Boat Crew

I've been fascinated by the work of Edwin Hutchins on Distributed Cognition. He places much of our thinking in a social and cultural perspective. He isn't too interested in what is happening in the head of an individual. When you look at what we care about in education that actually makes sense. You care about how people share understandings and performances when you educate them more than anything else.

Hutchins spent a great deal of time on helicopter carriers working with quartermasters watching how you became a skilled navigator and discovered that much of what you learned was becoming part of a group. Interesting!

I'm finishing up boat crew quals for the Coast Guard and it is much the same thing. You become a part of a crew and you work together. You share responsibility. TCT (Team Coordination Training) and the GAR exercise (Green Amber Red) are all about sharing understandings and communication. Probably learned more in crew training than I would if I went for an MBA.

Another Year

I'm a bit burned out right now. Taking my vacation days so as not to lose them and trying to get centered and right with myself. It's tough. I'm down to only three credits for grad school, have only a few more tasks for the boat crew quals to do more work for the Coast Guard and it is all too much for me right now. I need a guide. Probably will not get one.

Clarity...