The following came from Seth Godin's blog...
Win the fight, lose the customer
Does it really matter if you're right?
Given the choice between acknowledging that your customer is upset or proving to her that she is wrong, which will you choose?
You can be right or you can have empathy
If someone thinks they're unhappy, then you know what? They are.
While Seth's blog mainly deals with business, he makes some great points that deal with human nature, and teacher's can gain much insight and wisdom from. I have worked with some difficult parents, and to this day there are some that despise me. I realize we cannot choose the parents or our students as businesses can sometimes decide upon their customers, but if we want to make a difference and build relationships with parents, then at least at the very beginning, the parents have to always be right.
Not an easy pill to swallow-
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/teaching/7412162
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Priorities
The following is a quote from Seth Godin's recent blog entry,
Without a list, you can see how making intelligent decisions is impossible, so we resort to confusing activity with productivity.
I realized how true this is for teachers (and for that, every other profession). If we as teachers want to get more done, accomplish our goals, and figure out what is important, we must start writing things down and then prioritizing them.
One of my priorities is to reply to emails within 24 hours. To the very best of my ability, I try not to email parents/students from home--I try to take care of this at school. Grading papers is up near the top also. It is important to find out what is important to administrators also. Helping them reach their goals and objectives can benefit you in the long run.
I also think this involves NOT doing some things. Not staying at school every night until 7 or8. Not trying to re-invent the wheel by designing every lesson to include all seven learning styles. Not ____.
As the end of the year approaches, one of my goals is to find 15% of my activities that are not productive, and shift my energy and efforts elsewhere. It's time to re-evaluate and do what needs doing right now!
Without a list, you can see how making intelligent decisions is impossible, so we resort to confusing activity with productivity.
I realized how true this is for teachers (and for that, every other profession). If we as teachers want to get more done, accomplish our goals, and figure out what is important, we must start writing things down and then prioritizing them.
One of my priorities is to reply to emails within 24 hours. To the very best of my ability, I try not to email parents/students from home--I try to take care of this at school. Grading papers is up near the top also. It is important to find out what is important to administrators also. Helping them reach their goals and objectives can benefit you in the long run.
I also think this involves NOT doing some things. Not staying at school every night until 7 or8. Not trying to re-invent the wheel by designing every lesson to include all seven learning styles. Not ____.
As the end of the year approaches, one of my goals is to find 15% of my activities that are not productive, and shift my energy and efforts elsewhere. It's time to re-evaluate and do what needs doing right now!
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
New Project
I have a new project-
In addition to teaching, tutoring, and training, I am looking forward to chronicling my runs and sharing some of my observations as I run. My sights are once again on the White Rock Marathon, as I have learned that it is impossible to stay motivated and train without a concrete goal. Running to "stay in shape" can get you 1-3 miles, but unless you have a goal, it is near impossible to be up at 4 a.m. while the rest of the world is asleep in order to do what it takes to run, and improve my times.
"You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great!" This is my start--it's a marathon, not a sprint!
In addition to teaching, tutoring, and training, I am looking forward to chronicling my runs and sharing some of my observations as I run. My sights are once again on the White Rock Marathon, as I have learned that it is impossible to stay motivated and train without a concrete goal. Running to "stay in shape" can get you 1-3 miles, but unless you have a goal, it is near impossible to be up at 4 a.m. while the rest of the world is asleep in order to do what it takes to run, and improve my times.
"You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great!" This is my start--it's a marathon, not a sprint!
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