3 August 2010
Code of Ethics Standards
Standard 1: Professional Conduct
Standard 2: Trustworthiness
Standard 3: Unlawful Acts
Standard 4: Teacher/Student Relationship
Standard 5: Alcohol, Drug and Tobacco Use or Possession
Standard 6: Public Funds and Property
Standard 7: Remunerative Conduct
Standard 8: Maintenance of Confidentiality
Standard 9: Abandonment of Contract
The Leader in Me—Chapter 10
Stephen R. Covey
“Live life in crescendo.”—Stephen R. Covey
Chapter 10 literally brings The Leader in Me home. Think of how you can apply these principles in your own family. How can you apply them to your family relationships? Please create a blog post addressing one of the following prompts:
1. Respond to one of the three quotes at the bottom of page 210.
2. How is the ubiquitous Leader in Me implementation different from character education?
3. How should “modeling” be used at home and in school to empower a Leader in Me implementation?
4. What are the benefits of a family mission statement?
The quote from A.B. Combs is especially helpful for us all to remember. Every child has some special gifts and talents--even if it may be in an area where we don't necessarily approve. Still, if we can help students build on these strengths, we can help them reach a greater level of potential.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the quote and Stoney. Students come from various backgrounds and have different experiences. Thus, they have different gifts, talents, likes, and dislikes. If we can tap into their unique talents and passions, there is no telling how high they can reach.
ReplyDeleteAs the school year begins, I want to look at each student as full of potential. I want to find their strengths and build on them. Also, I want to work on my own weaknesses and to build on my own strengths.
ReplyDeleteI am in a very unique situation at my school. All of my students are drastically limited in ability. However, we focus on individual strengths and promote a positive environment in order to help each student become all he or she can become.
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ReplyDeleteIf we look at the inner strengths and gifts our children have, our eyes will be opened to limitless opportunities. Observation is key! We must slow down in order to see every student's potential.
ReplyDeleteEvery student deserves to be looked at as an individual. Each also needs to be given an opportunity for their inner strengths and gifts to shine. Only then can their potential be realized. We must create these opportunities any way we can.
ReplyDeleteIn our physical education classes, we allow our students to have some kind of free play each Friday. Last year, we decided to let the students come up with different activities that they would like to try. I was amazed at some of the games that were created. Many of the activities would have never crossed my mind. Students are creative, and I was extremely excited to learn from them. I am looking forward to using their ideas again this year. I am also anxious to see what type of games students this year will create. We all have different learning styles and as a teacher it is important to try and tap into the different styles. Sometimes that calls for us to sit back and let them run with the ideas.
ReplyDeleteWhen I think of the ubiquitous approach to anything I think of the word, immersion. It becomes a part of everything that we do. Whereas, character education is usually a single, stand-alone topic
ReplyDeleteIt is critical that we are able to recognize the talents that each student has. It is then our duty and responsibility through planning and preparation to establish and carry out a program that will enhance those student abilities. This often means adapting to and changing our methods to meet the needs of the students. If we are unwilling to change or even try new methods the students will face barriers that might keep them from fulfilling their goals or reaching their full potential.
ReplyDeleteAll families have a mission statement – whether it is intended or not. On occasion my family’s mission statement has been “Do what must be done today!” It is much more proactive to have a planned mission statement so that when the family finds itself moving in an undesired direction, there is a guidepost to use to get back on track. As an educator, I find myself giving the best of myself to work and the family gets what is left. A mission statement designed by the family would focus what is important to my family and encourage me to save some of my “good stuff” for the ones who should be my first priority.
ReplyDeleteI agree that all children are individuals and I also agree that we should all treat them as individuals with individual needs. However, our profession has become more and more interested in the "mean" score. Our sucess is not measured by the individual even though most of them come in small packages. All teachers know the feeling of joy that comes when you see the light go on in a childs mind and you know that they've got it. Again, that is never published in the paper or given a segment on NBC news. I think it is a great idea to encourage students, teachers and communities to have mission statements, but we have to be honest and say that it really has no place in today's schools. If you don't agree find the individual on the SAT or AYP report!!!
ReplyDeleteAs stated in the book, ubiquitous means that it is built into eveything the school does. On the other hand, character education is often one stand-alone topic and is not as pervasive as the ubiquitous approach. In a school utlizing the ubiquitous approach, a newcomer would quickly be able to identify the pulse of the school. I leave you with this phrase: res ipsa loquitur.
ReplyDeleteIn growing up with great parents, we were taught to treat everyone with respect and to look at each person's ability and not just who they were or where they came from. I tried to instill that in my teaching and coaching philosophy. Each year we tell teachers to treat each student will respect and give each child a chance in their classroom. Try not to listen to someone saying that particular child is a problem. Sometimes a child just needs a little show of caring and encouragement to give their fullest potential.
