A Commonplace Book

In two previous courses of this Master's program, we have had the opportunity to look at leadership through a counseling lens (look for my blog posts from July). Our current course on Family Systems and Conflict Management is building on that prior knowledge by acknowledging that as an educational leader we are faced with the whole child, which often means addressing the needs of the family as well. Our instructor, Chris Kinman, believes strongly in the fluidity of thought, reflection, emotions, and the interconnectedness of people with each other and nature. As such, one of our assignments is to note down our musings as we move through the class. The method of doing so is to use a Commonplace Book. If you're like me, this is a brand new term - though not a brand new concept.

A Commonplace Book is apparently a well known device of writers, scientists, readers, students...pretty much anyone who wants to keep a rather "stream of consciousness" record of what moved them, what jumped out at them, made them wonder or question or think. Examples of Commonplace Books can easily be found for the searching. What is more tricky, I think, is finding the format that works for you.

Not being one who leans toward the artistic, a paper copy of a Commonplace Book for me would consist largely of quotes and lists...I really like lists! And I'm not creative enough to connect my thoughts through a web in an aesthetically meaningful way. However, as mentioned in my previous post, I've recently discovered the beauty of organization through OneNote, and voila! The medium for my Commonplace Book was found. 

Now, it doesn't look like too much right now, but of course I'll be adding to it as we move along. I think of this as my digital thought web, as I'm easily able to add new branches onto any main theme. I can also add pictures, which for someone like me (for whom stick figures are a challenge) means that I can make it pretty without frustration.

Overall I'm excited to see how it grows, and I like the idea that as new areas of interest emerge I can easily blend them into my previous observations. Bring on the reflecting!