This has been a harsh winter in Central Indiana. We have had several severe cold days and numerous days of snow and/or freezing rain. Children have been inside more than most winters and, according to most adults you talk with, need to get outside and relieve some of their energy!
What better time to be a part of your child's life than now. Think about ALL of the things you have the opportunity to do with your child as the season changes from winter to spring and the weather begins to improve.
I encourage you to take the time to be involved in your child's play-time this spring. Think about all of the games you can play with your children that fulfill both their desire to have fun and more importantly, the opportunity to spend quality time with you!
Children are very creative and capable of deciding what activities they want to do. Instead of you, as the adult, deciding what you and your children will play, allow them to choose what they want to do with you. By empowering children to choose, you are enhancing an important skill needed to be responsible people. Unfortunately, adults normally make all of the decisions and develop all of the rules to the game. This spring gives us a new beginning and an opportunity to allow our children to be creative and make choices.
The first day of spring is today, March 20th. As I enter this season, I must remember the opportunity it affords me to spend quality time with my children outdoors enjoying "Mother Nature." Also, I need to take the time this spring to reflect on the small stuff that I could do for my children to empower them in their "family-style" choice making. What examples do you have in regards to empowering your children? What fun activities have your children convinced you to participate in with them?
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Friday, March 12, 2010
What's in the Backpack?
Currently, I am teaching a "Reading Across the Content Area" graduate class on Wednesday evenings. I am very fortunate having a wonderful group of teachers from across the Wabash Valley in Indiana. Last week, we were discussing the concept of schema and and how important it is to Reading, and in my opinion, in ALL learning situations. Schema is what we "bring to the table"--our prior knowledge and experiences. One of the participants from West Vigo Elementary School in Terre Haute, Indiana, shared that at her school, the staff members refer to schema as "what the students bring in their backpacks." I think that is such a neat and novel way to refer to what students bring with them to the classroom.
Last Sunday, my oldest son, Jared, wrote an article on his blog that he titled, The Sleepover. In his article, Jared shared about the weekend that my wife, children, and I visited him at his home. He points out that as the evening drew to a close and he was putting Jonah, my youngest son, to bed that the conversation that they had made him do much thinking. Jared stated, "...I thought about the past five years or so of my life and more importantly about what type of role model I've been for my siblings." It appears that he is quite aware of the importance we each play in the development of our children. Jared concluded his blog article with his thought for the week, "Everything you do in life, do it to make your future children proud."
The last few days, I have given much thought about my night class discussion concerning the "backpack" and Jared's comments about being a role model. I came to the conclusion that we should be sure our behavior is responsible--our children are watching. I have always stressed that we should model the behavior we want; not the behavior that we do not want. Our actions speak louder than our words. We need to maintain a positive attitude and demonstrate responsible behavior in everything we do.
In my last blog entitled Undercover Boss, I discussed the trust needed to develop positive relationships. Trust is a vitally important life skill. It is a virtue. We need to be able to trust, follow and learn from other people in order to succeed. We must model both trust and trustworthiness. One should be just as good as his/her word. Children respect people whom they can trust.
People with integrity are those that do what is right when other people are present. We often here that if one has integrity that he or she will do what is right when others are not around. I agree, but I also believe that peer pressure makes it much more difficult to do the right thing. It can be very difficult to do what you know is the correct thing in spite of the influence of your friends. Having good role models to emulate helps a person to distinguish between good and bad behavior while they are under the influence of their friends.
A picture is worth a thousand words. And so it is with our actions. The way we conduct ourselves leaves a lasting impression. Children will remember the way we acted long after they have forgotten what we said. We are ALL role models. We do not get to choose whether we are a role model or not.
This week has given me the opportunity to ask myself, "Have I been the role model for my children that will provide them the experiences to have a "backpack" filled with POSITIVE and APPROPRIATE life lessons? Am I filling my children's "backpacks" with the love they need to be successful in school and in life? What small stuff am I doing that makes a BIG difference in the lives of my children? How about you? Please share some of your experiences demonstrating how you have been a positive role model for your children and have provided the necessary schema affording them the opportunity to be successful. What have you been "packing" in their "backpacks?"
Last Sunday, my oldest son, Jared, wrote an article on his blog that he titled, The Sleepover. In his article, Jared shared about the weekend that my wife, children, and I visited him at his home. He points out that as the evening drew to a close and he was putting Jonah, my youngest son, to bed that the conversation that they had made him do much thinking. Jared stated, "...I thought about the past five years or so of my life and more importantly about what type of role model I've been for my siblings." It appears that he is quite aware of the importance we each play in the development of our children. Jared concluded his blog article with his thought for the week, "Everything you do in life, do it to make your future children proud."
The last few days, I have given much thought about my night class discussion concerning the "backpack" and Jared's comments about being a role model. I came to the conclusion that we should be sure our behavior is responsible--our children are watching. I have always stressed that we should model the behavior we want; not the behavior that we do not want. Our actions speak louder than our words. We need to maintain a positive attitude and demonstrate responsible behavior in everything we do.
In my last blog entitled Undercover Boss, I discussed the trust needed to develop positive relationships. Trust is a vitally important life skill. It is a virtue. We need to be able to trust, follow and learn from other people in order to succeed. We must model both trust and trustworthiness. One should be just as good as his/her word. Children respect people whom they can trust.
