I have been teaching for little more than ten years. Recently, I realized that almost everything that I learned in my teaching credential program has to be reconsidered in light of new realities made possible by technology, geopolitics, and the continued refinement of pedagogy and learning. I do believe in the need to continuously learn and improve in whatever we seek to do, and this is especially true in our time of rapid change. Yet, it has always been necessary to continue learning throughout life in order to perfect one’s craft, whatever craft that may be.
The teaching craft is definitely one that requires a lifetime of “saw sharpening.” A few different ways in which I intend to continue sharpening my saw are:
Additionally, I am beginning to work with a colleague in order to integrate the seven habits into the culture of our school. She is having her students read The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens. We are both beginning to contemplate how these habits can be used to transform our school culture. We will begin by creating videos wherein students share their reflection as to how these habits relate to our school’s core values. Where this may take us is yet to be discovered. However, we are both convinced that by consciously adopting these habit, students can begin to direct their actions with better intentions and outcomes. Habit Six, Synergize seems to embody all of the other habits. In order to synergize, it is necessary to:
1. Be proactive 2. Start with the end in mind 3. Put first things first 4. Think win-win 5. Seek first to understand then to be understood. Or, Dr. Pumpian explains in the “Synergy Action Plan,” one must first “Define the problem” (habits 1-3), explore their way (habit 5), my way (habit 4), brainstorm (habit 4-5), and find the “High Way” (habit 2,4). In other words, one can only synergize after one has understood and put into practice the preceding five habits. As a technology integration coach, PLC leader, teacher, BSTA support provider, and etc., I have many challenges to address and solutions to design and test. As someone who seeks to be interdependent, I am ready to synergize in order to take on these challenges. I will: 1. Distill the challenges each of these roles presents and share this distillation with my colleagues 2. I will seek to understand my colleagues’ perceptions before sharing my own 3. I will structure and lead brainstorming sessions in order to arrive at potential solutions 4. I will encourage us to take a course of action and examine the results of our actions 5. I will encourage diversity in the collaborative groups I arrange All in all, in order to encourage others to embrace these six habits in their work and lives it is important to model them and be able to articulate them as needed. I would like to teach students first about the habits in order to begin creating a school culture wherein students understand the importance of becoming interdependent and what it takes. Our ASB teacher has already begun to teach our students this and has been able to procure a class set of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens. I will propose to her that she and I collaborate in order develop graphics and lesson plans that will advance these habits within all students’ work and interactions. By creating a buzz and conversation centered students, it will then hopefully ripple outward towards the entire school’s culture for students and staff alike. This may lead towards more effective behaviors of students and teachers, and better interactions and collaborations for all. I am a guilty participant of “collective monologues.” There are times when I approach discussions with my colleagues with a preconceived idea of what I want to get out of it. My job, in these types of discussions, is not to come to a consensus but rather to convince my colleagues of my solution. Unfortunately, I have found that when I am too forceful and go it alone in pushing an idea the results are usually not what I would hope for. The best solutions are those that I develop in true collaboration with my colleagues. Sometimes it involves a push and pull but in the end if we genuinely take the time to listen to one another, we are more likely to arrive at a win-win than if one person sets the agenda.
Therefore, in order to practice Habit Number Five, “Seek first to understand then to be understood” I plan to make the following commitments:
I want my students and my school to excel above other schools in standardized assessments. I want my cross country runners to run faster than those from other schools. And so on. In other words, I am a competitive person. I believe that competition can lead one to strive for goals which may otherwise seem unattainable. However, I do not believe that it’s not necessary to win at the expense of another’s loss. I do not operate from a position of scarcity and I believe a win can be a relative attainment. While there is only one, first place finisher in a race, a win can also be found in shaving minutes off of one’s previous mile times or running a greater distance. There are many wins to be had and the most important ones are intrinsic. Therefore I believe that win-wins are an easy sell for a community-minded teacher. Competition and the good of all can be achieved simultaneously.
