SUMMARY: THE RESEARCH PERSPECTIVE ON
IMPROVING SCHOOL AND CLASSROOM DISCIPLINE
School personnel seeking to improve the quality of discipline in their schools and classrooms are encouraged to follow the guidelines implicit in the discipline research. These include:
AT THE SCHOOL LEVEL:
1. Engage school- and community-wide commitment to establishing and maintaining appropriate student behavior in school and at school-sponsored events.
2. Establish and communicate high expectations for student behavior.
3. With input from students, develop clear behavioral rules and procedures and make these known to all stakeholders in the school, including parents and community.
4. Work on getting to know students as individuals; take an interest in their plans and activities.
5. Work to improve communication with and involvement of parents and community members in instruction, extracurricular activities, and governance.
6. If commercial, packaged discipline programs are used, modify their components to meet your unique school situation and delete those components which are not congruent with research.
7. For the principal:
8. Increase your visibility and informal involvement in the everyday life of the school; increase personal interactions with students.
9. Encourage teachers to handle all classroom discipline problems that they reasonably can; support their decisions.
10. Enhance teachers' skills as classroom managers and disciplinarians by arranging for appropriate staff development activities.
AT THE CLASSROOM LEVEL:
8. Hold and communicate high behavioral expectations.
9. Establish clear rules and procedures and instruct students in how to follow them; give primary-level children and low-SES children, in particular, a great deal of instruction, practice, and reminding.
10. Make clear to students the consequences of misbehavior.
11. Enforce classroom rules promptly, consistently, and equitably from the very first day of school.
12. Work to instill a sense of self-discipline in students; devote time to teaching self-monitoring skills.
13. Maintain a brisk instructional pace and make smooth transitions between activities.
14. Monitor classroom activities and give students feedback and reinforcement regarding their behavior.
15. Create opportunities for students (particularly those with behavioral problems) to experience success in their learning and social behavior.
16. Identify those students who seem to lack a sense of personal efficacy and work to help them achieve an internal locus of control.
17. Make use of cooperative learning groups, as appropriate.
18. Make use of humor, when suitable, to stimulate student interest or reduce classroom tensions.
19. Remove distracting materials (athletic equipment, art materials, etc.) from view when instruction is in progress.
WHEN DISCIPLINE PROBLEMS ARISE:
20. Intervene quickly; do not allow behavior that violates school or classroom rules to go unchecked.
21. As appropriate, develop reinforcement schedules and use these with misbehaving students.
22. Instruct students with behavior problems in selfcontrol skills; teach them how to observe their own behavior, talk themselves through appropriate behavior patterns, and reinforce themselves for succeeding.
23. Teach misbehaving students general prosocial skills--self-awareness, cooperation, and helping.
24. Place misbehaving students in peer tutoring arrangements; have them serve either as tutors or tutees, as appropriate.
25. Make use of punishments which are reasonable for the infraction committed; provide support to help students improve their behavior.
26. Make use of counseling services for students with behavior problems; counseling should seek the cause of the misconduct and assist students in developing needed skills to behave appropriately.
27. Make use of in-school suspension programs, which include guidance, support, planning for change, and skill building.
28. Collaborate with misbehaving students on developing and signing contingency contracts to help stimulate behavioral change; follow through on terms of contracts.
29. Make use of home-based reinforcement to increase the effectiveness of school-based agreements and directives.
30. In schools which are troubled with severe discipline problems and negative climates, a broadbased organizational development approach may be needed to bring about meaningful change; community involvement and support is critical to the success of such efforts.
INEFFECTIVE DISCIPLINE PRACTICES:
31. Avoid the use of vague or unenforceable rules.
32. Do not ignore sudent behavior which violates school or classroom rules; it will not go away.
33. Avoid ambiguous or inconsistent treatment of misbehavior.
34. Avoid draconian punishments and punishments delivered without accompanying support.
35. Avoid corporal punishment.
36. Avoid out-of-school suspension whenever possible. Reserve the use of suspension for serious misconduct only.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Delegating principals
· Commitment, on the part of all staff, to establishing and maintaining appropriate student behavior as an essential precondition of learning. Well-disciplined schools tend to be those in which there is a schoolwide emphasis on the importance of learning and intolerance of conditions which inhibit learning.
· High behavioral expectations. In contrast to poorly disciplined schools, staff in well-disciplined schools share and communicate high expectations for appropriate student behavior.
· Clear and broad-based rules. Rules, sanctions, and procedures are developed with input from students, are clearly specified, and are made known to everyone in the school. Researchers have found that student participation in developing and reviewing school discipline programs creates a sense of ownership and belongingness. Widespread dissemination of clearly stated rules and procedures, moreover, assures that all students and staff understand what is and is not acceptable.
· Warm school climate. A warm social climate, characterized by a concern for students as individuals, is typical of well-disciplined schools. Teachers and administrators take an interest in the personal goals, achievements, and problems of students and support them in their academic and extracurricular activities.
· A visible, supportive principal. Many poorly disciplined schools have principals who are visible only for "official" duties such as assemblies or when enforcing school discipline. In contrast, principals of well-disciplined schools tend to be very visible in hallways and classrooms, talking informally with teachers and students, speaking to them by name, and expressing interest in their activities.
· Delegation of discipline authority to teachers. Principals in well-disciplined schools take responsibility for dealing with serious infractions, but they hold teachers responsible for handling routine classroom discipline problems. They assist teachers to improve their classroom management and discipline skills by arranging for staff development activities as needed. Close ties with communities. Researchers have generally found that well-disciplined schools are those which have a high level of communication and partnership with the communities they serve. These schools have a higher-than-average incidence of parent involvement in school functions, and communities are kept informed of school goals and activities.
· High behavioral expectations. In contrast to poorly disciplined schools, staff in well-disciplined schools share and communicate high expectations for appropriate student behavior.
· Clear and broad-based rules. Rules, sanctions, and procedures are developed with input from students, are clearly specified, and are made known to everyone in the school. Researchers have found that student participation in developing and reviewing school discipline programs creates a sense of ownership and belongingness. Widespread dissemination of clearly stated rules and procedures, moreover, assures that all students and staff understand what is and is not acceptable.
· Warm school climate. A warm social climate, characterized by a concern for students as individuals, is typical of well-disciplined schools. Teachers and administrators take an interest in the personal goals, achievements, and problems of students and support them in their academic and extracurricular activities.
· A visible, supportive principal. Many poorly disciplined schools have principals who are visible only for "official" duties such as assemblies or when enforcing school discipline. In contrast, principals of well-disciplined schools tend to be very visible in hallways and classrooms, talking informally with teachers and students, speaking to them by name, and expressing interest in their activities.
· Delegation of discipline authority to teachers. Principals in well-disciplined schools take responsibility for dealing with serious infractions, but they hold teachers responsible for handling routine classroom discipline problems. They assist teachers to improve their classroom management and discipline skills by arranging for staff development activities as needed. Close ties with communities. Researchers have generally found that well-disciplined schools are those which have a high level of communication and partnership with the communities they serve. These schools have a higher-than-average incidence of parent involvement in school functions, and communities are kept informed of school goals and activities.
Discipline Problems
Students who require correction from inappropriate behaviours respond better when they are given the opportunity to respond to your directions. It's easier to correct students if you follow five rules:
Stop talking as soon as you feel a stress level has been reached.
Don't expect a response immediately after you have corrected the student.
Give the student time to think when you aren't talking. Say, "Think about what you would like to say before responding."
Give the student a chance to respond by saying, "Can you think how you might have done it better?"
Finally, before you give advice, ask if it is wanted. Say, "Would you like me to give you some suggestions?" or "Can I help you by offering some suggestions?"
You may recognize students early who have the potential to disrupt the class. There are ways to avoid problems by addressing the situation early.
Speak to the student as early as possible outside the classroom situation.
One-to-one, ask the student "why" he/she behaved as he/she did. Explain why the behaviour cannot be tolerated in a classroom situation.
Suggest ways to help the student improve his/her conduct.
Make a special effort to talk to the student before every class about something. Get to know them on a different basis other than tutor-student.
Remember
It isn't the students you counsel and the students you discipline who will make your life difficult. It's the students you don't correct.
The longer you wait, the harder it will be to change the student's behaviour.
Students who require correction from inappropriate behaviours respond better when they are given the opportunity to respond to your directions. It's easier to correct students if you follow five rules:
Stop talking as soon as you feel a stress level has been reached.
Don't expect a response immediately after you have corrected the student.
Give the student time to think when you aren't talking. Say, "Think about what you would like to say before responding."
Give the student a chance to respond by saying, "Can you think how you might have done it better?"
Finally, before you give advice, ask if it is wanted. Say, "Would you like me to give you some suggestions?" or "Can I help you by offering some suggestions?"
You may recognize students early who have the potential to disrupt the class. There are ways to avoid problems by addressing the situation early.
Speak to the student as early as possible outside the classroom situation.
One-to-one, ask the student "why" he/she behaved as he/she did. Explain why the behaviour cannot be tolerated in a classroom situation.
Suggest ways to help the student improve his/her conduct.
Make a special effort to talk to the student before every class about something. Get to know them on a different basis other than tutor-student.
Remember
It isn't the students you counsel and the students you discipline who will make your life difficult. It's the students you don't correct.
The longer you wait, the harder it will be to change the student's behaviour.
Creating classroom discipline problems is easy. By following the ten simple rules listed you should be able to substantially improve your skill at this popular teacher pastime.
1. Expect the worst from kids. This will keep you on guard at all times.
2. Never tell students what is expected of them. Kids need to learn to figure things out for themselves.
3. Punish and criticize kids often. This better prepares them for real life.
4. Punish the whole class when one student misbehaves. All the other students were probably doing the same thing or at least thinking about doing it.
5. Never give students privileges. It makes students soft
1. Expect the worst from kids. This will keep you on guard at all times.
2. Never tell students what is expected of them. Kids need to learn to figure things out for themselves.
3. Punish and criticize kids often. This better prepares them for real life.
4. Punish the whole class when one student misbehaves. All the other students were probably doing the same thing or at least thinking about doing it.
5. Never give students privileges. It makes students soft
Here are some specific tips for the classroom, many of which can be used on the school bus,
the playground or any other place where school employees supervise students.
BE SURE TO: Greet students as they enter your classroom.
BECAUSE: This not only models the kind of courteous behavior you want to instill in your
students, but it also gives you an opportunity for "early targeting" of potential troublemakers.
You may pick up early warning signs of potential trouble, e.g., anger, illness, arguments, fights,
trouble on the way to school, inappropriate attire or paraphernalia, homework not done, etc.
Without early targeting or intervention, small problems can escalate to major disruption or
violence.
BE SURE TO: Make "Before-Class-Starts" activities available in the classroom to engage
students in positive and productive interactions. Such activities could include board games, a
five-minute "free conversation" period or simple calisthenics.
BECAUSE: The "dead time" before the bell can be "deadly" if students don’t have a way to
channel their energies.
BE SURE TO: Have a designated place within your view for students to turn in homework
assignments as they enter.
BECAUSE: The failure of students to turn in homework on time can be a major disruption to
the class. When asked why they have not completed their assignments, students will often
engage in denials and excuses, resulting in a waste of learning time. With a homework box, or
other designated place for students to turn in work, the teacher or paraprofessional can watch
the students as they enter to see who has completed their assignments and who has not.
BE SURE TO: Have a few (three to five) basic overarching rules in place to help govern student
behavior in the classroom or on the school bus.
BECAUSE: Overarching rules provide parameters within which each student can function in
the group and identify his or her own appropriate and inappropriate behaviors. This promotes
individual ownership of the rules and encourages responsibility. (Examples of four good
overarching rules--be prompt, be polite, be prepared, be productive. Examples of bad rules--
do not chew gum, do not talk). Recite the rules often at the beginning of the school year and
make sure to explain why these rules are necessary.
BE SURE THAT: Your students know and understand the rules. Teach and reinforce the rules
as if they were curriculum, repeating them often as needed.
BECAUSE: Many school employees believe that a read-through and quick review of classroom
or school bus rules are enough to ensure student understanding and buy-in. This is a
dangerous misconception. Researchers have discovered that many young students really
don’t understand the meaning of words in the rules, such as "courteous." Also, don’t assume
that students have been taught proper behavior at home. Learning how to respect one’s self
and others is something that must be taught and reinforced.
BE SURE TO: Develop expectations for behavior that are backed up by a set of fair, workable,
enforceable and hierarchical consequences. Do not promise a consequence you cannot
deliver.
BECAUSE: Consequences are an important link to the effectiveness of your discipline code. If
the consequences fall apart, or are not there to begin with, the whole thing collapses. If they
are not enforced, the teacher’s credibility is damaged. Negative consequences should increase
in severity (hierarchical). Rule breaking and the punishment should be documented so that
you can prove that those students whom you disciplined exhibited unacceptable behavior.
This is very important when dealing with parents. Proper documentation can also help to
ensure that administrators give you the support you need to enforce your discipline plan.
BE SURE TO: When possible, involve your students in developing the rules.
BECAUSE: By involving students in the drafting of the rules you help create an environment in
which the students have a role in enforcing the rules. Peer pressure can be very effective in
helping to keep an orderly class.
BE SURE THAT: Parents know and understand your rules, including the consequences. Make
several different attempts to contact them. Phone calls and mailing letters to the home are the
most effective means of contacting parents. Do not depend on students’ hand-delivering the
rules to parents.
BECAUSE: Parents who are not aware of or are not well-versed in discipline policies are prone
to side with their children and might feel that the school employee’s actions (especially
suspension or expulsion) are arbitrary or biased.
BE SURE TO: Move a child who acts up on a school bus to the front of the bus -- perhaps at
the next regular stop. If the action is severe enough to cause possible injury, bus drivers
suggest pulling over immediately to a safe location off the road.
BECAUSE: You should avoid, if possible, disciplining a child in front of his/her peers because
this can result in a child feeling that he/she needs to show off by becoming more aggressive.
Move the student away from other students and friends to a place where you can observe
his/her behavior. It is usually best to wait until you arrive at the school site to continue
following the standard disciplinary procedures.
BE SURE THAT: School administrators are aware of your rules and consequences and the
roles that they, as school leaders, may have to play in supporting your efforts.
BECAUSE: While you cannot always count on getting the support you need from the school
administration, you still should try to elicit their help. The worst thing that can happen to
dismantle a classroom discipline plan is to have "no supportive action" or "counterenforcement
action" from building administrators. This sends a message to students that
nothing is going to happen no matter what the infraction. By the same token, don’t set rules
you know won’t be supported by administrators.
BE SURE TO: Plan out the arrangement of furniture, desks and supplies in your classroom for
ease of traffic flow, access and visibility. Design seating charts that keep all students within eye
contact. Do not put all troublemakers together and do not place them in the back of the room!