People with integrity are those that do what is right when other people are present. We often here that if one has integrity that he or she will do what is right when others are not around. I agree, but I also believe that peer pressure makes it much more difficult to do the right thing. It can be very difficult to do what you know is the correct thing in spite of the influence of your friends. Having good role models to emulate helps a person to distinguish between good and bad behavior while they are under the influence of their friends.
A picture is worth a thousand words. And so it is with our actions. The way we conduct ourselves leaves a lasting impression. Children will remember the way we acted long after they have forgotten what we said. We are ALL role models. We do not get to choose whether we are a role model or not.
This week has given me the opportunity to ask myself, "Have I been the role model for my children that will provide them the experiences to have a "backpack" filled with POSITIVE and APPROPRIATE life lessons? Am I filling my children's "backpacks" with the love they need to be successful in school and in life? What small stuff am I doing that makes a BIG difference in the lives of my children? How about you? Please share some of your experiences demonstrating how you have been a positive role model for your children and have provided the necessary schema affording them the opportunity to be successful. What have you been "packing" in their "backpacks?"
Monday, March 1, 2010
Undercover Boss
I normally do not watch much television. That being stated, there is a new television series that has caught my eye. It is a very interesting show that has intrigued me since the first episode. Each week, a CEO of a major company, goes undercover and "works" in various company locations performing various jobs without the employees knowing that he/she is the company boss. The individual tackles the everyday, thankless jobs that keep the company going. By doing this, the CEO is able to determine, first hand, the things that are going well, the problem areas that need attention, and at the same time, has the opportunity to become acquainted with the working staff.
In each episode, as the "boss" has gone undercover, he has been able to gain valuable information that he has taken back to the leadership team for review. From the analysis of this information, company policies have been modified, eliminated, and perfected to create a better working environment for the employees.
What has really stood out to me is the trust that has developed between the employees and the leader. When it is revealed to the employees that this person posing as a "working colleague" is really the "boss," they are amazed that he has taken the time to learn more about the grass roots of the company. At the conclusion of each episode, the "boss" summons some of the employees that he worked with to the corporate headquarters to inform them of his true identity. During this meeting, he tells them how much he appreciates what they do and how their efforts make a difference for the company. Each episode has afforded the CEO the opportunity to give something back to some of the employees based on their needs and dreams.
These "gifts" have included the opportunity to further a person's education, money to assit an employee's family situation, a trust fund to assist with an ill employee's child, an opportunity to be on a leadership task force, the opportunity to accept advancements within the company that are conducive to the employee's talents, etc. Each employee, when informed by the "boss" about the gift, becomes quite emotional and appears to feel very humbled and gracious toward the CEO. A trusting relationship has developed.
In my book, Putting the 'I' back in Team, I stress that an individual's vision for the future can be carried out if he or she has a strong sense of self-efficacy (one's "brightness" level--how good one feels about himself). Fostering self-efficacy by helping people have confidence in themselves is one of a leader's most important roles. To foster this positive feeling, leaders must first create an environment where individuals can place their trust in them. Leaders should live his or her life by doing things for others that develop a sense of friendship and confident hope.
This new show, Undercover Boss, has given several examples of giving people new hope and faith in their company leadership, but more importantly, more hope and faith in themselves. I ask myself, what am I doing to develop this confident hope in others? What small stuff am I doing that makes a BIG difference in the lives of others? How about you? Have you ever gone undercover to make a difference? Has anyone done this for you? Have you recently seized an opportunity to develop confidence in someone else? I would love to hear your results!
In each episode, as the "boss" has gone undercover, he has been able to gain valuable information that he has taken back to the leadership team for review. From the analysis of this information, company policies have been modified, eliminated, and perfected to create a better working environment for the employees.
What has really stood out to me is the trust that has developed between the employees and the leader. When it is revealed to the employees that this person posing as a "working colleague" is really the "boss," they are amazed that he has taken the time to learn more about the grass roots of the company. At the conclusion of each episode, the "boss" summons some of the employees that he worked with to the corporate headquarters to inform them of his true identity. During this meeting, he tells them how much he appreciates what they do and how their efforts make a difference for the company. Each episode has afforded the CEO the opportunity to give something back to some of the employees based on their needs and dreams.
These "gifts" have included the opportunity to further a person's education, money to assit an employee's family situation, a trust fund to assist with an ill employee's child, an opportunity to be on a leadership task force, the opportunity to accept advancements within the company that are conducive to the employee's talents, etc. Each employee, when informed by the "boss" about the gift, becomes quite emotional and appears to feel very humbled and gracious toward the CEO. A trusting relationship has developed.
In my book, Putting the 'I' back in Team, I stress that an individual's vision for the future can be carried out if he or she has a strong sense of self-efficacy (one's "brightness" level--how good one feels about himself). Fostering self-efficacy by helping people have confidence in themselves is one of a leader's most important roles. To foster this positive feeling, leaders must first create an environment where individuals can place their trust in them. Leaders should live his or her life by doing things for others that develop a sense of friendship and confident hope.
This new show, Undercover Boss, has given several examples of giving people new hope and faith in their company leadership, but more importantly, more hope and faith in themselves. I ask myself, what am I doing to develop this confident hope in others? What small stuff am I doing that makes a BIG difference in the lives of others? How about you? Have you ever gone undercover to make a difference? Has anyone done this for you? Have you recently seized an opportunity to develop confidence in someone else? I would love to hear your results!
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