Habit #7 really brings all of the leadership habits together by encouraging us to remember each of them while working toward constant self improvement. Remembering to be proactive, start with the end in mind, put first things first, think win-win, seek first to understand others, and synergize with others will make us a strong leader. As leaders we are role models and must always continue to learn and grow. Part of that is staying current on new and best practices, and pursuing professional development opportunities. As I've mentioned in earlier posts, I am a life-long learner. I love learning new techniques that make me a better teacher and leader. I love attending professional development conferences and being inspired by other teachers and leaders who are doing great things! In EDL630 we watched a video this week where Dylan Wiliam, a formative assessment expert, discussed how teaching is the best profession in the world because "you can never master it" there is always more to learn and always ways to be better. He explained how it is so difficult for many teachers to change their practice, but how it is so important. I connected this to our habit this week because although we gain years of experience, we can never be perfect teachers, and we will always discover new a better ways to deliver content to our students if we continue to be open to learning. This week I am committing to never letting my mind, my spirit, or my leadership style go dull- I will continue to always sharpen my saw! This next habit is all about teamwork! To synergize is to cooperate creatively. The idea of this is that together, people can do better than they can do on their own. In order to synergize, people need to value each other's differences, utilize each other's strengths and balance each other's weaknesses. The image I've included sums up synergy in a simple way. Rather than compromising on a topic and meeting half-way in the middle, when synergizing, people are coming up with a whole new solution that is stronger than any compromise could have been. When people put their heads together they can come up with amazing outcomes. I related to this habit this week because I am a strong advocate or project based learning. In my classroom, students are working in groups most of the day. I love seeing the amazing ideas they come up with when working and putting their heads together. We are a 1:to:1 iPad classroom, and whenever I introduce a new project idea, the more freedom I give a group, the more they end up impressing me. As much as 4th graders need structure, you'd be amazed at what they can do when they have room to be creative. Another thing I love about PBL is seeing my students helping one another. All of my students have different talents and strengths to share with the class. I always encourage them to help one another because (there is only one of me) and most of the time their peer can explain something in better "kid language" in a way that makes sense to them, better than I can. In the last habit I touched on class discussions. Class discussions are a huge part of my classroom's culture. When we discuss and brainstorm ideas together (synergize) we are stronger than if we worked on our own. I am excited to share this habit with my class this week and encourage them to continue working together and supporting one another. I wish I worked in a school where we had more time set aside for collaboration. I think beautiful work can be done among teachers who have opportunities to synergize. This week's habit, seek first to understand, then to be understood, is surrounded by the idea of empathetic listening. In general, people want to be heard and they have their opinions ready to share. What this habit forces us to do is, rather than be ready to instantly share our own opinion and thoughts, is it challenges us to first listen to other people's opinions and thoughts. Not only should we listen to their words, but we should think about their words and try to understand their point of view. When we do this, we show respect to that person, and also open up the door to a conversation. I try to explain this concept to my students all the time. I tell them "go ahead and put your hands down so that you can hear the directions." What I mean when I say this is, if their hand is in the air, they are only thinking about what they want to say and they are probably not hearing what others (or myself) are saying. When we have "class meetings" I try to acknowledge students who are modeling good listening and and good participation skills in a class discussion. When students are giving eye contact, nodding along to what the speaker is saying, and using respectful body language, the speaker feels that they are being listened to and that they are really "heard". Learning how to participate in a class discussion (or in any group discussion) is such an important life skill. My class has a meeting every Monday morning to start off the week. During this meeting we greet one another, we share special teacher news and special student news, we talk about any issues going on in the classroom or on the playground, we look at the week's schedule, choose class jobs, and we set class goals for the week. During this time I have very high expectations of my students. I really take time to highlight when students are being good listeners and participants in the discussion. I compliment students who wait to put their hand up until the speaker is finished talking. This week I am committing to teach my students about the word "empathy" and to practice empathetic listening. I will incorporate this new word into what we have