Avoid, to the best of your ability, congested aisles and stumbling blocks to easy access of
supplies. (Appoint class monitors.)
BECAUSE: Classrooms are places where there is constant traffic. The ease of flow can prevent
"traffic jams." Often, when students are placed in close and uncomfortable contact, flare-ups
become common. Moreover, teachers should be able to see each student, and each student
should be able to see the teacher. This provides opportunities for what is called "early desists"
of potentially disruptive behaviors.
BE SURE TO: Learn all students’ names as soon as possible--within the first three days of
school.
BECAUSE: Knowing students’ names helps to develop a personal relationship between you
and your students. It also helps with early targeting and early intervention by accurately
identifying troublemakers. When you don’t know names and try other forms of identification
(boy-in-blue-shirt), students can play games of avoidance, denial and trickery.
BE SURE TO: Figure out ways of scheduling routine classroom procedures smoothly and with
the least possible disruption (e.g., taking attendance, tardiness, leaving the room, bulletin
boards, grades, make-up work). Teach your classroom procedures as if they were curriculum.
BECAUSE: Student disruption and dissatisfaction can result from student anxiety and
uncertainty about how to do things in the classroom. Procedures change from class to class,
based on teacher style. Students should know how to function in each class.
BE SURE TO: Look for and try to understand differences between ADD (Attention Deficit
Disorder) behaviors and general misbehavior. Your school should already be supplying
training and policy information about this, especially in view of current increases in
mainstreaming and inclusion. If not, contact your local union representatives and ask them to
work with the administration to make this kind of training available.
BECAUSE: It is difficult to identify those students who are affected by ADD and those who are
not. Issues of fairness or legal problems can arise with the teacher caught in the middle.
BE SURE TO: Educate yourself on the rules and policies concerning disruptive and violent
behavior by special education students.
BECAUSE: Rules governing what you can or cannot do to discipline special education
students who have committed the same infractions as regular education students can be
different. This can cause havoc in the classroom or on the school bus. If you are unsure of your
authority or the rights of your students, ask your school’s administration for clarification.
the playground or any other place where school employees supervise students.
BE SURE TO: Greet students as they enter your classroom.
BECAUSE: This not only models the kind of courteous behavior you want to instill in your
students, but it also gives you an opportunity for "early targeting" of potential troublemakers.
You may pick up early warning signs of potential trouble, e.g., anger, illness, arguments, fights,
trouble on the way to school, inappropriate attire or paraphernalia, homework not done, etc.
Without early targeting or intervention, small problems can escalate to major disruption or
violence.
BE SURE TO: Make "Before-Class-Starts" activities available in the classroom to engage
students in positive and productive interactions. Such activities could include board games, a
five-minute "free conversation" period or simple calisthenics.
BECAUSE: The "dead time" before the bell can be "deadly" if students don’t have a way to
channel their energies.
BE SURE TO: Have a designated place within your view for students to turn in homework
assignments as they enter.
BECAUSE: The failure of students to turn in homework on time can be a major disruption to
the class. When asked why they have not completed their assignments, students will often
engage in denials and excuses, resulting in a waste of learning time. With a homework box, or
other designated place for students to turn in work, the teacher or paraprofessional can watch
the students as they enter to see who has completed their assignments and who has not.
BE SURE TO: Have a few (three to five) basic overarching rules in place to help govern student
behavior in the classroom or on the school bus.
BECAUSE: Overarching rules provide parameters within which each student can function in
the group and identify his or her own appropriate and inappropriate behaviors. This promotes
individual ownership of the rules and encourages responsibility. (Examples of four good
overarching rules--be prompt, be polite, be prepared, be productive. Examples of bad rules--
do not chew gum, do not talk). Recite the rules often at the beginning of the school year and
make sure to explain why these rules are necessary.
BE SURE THAT: Your students know and understand the rules. Teach and reinforce the rules
as if they were curriculum, repeating them often as needed.
BECAUSE: Many school employees believe that a read-through and quick review of classroom
or school bus rules are enough to ensure student understanding and buy-in. This is a
dangerous misconception. Researchers have discovered that many young students really
don’t understand the meaning of words in the rules, such as "courteous." Also, don’t assume
that students have been taught proper behavior at home. Learning how to respect one’s self
and others is something that must be taught and reinforced.
BE SURE TO: Develop expectations for behavior that are backed up by a set of fair, workable,
enforceable and hierarchical consequences. Do not promise a consequence you cannot
deliver.
BECAUSE: Consequences are an important link to the effectiveness of your discipline code. If
the consequences fall apart, or are not there to begin with, the whole thing collapses. If they
are not enforced, the teacher’s credibility is damaged. Negative consequences should increase
in severity (hierarchical). Rule breaking and the punishment should be documented so that
you can prove that those students whom you disciplined exhibited unacceptable behavior.
This is very important when dealing with parents. Proper documentation can also help to
ensure that administrators give you the support you need to enforce your discipline plan.
BE SURE TO: When possible, involve your students in developing the rules.
BECAUSE: By involving students in the drafting of the rules you help create an environment in
which the students have a role in enforcing the rules. Peer pressure can be very effective in
helping to keep an orderly class.
BE SURE THAT: Parents know and understand your rules, including the consequences. Make
several different attempts to contact them. Phone calls and mailing letters to the home are the
most effective means of contacting parents. Do not depend on students’ hand-delivering the
rules to parents.
BECAUSE: Parents who are not aware of or are not well-versed in discipline policies are prone
to side with their children and might feel that the school employee’s actions (especially
suspension or expulsion) are arbitrary or biased.
BE SURE TO: Move a child who acts up on a school bus to the front of the bus -- perhaps at
the next regular stop. If the action is severe enough to cause possible injury, bus drivers
suggest pulling over immediately to a safe location off the road.
BECAUSE: You should avoid, if possible, disciplining a child in front of his/her peers because
this can result in a child feeling that he/she needs to show off by becoming more aggressive.
Move the student away from other students and friends to a place where you can observe
his/her behavior. It is usually best to wait until you arrive at the school site to continue
following the standard disciplinary procedures.
BE SURE THAT: School administrators are aware of your rules and consequences and the
roles that they, as school leaders, may have to play in supporting your efforts.
BECAUSE: While you cannot always count on getting the support you need from the school
administration, you still should try to elicit their help. The worst thing that can happen to
dismantle a classroom discipline plan is to have "no supportive action" or "counterenforcement
action" from building administrators. This sends a message to students that
nothing is going to happen no matter what the infraction. By the same token, don’t set rules
you know won’t be supported by administrators.
BE SURE TO: Plan out the arrangement of furniture, desks and supplies in your classroom for
ease of traffic flow, access and visibility. Design seating charts that keep all students within eye
contact. Do not put all troublemakers together and do not place them in the back of the room!
Avoid, to the best of your ability, congested aisles and stumbling blocks to easy access of
supplies. (Appoint class monitors.)
BECAUSE: Classrooms are places where there is constant traffic. The ease of flow can prevent
"traffic jams." Often, when students are placed in close and uncomfortable contact, flare-ups
become common. Moreover, teachers should be able to see each student, and each student
should be able to see the teacher. This provides opportunities for what is called "early desists"
of potentially disruptive behaviors.
BE SURE TO: Learn all students’ names as soon as possible--within the first three days of
school.
BECAUSE: Knowing students’ names helps to develop a personal relationship between you
and your students. It also helps with early targeting and early intervention by accurately
identifying troublemakers. When you don’t know names and try other forms of identification
(boy-in-blue-shirt), students can play games of avoidance, denial and trickery.
BE SURE TO: Figure out ways of scheduling routine classroom procedures smoothly and with
the least possible disruption (e.g., taking attendance, tardiness, leaving the room, bulletin
boards, grades, make-up work). Teach your classroom procedures as if they were curriculum.
BECAUSE: Student disruption and dissatisfaction can result from student anxiety and
uncertainty about how to do things in the classroom. Procedures change from class to class,
based on teacher style. Students should know how to function in each class.
BE SURE TO: Look for and try to understand differences between ADD (Attention Deficit
Disorder) behaviors and general misbehavior. Your school should already be supplying
training and policy information about this, especially in view of current increases in
mainstreaming and inclusion. If not, contact your local union representatives and ask them to
work with the administration to make this kind of training available.
BECAUSE: It is difficult to identify those students who are affected by ADD and those who are
not. Issues of fairness or legal problems can arise with the teacher caught in the middle.
BE SURE TO: Educate yourself on the rules and policies concerning disruptive and violent
behavior by special education students.
BECAUSE: Rules governing what you can or cannot do to discipline special education
students who have committed the same infractions as regular education students can be
different. This can cause havoc in the classroom or on the school bus. If you are unsure of your
authority or the rights of your students, ask your school’s administration for clarification.
More Tips
· Prominently display copies of the discipline codes and let students and parents know
where it is kept.
· Maintain dated personal documentation of individual cases and what actions you
took.
· Avoid public verbal confrontations with students. When a discussion is headed in that
direction, cut it off immediately. Arrange a private talk.
· Avoid physical confrontations with students. Have a contingency plan in place to get
help if a fight erupts.
· Be creative. If you are teaching young students who seem unable to sit still, try taking
breaks from time to time and have them do exercises at their desks.
· Prominently display copies of the discipline codes and let students and parents know
where it is kept.
· Maintain dated personal documentation of individual cases and what actions you
took.
· Avoid public verbal confrontations with students. When a discussion is headed in that
direction, cut it off immediately. Arrange a private talk.
· Avoid physical confrontations with students. Have a contingency plan in place to get
help if a fight erupts.
· Be creative. If you are teaching young students who seem unable to sit still, try taking
breaks from time to time and have them do exercises at their desks.
TIPS
Tips:
1. Recognize the warning signs of disruption. Obviously this comes with practice of classroom management. However, some signs are fairly obvious.
2. Sarcasm should be used sparingly if at all. If you do use it, make sure you know the student who you are using it with well. Many students do not have the capacity to know that sarcasm is not meant to be taken literally. Further, other students could find your sarcasm as inflammatory which would defeat your purpose of greater classroom management.
3. Consistency and fairness are essential for effective classroom management. If you ignore disruptions one day and come down hard on them the next, you will not be seen as consistent. You will lose respect and disruptions will probably increase. Further, if you are not fair in your punishments, making sure to treat all students fairly then students will quickly realize this and lose respect for you. You should also start each day fresh, not holding disruptions against students and instead expecting them to behave.
4. It's easier to get easier. Start the year very strict so that students see that you are willing to do what it takes to have your classroom under control. They will understand that you expect learning to occur in your room. You can always let up as the year goes on.
5. Rules must be easy to understand and manageable. Make sure that you don't have such a large number of rules that your students can't consistently follow them.
What You Need:
· Posted Classroom Rules
· Discipline Plan
1. Recognize the warning signs of disruption. Obviously this comes with practice of classroom management. However, some signs are fairly obvious.
2. Sarcasm should be used sparingly if at all. If you do use it, make sure you know the student who you are using it with well. Many students do not have the capacity to know that sarcasm is not meant to be taken literally. Further, other students could find your sarcasm as inflammatory which would defeat your purpose of greater classroom management.
3. Consistency and fairness are essential for effective classroom management. If you ignore disruptions one day and come down hard on them the next, you will not be seen as consistent. You will lose respect and disruptions will probably increase. Further, if you are not fair in your punishments, making sure to treat all students fairly then students will quickly realize this and lose respect for you. You should also start each day fresh, not holding disruptions against students and instead expecting them to behave.
4. It's easier to get easier. Start the year very strict so that students see that you are willing to do what it takes to have your classroom under control. They will understand that you expect learning to occur in your room. You can always let up as the year goes on.
5. Rules must be easy to understand and manageable. Make sure that you don't have such a large number of rules that your students can't consistently follow them.
What You Need:
· Posted Classroom Rules
· Discipline Plan
Discipline Problems
Discipline problems are listed as the major concern for most new teachers. What can teachers expect and how can they effectively handle discipline problems? Classroom management combined with an effective discipline plan is the key. This how to will help you see some important steps in dealing with discipline problems that may arise in your classroom.
1. Begin each class period with a positive attitude and high expectations. If you expect your students to misbehave or you approach them negatively, you will get misbehaviour. This is an often overlooked aspect of classroom management.
2. Come to class prepared with lessons for the day. In fact, over plan with your lessons. Make sure to have all your materials and methods ready to go. Reducing downtime will help maintain discipline in your classroom.
3. Work on making transitions between parts of lessons smooth. In other words, as you move from whole group discussion to independent work, try to minimize the disruption to the class. Have your papers ready to go or your assignment already written on the board. Many disruptions occur during transitional times during lessons.
4. Watch your students as they come into class. Look for signs of possible problems before class even begins. For example, if you notice a heated discussion or problem before class starts, try to deal with the problem then. Allow the students a few moments to talk with you or with each other before you start your lesson to try and work things out. Separate them if necessary and try to gain agreement that during your class period at least they will drop whatever issue they have.
5. Have a posted discipline plan that you follow consistently for effective classroom management. Depending on the severity of the offense, this should allow students a warning or two before punishment begins. Your plan should be easy to follow and also should cause a minimum of disruption in your class. For example, your discipline plan might be - First Offense: Verbal Warning, Second Offense: Detention with teacher, Third Offense: Referral.
6. Meet disruptions that arise in your class with in kind measures. In other words, don't elevate disruptions above their current level. Your discipline plan should provide for this, however, sometimes your own personal issues can get in the way. For example, if two students are talking in the back of the room and your first step in the plan is to give your students a verbal warning, don't stop your instruction to begin yelling at the students. Instead, have a set policy that simply saying a student's name is enough of a clue for them to get back on task. Another technique is to ask one of them a question.
7. Try to use humor to diffuse situations before things get out of hand. Note: Know your students. The following example would be used with students you know would not elevate the situation to another level. For example, if you tell your students to open their books to page 51 and three students are busy talking, do not immediately yell at them. Instead, smile, say their names, and ask them kindly if they could please wait until later to finish their conversation because you would really like to hear how it ends and you have to get this class finished. This will probably get a few laughs but also get your point across.
8. If a student becomes verbally confrontational with you, remain calm and remove them from the situation as quickly as possible. Do not get into yelling matches with your students. There will always be a winner and a loser which sets up a power struggle that could continue throughout the year. Further, do not bring the rest of the class into the situation by involving them in the discipline or the writing of the referral.
9. If a student becomes physical, remember the safety of the other students is paramount. Remain as calm as possible; your demeanour can sometimes diffuse the situation. You should have a plan for dealing with violence that you discussed with students early in the year. You should use the call button for assistance. You could also have a student designated to get help from another teacher. Send the other students from the room if it appears they could get hurt. If the fight is between two students, follow your school's rules concerning teacher involvement as many want teachers to stay out of fights until help arrives.
