Art of Teaching Life Course. We were working together and/or separate, this article opened my concept and vision in how many times we were in negotiation or collaborative aspect in our life, all the time for our schedules, others projects and commitment. Now I enjoy differently because the experience in our leadership starts with our availability to be able and flow with the circumstances and experiences including another person.