Designing Design

Whew! Survived a nearly all-day long meeting on revising our curriculum for the Design course. Thought things went very well. We're a good team, and the idea to start the course with an in-depth study of the Vicksburg campaign and then use that as a reference point for later lessons is great. I wish the larger Design community would pick up on what we're doing here at SAMS (School for Advanced Military Studies). In due time.

Our soon-to-be-out student text on Design will be as good as anything out there, and the only thing on Design in a military context.

But I'm exhausted. Going through every class day, day by day, and reviewing readings, exercises, etc., was grueling work. But like I said, we worked well together. I'm always so impressed with AR's soft but commanding tone. He'll sit back quietly for a long time as the debate goes on around him and then suddenly say, "I think what we're all trying to say is," or "If could summarize what it is I think we're all getting at...." And then he proceeds to insert his thoughts in such a way that they rarely get rejected. He's the ultimate confident expert, and everyone in the room knows it. He has nothing to prove. Just a recognition that the rest of us may need some facilitation.

I'm learning so much about Design. And have so much more to learn. But I already feel that being a part of this group has put me on the forefront of a much larger wave in the social-sciences. We shall see.