10. Keep an anecdotal record of major issues that arise in your class. This might be necessary if you are asked for a history of classroom disruptions or other documentation.Let it go at the end of the day. Classroom management and disruption issues should be left in class so that you can have some down time to recharge before coming back to another day of teaching.
1. Begin each class period with a positive attitude and high expectations. If you expect your students to misbehave or you approach them negatively, you will get misbehaviour. This is an often overlooked aspect of classroom management.
2. Come to class prepared with lessons for the day. In fact, over plan with your lessons. Make sure to have all your materials and methods ready to go. Reducing downtime will help maintain discipline in your classroom.
3. Work on making transitions between parts of lessons smooth. In other words, as you move from whole group discussion to independent work, try to minimize the disruption to the class. Have your papers ready to go or your assignment already written on the board. Many disruptions occur during transitional times during lessons.
4. Watch your students as they come into class. Look for signs of possible problems before class even begins. For example, if you notice a heated discussion or problem before class starts, try to deal with the problem then. Allow the students a few moments to talk with you or with each other before you start your lesson to try and work things out. Separate them if necessary and try to gain agreement that during your class period at least they will drop whatever issue they have.
5. Have a posted discipline plan that you follow consistently for effective classroom management. Depending on the severity of the offense, this should allow students a warning or two before punishment begins. Your plan should be easy to follow and also should cause a minimum of disruption in your class. For example, your discipline plan might be - First Offense: Verbal Warning, Second Offense: Detention with teacher, Third Offense: Referral.
6. Meet disruptions that arise in your class with in kind measures. In other words, don't elevate disruptions above their current level. Your discipline plan should provide for this, however, sometimes your own personal issues can get in the way. For example, if two students are talking in the back of the room and your first step in the plan is to give your students a verbal warning, don't stop your instruction to begin yelling at the students. Instead, have a set policy that simply saying a student's name is enough of a clue for them to get back on task. Another technique is to ask one of them a question.
7. Try to use humor to diffuse situations before things get out of hand. Note: Know your students. The following example would be used with students you know would not elevate the situation to another level. For example, if you tell your students to open their books to page 51 and three students are busy talking, do not immediately yell at them. Instead, smile, say their names, and ask them kindly if they could please wait until later to finish their conversation because you would really like to hear how it ends and you have to get this class finished. This will probably get a few laughs but also get your point across.
8. If a student becomes verbally confrontational with you, remain calm and remove them from the situation as quickly as possible. Do not get into yelling matches with your students. There will always be a winner and a loser which sets up a power struggle that could continue throughout the year. Further, do not bring the rest of the class into the situation by involving them in the discipline or the writing of the referral.
9. If a student becomes physical, remember the safety of the other students is paramount. Remain as calm as possible; your demeanour can sometimes diffuse the situation. You should have a plan for dealing with violence that you discussed with students early in the year. You should use the call button for assistance. You could also have a student designated to get help from another teacher. Send the other students from the room if it appears they could get hurt. If the fight is between two students, follow your school's rules concerning teacher involvement as many want teachers to stay out of fights until help arrives.
10. Keep an anecdotal record of major issues that arise in your class. This might be necessary if you are asked for a history of classroom disruptions or other documentation.Let it go at the end of the day. Classroom management and disruption issues should be left in class so that you can have some down time to recharge before coming back to another day of teaching.
To develop self leadership in life through self love.
If you are playing the role of mother, daughter, daughter-in-law, sister and wife, you will understand that these multiple roles can be very complex and challenging.
These are five Life skills that can help you to overcome these challenging roles in the 21st century.
1) Learn to communicate and express your feelings
2) Learn to set boundaries
3) Learn to say "No".
4) Learn to love yourself
5) Learn to let go
Communication and Self-expression
To do a good job of communicating your feelings, it is imperative to first listen. Accept other people's point of view. Check whether you have the time or ability to do the job, or project or errands or to help someone. Explain why you cannot do it and how you feel about doing or not doing it. You will gain respect from your self-expression.
Learn to set boundaries
People do not know what you are thinking, nor your lifestyle or whether you have the time or able to do something. It is your responsibility to set boundaries of how much time you wish to spend with a friend who call you up for coffee. Another example, could be a relative who wants you to accompany him or her to go somewhere that you have no business to be there.
Learn to say "No"
You teach people to treat you. If you think saying "Yes" when you mean to say "No" is easier, deep inside you, you will be eating yourself inside out! After a while, you are really teaching people to treat you and they assume you don't mind. Is it their fault that you feel miserable? They are not mind-reader. It's your responsibility to express yourself truthfully.
Learn to love yourself
By loving yourself I mean being aware of your mental, physical, emotional and spiritual well being. It's not being self-centred. It's self care. If you can't take care of yourself, how balance can you be? How can you look after others? How can you be a role model?
Learn to let go
Many people I know are very hard on themselves. Being perfect is so important to them that they cannot take failure as a form of feedback. If you think being a perfect mother, daughter, daughter-in-law, sister and wife are very important roles, you will find yourself being torn apart and overwhelmed. Chances are you will feel very angry, guilty, and frustrated.
Letting go of playing perfect roles is the first step to accepting yourself as who you are, whole and complete. It is liberating.
To shift the mindset of people to develop self-leadership in life through self-love. To connect parents and teens to inspire each other to live life purposefully.
These are five Life skills that can help you to overcome these challenging roles in the 21st century.
1) Learn to communicate and express your feelings
2) Learn to set boundaries
3) Learn to say "No".
4) Learn to love yourself
5) Learn to let go
Communication and Self-expression
To do a good job of communicating your feelings, it is imperative to first listen. Accept other people's point of view. Check whether you have the time or ability to do the job, or project or errands or to help someone. Explain why you cannot do it and how you feel about doing or not doing it. You will gain respect from your self-expression.
Learn to set boundaries
People do not know what you are thinking, nor your lifestyle or whether you have the time or able to do something. It is your responsibility to set boundaries of how much time you wish to spend with a friend who call you up for coffee. Another example, could be a relative who wants you to accompany him or her to go somewhere that you have no business to be there.
Learn to say "No"
You teach people to treat you. If you think saying "Yes" when you mean to say "No" is easier, deep inside you, you will be eating yourself inside out! After a while, you are really teaching people to treat you and they assume you don't mind. Is it their fault that you feel miserable? They are not mind-reader. It's your responsibility to express yourself truthfully.
Learn to love yourself
By loving yourself I mean being aware of your mental, physical, emotional and spiritual well being. It's not being self-centred. It's self care. If you can't take care of yourself, how balance can you be? How can you look after others? How can you be a role model?
Learn to let go
Many people I know are very hard on themselves. Being perfect is so important to them that they cannot take failure as a form of feedback. If you think being a perfect mother, daughter, daughter-in-law, sister and wife are very important roles, you will find yourself being torn apart and overwhelmed. Chances are you will feel very angry, guilty, and frustrated.
Letting go of playing perfect roles is the first step to accepting yourself as who you are, whole and complete. It is liberating.
To shift the mindset of people to develop self-leadership in life through self-love. To connect parents and teens to inspire each other to live life purposefully.
Leaders should know how to treat others, well, I guess.
Five Lessons about How to Treat People
1. First Important Lesson - "Know the Cleaning Lady"During my second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions, until I read the last one: "What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?"Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade."Absolutely," said the professor. "In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say "hello."I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.
2. Second Important Lesson - "Pickup In the Rain" One night, at 11:30 p.m., an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rainstorm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car. A young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960s. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxicab. She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked him. Seven days went by and a knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a giant console colour TV was delivered to his home. A special note was attached. It read: "Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband's bedside just before he passed away. God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others."Sincerely, Mrs. Nat King Cole.
3. Third Important Lesson - "Remember Those Who Serve"In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10 year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him. "How much is an ice cream sundae?" he asked. "50¢," replied the waitress. The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it."Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?" he inquired. By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient. "35¢!" she brusquely replied. The little boy again counted his coins. "I'll have the plain ice cream," he said. The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies. You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.
4. Fourth Important Lesson - "The Obstacles in Our Path"In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way. Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the King indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many of us never understand - "Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition."
5. Fifth Important Lesson - "Giving When It Counts"Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare and serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year-old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness. The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister. I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, "Yes, I'll do it if it will save her."As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the colour returning to her cheeks. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded. He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, "Will I start to die right away?”Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her.
1. First Important Lesson - "Know the Cleaning Lady"During my second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions, until I read the last one: "What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?"Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade."Absolutely," said the professor. "In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say "hello."I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.
2. Second Important Lesson - "Pickup In the Rain" One night, at 11:30 p.m., an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rainstorm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car. A young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960s. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxicab. She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked him. Seven days went by and a knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a giant console colour TV was delivered to his home. A special note was attached. It read: "Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband's bedside just before he passed away. God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others."Sincerely, Mrs. Nat King Cole.
3. Third Important Lesson - "Remember Those Who Serve"In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10 year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him. "How much is an ice cream sundae?" he asked. "50¢," replied the waitress. The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it."Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?" he inquired. By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient. "35¢!" she brusquely replied. The little boy again counted his coins. "I'll have the plain ice cream," he said. The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies. You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.
4. Fourth Important Lesson - "The Obstacles in Our Path"In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way. Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the King indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many of us never understand - "Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition."
5. Fifth Important Lesson - "Giving When It Counts"Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare and serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year-old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness. The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister. I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, "Yes, I'll do it if it will save her."As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the colour returning to her cheeks. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded. He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, "Will I start to die right away?”Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her.
Some fun I think
1. How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator?
The correct answer is: Open the refrigerator put in the giraffe and closes the door.This question tests whether you tend to do simple things in an overly complicated way.
2. How do you put an elephant into a refrigerator?
Wrong Answer: Open the refrigerator put in the elephant and closes the refrigerator.
Correct Answer: Open the refrigerator, take out the giraffe, put in the elephant and close the door.This tests your ability to think through the repercussions of your actions.
3. The Lion King is hosting an animal conference, all the animals attend except one. Which animal does not attend?
Correct Answer: The elephant. The elephant is in the refrigerator.This tests your memory.OK, even if you did not answer the first three questions, correctly, you still have one more chance to show your abilities.
4. There is a river you must cross. But it is inhabited by crocodiles. How do you manage it?Correct Answer: You swim across. All the Crocodiles are attending the Animal Meeting!
This tests whether you learn quickly from your mistakes.
The correct answer is: Open the refrigerator put in the giraffe and closes the door.This question tests whether you tend to do simple things in an overly complicated way.
2. How do you put an elephant into a refrigerator?
Wrong Answer: Open the refrigerator put in the elephant and closes the refrigerator.
Correct Answer: Open the refrigerator, take out the giraffe, put in the elephant and close the door.This tests your ability to think through the repercussions of your actions.
3. The Lion King is hosting an animal conference, all the animals attend except one. Which animal does not attend?
Correct Answer: The elephant. The elephant is in the refrigerator.This tests your memory.OK, even if you did not answer the first three questions, correctly, you still have one more chance to show your abilities.
4. There is a river you must cross. But it is inhabited by crocodiles. How do you manage it?Correct Answer: You swim across. All the Crocodiles are attending the Animal Meeting!
This tests whether you learn quickly from your mistakes.
Why was there a teacher in the first place? To create new leaders. Is that their job?
God created the FIRST TEACHER.This TEACHER, though taken from among men and women, had several significant modifications. In general, God made the TEACHER more durable than other men and women. The TEACHER was made to arise at a very early hour and to go to bed no earlier than 11:30 PM with no rest in between. The TEACHER had to be able to withstand being locked up in an air-tight classroom for six hours with thirty-seven "monsters" on a rainy Monday. And the TEACHER had to be fit to correct 400 papers over Raya vacation. Yes, God made the TEACHER tough... but gentle, too. The TEACHER was equipped with soft hands to wipe away the tears of the neglected and lonely student... those of the sixteen-year old girl who was not asked to the Raya parties. And into the TEACHER God poured a generous amount of patience. Patience when a student asks to repeat the directions the TEACHER has just repeated for someone else. Patience when the students forget their lunch money for the fourth day in a row. Patience when one-third of the class fails the test. Patience when the text books arrived yet, given to students and later forgotten to bring them along to school and the semester starts tomorrow. And God gave the TEACHER a heart slightly bigger than the average human heart. For the Teacher's heart had to be big enough to love the students who screams, "I hate this class - it's boring!" and to love the student who runs out of the classroom at the end of the period without so much as a "goodbye," let alone a "thank you."And lastly, God gave the TEACHER an abundant supply of HOPE. For God knew that the TEACHER would always be hoping. Hoping that the kids would someday learn how to spell... hoping not to have canteen duty... hoping that Friday would come... hoping for a free day... hoping for deliverance. When God finished creating the TEACHER, he stepped back and admired the work of His hands. And God saw that the TEACHER was good. Very Good! And God smiled, for when he looked at the TEACHER, he saw into the future. He knew that the future is in the hands of the TEACHERS. And because God loves TEACHERS so much that two months before the end of the year, the teachers had holidays.
Some leaders exist because they are meant to be there..What goes round comes around.
The man's name was Fleming and he was a poor Scottish farmer. One day, while trying to make a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby bog. He dropped his tools and ran to the bog.There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself.Farmer Fleming saved the lad from what could have been a slow and terrifying death. The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman's sparse surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved. "I want to repay you," said the nobleman. "You saved my son's life." "No, I can't accept payment for what I did," the Scottish farmer replied, waving off the offer. At that moment, the farmer's own son came to the door of the family hoval. "Is that your son?" the nobleman asked. "Yes," the farmer replied proudly. "I'll make you a deal. Let me take your son and give him a good education. If the lad is anything like his father, he'll grow up to be a man you can be proud of." And that he did. In time, Farmer Fleming's son graduated from St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in London and went on to become known throughout the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming; the discoverer of Penicillin. Years afterward, the nobleman's son was stricken with pneumonia.What saved him? Penicillin. The nobleman's name? Randolph Churchill.His son's name? Sir Winston Churchill. Moral? "What goes around comes around."
Let's stray away a bit from leadership because sometimes leaders need some moments to themselves. Am I right.
I would have talked less and listened more.
I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained and the sofa faded.
I would have eaten the popcorn in the "GOOD" living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.
I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.
I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.
I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.
I would have sat on the lawn with my children and not worried about grass stains.
I would have cried and laughed less while watching television and more while watching life.
I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day.
I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.
Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment realizing that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.
When my kids kissed me impetuously, would never have said, "Later, now go get washed up for dinner." There would have been more "I love you's" ... more "I'm sorry's" ... but mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute ... look at it and really see it ... live it .. and never give it back.
I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained and the sofa faded.
I would have eaten the popcorn in the "GOOD" living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.
I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.
I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.
I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.
