Monday, January 21, 2008

Thing #2

Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People reminds me that it is crucial to put your needs first at many times . That is hard for most of us to do, we tend to focus on our needs last meanwhile draining ourselves meeting others expectations. However, when we put our needs first we find we are better prepared to help others.

Reading the 7 1/2 Habits of Highly Effective Lifelong Learners was exciting. I think the last principle Play! really reinforced what I learned a couple of years ago when my school learned the concepts of FISH! Productivity increases in environments where people play. When people feel free to create, explore, experiment they are most productive and innovation occurs in these environments. Those who embrace play are more energetic and creative. I myself find this principle easy to embrace in my classroom. My greatest compliment came when a student said they loved to attend my class because they laughed in it everyday. The FISH philosophy states "What would you be willing to try if you knew you could not fail?", what a powerful question. Many times we allow the fear of failure to restrict us as learners.

The hardest concept for me would have to be begin with the end in mind. The part that is hardest for me to accept changing my goals when circumstances intervene. I have trouble saying no to others and am starting to realize that saying no to others often means saying YES to yourself! I must say YES more and allow myself to do the things that are important to me.

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