1. The first three habits are: Be proactive, Begin with the End in Mind, and Put First Things First. Share a personal victory in your life in which you can attribute success to one of these three leadership skills.
2. Do you see a need for the first three habits in your students? Give examples.
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Hi! My name is Jessica White and I am about to begin a book study as well on The Leader in Me. My small group is also hoping to start a blog to discuss the ideas in this book and how it will work at our school.
ReplyDeleteI'm excited to see that you are also now starting this as well and was hoping perhaps if there was a way our two groups could video conference or discuss this book and it's implications on the way we view education.
If you are interested you can reach me via email: jessica.white@killeenisd.org or contact me at our tech blog:
http://web.me.com/texasj/Mt._View_Tech_Team/Blog/Blog.html
I remember very well the hard lesson I had to learn about putting first things first when Sarah went through the diagnosis process with MS. The emotional toll that process took on me required me to simplify things going on in my classroom and giving up some leadership roles I had carried at church. Unfortunately, the congregation where we had invested our lives for ten years didn't understand, and wanted nothing to do with us if we weren't functionning at full capapcity. God honored the effort by providing us a new and much healthier place to serve in just a few weeks. In fact, he had already assembled a special team of friends with the skills experiences needed to help us through the toughest part of the diagnosis- which still lay ahead.
ReplyDeleteWe definitely need these first three skills in our students. Over the last several years, I have noticed fewer and fewer students being proactive. Going back to first grade this past year really showed that. I can't tell you how many times wehad backpacks on and ready to line up at the end of the day, and I asked the students to pick up the trash on the floor. Only two or three students complied, despite having trash directly at their feet. "It's not mine" is the reponse. I never remember having that problem with first graders before.
This year, more than ever, many of our students lacked the ability to be proactive. As teachers, Debbie, Amy, and I learned that we had to take a step back and focus on student needs more than curriculum. There were times that we felt that nobody was learning, but that was not the case. There were some children that made great strides this year in becoming responsible for themselves, and as a result, they made great strides academically.
ReplyDeleteI can definitly see where our kids need these skills. Starting Daily 5 this year we had to remember and keep the 'end in mind'. I was always reminding them of how they were learning to read and getting better and showing them where they were going. I tried to show them how to be responsible for learning this do the steps needed to get there. To put first things first was a goal of mine to teach the students how to achieve. I do this each year not calling it that. Now I have some tools to use! AS you can tell I am excited about useing these tools! As Teri stated this is the first year I have seen such non-committed behavior also. It was a challenge to try to teach them to be helpful and want to have our room look neat and inviting. By the end of the year I was making progress. Hopefully it will continue into 2nd friends-teachers!
ReplyDeleteI got to have a wonderful choice of making more investments into the lives of a whole new group of people with the death of a mate of 31 years. I knew the term, proactive, and I knew that there had a to a powerful, healthy, and more selfless way then holing up in my personal loss, grief, and pain. By God's grace, I was able to enter a new arena with open arms and heart again. Surely, we can teach our students proactivity over difficult home situations. Choice is a tremendous power that we have!
ReplyDeleteCheryl - I love reading your posts. You have such wisdom and faith.
ReplyDeleteI think that I live my life being proactive. When I see a problem, my mind goes to work on how to turn that problem into a solution. I think that has helped me to stay married for 26 years! Some of us were at a workshop this week where a huge focus was on the power of positive phrasing. Teaching our students to be proactive can build positive thinking. Anything is possible when you stay positive.
Angela, Deb, and Amy showed us a phenom example of proactivity, and beginning with an end in view with our 5th graders. They were willing to risk, and it will have more long term results in building student character then the test results alone! Great perseverance, Ladies!
ReplyDeleteThe thinking that caused the problem can't be the same thinking that solves the problem. You have to be proactive. You have to think outside of the box. That is what Angela, Debbie, and Amy did. I also believe that started that process with the end in mind. How they wanted the kids to behave.
ReplyDeleteI feel that Habit 1: Be Proactive - I am a responsible person - is the number one habit because if you are proactive in your life the other qualities and habits will follow. The first grade teachers and I used these first three habits the year, Ronda and I team taught the 20 at-risk first grade scholars for 45 minutes a day. After the middle of the year testing, I was wondering how I could serve all the children that needed extra intervention. The first grade teachers and I worked as a team and came up with a plan on how we could best meet the reading needs of all our scholars. Without everyone working together we would not have been able to accomplish what we did. This year's second graders were last year's first graders. I pulled five second graders (two were new to our school)this year. At the end of the year we only had two students that were not reading on grade level and they will be in my dyslexia program. This is how being proactive, beginning with the end in mind, and putting first things first works.
ReplyDeleteThis year I attempted two new music programs in the first and second grades. It took a lot of preparation and planning but it was well worth it. The students jumped right in because the music was different and so much fun. The teachers were so supportive and so encouraging to the students. I have realized in practice that the students are excited if I am excited. I hope these programs build self-confidence and teamwork. I always have in mind what I want the outcome to be but with first/second graders you never know. I am amazed at their ability to rise to the occasion.
ReplyDeleteThis is off topic but I love A.B. Combs' vision - To Live, to Love, to Learn, to Leave a Legacy. The picture (p. 45) of the tile mural has caught my imagination. The center piece would make a very cool T-shirt (Shawn ;-)Hint, hint!). I know we would be copy cats but I really do like it. The T-shirts could also say Scholars are Leaders or Smithfield Scholars are Leaders. Just a thought. What does everyone think?
ReplyDeleteI love "to leave a Legacy". Both adults and children should stop and seriously consider their legacy. Each peson always leaves something behind; either positive or negative. Perhaps, this would be something our students could do; to consider what it is they want to leave behind for the new students entering that grade next year. What is that one word that would describe his legacy? Or the grade legacy.
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