I would have sat on the lawn with my children and not worried about grass stains.
I would have cried and laughed less while watching television and more while watching life.
I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day.
I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.
Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment realizing that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.
When my kids kissed me impetuously, would never have said, "Later, now go get washed up for dinner." There would have been more "I love you's" ... more "I'm sorry's" ... but mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute ... look at it and really see it ... live it .. and never give it back.
Being a leader is just like being in love I think ...
YOU KNOW YOU ARE TRULY IN LOVE WITH HIM YOUR LEADER WHEN.....
- your heart beats so fast whenever you see him, whenever his number comes up on your caller id- you think he is perfect just the way he is, and you think he is beautiful no matter how he looks
- he is always on your mind.. he is the first thing you think about when you wake up, and the last thing you think about before you fall asleep
- you have a good time and enjoy yourself when you are with him, no matter when it is or where it is
- you constantly smile when you are around him, and he makes you feel so happy
- when his name always ends up being in almost every conversation you have
- when you can’t and won’t look at any other guys, because you think he is the ONE for you, and he is all that you want..
- you always want to see him, and you always miss him when you have to say goodbye
- you will do anything to make him happy, cheer him up or make him feel good about himself
- you smile whenever you hear his name or hear other people talk about him
- you can stare into his eyes for a long time
- everything feels perfect when he is around
- you could stay on the phone for more than 3 hours
- you can't look at him without wanting to kiss him
-you can't picture your life without him in it
- your heart beats so fast whenever you see him, whenever his number comes up on your caller id- you think he is perfect just the way he is, and you think he is beautiful no matter how he looks
- he is always on your mind.. he is the first thing you think about when you wake up, and the last thing you think about before you fall asleep
- you have a good time and enjoy yourself when you are with him, no matter when it is or where it is
- you constantly smile when you are around him, and he makes you feel so happy
- when his name always ends up being in almost every conversation you have
- when you can’t and won’t look at any other guys, because you think he is the ONE for you, and he is all that you want..
- you always want to see him, and you always miss him when you have to say goodbye
- you will do anything to make him happy, cheer him up or make him feel good about himself
- you smile whenever you hear his name or hear other people talk about him
- you can stare into his eyes for a long time
- everything feels perfect when he is around
- you could stay on the phone for more than 3 hours
- you can't look at him without wanting to kiss him
-you can't picture your life without him in it
Leaders are like parents. So watch what you say..
Why These Comments Are Harmful
these comments are harmful for the following reasons:
See, I told you so.– When children hear this, what was initially an act of independence becomes shrouded in failure and incompetence.
When I was your age – This statement implies that parents were far more advanced at the same age; subsequently, children perceive this comment as a devaluation of their uniqueness.
Because I said so – By saying this parents assume the role of dictator, and children react to tyranny with resistance. Moreover, even if children eventually concede, they will more than likely find a way to retaliate.
Why can’t you be like your sister or brother? – With this comment, parents are conveying that they don’t like the person a child is and want him or her to be like someone else. As a result, the child feels degraded, useless, hopeless, and unloved.
If you don’t do what I say, I’m leaving you here – This statement should never be uttered because being abandoned by his or her parents is one of a child’s most terrifying nightmares. (Of course, if children have heard it repeatedly, they will simply laugh it off as a hollow threat and continue misbehaving.)
How could you be so stupid? – This statement burdens children with a negative self-image; and their response is either to fight back by repeating their “stupidity” or by attempting to show the parent just how wrong he or she is.
Shut up! – Parents might as well slap a child in the face; this comment is that wounding and emotionally damaging. It can also cause children to become defiant, as well as justifiably angry.
You’ll never get anywhere in life – This comment is devastating to children since it destroys their self-image and results in either their accepting this dictate and feeling hopeless to change, or their going on the attack and returning the verbal abuse.
I want you kids to stop fighting, now! – All brothers and sisters fight. It’s part of growing up. It’s also part of the learning process, for in order to become close to one another, children must test each other in every way, including physically. Besides, one of their goals is to get a parent involved, and when children succeed, the dangers of sibling rivalry are significantly increased.
When parents say harmful things to their children, children fail to develop a positive sense of self-worth and also come to doubt their parents’ love. Moreover, they never learn to be responsible for their own behaviour because their parents fail to establish any positive guidelines or instil in them the desire to act in an appropriate and desirable manner.
these comments are harmful for the following reasons:
See, I told you so.– When children hear this, what was initially an act of independence becomes shrouded in failure and incompetence.
When I was your age – This statement implies that parents were far more advanced at the same age; subsequently, children perceive this comment as a devaluation of their uniqueness.
Because I said so – By saying this parents assume the role of dictator, and children react to tyranny with resistance. Moreover, even if children eventually concede, they will more than likely find a way to retaliate.
Why can’t you be like your sister or brother? – With this comment, parents are conveying that they don’t like the person a child is and want him or her to be like someone else. As a result, the child feels degraded, useless, hopeless, and unloved.
If you don’t do what I say, I’m leaving you here – This statement should never be uttered because being abandoned by his or her parents is one of a child’s most terrifying nightmares. (Of course, if children have heard it repeatedly, they will simply laugh it off as a hollow threat and continue misbehaving.)
How could you be so stupid? – This statement burdens children with a negative self-image; and their response is either to fight back by repeating their “stupidity” or by attempting to show the parent just how wrong he or she is.
Shut up! – Parents might as well slap a child in the face; this comment is that wounding and emotionally damaging. It can also cause children to become defiant, as well as justifiably angry.
You’ll never get anywhere in life – This comment is devastating to children since it destroys their self-image and results in either their accepting this dictate and feeling hopeless to change, or their going on the attack and returning the verbal abuse.
I want you kids to stop fighting, now! – All brothers and sisters fight. It’s part of growing up. It’s also part of the learning process, for in order to become close to one another, children must test each other in every way, including physically. Besides, one of their goals is to get a parent involved, and when children succeed, the dangers of sibling rivalry are significantly increased.
When parents say harmful things to their children, children fail to develop a positive sense of self-worth and also come to doubt their parents’ love. Moreover, they never learn to be responsible for their own behaviour because their parents fail to establish any positive guidelines or instil in them the desire to act in an appropriate and desirable manner.
Being a leader is also being a friend. Don't you think so.
1. Become friends’ first, good friends if possible. Being sexually attracted to this person you are interested in is unavoidable, but make sure you do not put yourself in a position where you become more physical with a person than emotionally connected. Keep the two balanced to know you both are on the same track.
2. Slow. Things. Down
3. Watch/listen. Take in all the person is, and do not build a fairy tale around someone who is seemingly perfect. Recognize flaws and determine if this person's positive attributes out weigh the negative components. Moreover, decide if their traits suit you and your desires or if they compromise you
4. Express yourself openly. See how you feel after a few times of opening up to them. They might not truly understand you; this is a very bad sign. If they do understand you, then this is a fantastic sign. Proper communication is central to an amicable relationship.
5. This ties into number four. Now, talk about everything. Do not shy away from intimate or unconventional topics. This includes, but is not excluded to: sexual expectations, family history, traumatic events, strange/embarrassing fears, bodily functions, your relationships expectations, etc.
6. This is only the "falling in love" stage, and I only aim to make it a joyful experience. Real, lasting love is a different story. Even following these steps, a relationship will fall apart (although most likely in an amicable manner). Watch for the next article for perpetuating a relationship.
Warnings:
- Do not try too hard to make it work in the beginning if it simply will not work in the beginning. You will save yourself more heartache then you can even imagine.
- "Falling in love" feelings have a typical lifespan of about six months to a year. If the two people have not mutually thrown emotional anchors in each other, then the relationship will dwindle.
- Never lie. Ever. Never lie and never cheat
2. Slow. Things. Down
3. Watch/listen. Take in all the person is, and do not build a fairy tale around someone who is seemingly perfect. Recognize flaws and determine if this person's positive attributes out weigh the negative components. Moreover, decide if their traits suit you and your desires or if they compromise you
4. Express yourself openly. See how you feel after a few times of opening up to them. They might not truly understand you; this is a very bad sign. If they do understand you, then this is a fantastic sign. Proper communication is central to an amicable relationship.
5. This ties into number four. Now, talk about everything. Do not shy away from intimate or unconventional topics. This includes, but is not excluded to: sexual expectations, family history, traumatic events, strange/embarrassing fears, bodily functions, your relationships expectations, etc.
6. This is only the "falling in love" stage, and I only aim to make it a joyful experience. Real, lasting love is a different story. Even following these steps, a relationship will fall apart (although most likely in an amicable manner). Watch for the next article for perpetuating a relationship.
Warnings:
- Do not try too hard to make it work in the beginning if it simply will not work in the beginning. You will save yourself more heartache then you can even imagine.
- "Falling in love" feelings have a typical lifespan of about six months to a year. If the two people have not mutually thrown emotional anchors in each other, then the relationship will dwindle.
- Never lie. Ever. Never lie and never cheat
Monday, September 7, 2009
Instructional Leadership
Thinking about..."Instructional Leadership":Creating the Conditions for a Professional Learning Community
The need for instructional leadership...
Conventional wisdom about schooling asserts the existence of an unambiguous positive correlation between the quality of teaching and learning in schools and the quality of leadership evidencing itself in schools. Parents and teachers as well as governmental officials, policymakers, and television pundits unanimously assert that the quality of school leadership significantly impacts student learning outcomes. The operative notion is that the quality of teaching and learning is largely dependent upon an individual or group that exercises supervisory responsibility for the technology of schooling, namely, curriculum, teaching, and learning.
Educational research does provide some evidence that supports the conventional wisdom, especially as researchers have identified the positive effects that instructional leaders have upon schooling outcomes. Summarizing the research, Murphy (1990) lists four practices that characterize effective instructional leaders. These women and men:
· develop a mission and goals and translate them into professional practice;
· manage the educational production function;
· promote an academic learning climate; and,
· develop a supportive work environment. (1990, p. 169)
There is a paradox, however. While both the conventional wisdom and educational research assert that instructional leadership correlates positively with quality teaching and learning, the sad fact is that most principals devote little time to supervising this absolutely crucial dimension of the schooling enterprise. One study reports that elementary school principals spend less than 2% of their time attending to their instructional leadership responsibilities (Howell, 1981, cited in Murphy, 1990, p. 165). In a second study, high schools fare only a little better as "...only 17% of principals' time and only 8% of the tasks on which they work deal with academic matters" (Martin & Willower, 1981, cited in Murphy, 1990, p. 165).
Surveying the research, it looks like principals have forgotten two important matters.
First: organizations are not the buildings and structured behavior that many people believe them to be. Rather, as Barnard (1986) noted decades ago, organizations are the consequence of a decision individuals make to cooperate and to communicate with one another in order to achieve a shared purpose. In school organizations, Barnard's insight mandates that educators must not only be willing and able to talk to and with one another. In addition, educators must open their doors to criticism and to suggestions from others if they are to grow (Lortie, 1975; McDonald, 1999).
Second: the "80/20" rule. That is, principals should spend 80% of their time attending to the technology of schooling (that is, curriculum, teaching, and learning matters) and the other 20% of their time attending to the more routine matters of school management. Were principals of the nation's elementary and secondary schools simply to reverse the 80/20 rule, Murphy's (1990) summary indicates that in many cases principals would be devoting more than double the amount of time they presently do to curriculum, teaching, and learning.
But, even if principals were to direct a greater proportion of their time to the tasks associated with providing instructional leadership, "the organizational context in which they work and the set of skills, beliefs, and expectations that they bring to their role" function as roadblocks to effective instructional leadership (Murphy, 1990, p. 181). Inadequate training and preparation to fulfill one's instructional leadership responsibilities abounds. Furthermore, having to attend to the host of pressing problems that confront principals from the very minute they enter the school each morning and leave it each evening, principals tend to view the problems associated with curriculum, teaching, and learning as less crucial, if only because teachers can attend to these matters while a principal "puts out the fires." Lastly, school district superintendents who place a premium on a principal's professionalism and successful building management also thwart principals from being able to devote significant amounts of time and energy on instructional leadership.
From an international perspective...
A study of English head teachers (principals) reported similar trends (Day, 2000).
In successful schools, teachers and staff members reported their head teachers are "values led," that is, they promote the values of care and equity within the school and its decision-making process. In addition, these head teachers are both people-centered and achievement-oriented as well as inward and outward facing. Lastly, these successful head teachers manage a number of ongoing tensions and dilemmas simultaneously.
What is interesting, however, are the eight tensions those head teachers report themselves having to contend with as they provide what their teachers and staff members identified as "successful" leadership for their schools. These tensions include:
1. leading versus managing;
2. program development versus maintenance;
3. autocracy versus autonomy;
4. personal time versus professional tasks;
5. teaching versus not teaching;
6. personnel development versus dismissal;
7. power over versus power with; and,
8. subcontracting versus mediating.
Summarizing these findings, Day asserts that values seem to be central to the exercise of successful instructional leadership because values challenge teachers to think more critically and, then, to consider how they might act upon these values as teachers think about how they might improve curriculum, teaching, and learning. Especially important to professional development, Day notes, is how head teachers---as instructional leaders---link together personal, professional, and organizational development in an overall effort to improve curriculum, teaching, and learning.
Focusing upon providing instructional leadership...
How might principals think about instructional leadership in a way that would enable them to overcome the professional, personal, and organizational roadblocks standing in their way?
Checkley (2000) responds to this question by arguing that rather than focusing solely upon teacher supervision and evaluation as the crucial tasks associated with providing instructional leadership, principals might consider instead how to encourage and promote teacher growth and development within their own ranks.
In a practical vein, Checkley suggests that principals begin by envisioning how they might engage teachers in sustained discourse whereby, as colleagues, teachers can define what student learning should look like and, furthermore, can identify instructional approaches that will support their vision. By getting teachers to be attentive to teaching and learning and to work together to improve both, principals foster the conditions through which teachers can specify instructional goals. In addition, rather than immerse themselves in the effort, principals can direct the overall effort by offering teachers the support, encouragement, and challenge they need as teachers collaborate together toward achieving more substantive goals.
But, engaging in professional discourse is only a first step.
To institutionalize this focus upon the technology of schooling, Checkley also asserts that principals and teachers need to learn how to collaborate with one another. By promoting a forum for professional discourse, principals in the role of instructional leader construct a school culture through which teachers redefine curriculum, teaching, and learning. They also learn to translate that definition into new classroom practices as they build relationships characterized by mutual trust, risk taking, and experimentation, all in a supportive and professionally challenging environment.