At my site, what I consider the most important wins are the success of the school as whole and of students as individuals. In other words, the needs of children take precedence over the needs of adults. My hope as teacher and school leader is to assure that this perspective remains at the forefront of all that we do. Understanding this much, my job then becomes assisting my colleagues, fellow teachers, and collaborators to become the best they can be. Yet dealing with adults is often much trickier than dealing with children. While adults are better at rationalizing, they also have much larger egos. Therefore, in order to push initiatives and give colleagues constructive feedback, it is of the utmost importance that one build a bank account of relationships with more deposits than withdrawals. There are many different things one can do in order to make a deposit into this account. Dr. Pumpian recommends, “random acts of kindness, promises, loyalty, listening, humility, clear and expectations” among other acts that will add to a relationship bank account. Whatever the way, it is necessary that colleagues see you as positive and honest contributor so that in the need of constructive criticism one need only make a small negative withdrawal from a bank account overwhelmingly positive. My closest friends and family members can criticize me when necessary and can do so without worry that I’ll terminate our relationship because they have abundantly made positive deposits for each negative withdrawal. This embodies the type of leader that I want to be. I want to be a leader who lifts up the confidence of teachers and who can also be trusted to provide the necessary honest criticism when needed. As I move forward with the “Win-Win” habit, I realize that I must be a teacher and leader who seeks to build up many relationship bank accounts. To do so, I will practice random acts of kindness. I will provide honest compliment and recognize the accomplishments of others. I will approach all that I do with a sense of humility. I think that I work with others who conduct themselves in a likewise manner. Virtually everyone at my school is in it for the win of our students and school and are open to the ideas and suggestions of others without allowing egos to impede the success of our students. I will however encourage others to build up their relationship bank accounts. We are cordial for the sake of creating a positive work environment and also for the sake of creating win-wins for our students and school. Habit Three, “put first things first,” is an extremely timely reminder as I sit here working on an assignment hours before its deadline and as the next “Important and Urgent” task that I must complete. It seems that I live in the Important and Urgent Quadrant One. This year especially, I feel more over-committed than ever. I’m a father, husband, teacher, friend, brother, son, grandchild, cross country coach, technology coach, BTSA support provider, graduate student, curricular lead, PLC leader, personalized learning collaborator, digital citizenship coordinator, etc. I take each of these roles and the responsibilities entailed within them very seriously. However, being only a human with finite resources and time, I feel like I end up short changing so many of my roles and responsibilities. Regardless of how I got into this over-committed situation, I am not someone who quits on the responsibilities I take on. My survival mechanism is a tunnel vision which only allows me to see the immediate task in front of me. Somewhere in the back of my mind there’s an avalanche of other tasks I should be/will be doing but at this very moment I’m focused on writing a blog entry on Habit Number Three. There must be a better way for managing my priorities. In comes “Habit Number Three: put first things first.”
In order to live this habit, one must first determine which things come first. It’s pretty easy to say that family comes first yet our actions seldom seem to align with this belief. I am beginning to realize that in my life, work comes first because I have not been proactive enough in managing my tasks and now I am constantly working in quadrant one. When one spends too much time in quadrant one, this leads to the neglect of other roles and responsibilities. Thus, as a proactive person, I will try to become a prioritizer rather than a procrastinator. By planning and goal setting instead of constantly putting out fires I will be able to better address all the important tasks in my life, not just those requiring immediate attention. Prioritizing means... I will try to plan out my school week over the weekend I will finish my grading over the weekend I will try to finish the majority of my MA work over the weekend Even though it seems like I’m giving up too much of my weekend, by doing this I will be able to spend more quality time with my family during the evenings I will be a better and less stressed out teacher I will be able to address those other, longer term plans that I haven’t been able to address in quite a while In short, being a prioritizer means that by thinking far enough ahead and working not for the moment but for predetermined goals I can help to create better balance in my life. This will benefit all of the people within my sphere of influence. I will try to live more of my life in quadrant two and I will encourage my BTSA teachers to also think about their longer term and mid term goals. Are they taking care of themselves and their relationships? Are they finding joy in the work they do? In short, we will examine whether they feel that there is harmony and balance in their lives. If so, they have probably found a way to be prioritize the responsibilities. If not, we’ll try to examine the patterns and time management in their lives so that they too can live more comfortably in Quadrant Two. Learn It
