By now
I'm sure many of you have put two and two - errrr voice and paw - together and
come to the conclusion that Cice is more than a therapy dog and Jenaia is fond
of slightly off-color canine jokes made at the expense of her fellow homo
sapiens.
The
thing is - and this is where it all gets intriguing and fun - taking on and
embodying the persona of Cice has let me do three very important things:
1) Step
outside the assumptions we make about who and what matters in life. I mean let's face it. To a dog what matters most is physical
comfort, unconditional love, and food - not necessarily in that order. As Cice I am not the least bit impressed by
a person's credentials. What matters is his/her willingness to be present,
engaged, and open to "play."
By "play" I mean tossing judgments to the wind and allowing
oneself to romp with new ideas and people.
2)
Reevaluate what and how we choose to learn.
Cice's outrage at the way RQ was treated as a child in school was
genuine and legitimate. When you have
the opportunity to step out side a system and see it with fresh eyes - the eyes
of a creature whose life is defined by comfort and love - its problems become
abundantly clear. Any system that
rewards conformity and punishes difference; that expects everyone to learn
exactly the same things in exactly the same way, and demonstrate that learning
using exactly the same tools is seriously flawed. Moreover, it is asking for trouble. We need difference; we need alternative perspectives; and we need
to be challenged to step outside our assumptions. This how we grow both as individuals and as a species.
3)
Serve as a sounding board and emissary for stories. The stories I've heard as Cice - first as a therapy dog helping
the disabled find their way in Second Life and later as RQ's companion - have
amazed and humbled me. More
importantly, they have taught me the value of experiencing the world through
another's eyes. Once you enter
another's story - seeing, feeling, touching, and hearing his/her reality - it
is difficult to judge, and even harder not to care.
Then
there is the whole process of dreaming up, building out, and co-creating
stories. The day we had our first
group of explorers go through the Uncle D Story Quest was pure delight. We watched as they delved into Uncle D's
life - reading his journals, listening to his phone messages, watching his TV,
and teleporting to other parts of Second Life - and fielded questions as they
arose. Even more exciting was to hear
folks talk about ideas for stories, letters, photographs, and even technical
information they could contribute that might make Uncle D and his struggle with
HIV/AIDS more meaningful and real. They
were learning and teaching one another and us right before our eyes! What more
could you want from a learning environment?
If
you'd like to tackle that question, please consider joining Cice, (aka Jenaia
Morane, aka Jena Ball) and her ever reluctant companion Marty Snowpaw (aka
Marty Keltz, aka The Reluctant Quester) at the SL Education Roundtable being
hosted by Ignatius Onomatopoeia at 2:30-3:30 SL Time (PST) Tuesday, November
3 on the Montclair State University virtual campus in Second Life. We will be talking about the power
of story and Story Quests to transform the landscape of learning.