For Checkley, feedback---whether provided by a colleague or the principal---is a necessary element in institutionalizing a redefinition of curriculum, teaching, and learning. What is critical, however, is that the feedback provide teachers the "hard" (or "factual") data they need to understand whether and to what degree they are effectively engaging in changes that facilitate achieving their goals. In addition, feedback should be just that, namely, data which are "fed back" to teachers, data which indicate key areas where teachers might modify curriculum and classroom instruction before students fail. In this sense, data that are provided through post-observation feedback point out specific areas where teachers can make adjustments. In such a school culture, mistakes are not viewed as failures that teachers must rectify but as opportunities for teachers to learn about and to refine curriculum, teaching, and learning.
In these and so many other ways, principals function as instructional leaders. They promote a sustained focus on improving the technology of schooling. They build a school culture that emphasizes collegiality and professional discourse. They model for teachers the importance of trust, the willingness to listen, as well as offering and receiving feedback. These instructional leaders also celebrate the accomplishments and achievements of the teachers. Lastly, these instructional leaders help the members of the local community to experience, to celebrate, and to promote the school's success by providing the members of the local community with multiple opportunities to become meaningfully involved in the school.
Covering similar terrain, King (2002) offers instructional leaders three practical recommendations.
The first recommendation is that instructional leaders host twice monthly meetings of three hours duration each for teachers and administrators to discuss any gaps they may find in curriculum, teaching, and learning. The operative notion here is that instructional leaders are creating the condition for teachers and administrators to identify problems with the technology of education as a foundation for considering how, moving forward, educators might deal with the gaps they have identified.
The second recommendation is to invite outside experts to provide teachers and administrators an overview of the research about curriculum, teaching, and learning so that they can contextualize the situation in their school within a larger framework. Rather than allowing gaps to be perceived as simply "a problem we have caused," understanding how these gaps are related to large issues in society and culture can help teachers and administrators to blunt the sharp edge and to feel more comfortable in understanding what these gaps reveal. Once again, instructional leaders are creating the condition for teachers and administrators to come to grips with the challenges confronting them in a way that they can better deal with these challenges.
The third recommendation is to focus teachers more intently upon their work by organizing peer visits as well as data gathering. The issue here is not simply having teachers and administrators visit one another's classrooms to make observations. Neither is the issue for teachers and administrators to gather data to refute or to substantiate a gap. Instead, the issue here is for teachers and administrators to visit and gather data by focusing upon identified gaps with an awareness of the larger context from which these problems emerge. In this way, instructional leaders create the condition for teachers and administrators to develop a data base for benchmarking the current situation and, as teachers and administrators formulate and implement intervention strategies, to state performance strategies, to develop improvement plans, and to assess progress or lack thereof.
These three practical recommendations, King argues, communicate to teachers the instructional leader's focus upon professional development and, in particular, improving curriculum, teaching, and learning as well as using data to drive decision making as well as to hold teachers accountable for outcomes. These recommendations do not prescribe a litmus test, list of characteristics, or set of behaviors for educators; instead, they identify a series of responsible acts that can improve curriculum, teaching, and learning in an entire school community as that is evidenced in a variety of measures of student achievement. More importantly, as strategies shape professional goals, these three practical recommendations enable instructional leaders work productively with teachers and administrators to improve educational outcomes, to utilize limited resources well, to build a more professional culture, and to form a community of learners.
Importantly, these three recommendations do not posit a unitary approach to instructional leadership. Instead, King's recommendations allow the content of each recommendation to be specified by the school's idiosyncratic context so that teachers, utilizing data, may create the conditions for to learn about curriculum, teaching, and learning. In every context, then, instructional leaders are intent upon building what King calls "professional learning communities" (p. 62), namely, "an environment that fosters mutual cooperation, emotional support, and personal growth as educators work together to achieve what they cannot accomplish alone" (DuFour & Eaker, 1998, p. xii).
What all of this actually seeks to achieve is to build leadership density in schools as instructional leaders provide the conditions which facilitate the development of teachers as leaders in the areas of curriculum, learning, and teaching. As Barth (2001) notes, success in this endeavor positions teachers to make decisions in many areas that were once reserved to the principal. These include: choosing textbooks and instructional materials; shaping the curriculum; setting standards for student behavior; deciding whether students are tracked into special classrooms; designing professional development and in-service programs; setting promotion and retention policies; deciding school budgets; evaluating teacher performance; selecting new teachers; and, most significantly, selecting new administrators.
Thinking about instructional leadership...
Like other successful for-profit and not-for-profit organizations, good schools do not simply happen. Instead, what transpires in good schools functions to foster the achievement of the school's goals. In good schools, people, process, and technology---the individual parts---integrate in such a way that the synergy engendered by the integration of the parts creates more energy than the sum of the individual parts does. By means of contrast, in bad schools the individual parts do not integrate. For example, the people may be good while the process and technology lack. Whatever the configuration may be, in bad schools the lack of integration of the parts thwarts the achievement of school goals.
Instructional leadership, then, concerns the responsibilities that an individual accepts to see to it that the people, the process, and the technology of schooling---curriculum, teaching, and learning---deliver on their promise to form capable, adult citizens. Possessing a "super-vision" about how the individual parts can integrate and create a synergy of effects that enable people, process, and technology to work together in a way that achieves this vision (Sergiovanni & Starratt, 1988), instructional leaders focus inward by devoting a considerable amount of time (perhaps as much as 80%) in building a school culture characterized by professional discourse that is attentive to the issues of improving curriculum, by providing support and opportunities for the teachers' professional growth and development, and by engaging the members of the school community in democratic self-governance. These instructional leaders also look outward and beyond the school yard by inviting members of the local community to participate meaningfully in the school and to serve as its ombudsmen within the local community.
Obviously, instructional leadership is not exercised by one person but one person does create the conditions through which all teachers and administrators become more responsible for their professional learning and important role in sustaining school improvement. It seems that inquiry-based use of data is particularly crucial in this regard, especially as it guides decisions and subsequence practices.
This calls for a new type of instructional leader, namely, a "culture builder" who is dedicated to building "teacher leadership" (Barth 2001). This instructional leader is capable of constructing a shared vision with all the members of the school community, convenes opportunities for professional discourse and conversation among teachers and administrators, is insistent upon improving student learning, evokes and supports teacher learning, models and participates in collaborative processes, helps to pose questions, and facilitates dialogue that addresses the confounding issues educators experience in practice (Lambert, 2002). In sum, this new type of instructional leader is intent upon school-based educational reform by creating the conditions which build a professional learning community.
References
Barth, R. R. (2001, February). Teacher leader. Phi Delta Kappan, 82(6), 443-449.
Checkley, K. (2000, May). The contemporary principal: New skills for a new age. Education Update, 43(3), 1, 4-6, 8.
Day, C. (2000, April). Beyond transformational leadership. Educational Leadership, 57(7), 56-59.
DuFour, R., & Eaker, R. (1998). Professional leading communities at work: Best practices for enhancing student achievement. Bloomington, IN: National Educational Service.
King, D. (2002, May). The changing shape of leadership. Educational Leadership, 59(8), 61-63.
Lambert, L. (2002, May). A framework for shared leadership. Educational Leadership, 58(8), 37‑40.
Lortie, D. (1975). Schoolteacher. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
McDonald, J. P. (1992). Teaching: Making sense of an uncertain craft. New York: Teachers College Press.
Murphy, J. (1990). Principal instructional leadership. In P. W. Thurston & L. S. Lotto (Eds.), Perspectives on the school. Advances in educational administration (Volume 1, Part B, 163-200). Greenwich, CN: JAI Press Inc.
Sergiovanni, T. J., & Starratt, R. J. (1988). Supervision: Human perspectives (4th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
The need for instructional leadership...
Conventional wisdom about schooling asserts the existence of an unambiguous positive correlation between the quality of teaching and learning in schools and the quality of leadership evidencing itself in schools. Parents and teachers as well as governmental officials, policymakers, and television pundits unanimously assert that the quality of school leadership significantly impacts student learning outcomes. The operative notion is that the quality of teaching and learning is largely dependent upon an individual or group that exercises supervisory responsibility for the technology of schooling, namely, curriculum, teaching, and learning.
Educational research does provide some evidence that supports the conventional wisdom, especially as researchers have identified the positive effects that instructional leaders have upon schooling outcomes. Summarizing the research, Murphy (1990) lists four practices that characterize effective instructional leaders. These women and men:
· develop a mission and goals and translate them into professional practice;
· manage the educational production function;
· promote an academic learning climate; and,
· develop a supportive work environment. (1990, p. 169)
There is a paradox, however. While both the conventional wisdom and educational research assert that instructional leadership correlates positively with quality teaching and learning, the sad fact is that most principals devote little time to supervising this absolutely crucial dimension of the schooling enterprise. One study reports that elementary school principals spend less than 2% of their time attending to their instructional leadership responsibilities (Howell, 1981, cited in Murphy, 1990, p. 165). In a second study, high schools fare only a little better as "...only 17% of principals' time and only 8% of the tasks on which they work deal with academic matters" (Martin & Willower, 1981, cited in Murphy, 1990, p. 165).
Surveying the research, it looks like principals have forgotten two important matters.
First: organizations are not the buildings and structured behavior that many people believe them to be. Rather, as Barnard (1986) noted decades ago, organizations are the consequence of a decision individuals make to cooperate and to communicate with one another in order to achieve a shared purpose. In school organizations, Barnard's insight mandates that educators must not only be willing and able to talk to and with one another. In addition, educators must open their doors to criticism and to suggestions from others if they are to grow (Lortie, 1975; McDonald, 1999).
Second: the "80/20" rule. That is, principals should spend 80% of their time attending to the technology of schooling (that is, curriculum, teaching, and learning matters) and the other 20% of their time attending to the more routine matters of school management. Were principals of the nation's elementary and secondary schools simply to reverse the 80/20 rule, Murphy's (1990) summary indicates that in many cases principals would be devoting more than double the amount of time they presently do to curriculum, teaching, and learning.
But, even if principals were to direct a greater proportion of their time to the tasks associated with providing instructional leadership, "the organizational context in which they work and the set of skills, beliefs, and expectations that they bring to their role" function as roadblocks to effective instructional leadership (Murphy, 1990, p. 181). Inadequate training and preparation to fulfill one's instructional leadership responsibilities abounds. Furthermore, having to attend to the host of pressing problems that confront principals from the very minute they enter the school each morning and leave it each evening, principals tend to view the problems associated with curriculum, teaching, and learning as less crucial, if only because teachers can attend to these matters while a principal "puts out the fires." Lastly, school district superintendents who place a premium on a principal's professionalism and successful building management also thwart principals from being able to devote significant amounts of time and energy on instructional leadership.
From an international perspective...
A study of English head teachers (principals) reported similar trends (Day, 2000).
In successful schools, teachers and staff members reported their head teachers are "values led," that is, they promote the values of care and equity within the school and its decision-making process. In addition, these head teachers are both people-centered and achievement-oriented as well as inward and outward facing. Lastly, these successful head teachers manage a number of ongoing tensions and dilemmas simultaneously.
What is interesting, however, are the eight tensions those head teachers report themselves having to contend with as they provide what their teachers and staff members identified as "successful" leadership for their schools. These tensions include:
1. leading versus managing;
2. program development versus maintenance;
3. autocracy versus autonomy;
4. personal time versus professional tasks;
5. teaching versus not teaching;
6. personnel development versus dismissal;
7. power over versus power with; and,
8. subcontracting versus mediating.
Summarizing these findings, Day asserts that values seem to be central to the exercise of successful instructional leadership because values challenge teachers to think more critically and, then, to consider how they might act upon these values as teachers think about how they might improve curriculum, teaching, and learning. Especially important to professional development, Day notes, is how head teachers---as instructional leaders---link together personal, professional, and organizational development in an overall effort to improve curriculum, teaching, and learning.
Focusing upon providing instructional leadership...
How might principals think about instructional leadership in a way that would enable them to overcome the professional, personal, and organizational roadblocks standing in their way?
Checkley (2000) responds to this question by arguing that rather than focusing solely upon teacher supervision and evaluation as the crucial tasks associated with providing instructional leadership, principals might consider instead how to encourage and promote teacher growth and development within their own ranks.
In a practical vein, Checkley suggests that principals begin by envisioning how they might engage teachers in sustained discourse whereby, as colleagues, teachers can define what student learning should look like and, furthermore, can identify instructional approaches that will support their vision. By getting teachers to be attentive to teaching and learning and to work together to improve both, principals foster the conditions through which teachers can specify instructional goals. In addition, rather than immerse themselves in the effort, principals can direct the overall effort by offering teachers the support, encouragement, and challenge they need as teachers collaborate together toward achieving more substantive goals.
But, engaging in professional discourse is only a first step.
To institutionalize this focus upon the technology of schooling, Checkley also asserts that principals and teachers need to learn how to collaborate with one another. By promoting a forum for professional discourse, principals in the role of instructional leader construct a school culture through which teachers redefine curriculum, teaching, and learning. They also learn to translate that definition into new classroom practices as they build relationships characterized by mutual trust, risk taking, and experimentation, all in a supportive and professionally challenging environment.
For Checkley, feedback---whether provided by a colleague or the principal---is a necessary element in institutionalizing a redefinition of curriculum, teaching, and learning. What is critical, however, is that the feedback provide teachers the "hard" (or "factual") data they need to understand whether and to what degree they are effectively engaging in changes that facilitate achieving their goals. In addition, feedback should be just that, namely, data which are "fed back" to teachers, data which indicate key areas where teachers might modify curriculum and classroom instruction before students fail. In this sense, data that are provided through post-observation feedback point out specific areas where teachers can make adjustments. In such a school culture, mistakes are not viewed as failures that teachers must rectify but as opportunities for teachers to learn about and to refine curriculum, teaching, and learning.
In these and so many other ways, principals function as instructional leaders. They promote a sustained focus on improving the technology of schooling. They build a school culture that emphasizes collegiality and professional discourse. They model for teachers the importance of trust, the willingness to listen, as well as offering and receiving feedback. These instructional leaders also celebrate the accomplishments and achievements of the teachers. Lastly, these instructional leaders help the members of the local community to experience, to celebrate, and to promote the school's success by providing the members of the local community with multiple opportunities to become meaningfully involved in the school.
Covering similar terrain, King (2002) offers instructional leaders three practical recommendations.
The first recommendation is that instructional leaders host twice monthly meetings of three hours duration each for teachers and administrators to discuss any gaps they may find in curriculum, teaching, and learning. The operative notion here is that instructional leaders are creating the condition for teachers and administrators to identify problems with the technology of education as a foundation for considering how, moving forward, educators might deal with the gaps they have identified.
The second recommendation is to invite outside experts to provide teachers and administrators an overview of the research about curriculum, teaching, and learning so that they can contextualize the situation in their school within a larger framework. Rather than allowing gaps to be perceived as simply "a problem we have caused," understanding how these gaps are related to large issues in society and culture can help teachers and administrators to blunt the sharp edge and to feel more comfortable in understanding what these gaps reveal. Once again, instructional leaders are creating the condition for teachers and administrators to come to grips with the challenges confronting them in a way that they can better deal with these challenges.
