Hong Kong Report

I've been back from Hong Kong for about a week, and I am still a bit jet lagged. The trip back was a fairly uneventful 32 hours, but I fear I have not entirely recovered. My time in Hong Kong was, however, very enjoyable and fruitful. I was able to work with Al and Kitty on a variety of training projects. Al and I also got a chance to review some of our respective observations and theories as well as set up some long term plans for IRI.

As always, the people we are working with were great. Linda, our host, was a great sport about having more guests than beds (I slept on a couch while I was there). She also worked with Al on training programs at church, eventually taking over the training herself. Kitty, our HK board member, also worked with Al and me on church training programs. I think that Linda and Kitty are an excellent start on developing new trainers in Hong Kong, but we will certainly be looking for more as we go along. I was also able to work with Kitty on a number of teacher training programs for some of the local schools. Like last year, we primarily focused on SEN (special educational needs) schools, whose teachers face particular challenges which require creative and adaptable thinking. In addition, Kitty arranged for me to be a keynote speaker at an educational conference. The audience was primarily senior teachers and principals, although we had some education students and a few parents, as well. The presentation was on building relationships in educational environments, and (from what I could tell) was well received. It was a great opportunity, and I'm glad I was able to present to such a great audience.

I'm grateful for the opportunity to work in Hong Kong. It is a great place, and I love working with everyone there. Currently, our plans are to return next year - Al will be back for a short time in the Spring, and I should be back for another round of teacher training in the fall. We hope to increase our presence in educational and professional development, and to that end, I have begun looking into PhD programs to provide additional credentials for our program, and to advance my own knowledge and formal academic research on our theories and strategies for human development. I'll keep everyone posted as that plan develops.

Speaking of theories, I should finally be back to ABC thinking next week with...the ABC cognitive style.

Return to the U.S.A.

I am headed back to the States - the trip should take about 23 hours or so. I expect I will be next to useless for about a day after getting back, what with jet lag and all. I hope to have a bigger post later this week detailing some of the highlights of the trip. Next week, we will be back to the ABCs of ABC!

Busy Week, Not Much Posting

My time in Hong Kong has been very interesting and exciting. I have been working on teacher training, youth programs, and long-term plans for IRI. Unfortunately, this doesn't leave me with as much time to put together more on the ABC concepts. Sorry for the delays. I will be in Hong Kong for one more week, which will continue my busy schedule. I plan to be back on track to continue the overview of the theories behind our work once I get back to the U.S.

I have had a chance to talk with some of our overseas team members at length while here, and have learned more about how some of our ideas have been impacting the people we are working with. I want to include an analysis of some of that information in later posts, but the short version is that things are going very well in terms of our human development programs. The long version will have to wait for a more in-depth blog (or two). In the meantime, I will post a summary of the Hong Kong trip once I get back to the States (or next week, if I can carve out the time).

Thinking About ACB - Mystical Conceptualization

We're back to the ABC theory of cognition this week! I am still running all over Hong Kong doing training and meeting people, so this week's entry will be another short one. My schedule is still subject to change without notice, so time will tell if I am able to fit in the final cognitive system before I return to the U.S.

ACB is the second of the hypothetical-but-not-actual cognitive systems identified by Dr. Cook. In theory, it would be highly conceptual, with a focus on abstract development and analysis, and have an immediate focus or emphasis on the mystical/emotional. Like CAB, it would have a low priority or even skepticism about the concrete world. As far as we can tell, there isn't an actual cultural representation of this way of thinking. It would seem a logical direction for applied existentialism or postmodernism to run, but most advocates of existentialism were bigger on theory than daily living, meaning they were more likely ABC (or abC) than ACB. Postmodernism is a recent enough cultural phenomenon* for us to determine the cognitive system that it practically develops or incorporates into its worldview.

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* I mean its adoption in actual living cultures instead of simply being advocated in academic circles

Continuing Adventures in Hong Kong

Yesterday, I was given the honor of working with the faculty and staff of the PLK Anita L.L. Chan (Centenary) School in Hong Kong. This is a specialized school working with primarily students with special educational needs. The students got the day off during our full-day training session. We spent an entire day investigating ABC thinking, teamwork, and personal development. The class was engaged and excited, and our responses were good, overall. There were a few issues with language, which is to be expected when your speaker (me) is English-speaking and your class is Cantonese-speaking (but English proficient). For many of the participants, this was the first time for them to exercise their English skills for some time. Fortunately, our board member Kitty Ho was also presenting, and led most of the more conversation-intensive activities. Overall, a good and productive time was had by all. Thanks again to the faculty and staff for giving me the opportunity to work with such wonderful people!

Our participants during an activity