already learned about good speaking and listening habits during a class discussion. I also am committing to practicing this in my own life. Seeking first to understand before being understood is a difficult and important habit, not only for working with students, but also for discussions with parents, colleagues, and family. This is a habit that will help me in my professional life but also in my personal friendships and relationships with others. I will also have the opportunity to share more habits at my faculty meeting this Friday! :) I've been able to share our weekly habits at my school's faculty meetings and I've had a really positive experience from it. I thought some of my colleagues would tease me for being cheesy or even a suck-up, but when I've shared each habit, I've actually gotten a really positive response! Teachers are all life-long learners and they appreciated the uplifting reminders of what makes us good teachers and leaders. My principal is really happy that I am sharing what I am learning in graduate school with our school community. This week's habit: Think win win, is centered around being cooperative rather than competitive, and learning how to compromise. As leaders, sometimes we may feel like we know the "best way" to do things, but really most of the time, two heads are better than one. If we work with others, we can learn from them and together come up with a solution. In order to be interdependent, we need to invest in the relationships of those around us. By being a good listening, demonstrating humility and loyalty, keep promises and even doing random acts of kindness, we can have a very positive effect on our relationships with others. By investing in our relationships, we will then be able to count on others and mutually benefit from that relationship. At my school, I know that I am quick to ask certain people for help. For example, anytime I have a technical difficulty, I don't hesitate calling our computer teacher in to save the day. I also frequently send students up to the office secretary when random things pop up. I know that I can always count on these people. In turn, I want to be a member of the faculty that other people can count on too. I offer support whenever I can, and I try to make myself available to help out colleagues if they are ever in a pinch. I've supported a lot of teachers in their use of the iPads and some of our online programs... using my prep time to do so. Although I can't necessarily help the school secretary or the computer teacher in the way they help me, I can offer friendship, kind words, and a positive attitude. By using my talents to help other staff members, I am "paying it forward" in way... What goes around, comes around right? It is very important to remember to invest in relationships, work together, cooperate, and always compromise. Time management has always been something that I've had to work on. I think because I am a bit of a "people-pleaser", I tend to do the things that have been asked of me, or will help others before doing the things for myself. I am also an extremely social person (aren't most teachers?) so that can become a big distraction from my work. This year especially, I've had to set serious goals for myself with consideration to time management. Teaching full time, being a graduate student, and planning a wedding are all time consuming and very important things- so I've worked hard to eliminate the distractions. At work, I am usually the one to volunteer to do the odd jobs and random tasks, but this year I've made it clear to my colleagues that I really need to cut back. They've supported me in this and even remind me when I start to volunteer for something. I've also let the parents in my classroom know that my office hours are from 7:00 am - 5:30 pm and that I will not be checking my work e-mail past that time. This has helped me to focus on my studies when I get home from work. Learning to plan well has become an amazing tool for helping me to manage my time. Everything from lesson plans to meal plans, to my many to-do lists, to scheduling which nights I will complete each assignment...I've had a much easier time managing my load and my stress level. I absolutely hate to be in Quadrant 1 type situations (times of crisis). Being late, turning things in late, and feeling like I am dropping the ball in any facet of my life causes me great stress and anxiety. Quadrant 4 scenarios are my second least favorite. The idea of wasting time also causes me stress and has become my biggest pet peeve! I can't even think about watching tv, checking my facebook, or spending 30 minutes chatting with a co-worker in the teachers' lounge when I have so much to get done! My goal is to remain in Quadrant 2 so that I can feel accomplished and under control - although I think Quadrant 3 is an area that is sometimes just unavoidable. We all have family, friends, lives and obligations to attend to. This week's habit has been a great reminder that I am in charge of my life and the choices that I make. I need to keep my goals on the forefront of my mind and prioritize my time to ensure that I accomplish those goals. The idea of starting with the end in mind connects directly to the idea of having a vision, a goal. Dr. Pumpian asked us to think about what our career goals are? What about yearly goals? Monthly? Weekly? I think many of us in this cohort are goal oriented people, or why else would we be here? I've always considered myself as someone who goes after what they want, but the notion that struck me was "Is what I am doing this moment, this day, this month, and this year in line with what I hope to