The third recommendation is to focus teachers more intently upon their work by organizing peer visits as well as data gathering. The issue here is not simply having teachers and administrators visit one another's classrooms to make observations. Neither is the issue for teachers and administrators to gather data to refute or to substantiate a gap. Instead, the issue here is for teachers and administrators to visit and gather data by focusing upon identified gaps with an awareness of the larger context from which these problems emerge. In this way, instructional leaders create the condition for teachers and administrators to develop a data base for benchmarking the current situation and, as teachers and administrators formulate and implement intervention strategies, to state performance strategies, to develop improvement plans, and to assess progress or lack thereof.
These three practical recommendations, King argues, communicate to teachers the instructional leader's focus upon professional development and, in particular, improving curriculum, teaching, and learning as well as using data to drive decision making as well as to hold teachers accountable for outcomes. These recommendations do not prescribe a litmus test, list of characteristics, or set of behaviors for educators; instead, they identify a series of responsible acts that can improve curriculum, teaching, and learning in an entire school community as that is evidenced in a variety of measures of student achievement. More importantly, as strategies shape professional goals, these three practical recommendations enable instructional leaders work productively with teachers and administrators to improve educational outcomes, to utilize limited resources well, to build a more professional culture, and to form a community of learners.
Importantly, these three recommendations do not posit a unitary approach to instructional leadership. Instead, King's recommendations allow the content of each recommendation to be specified by the school's idiosyncratic context so that teachers, utilizing data, may create the conditions for to learn about curriculum, teaching, and learning. In every context, then, instructional leaders are intent upon building what King calls "professional learning communities" (p. 62), namely, "an environment that fosters mutual cooperation, emotional support, and personal growth as educators work together to achieve what they cannot accomplish alone" (DuFour & Eaker, 1998, p. xii).
What all of this actually seeks to achieve is to build leadership density in schools as instructional leaders provide the conditions which facilitate the development of teachers as leaders in the areas of curriculum, learning, and teaching. As Barth (2001) notes, success in this endeavor positions teachers to make decisions in many areas that were once reserved to the principal. These include: choosing textbooks and instructional materials; shaping the curriculum; setting standards for student behavior; deciding whether students are tracked into special classrooms; designing professional development and in-service programs; setting promotion and retention policies; deciding school budgets; evaluating teacher performance; selecting new teachers; and, most significantly, selecting new administrators.
Thinking about instructional leadership...
Like other successful for-profit and not-for-profit organizations, good schools do not simply happen. Instead, what transpires in good schools functions to foster the achievement of the school's goals. In good schools, people, process, and technology---the individual parts---integrate in such a way that the synergy engendered by the integration of the parts creates more energy than the sum of the individual parts does. By means of contrast, in bad schools the individual parts do not integrate. For example, the people may be good while the process and technology lack. Whatever the configuration may be, in bad schools the lack of integration of the parts thwarts the achievement of school goals.
Instructional leadership, then, concerns the responsibilities that an individual accepts to see to it that the people, the process, and the technology of schooling---curriculum, teaching, and learning---deliver on their promise to form capable, adult citizens. Possessing a "super-vision" about how the individual parts can integrate and create a synergy of effects that enable people, process, and technology to work together in a way that achieves this vision (Sergiovanni & Starratt, 1988), instructional leaders focus inward by devoting a considerable amount of time (perhaps as much as 80%) in building a school culture characterized by professional discourse that is attentive to the issues of improving curriculum, by providing support and opportunities for the teachers' professional growth and development, and by engaging the members of the school community in democratic self-governance. These instructional leaders also look outward and beyond the school yard by inviting members of the local community to participate meaningfully in the school and to serve as its ombudsmen within the local community.
Obviously, instructional leadership is not exercised by one person but one person does create the conditions through which all teachers and administrators become more responsible for their professional learning and important role in sustaining school improvement. It seems that inquiry-based use of data is particularly crucial in this regard, especially as it guides decisions and subsequence practices.
This calls for a new type of instructional leader, namely, a "culture builder" who is dedicated to building "teacher leadership" (Barth 2001). This instructional leader is capable of constructing a shared vision with all the members of the school community, convenes opportunities for professional discourse and conversation among teachers and administrators, is insistent upon improving student learning, evokes and supports teacher learning, models and participates in collaborative processes, helps to pose questions, and facilitates dialogue that addresses the confounding issues educators experience in practice (Lambert, 2002). In sum, this new type of instructional leader is intent upon school-based educational reform by creating the conditions which build a professional learning community.
References
Barth, R. R. (2001, February). Teacher leader. Phi Delta Kappan, 82(6), 443-449.
Checkley, K. (2000, May). The contemporary principal: New skills for a new age. Education Update, 43(3), 1, 4-6, 8.
Day, C. (2000, April). Beyond transformational leadership. Educational Leadership, 57(7), 56-59.
DuFour, R., & Eaker, R. (1998). Professional leading communities at work: Best practices for enhancing student achievement. Bloomington, IN: National Educational Service.
King, D. (2002, May). The changing shape of leadership. Educational Leadership, 59(8), 61-63.
Lambert, L. (2002, May). A framework for shared leadership. Educational Leadership, 58(8), 37‑40.
Lortie, D. (1975). Schoolteacher. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
McDonald, J. P. (1992). Teaching: Making sense of an uncertain craft. New York: Teachers College Press.
Murphy, J. (1990). Principal instructional leadership. In P. W. Thurston & L. S. Lotto (Eds.), Perspectives on the school. Advances in educational administration (Volume 1, Part B, 163-200). Greenwich, CN: JAI Press Inc.
Sergiovanni, T. J., & Starratt, R. J. (1988). Supervision: Human perspectives (4th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
say hello
Why is it that people find it so difficult to just say hello?
To find the key to a civil society, look into your own heart.
This week business leaders were told about progress fighting crime, homelessness and street disorder in pursuit of the ideal "a civil society."
But the biggest obstacle to that utopia walks the city's sidewalks, queues up at the coffee shops, waits for the spin cycle to finish at the laundromat.
I'm talking about you.
Yes, you were walking past on the sidewalk without a smile or even a nod, eyes forward.
Yes, you were standing in line if not for coffee, looking uptight and weirdly scared when the person next to you says something friendly.
Yes, you waiting for your clothes to dry, shooting furtive glances at other customers, but never saying a word.
Yes, you who will be hosting the world for tourism in less than two years. Are you going to roll out the welcome mat or yank it inside and slam the door?
Y'all aren't very friendly.
In fact you're downright cold.
Others-- all the way friendlier than us.
Even Thais is cheerier, for Chris sakes, and the people there have been living in trouble waters for 30 months.
I've never been to a place where the ambient level of human interaction is as low as us.
This chill self-perpetuates, slapping down newcomers who dare try and melt the ice.
When a smile is ignored, when a casual comment draws a scowl, when a morning greeting brings an appraising stare, you begin to understand that, here, these things just aren't done.
What's wrong with you people?
I've struggled to find answers. Is it all the pot making people anti-social and paranoid? Unlikely. There are folks who are standoffish, too.
Is it the dreary, soggy rain? Nope, you're clammy even in unpredictable weather. Is it fear of attack? Probably not, given the friendlier attitudes in truly dangerous cities.
I'm at a loss for an explanation. But I'm not giving up yet. I see potential for improvement.
You're polite. You hold doors and generally let people change lanes on the road.
You say please and thank- you. But without the capacity for friendly, human engagement with people you don't know, politeness is a meaningless mask.
Often we lose sight of the importance of everyday engagement.
The civility of our city is measured in large part by the quality of our interactions with the people we live here with.
Please just say hi.
To find the key to a civil society, look into your own heart.
This week business leaders were told about progress fighting crime, homelessness and street disorder in pursuit of the ideal "a civil society."
But the biggest obstacle to that utopia walks the city's sidewalks, queues up at the coffee shops, waits for the spin cycle to finish at the laundromat.
I'm talking about you.
Yes, you were walking past on the sidewalk without a smile or even a nod, eyes forward.
Yes, you were standing in line if not for coffee, looking uptight and weirdly scared when the person next to you says something friendly.
Yes, you waiting for your clothes to dry, shooting furtive glances at other customers, but never saying a word.
Yes, you who will be hosting the world for tourism in less than two years. Are you going to roll out the welcome mat or yank it inside and slam the door?
Y'all aren't very friendly.
In fact you're downright cold.
Others-- all the way friendlier than us.
Even Thais is cheerier, for Chris sakes, and the people there have been living in trouble waters for 30 months.
I've never been to a place where the ambient level of human interaction is as low as us.
This chill self-perpetuates, slapping down newcomers who dare try and melt the ice.
When a smile is ignored, when a casual comment draws a scowl, when a morning greeting brings an appraising stare, you begin to understand that, here, these things just aren't done.
What's wrong with you people?
I've struggled to find answers. Is it all the pot making people anti-social and paranoid? Unlikely. There are folks who are standoffish, too.
Is it the dreary, soggy rain? Nope, you're clammy even in unpredictable weather. Is it fear of attack? Probably not, given the friendlier attitudes in truly dangerous cities.
I'm at a loss for an explanation. But I'm not giving up yet. I see potential for improvement.
You're polite. You hold doors and generally let people change lanes on the road.
You say please and thank- you. But without the capacity for friendly, human engagement with people you don't know, politeness is a meaningless mask.
Often we lose sight of the importance of everyday engagement.
The civility of our city is measured in large part by the quality of our interactions with the people we live here with.
Please just say hi.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Independence Day Teaches Us About Leadership
We have more individual choices than ever. We can choose from sixteen movies at a mega-plex, eight different kinds of orange juice (low acid, some pulp, not from concentrate, etc.) and countless shoe brands and styles. Is it any surprise that we want to be free to make choices in our jobs as well? If you grew up with only four TV channels to choose from, you might believe the command-style leadership is still viable. You might believe in shared values and needs, the way we did in the ‘60’s. Unfortunately, centralized leadership does not work with this new generation. They want to work their way, not your way. They know what motivates them, how they best achieve results and obtain information, and they want to receive full credit for their efforts. If you try to steamroll their Independence, you will wind up with flattened cartoon characters, not productive employees. As a leader today, you must decentralize the power and authority. With leadership opportunities, employees will find personal meaning in the work they do. And they will do it well, provided you meet their needs. Your challenge—accommodating leaders on all levels of the organization—is daunting, maybe even terrifying. How do you align each employee’s needs with the needs of the organization? With so many leaders, so much independence, will chaos be far behind? Not necessarily. Not if you build in some safeguards. It’s important to understand that total independence is often desired, but not always healthy. Individualism can lead to a sense of helplessness, and this helplessness can lead to depression. Despite fiercely independent childhood heroes like Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, we want and need to be part of something greater than ourselves. We want the support of a community. We want to feel like the work we do has meaning not only to ourselves, but to others. Chances are, this meaning has already been established—in the form of your organization’s founding mission, vision, goals, and values. These pillars were originally set by the founder and then enhanced through time by the organization’s leadership teams. As a leader, you can bring this meaning to employees by frequently asking how their needs and goals match the organization’s. In doing so, you give them the respect they want and need, as well as communicate a sense of belonging to a larger community. Do you believe in your organization’s mission, vision, goals, and values? If so, you will be able to impart this sense of togetherness to your charges. If not, you will be herding cats. Authentic leadership requires allowing everyone to lead at times, but to instill one cohesive purpose, so that these leaders will work together and move in one overarching direction. For each and every project, ask yourself, “How does this contribute to our organization’s mission, vision, goals, and values?” Ask the same of what is the meaning of independence day to you. And have them ask the same of what is the meaning of independence day to them.We have more individual choices than ever. We can choose from sixteen movies at a mega-plex, eight different kinds of orange juice (low acid, some pulp, not from concentrate, etc.) and countless shoe brands and styles. Is it any surprise that we want to be free to make choices in our jobs as well? If you grew up with only four TV channels to choose from, you might believe the command-style leadership is still viable. You might believe in shared values and needs, the way we did in the ‘60’s. Unfortunately, centralized leadership does not work with this new generation. They want to work their way, not your way. They know what motivates them, how they best achieve results and obtain information, and they want to receive full credit for their efforts. If you try to steamroll their Independence, you will wind up with flattened cartoon characters, not productive employees. As a leader today, you must decentralize the power and authority. With leadership opportunities, employees will find personal meaning in the work they do. And they will do it well, provided you meet their needs. Your challenge—accommodating leaders on all levels of the organization—is daunting, maybe even terrifying. How do you align each employee’s needs with the needs of the organization? With so many leaders, so much independence, will chaos be far behind? Not necessarily. Not if you build in some safeguards. It’s important to understand that total independence is often desired, but not always healthy. Individualism can lead to a sense of helplessness, and this helplessness can lead to depression. Despite fiercely independent childhood heroes like Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, we want and need to be part of something greater than ourselves. We want the support of a community. We want to feel like the work we do has meaning not only to ourselves, but to others. Chances are, this meaning has already been established—in the form of your organization’s founding mission, vision, goals, and values. These pillars were originally set by the founder and then enhanced through time by the organization’s leadership teams. As a leader, you can bring this meaning to employees by frequently asking how their needs and goals match the organization’s. In doing so, you give them the respect they want and need, as well as communicate a sense of belonging to a larger community. Do you believe in your organization’s mission, vision, goals, and values? If so, you will be able to impart this sense of togetherness to your charges. If not, you will be herding cats. Authentic leadership requires allowing everyone to lead at times, but to instill one cohesive purpose, so that these leaders will work together and move in one overarching direction. For each and every project, ask yourself, “How does this contribute to our organization’s mission, vision, goals, and values?” Ask the same of what is the meaning of independence day to you. And have them ask the same of what is the meaning of independence day to them.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
sound of silence
The Sounds of Silence
“Hello darkness, my old friend,
I’ve come to talk with you again,
Because a vision softly creeping,
Left its seeds while I was sleeping,
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence.
In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone,
neath the halo of a street lamp,
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of
A neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence.
And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more.
People talking without speaking,
People hearing without listening,
People writing songs those voices never share
And no one dared
Disturb the sound of silence.
Fools said i,you do not know
Silence like a cancer grows.
Hear my words that I might teach you,
Take my arms that I might reach you.
But my words like silent raindrops fell,
And echoed
In the wells of silence
And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon God they made.
And the sign flashed out its warning,
In the words that it was forming.
And the signs said, the words of the prophets
Are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls.
And whispered in the sounds of silence.”
Silence Poem
What you can do:
You can criticise silence,
You can ignore silence.
What you cannot do:
You cannot sit even one fleeting minute
In silence.
Yet one day
It is you and you alone
Who will marry silence
And become inseparably one
With silence-sky.