ReplyDeleteIn educational research, an effective teaching tool is "modeling." It seems interesting that we forget the power of modeling - realizing that those around us (students and colleagues) are watching us to see our actions and learn from us. We need to be mindful of our actions in light of this! Maybe the old adage - Think before you speak - needs to be enhanced! Think before you speak AND act!
ReplyDeleteI often use a variation of the A.B. Combs quote at the bottom of page 210, "If you treat all students as if they are gifted, and you always look at them through that lens of being gifted in at least some aspect, they will rise to that level of expectation." I truly believe students (and teachers for that matter) will rise to your expectations--or fall to your expectations.
ReplyDeleteThis is somewhat comparable to Henry Ford's quote, "If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right."
We must believe in our students, as well as, the teachers under our supervision. We must empower them to "make right choices", and have confidence that they will "do the right thing, even when no one else is watching". If we truly increase our expectations, we may well find that we have an abundance of leaders all around us.
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ReplyDeleteModeling is an important part of the learning process. I can't expect students or personnel to perform up to my desired expectations unless I model the behaviors consistent with my expectations for them. Work ethic, punctuality, high performance, constant betterment, and ethical behavior standards are set by the person in charge of such desired outcomes. My subordinates will respond not only to my demands, but according to my own efforts exhibited to accomplish desired tasks. Maximum performance and a sense of ownership will result in modeling behaviors consistent with excellence. I use the example in my Sunday School class that if I am to ask someone to help sweep the gym floor, they had better observed me do it the right way previously. We can't be afraid to get our own hands dirty (so to speak) in an effort to get maximum participation to accomplish our desired outcomes for our learning community. We can't, as administrators, expect the persons under our supervision to "do as we say," unless we are willing to model the behaviors that we require. We must "practice what we preach."
ReplyDeleteEvery student is unique. It is so important for us to focus on the positive and to build students up. We must encourage and motivate and build on what is good.
ReplyDelete"Leadership is communicating people's worth and potential so clearly that they are inspired to see it in themselves." Affirming one's worth and potential - what better way is there to build a student's self confidence and to show love and caring. When you can instill principals, a desire to make right choices, to that self confidence, you have succeeded in giving a child a gift of a lifetime.
ReplyDeleteAs an educator, I believe it is imperative that we make students assume they can accomplish anything they aspire to doing. It is amazing to me that people normally live up to our expectations of them. If we expect the best, maybe, we will get the best.
ReplyDelete"It is all about helping students to see their own potential and then nourishing..
ReplyDeleteAny time students are the forced recipients of meaningless facts, they are robbed of time..."(pg.197)We as educators must be looking for the potential and nourishing that potential of each student and make sure we are not adding one more thing, but the main thing. We value our time and we should value the time we spend with/working with students.
Modeling is the only way students learn. We, as educators and/or parents may repeatedly tell our children the "when, what, who, & how," but our behaviors are what students learn and retain. It is so disappointing to a child when people say one thing and behave in a conflicting way. Inspire trust....
ReplyDeleteI am reminded of the old saying, "What you are doing is so loud I can't hear what you are saying". Sometimes educators tend to forget the importance of modeling the behavior they expect from others. They tend to follow the "do as I say and not as I do" philosophy. Imagine the shift in the school climate that would occur if everyone, from the top down, modeled the behaviors we want to see in our children (respect for others, tolerance, fairness, cooperation, diligence) while maintaining a postitive attitude and work ethic. Could be amazing!
ReplyDeleteEach student is different and it is our job as educators to recognize those differences and use whatever works to motivate or reach that particular child.
ReplyDeleteThis brings to mind a quote "You are unique . . . just like everybody else!" While it was intended to be a humorous quote, it is also true. If we hope to ever reach all of our students, then we must be prepared to develop a multitude of ways to tap into the potential of our students. We need to move away from the cookie cutter approach and get out of the way enough for all students to have the opportunity to thrive. It is true that some thrive because of what we do for them. It is also true that some thrive in spite of what we do for/to them. There are many others, however, who do not thrive because of what we do/don't do to/for them. Those are the ones that we need to work on reaching.
