Points!

I've talked to all my classes about the point system I'll be using to encourage some active blogging.  Here are some of the things I came up with.  It may change later in the camp, I may decide to add some more categories.  For now:


Skills posts: 15 points
Fun posts: 10 points

Comment on another persons blog: 1 point for each comment
Exemplary blog (if you are cited for doing very good work): 10 points
Comment of the week (for an especially insightful, helpful, or funny comment): 10 points
Post one of your own photos: 5 points (available one time only)
Post one of your own videos: 5 points (available one time only)
Answer a trivia question that I have posted: 5 points
Comment on changes or improvements that I have made on my blog: 5 points

There are, of course, ways to lose points:
For negative and unhelpful comments: Minus 5 points
For generally lazy blogging: Minus 10 points

PLEASE KEEP TRACK OF YOUR OWN POINT TOTAL.  I will do my best to follow all the blogs and all the comments but, in case I am overwhelmed and miss something you posted, you will need to have your own point total and show me where you have commented.  

If you have any suggestions for other ways to earn points, post them in the comments.  Also, if you have a suggestion for prizes for the class with the highest point total, post them in the comments.

Leadership and "The First Follower"

Throughout the camp, I'll be using this blog in a number of ways.  I'll be instructing and giving assignments, showing you some examples of ways to answer those assignments, and talking about one of the underlying reasons that students come here; to understand "Leadership".   I know it can be a boring subject, and even the best speakers can have a hard time getting kids to stay awake when we want them to learn something:

Everyone has a few ideas about what makes leadership so important, or how to be a good leader.  The narrator of the video below makes some interesting points, though.   Watch it.  Think.  Then answer these two questions:  1. Are you a version of the shirtless dancing guy?  2. Would you have had the courage to be his first follower?

What would I have done? Well... I would have followed... maybe.  Surely not first, though!
As always, your comments are welcome below,
YB


Update:
Here is a transcript (Official transcript at http://sivers.org/ff) of the video for those of you who can't listen to the audio:

If you've learned a lot about leadership and making a movement, then let's watch a movement happen, start to finish, in under 3 minutes, and dissect some lessons:

A leader needs the guts to stand alone and look ridiculous. But what he's doing is so simple, it's almost instructional. This is key. You must be easy to follow!

Now comes the first follower with a crucial role: he publicly shows everyone how to follow. Notice the leader embraces him as an equal, so it's not about the leader anymore - it's about them, plural. Notice he's calling to his friends to join in. It takes guts to be a first follower! You stand out and brave ridicule, yourself. Being a first follower is an under-appreciated form of leadership. The first follower transforms a lone nut into a leader. If the leader is the flint, the first follower is the spark that makes the fire.

The 2nd follower is a turning point: it's proof the first has done well. Now it's not a lone nut, and it's not two nuts. Three is a crowd and a crowd is news.

A movement must be public. Make sure outsiders see more than just the leader. Everyone needs to see the followers, because new followers emulate followers - not the leader.

Now here come 2 more, then 3 more. Now we've got momentum. This is the tipping point! Now we've got a movement!

As more people jump in, it's no longer risky. If they were on the fence before, there's no reason not to join now. They won't be ridiculed, they won't stand out, and they will be part of the in-crowd, if they hurry. Over the next minute you'll see the rest who prefer to be part of the crowd, because eventually they'd be ridiculed for not joining.

And ladies and gentlemen that is how a movement is made! Let's recap what we learned:

If you are a version of the shirtless dancing guy, all alone, remember the importance of nurturing your first few followers as equals, making everything clearly about the movement, not you.

Be public. Be easy to follow!

But the biggest lesson here - did you catch it?

Leadership is over-glorified.

Yes it started with the shirtless guy, and he'll get all the credit, but you saw what really happened:

It was the first follower that transformed a lone nut into a leader.

There is no movement without the first follower.

We're told we all need to be leaders, but that would be really ineffective.

The best way to make a movement, if you really care, is to courageously follow and show others how to follow.

When you find a lone nut doing something great, have the guts to be the first person to stand up and join in.

Introduction

Whenever I let my students ask me personal questions, they come up with a pretty standard list:
How old are you?
Are you married?
Where are you from?
How long have you been in Korea?
What is your favorite Korean food?
Why did you come to Korea?

While all those questions may be interesting, after ten years in Korea giving the standard answers  begins to seem a little bit boring.  Actually, only one of them will even give you any insight into my personality.  How much can you really learn about a person if you know that their favorite food is Kimchi Bokkum-bap?
Instead of giving you my noral answers to all of the questions, I'll answer one of the questions with two lies and one true answer.  If you think you know which one is true, leave a comment on the blog. 

Question:
Why did you come to Korea?
1.  I fell in love with a Korean girl who was studying in my home country.  When she had to move back to Korea because her visa expired I decided that I could not live without her, so I quit my job at my local government office and found a job here.   I started in finance but switched to teaching after I came to GLPS and started working with really nice students. 
2. I was working for an internet based sales company but I didn't really like my job.  My apartment rental contract was going to expire and I needed a new place to stay.  Most of the people in my family are teachers of some sort and I had always wanted to teach and travel so I looked all over the world for opportunities.  Korea was the first place to give me a reasonable situation so I decided to move here. 
3. There was a lot of crime in the town I lived in.  The police were investigating a number of different bank robberies that they believed were all done by the same person.  I don't know why, and I am really not guilty, but they decided to begin investigating me.  The police called me in to their offices so many times that I decided I needed to leave town, and the country.  I took all my savings, got on a plane and started to travel.  When I finally began to run out of money I was in the Philippines.  I quickly found out that I could work in a camp in Korea and I contacted KMLA for an opportunity.  They liked my interview so I came here. 

Leave a comment telling me which one you believe and I will tell you more in another blog post.   

Getting Started

Well,
Since a blog is an outward representation of who we are, what we like, and what we want out of life, let's all start by telling our audience who we are, what we like, and what we want out of life.  Or, rather, let's just write about who we are and what we want out of this blog. 

Assignment 1:

   In several paragraphs, tell our audience some information about yourself.  Do not be too specific.  Since all of our blogs have pseudonyms, we should try to avoid telling people our name, our hometown, or any information that might easily identify us as the owner of the blog.  You should try to find a balance between being vague or purposely unclear about your important personal information but specific when identifying different aspects of your personality.  I want this:

I live in a small town and there isn't really much to do so every chance I get to go into the city is refreshing.

Not this:

My name is Kim Dong Hyun and I am 12 years old and I go to Soekyo Elementary School.  I live in Seoul, City, Mapo-gu and I like it very much. 

 When you have finished giving us a little information about yourself, tell us about your plans for the blog.  Some people will be more likely to return to your blog if you clearly explain what kind of things you will be posting about.   If you find another blog that seems interesting, you can even use some of the features of this program to alert you every time a writer that you like has entered a new post. 

This first assignment does not have any length requirements.  You can write as much or as little as you'd like.  

Make me happy,
YB