When I first heard Habit Two: Begin with the End in Mind I thought that Dr. Pumpian was referring to backwards planning where a teacher first decides on the content and skills he wants his students to master, then develops assessments and lessons around this end goal. Dr. Pumpian, Stephen Covey, and Jerry Patterson apparently have a much grander vision for this habit. Habit Two seems to refer to life in a greater sense. Dr. Pumpian explains the need to “have a personal mission statement,” because “I have to know what I believe. I have to know where I’m going." A personal mission statement serves as a “True North,” or those principles upon which one should guide the entirety of his actions. Do It I believe that in order to begin to apply Habit Two in my life, I must attempt to articulate a personal mission statement upon which I hope to base my actions. By attempting to do this, my subsequent actions may make more sense to others and myself. Somehow lists seem most appropriate to me in these circumstances since they lack flowery prose for the most part. Here’s what I believe in list form:
This personal mission statement in list form lays out some of my core beliefs which have been developed throughout many experiences in my life. As I continue to learn and have new experiences, my core beliefs may change. I seek to apply these beliefs in all that I do. I want to be a future leader who not only lives by these principles but helps others experience them as well. My plan of action is to occasionally refer to this personal mission statement and see if my actions are in alignment with my core beliefs. If so, I imagine that I will be having many personally enriching experiences and helping others to do the same. As Jerry Patterson explains, now that I have shared my beliefs I must now assure that my actions are true to my beliefs and that the results of my actions promote my beliefs. By doing so I can become a someone who leads with reliability, character, and authenticity. Teach It Most of us enter the teaching profession for idealistic reasons. Public education is the place where ideals can be pummelled mercilessly. I believe that a teacher who strays, stops nurturing, or loses sight of his ideals can become embittered. This teacher’s actions can become tainted by disdain rather than idealism. The results of his actions can send him further down a downward spiral. This is why it may be crucial for new teachers to write down a personal mission statement and refer/revise it throughout their career. We may lose sight at times of why we entered this profession. The more times we can be reminded of our ideals, the less likely we are to go down that downward spiral. I will ask my BTSA teachers to reflect on their core beliefs and to give them the option to write a personal mission statement. I think that they should know the connection between beliefs, actions, and results and how this may affect others’ perceptions of their reliability, character, and authenticity. A personal mission statement will also, in the words of Polonius, keep them true to themselves. This will result in better teachers and happier people in the long term. It seems so obvious that on the very surface it hardly seems to need mentioning that teachers always conduct themselves proactively. Yes, we need see our paradigm, do our behaviors, and be prepared to get the results. Essentially, on a first read, this habit encourages us to take responsibility for our actions which is something we are constantly telling our students. Yet if we try to teach our peers in a similar fashion that we teach our students we won’t be making or keeping friends for very long. So I’ll look a little bit more to unravel the deeper meaning behind a seemingly simple statement and how it may pertain to teaching professionals.
Upon closer examination asking us to see our paradigm can be more revealing and possibly unnerving than we may assume. Our paradigm can encapsulate many attributes which we may either consciously or subconsciously overlook. Here are some attributes of my current paradigm that I have had to come to terms with:
Step two is taking responsibility for our behaviors. Our paradigm is what it is, and all we can control is our thoughts, what we say, and and how we behave (Friedman). We are in control of our own fate, and we’ll make of it what we choose to make of it. Step three is being prepared to get the results we are responsible for. If we choose to be reactive instead of proactive then we will blame someone else for the results. Someone who is proactive realizes that the results of our actions are ours to take ownership. I will use this learning in order to hone my coaching skills with the BTSA teachers I will be supporting this school year. Coaching an adult is a daunting task, especially when one of the two teachers I am charged with supporting has more teaching experience than I do. However, I enjoy sharing insights that help to provide fresh perspectives to teaching. So I will encourage my BTSA teachers to first examine their paradigm as the attributes that make up our school and then ask them to reflect to think of the attributes of the teaching profession as whole. Who are we? What are our roles and responsibilities that we owe to our students and society as a whole? Understanding our paradigm is the greatest starting point to establishing an action plan. After reflecting on our paradigm, what is it that we should seek to accomplish? What are our goals and objectives? What actions should we take in order to arrive at these goals and objectives? Finally, we must consider what results we will expect to get and how will we know when we get there. By leading my BTSA teachers through this reflection, action, and analysis process we will become more proactive. Hopefully this will become a habit that will take us far in our careers. |
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