ReplyDeleteI love ASCD's focus this year on the whole child, and I think that this is something that has been sorely missed in the over-focus of test scores and accountability. I think the only way that we can address the whole child is to involve families. I love the idea of goals that families set together. If we truly want to reach everyone, we must go beyond the classroom and into the real lives of our students.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the quote on page 210 regarding how communicating leadership principles can be inspiring. True leadership should be inspiring. The principles of leadership challenges us as leaders to communicate the worth and potential of a child in a manner that inspires our students to learn and grow as individuals.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the obvious that each student is a unique individual. In the role as assistant principal we must be the disciplinarian. Students do not look at you as the person to motivate them, but I feel this is the perfect time to motivate. When a student is in trouble and facing punishment they seem to be more humble and open for advice. That in my opinion is the perfect time to recognize their potential and motivate them to reach for higher goals than they set for themselves.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of promoting self-leadership in our students (as well as our own children and grandchildren). Every student in Blount County has the potential for self-leadership, we as leaders need to model for our students what that looks like. Doing the right thing even when no one is looking is one of the core essentials of our Character Builders training for teachers and students in Blount County. Wouldn’t it be great if everyone in our District would follow this core principle?
ReplyDeleteI agree with the comments about how important modeling is at home and at school. Those around us are constantly picking up on our attitudes and expectations, whether we realize it or not. We should strive to make that a positive force in their lives. Isn't it great when you have former students tell how you helped them or inspired them to go to college, etc? Most of us do these things daily and often do not even realize it. Sometimes the simple things mean so much to our students. We should never get too busy to let them know we care and are concerned about them.
ReplyDeleteI especially liked the quote, "Treat a man as he is and you make him worse than he is. Treat a man as he has the potential to become and you make him better than he is." This quote was told me to as a child by my grandfather that always knew more than most people in the town about others' business but treated everyone as they were the president himself. I recall a particularly hard situation where my grandfather's home had been robbed and some of his World War II items were taken. He loved the war and always felt it an honor that he served his country. He was crushed and devastated when he realized those items were gone. The criminal was never caught but there was talk in the town of who it was. Just a few years later this man was on the side of the road with his beat up truck trying to change a flat tire. Unfortunately the spare tire was flat too. My grandfather did not hestitate to pick the man up, carry him to the tire store, paid to have the spare tire fixed and changed the tire when he got back to the man's truck. I watched in amazement and later asked grandpa how he could be so nice to the man that took his special treasures from him. In a very serious manner he replied, "If the whole town labels him a robber, all he will ever be is a robber. If the whole town labels him as a man working hard that is down on his luck, people will help him. It only takes a few people to encourage the town to stick a label on a person....good or bad. He probably carries enough guilt about the robbery without my help. And if not, God will deal with that." Every man, woman, and child has gifts...and faults. Why is it we get so hung up on the faults? I chose to look for the gifts.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the posts I must agree that modeling and expectations for our teachers and students is the corner stone of leadership. If we treat all as if they are gifted whether it be in academics or creativity we should strive to show off their talents and develop their potenital.
ReplyDeleteAs I am getting to know the students in my class this year, their strengths as individuals have already become visible. My job is to build on these strengths and help each child reach their potential. I agree with the others posted above that we must first be a model for our students, set high expectations for them, and provide opportunities for them to shine in the areas that they show talent.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Becky B. about the importance of modeling and expectations for our teachers and students. Teachers have to have good role models from their principals and they in turn have to be good models for their students. If principals expect the best from their teachers and teachers expect the best from their students then everyone is going strive to be the best they can be.
ReplyDeleteI agree that we are all role models for our students and as administrators we are role models for our teachers. We must set high expectations for everyone. If we set low expectations, then we will get low results.
ReplyDeleteI believe every student has that special talent that as an educator you might have to dig to find it but it is there. As a physical education teacher, students respond differently to each activity. For instance, a student may dislike one unit while loving the next. It is important to offer a varity of activities and teaching strategies to try to best accommodate each and every student.
ReplyDeleteEveryone has special gifts and talents. Some are harder to distinquish than others. I like to believe that everyone has an inate desire to be successful. The challenge to us as educators is to help every child to be successful and to discover their gifts and talents to further enhance their success.
ReplyDeleteIt takes some work on our part to discover the unique talents and abilities in students. We have to pay the price and take the time to get to know them personally in order to do that. That's no small or easy task.
ReplyDeleteWho you are speaks louder than what you say... You cannot fault a student for emulating what they see from you. I constantly push my sons to watch what they eat, fearing that they will end up overweight.
ReplyDeleteSometimes we need to take the advice of Ghandi and "Be the change you wish to see in the world."
Exemplify the traits you wish to see in your students and your rewards will be many.
Each year I remind teachers to encourage the use of respectful terms for themselves and others (Mr., Mrs., Coach, instead of referring to teachers by their first or last names alone). This discourages the familiarity that can lead to students not knowing boundaries. If we can take the time to model the behaviors we wish to see from our students, I agree with Gary... we will be rewarded.
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