achieve long term?" Am I making choices right now that will lead me to where I want to be? I realized from this reflection that we can't just talk about all the grand things we want to do in our lives, we must work toward them. This starts with our thoughts, words, and actions. "We must live our lives with purpose and vision; values and goals." If asked which quality I look for most in a friend or partner I would answer "being genuine" every time. When learning about this week's habit, the phrase "walk the talk" kept popping into my head. As leaders, if we are going to preach good habits we must first live them. If we truly want to be leaders, we must first always be reliable- meaning that we do what we say we are going to do. If we are considered reliable people, than we will in turn be considered people of good character. Having good character leads to being authentic, trustworthy, and admirable leaders (which is the ultimate goal). I connected all of this back to the idea of being genuine. I am drawn to people who have strong values and beliefs and stick to them! If we want to achieve our long term goals, we must always have that end in mind and live each day working toward it. By being proactive, making choices, walking the talk, and working to live a life as a reliable, authentic person of good character,we are coming closer and closer to that vision each day. Today, and this week, and this month, and this year I plan to make conscious choices each day to work toward achieving my long-term (and short-term) goals. I will continue to teach each habit to my fiance and colleagues, but this one especially, I plan to bring into the classroom. It is so important to get students thinking about their future early. In my classroom we set weekly goals for the whole class and individual goals at the beginning of each trimester. We also spend time celebrating our successes! Goal setting (and celebrating successes) can be a very empowering experience for students. If they start doing this at a young age, and learn to work hard toward them, just imagine what they can accomplish if they always keep the end in mind! This first habit really resonated with me. Being proactive rather than reactive is something I've been working on personally for the past few years. As teachers, we are role models, and people are constantly looking to us as examples. Learning to slow down and think about my words and actions has made me a better teacher, friend, partner, and leader. I used to let my red headed temper get the best of me- but I've learned that instead of getting upset, I need to take control of the situation and take action. I think these words came to be at the exact right time that I needed a reminder. Last week I was diligently preparing for the first day of school (tomorrow). Always the week before school starts the faculty has several meetings and we each have jobs that we are assigned to fulfill our "duties". I found myself at certain points during the week getting upset about one thing or another and realized that rather than complaining I needed to take action, have courageous conversations, and take control of the situation rather than sitting back and grumbling about it. I think that being in a school setting it is easy to become upset and complain about things, but as educational leaders we need to be brave enough to talk about issues, stand up for our beliefs, and be proactive in tough situations. From the first week's lecture I learned that leaders need to have confidence. My first year teaching it was so hard to be confident. I constantly doubted myself. After teaching for 3 years I have gained a lot of confidence and find myself being not only an integral part of my school community, but a leader among the faculty as well. From the lecture I also was reminded that in life, we can really only control 3 things: what we think, what we say, and how we behave. It is true that we can only control our own thoughts, words, and actions; but by making conscious choices we have a big impact on those around us. Consequently effecting others thoughts, words, and actions as well. For this school year I've made the decision to be positive and to be proactive. I've decided that every time I feel like complaining to someone about something, I need to stop first and think about how I can better the situation. A wise professor once told me that as teachers, we are the CEO of our classrooms, and that we have the final say in how our classrooms (and teaching lives) are run. After learning about the first habit, I felt compelled to share it with my fiance,Matt, and my closest friend at work,Bethany. Both of them appreciated the insight and agreed that it is vitally important to make a commitment to being proactive, especially in the work place. I asked my colleague to hold me accountable to this habit all year long - especially if I start to complain or be reactive to issues at work. I know that I will continue to share these habits with my finace and work friend but I've asked my principal if I could present each habit at our weekly faculty meetings. I think that by sharing these habits and making them a school-wide effort, we will see a change in attitude and culture among the faculty and school community. I imagine that my principal will welcome this valuable opportunity. If not, then I plan to teach both Matt and Bethany each weekly habit. I think this first one is a great lesson for my students as well and plan to weave it into my first week lessons. |
Author"Motivation gets you started, and habits keep you going." Archives
October 2015
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