“Hello darkness, my old friend,
I’ve come to talk with you again,
Because a vision softly creeping,
Left its seeds while I was sleeping,
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence.
In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone,
neath the halo of a street lamp,
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of
A neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence.
And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more.
People talking without speaking,
People hearing without listening,
People writing songs those voices never share
And no one dared
Disturb the sound of silence.
Fools said i,you do not know
Silence like a cancer grows.
Hear my words that I might teach you,
Take my arms that I might reach you.
But my words like silent raindrops fell,
And echoed
In the wells of silence
And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon God they made.
And the sign flashed out its warning,
In the words that it was forming.
And the signs said, the words of the prophets
Are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls.
And whispered in the sounds of silence.”
Silence Poem
What you can do:
You can criticise silence,
You can ignore silence.
What you cannot do:
You cannot sit even one fleeting minute
In silence.
Yet one day
It is you and you alone
Who will marry silence
And become inseparably one
With silence-sky.
What a modern woman wants
The old woman sat in the backseat of the magenta convertible as it careened down the highway, clutching tightly to the plastic bag on her lap, afraid it may be kidnapped by the wind. She was not used to such speed, with trembling hands she pulled the seatbelt tighter but was careful not to touch the patent leather seats with her callused fingers, her daughter had warned her not to dirty it, ' Fingerprints show very clearly on white, Ma. ' Her daughter, Bee Choo, was driving and talking on her sleek silver mobile phone using big words the old woman could barely understand. ‘Finance ' ' Liquidation ' , ' Assets ' ' Investments ' ... Her voice was crisp and important and had an unfamiliar lilt to it. Her Bee Choo sounded like one of those foreign girls on television. She was speaking in an American accent. The old lady clucked her tongue in disapproval..... ‘I absolutely cannot have this. We have to sell! ‘Her daughter exclaimed agitatedly as she stepped on the accelerator; her perfectly manicured fingernails gripping onto the steering wheel in irritation. 'I can’t DEAL with this anymore! ‘She yelled as she clicked the phone shut and hurled it angrily toward the backseat. The mobile phone hit the old woman on the forehead and nestled soundlessly into her lap. She calmly picked it up and handed it to her daughter. 'Sorry, Ma, ' she said, losing the American pretence and switching to Mandarin. ‘I have a big client in America. There have been a lot of problems. ‘The old lady nodded knowingly. Her daughter was big and important. Bee Choo stared at her mother from the rear view window, wondering what she was thinking. Her mother’s wrinkled countenance always carried the same cryptic look. The phone began to ring again, an artificially cheerful digital tune, which broke the awkward silence. 'Hello, Beatrice! Yes, this is Elaine. ‘Elaine. The old woman cringed. I didn’t name her Elaine. She remembered her daughter telling her, how an English name was very important for ' networking ‘, Chinese ones being easily forgotten.'Oh no, I can ' t see you for lunch today. I have to take the ancient relic to the temple for her weird daily prayer ritual. ‘Ancient Relic. The old woman understood perfectly it was referring to her. Her daughter always assumed that her mother’s silence meant she did not comprehend. 'Yes, I know! My car seats will be reeking of joss sticks! ‘The old woman pursed her lips tightly, her hands gripping her plastic bag in defence. The car curved smoothly into the temple courtyard. It looked almost garish next to the dull sheen of the ageing temple’s roof. The old woman got out of the back seat, and made her unhurried way to the main hall. Her daughter stepped out of the car in her business suit and stilettos and reapplied her lipstick as she made her brisk way to her mother ' s side. 'Ma, I 'll wait outside. I have an important phone call to make, ' she said, not bothering to hide her disgust at the pungent fumes of incense. The old lady hobbled into the temple hall and lit a joss stick; she knelt down solemnly and whispered her now familiar daily prayer to the Gods. Thank you God of the Sky, you have given my daughter luck all these years. Everything I prayed for, you have given her. She has everything a young woman in this world could possibly want. She has a big house with a swimming pool, a maid to help her, as she is too clumsy to sew or cook. Her love life has been blessed; she is engaged to a rich and handsome angmoh (红毛—外国人) man. Her company is now the top financial firm and even men listen to what she says. She lives the perfect life. You have given her everything except happiness. I ask that the gods be merciful to her even if she has lost her roots while reaping the harvest of success. What you see is not true; she is a filial daughter to me. She gives me a room in her big house and provides well for me. She is rude to me only because I affect her happiness. A young woman does not want to be hindered by her old mother. It is my fault. The old lady prayed so hard that tears welled up in her eyes. Finally, with her head bowed in reverence she planted the half-burnt joss stick into an urn of smouldering ashes. She bowed once more. The old woman had been praying for her daughter for thirty-two years. When her stomach was round like a melon, she came to the temple and prayed that it was a son. Then the time was ripe and the baby slipped out of her womb, bawling and adorable with fat thighs and pink cheeks, but unmistakably, a girl. Her husband had ticked and punched her for producing a useless baby who could not work or carry the family name. Still, the woman returned to the temple with her new-born girl tied to her waist in a sarong and prayed that her daughter would grow up and have everything she ever wanted. Her husband left her and she prayed that her daughter would never have to depend on a man. She prayed every day that her daughter would be a great woman, the woman that she, meek and uneducated, could never become. A woman with nengkan (能干) ; the ability to do anything she set her mind to. A woman who commanded respect in the hearts of men. When she opened her mouth to speak, precious pearls would fall out and men would listen. She will not be like me, the woman prayed as she watched her daughter grow up and drift away from her, speaking a language she scarcely understood. She watched her daughter transform from a quiet girl to one who openly defied her, calling her laotu, old fashioned.... She wanted her mother to be ' modern ‘, a word so new there was no Chinese word for it. Now her daughter was too clever for her and the old woman wondered why she had prayed like that. The Gods had been faithful to her persistent prayer, but the wealth and success that poured forth so richly had buried the girl 's roots and now she stood faceless with no identity, bound to the soil of her ancestors by only a string of origami banknotes. Her daughter had forgotten her mother’s value. Her wants were so ephemeral, that of a modern woman. Power, wealth, access to the best fashion boutiques and yet her daughter had not found true happiness. The old woman knew that you could find happiness with much less. When her daughter left the earth, everything she had would count for nothing. People would look to her legacy and say that she was a great woman but she would be forgotten once the wind blows over, like the ashes of burnt paper convertibles and mansions. The old woman wished she could go back and erase all her big hopes and prayers for her daughter now that she had looked out of the temple gates. She saw her daughter speaking on the phone, her brow furrowed with anger and worry. Being at the top is not good, the woman thought, there is only one way to go from there - down. The old woman carefully unfolded the plastic bag and spread out a packet of beehoon in from of the altar. Her daughter often mocked her for worshipping porcelain Gods. How could she pray to them so faithfully and expect pieces of ceramic to fly to her aid? But her daughter had her own gods too, idols of wealth, success and power that she enslaved to and worshipped every day of her life. Every day was a quest for the idols, and the idols she worshipped counted for nothing in eternity. All the wants her daughter had would slowly suck the life out of her and leave her, an empty soulless shell at the altar. The old woman watched the joss stick.The dull heat had left a teetering grey stem that was on the danger of collapsing. Modern woman nowadays, the old lady signed in resignation, as she bowed to the east obne final time to end her ritual. Modern woman nowadays want so much that they lose their souls and wonder when they cannot find it. Her joss stick disintegrated into a soft grey powder. She met her daughter outside the temple, the same look of worry and frustration was etched on her daughter’s face. An empty expression, as if she was ploughing through the soil of her wants looking for the one thing that would sown the seeds of happiness. They climbed into the convertible in silence and her daughter drove along the highway, this time not too fast as she had done before. Ma, Bee Choo finally said. "I don’t know how to put this. Mark and I have been talking about it and we plan to move out of the big house. The property market is good now, and we managed to get a buyer willing to pay us seven million for it. We decided we’d prefer a cosier penthouse apartment instead. We found a perfect one in Orchard Road. Once we move into our apartment, we plan to get rid of the maid, so we can have more space to ourselves...." The old woman nodded knowingly. Bee Choo swallowed hard. "We’d get someone to come in to do the housework and we can eat out - but once the maid is gone, there won’t be anyone to look after you. You will be awfully lonely at home and, besides that the apartment is rather small. There won’t be space. We thought about it for a long time, and we decided the best thing for you is if you moved to a Home. There’s one near Hougang -it ‘s a Christian home and a very nice one." The old woman did not raise an eyebrow. I’ve been there; the matron is willing to take you in. It’s beautiful with gardens and lots of old people to keep you company! Hardly have time for you, you ‘d be happier there." “You ‘d be happier there, really." her daughter repeated as if to affirm herself. This time the old woman had no plastic bag of food offering to cling tightly to; she bit her lip and fastened her seat belt, as if it would protect her from a daughter who did not want her anymore. She sunk deep into the leather seat, letting her shoulders sag and her fingers trace the white seat. Ma, her daughter asked, searching the rear view window for her mother. "Is everything okay? What had to be done, had to be done. "Yes" she said firmly, louder than she intended, ' if it will make you happy, ' she added more quietly. It’s for you, Ma! You will be happier there. You can move there tomorrow, I already got the maid to pack your things. ‘Elaine said triumphantly, mentally ticking yet another item off her agenda. 'I knew everything would be fine ‘Elaine smiled widely; she felt liberated. Perhaps getting rid of her mother would make her happier. She had thought about it. It seemed the only hindrance in her pursuit of happiness. She was happy now. She had everything a modern woman ever wanted; money, status, career, love, power and now freedom without her mother and her old-fashioned ways to weigh her down...... Yes she was free. Her phone butted urgently, she picked it up and read the message, still beaming from ear to ear. "Stock 10% increase" Yes, things were definitely beginning to look up for her and while searching for the meaning of life in the 1 uminance of her hand phone screen, the old woman in the backseat became invisible and she did not see her in tears. So fellow friends, save enough for your old age and don’t try to rely on your children. Your responsibility is to give them the necessary education/training and life after that is theirs. If they chose to look after you, it is a bonus and thanks the gods for it.......
H1N1
JUST A SMALL BUT MEANINGFUL INFO FRM ME TO YOU AND YR FRIENDS...MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE OF H1N1 SINCE IT PRACTICALLY HIT US LIKE A TIME BOMB..... My staff was crying herself sick on Tuesday morning...was told that her son was confirmed of H1N1 in his Uni at Kangar, Perlis...worse was that when he was bedridden 2 days the warden didnt even bother to sent to hospital till his dad came fm KL and with his friends assistance brought him to GH Kangar.... No one bothered in the hospital and he was put in the normal ward for another 2 days!!! (imagine the amount of people he has infected!!) .....after 2 days and his eyes were turning yellow and saliva greenish...he was put in quarantined room...Called his mom to say...minta maaf and ampun la dosa dia, etc...she practically fainted just telling me the story.. cant do much cos she x have enough money to go to the north with the father... First thing we did was made her call the hospital and insist that they sent him to Sg.Buloh Hospital or any other hospital in KL since they seemed to be more alert and more equipt...they refused of course...so I sent her off to Kangar the same day to solve the problem. Whilst this was happening, SUBHANALLAH, I had a call from one Ustaz who was in town to "help cure" another H1N1 child in Shah Alam....and was told this simple prescription by him.....of course kena redha pada ALLAH and niat dengan sesungguh nya...selawat 3x... EAT MINIMUM 6 GREEN APPLES A DAY AND FRESH ORANGE JUICE, for those with sore throat please blend the apples and keep on taking till your fever disappear and yr symtoms are gone....I cannot explain it but the child in Shah Alam was ok too after taking this tip.... ALHAMDULILLAH...my staff's son was given the apple juice for the whole day on Monday/Tuesday and dengan kuasa ALLAH he was out of the fever yesterday Wednesday....she called me and was crying on the phone to say that her son was out of ICU and was able to eat normally...all these happened within just 4 days today (thursday 6 ugust)... This is just to share with my fellow sisters and brothers and hope this small info could assist others as well, INSYA'ALLAH!!!!!!!!!! No harm in trying and kuasa ALLAH anything can happen!!!!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Are you genius or a genius?
20 Things You Didn't Know About ... Genius
How do the Nobel Prize winners get so damn smart?By Rebecca CoffeyProvided by Discover Magazine
1. The latest winners of the Nobel Prizes -- the big kahuna of genius awards -- will be announced October 5 this year. Were you nominated? To find out, you’ll have to either win or wait 50 years, which is how long the Nobel committee keeps secret the list of also-rans.
2. Nyah, nyah. William Shockley, who won the 1956 Nobel in physics for inventing the transistor, was excluded as a child from a long-term study of genius because his IQ score wasn’t high enough.
3. History repeated itself in 1968 when Luis Alvarez won a Nobel for his work on elementary particles. He had been excluded from the same research program as Shockley. Who set up that study, anyway?
4. The genius study was created in 1928 by Louis Terman at Stanford University, who pioneered the use of IQ tests to identify geniuses, defined by him as those with an IQ greater than 140.
5. None of the children (known as “Termites”) in the study has won a Nobel.
6. Still smart, though: Termite Jess Oppenheimer invented the TelePrompTer, and Norris Bradbury headed the Los Alamos National Laboratory.
7. Many 19th- and 20th-century creative geniuses acquired a reputation for promiscuity. Examples include Richard Feynman, Albert Einstein and Bertrand Russell.
8. One theory suggests that male geniuses are unusually endowed with enthusiasm for risk-taking, which is notoriously testosterone-linked.
9. In 1981 Shockley and eugenicist Robert Klark Graham cofounded the Repository for Germinal Choice in Southern California, a sperm bank dedicated to selling the seed of Nobel Prize winners and other men with a high I.Q.
10. Graham died in 1997. The Repository for Germinal Choice closed in 1999.
11. Being a genius is no guarantee of financial security. A recent study at the Ohio State University Center for Human Resource Research showed that baby boomers with average and low IQs were just as good at saving money as those with high IQs.
12. Albert Einstein is said to have lost most of his Nobel money in bad investments. Anyone can do that.
13. Hans Asperger, an Austrian pediatrician, identified what is now called Asperger’s syndrome: a form of autism marked by intense absorption in a very narrow range of special interests.
14. Asperger believed that there is a link between mathematical and scientific genius and his syndrome, claiming that "for success in science and art, a dash of autism is essential."
15. Sometimes stereotypes are accurate. Norbert Wiener, who invented the field of cybernetics, was the prototype of the absent-minded genius.
16. Once, Weiner forgot he’d driven to a conference, took the bus home, and then reported his car stolen when he didn’t see it in his driveway.
17. In the 1990s Bell Labs found that its most valued and productive electrical engineers were not those endowed with genius but those who excelled in rapport, empathy, cooperation, persuasion and the ability to build consensus.
18. Too much partying? In 2007 researchers at Kyoto University pitted chimpanzees against college students in three memory-based intelligence tests. The highest-scoring chimp beat all the students in the first test, tied with a few in the second test and reigned again in the third.
19. Try pitting him against the chimp. Alex, a gray parrot who died last September at age 31, has been widely billed as the smartest bird ever. Alex could identify 50 objects, seven colors and shapes and quantities of up to six.
20. You, too, can be a genius (maybe). Scientists at the University of Sydney and Macquarie University in Australia say intelligence can be boosted, at least in the short term, by a daily dose of 5 milligrams of creatine, a compound found in muscle tissue.
How do the Nobel Prize winners get so damn smart?By Rebecca CoffeyProvided by Discover Magazine
1. The latest winners of the Nobel Prizes -- the big kahuna of genius awards -- will be announced October 5 this year. Were you nominated? To find out, you’ll have to either win or wait 50 years, which is how long the Nobel committee keeps secret the list of also-rans.
2. Nyah, nyah. William Shockley, who won the 1956 Nobel in physics for inventing the transistor, was excluded as a child from a long-term study of genius because his IQ score wasn’t high enough.
3. History repeated itself in 1968 when Luis Alvarez won a Nobel for his work on elementary particles. He had been excluded from the same research program as Shockley. Who set up that study, anyway?
4. The genius study was created in 1928 by Louis Terman at Stanford University, who pioneered the use of IQ tests to identify geniuses, defined by him as those with an IQ greater than 140.
5. None of the children (known as “Termites”) in the study has won a Nobel.
6. Still smart, though: Termite Jess Oppenheimer invented the TelePrompTer, and Norris Bradbury headed the Los Alamos National Laboratory.
7. Many 19th- and 20th-century creative geniuses acquired a reputation for promiscuity. Examples include Richard Feynman, Albert Einstein and Bertrand Russell.
8. One theory suggests that male geniuses are unusually endowed with enthusiasm for risk-taking, which is notoriously testosterone-linked.
9. In 1981 Shockley and eugenicist Robert Klark Graham cofounded the Repository for Germinal Choice in Southern California, a sperm bank dedicated to selling the seed of Nobel Prize winners and other men with a high I.Q.
10. Graham died in 1997. The Repository for Germinal Choice closed in 1999.
11. Being a genius is no guarantee of financial security. A recent study at the Ohio State University Center for Human Resource Research showed that baby boomers with average and low IQs were just as good at saving money as those with high IQs.
12. Albert Einstein is said to have lost most of his Nobel money in bad investments. Anyone can do that.
13. Hans Asperger, an Austrian pediatrician, identified what is now called Asperger’s syndrome: a form of autism marked by intense absorption in a very narrow range of special interests.
14. Asperger believed that there is a link between mathematical and scientific genius and his syndrome, claiming that "for success in science and art, a dash of autism is essential."
15. Sometimes stereotypes are accurate. Norbert Wiener, who invented the field of cybernetics, was the prototype of the absent-minded genius.
16. Once, Weiner forgot he’d driven to a conference, took the bus home, and then reported his car stolen when he didn’t see it in his driveway.
17. In the 1990s Bell Labs found that its most valued and productive electrical engineers were not those endowed with genius but those who excelled in rapport, empathy, cooperation, persuasion and the ability to build consensus.
18. Too much partying? In 2007 researchers at Kyoto University pitted chimpanzees against college students in three memory-based intelligence tests. The highest-scoring chimp beat all the students in the first test, tied with a few in the second test and reigned again in the third.
19. Try pitting him against the chimp. Alex, a gray parrot who died last September at age 31, has been widely billed as the smartest bird ever. Alex could identify 50 objects, seven colors and shapes and quantities of up to six.
20. You, too, can be a genius (maybe). Scientists at the University of Sydney and Macquarie University in Australia say intelligence can be boosted, at least in the short term, by a daily dose of 5 milligrams of creatine, a compound found in muscle tissue.
Spend some time alone
ONE. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
TWO ... Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.
THREE. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.
FOUR . When you say, 'I love you ,' mean it.
FIVE. When you say, 'I'm sorry,' look the person in the eye.
SIX ... Be engaged at least six months before you get married.
SEVEN.. Believe in love at first sight.
EIGHT. Never laugh at anyone's dream. People who don't have dreams don't have much. NINE . Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.
TEN. . In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.
ELEVEN. Don't judge people by their relatives.
TWELVE. Talk slowly but think quickly.
THIRTEEN. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, 'Why do you want to know?'
FOURTEEN. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
FIFTEEN. Say 'bless you' when you hear someone sneeze.
SIXTEEN. When you lose, don't lose the lesson !
SEVENTEEN. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and responsibility for all your actions.
EIGHTEEN... Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship..
NINETEEN. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it. TWENTY. Smile when picking up the phone.. The caller will hear it in your voice.
TWENTY-ONE. Spend some time alone.
TWO ... Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.
THREE. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.
FOUR . When you say, 'I love you ,' mean it.
FIVE. When you say, 'I'm sorry,' look the person in the eye.
SIX ... Be engaged at least six months before you get married.
SEVEN.. Believe in love at first sight.
EIGHT. Never laugh at anyone's dream. People who don't have dreams don't have much. NINE . Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.
TEN. . In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.
ELEVEN. Don't judge people by their relatives.
TWELVE. Talk slowly but think quickly.
THIRTEEN. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, 'Why do you want to know?'
FOURTEEN. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
FIFTEEN. Say 'bless you' when you hear someone sneeze.
SIXTEEN. When you lose, don't lose the lesson !
SEVENTEEN. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and responsibility for all your actions.
EIGHTEEN... Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship..
NINETEEN. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it. TWENTY. Smile when picking up the phone.. The caller will hear it in your voice.
TWENTY-ONE. Spend some time alone.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
10 Worst Work Habits
By Anthony Balderrama, CareerBuilder.com writer
Bottom of Form
When two people fall in love, they only see sunshine and rainbows when they look into each other's eyes. If you asked, "What's the worst trait of your boyfriend or girlfriend?" they would answer, "Absolutely, positively nothing!"
Ask that same question a few years later when they're living together and have seen each other at their respective worst. You'll get a pretty good list:
"She cuts her toenails on the coffee table."
"He speaks in a cutesy voice on behalf of the dog."
"She kicks me in her sleep."
Hopefully none of these nuisances finds its way into your work life, but other ones probably do. Everyone has some weaknesses in their work behavior that they need to work on, and they often extend beyond annoyances (such as eating a smelly lunch at your desk) and become problems for your career.
Here are 10 work habits that you should try to break:
1. Procrastination
A lot of people work best under pressure, or at least they say so. With everyone having a different personality, you can't say a strict schedule works best for all employees. Putting tasks off until the last minute, however, invites plenty of problems, even if you think the final result will be glorious.
When you leave yourself no wiggle room to complete a task, you run the risk of encountering an unexpected obstacle that makes you miss the deadline. Even if the situation is out of your hands, everyone will be left wondering why you didn't plan better and account for last-minute emergencies.
2. Being a sloppy e-mailer
E-mails are second nature to most people these days, and in informal communications they've become a digital Post-it note. We type out a message and send it without proofreading or double-checking the recipients. That's a recipe for disaster.
If you haven't learned your lesson by now, the day will soon come when you accidentally "Reply All" to an e-mail and a slew of unintended readers receive a silly note you intended only your co-worker to read.
3. Confusing informal with disrespectful
In many workplaces, the boss might be the decision maker, but he or she isn't the stern, humorless caricature you saw on TV. Using your supervisor's first name and going for some drinks after work are common in many industries. Still, you are the employee and the boss is the boss -- the one who can fire you and tell you what to do. Don't cross the line by talking to her as if you're talking to one of your direct reports or even your best friend. You need to show some respect for her authority.
4. Taking advantage of leeway
Some companies are strict about the time you clock in and out. Others have guidelines but no hard rules, so you can arrive at 8:35 a.m. and no one cares. If over time you're arriving at 9:10 a.m. and leaving at 4 p.m. (with plenty of breaks in between), your reputation will suffer.
This also goes for dress codes. Business casual is up to interpretation, but ripped jeans and concert tees probably don't fall under your company's accepted definition.
5. Refusing to mingle
Plenty of wisdom lies in the advice not to mix personal and professional lives. However, refusing to take part in any social activity -- such as the office potluck or a happy hour -- will not help your career. You don't need to be the resident party animal, but being personable with your colleagues helps build camaraderie. You get to know other people better and they get to know you as more than the person they pass in the halls.
6. Always running late
This isn't the same as abusing leeway; this is a matter of trust. If you're late to work, to meetings and with projects, your boss and colleagues will associate that trait with you. When it's time for a promotion or to deal with an important client, everyone will think twice before giving you the opportunity. Who wants to trust the person who can't manage his or her time?
7. Being rigid
One of the unfair aspects of the working world is that sometimes it seems you can't win. If you're hired to do a job, most bosses don't want you passing the day by reading your favorite book. The reason: You were hired to do a job, so do it. But if the boss comes to you with a new project that's outside the parameters of your usual duties, it's still yours to do. "You don't pay me to do that" isn't something you want to tell your supervisor.
8. Acting as the resident contrarian
We all love your spirited personality, but try not to be the person in the meeting who always has a better idea and can tell you why everyone else's idea is dumb. Voices of opposition are often missing in many workplaces because too many eager employees want to be "yes" men and women. But too much negativity grates on nerves and makes people dread hearing your voice. Continue to be a critical thinker, but make sure you're doing what's best for the company and not just trying to be the loudest voice in the room.
9. Badmouthing the company
With blogs, Facebook, Twitter and a host of other sites, you have plenty of opportunity to vent your frustration with life. If you're going to complain about how dumb your boss is and how much you hate your job, keep those rants private. The Internet is public domain and comments have a way of finding their way back to all the wrong people. If you wouldn't stand outside your boss's office and tell a co-worker how ready you are to quit, don't express the same thoughts in an open forum.
10. Politicking
Office politics are often unavoidable, and sometimes having a grasp on what's going on can benefit you, but you shouldn't spend more time masterminding office warfare than you do working. Getting caught in the crosshairs of a workplace controversy can be out of your control, but if you're the one instigating the drama, you're earning a bad reputation. You're the person who starts trouble and whom no one trusts. That's the kind of notoriety that follows you from one workplace to another.
Bottom of Form
When two people fall in love, they only see sunshine and rainbows when they look into each other's eyes. If you asked, "What's the worst trait of your boyfriend or girlfriend?" they would answer, "Absolutely, positively nothing!"
Ask that same question a few years later when they're living together and have seen each other at their respective worst. You'll get a pretty good list:
"She cuts her toenails on the coffee table."
"He speaks in a cutesy voice on behalf of the dog."
"She kicks me in her sleep."
Hopefully none of these nuisances finds its way into your work life, but other ones probably do. Everyone has some weaknesses in their work behavior that they need to work on, and they often extend beyond annoyances (such as eating a smelly lunch at your desk) and become problems for your career.
Here are 10 work habits that you should try to break:
1. Procrastination
A lot of people work best under pressure, or at least they say so. With everyone having a different personality, you can't say a strict schedule works best for all employees. Putting tasks off until the last minute, however, invites plenty of problems, even if you think the final result will be glorious.
When you leave yourself no wiggle room to complete a task, you run the risk of encountering an unexpected obstacle that makes you miss the deadline. Even if the situation is out of your hands, everyone will be left wondering why you didn't plan better and account for last-minute emergencies.
2. Being a sloppy e-mailer
E-mails are second nature to most people these days, and in informal communications they've become a digital Post-it note. We type out a message and send it without proofreading or double-checking the recipients. That's a recipe for disaster.
If you haven't learned your lesson by now, the day will soon come when you accidentally "Reply All" to an e-mail and a slew of unintended readers receive a silly note you intended only your co-worker to read.
3. Confusing informal with disrespectful
In many workplaces, the boss might be the decision maker, but he or she isn't the stern, humorless caricature you saw on TV. Using your supervisor's first name and going for some drinks after work are common in many industries. Still, you are the employee and the boss is the boss -- the one who can fire you and tell you what to do. Don't cross the line by talking to her as if you're talking to one of your direct reports or even your best friend. You need to show some respect for her authority.
4. Taking advantage of leeway
Some companies are strict about the time you clock in and out. Others have guidelines but no hard rules, so you can arrive at 8:35 a.m. and no one cares. If over time you're arriving at 9:10 a.m. and leaving at 4 p.m. (with plenty of breaks in between), your reputation will suffer.
This also goes for dress codes. Business casual is up to interpretation, but ripped jeans and concert tees probably don't fall under your company's accepted definition.
5. Refusing to mingle
Plenty of wisdom lies in the advice not to mix personal and professional lives. However, refusing to take part in any social activity -- such as the office potluck or a happy hour -- will not help your career. You don't need to be the resident party animal, but being personable with your colleagues helps build camaraderie. You get to know other people better and they get to know you as more than the person they pass in the halls.
6. Always running late
This isn't the same as abusing leeway; this is a matter of trust. If you're late to work, to meetings and with projects, your boss and colleagues will associate that trait with you. When it's time for a promotion or to deal with an important client, everyone will think twice before giving you the opportunity. Who wants to trust the person who can't manage his or her time?
7. Being rigid
One of the unfair aspects of the working world is that sometimes it seems you can't win. If you're hired to do a job, most bosses don't want you passing the day by reading your favorite book. The reason: You were hired to do a job, so do it. But if the boss comes to you with a new project that's outside the parameters of your usual duties, it's still yours to do. "You don't pay me to do that" isn't something you want to tell your supervisor.
8. Acting as the resident contrarian
We all love your spirited personality, but try not to be the person in the meeting who always has a better idea and can tell you why everyone else's idea is dumb. Voices of opposition are often missing in many workplaces because too many eager employees want to be "yes" men and women. But too much negativity grates on nerves and makes people dread hearing your voice. Continue to be a critical thinker, but make sure you're doing what's best for the company and not just trying to be the loudest voice in the room.
9. Badmouthing the company
With blogs, Facebook, Twitter and a host of other sites, you have plenty of opportunity to vent your frustration with life. If you're going to complain about how dumb your boss is and how much you hate your job, keep those rants private. The Internet is public domain and comments have a way of finding their way back to all the wrong people. If you wouldn't stand outside your boss's office and tell a co-worker how ready you are to quit, don't express the same thoughts in an open forum.
10. Politicking
Office politics are often unavoidable, and sometimes having a grasp on what's going on can benefit you, but you shouldn't spend more time masterminding office warfare than you do working. Getting caught in the crosshairs of a workplace controversy can be out of your control, but if you're the one instigating the drama, you're earning a bad reputation. You're the person who starts trouble and whom no one trusts. That's the kind of notoriety that follows you from one workplace to another.
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