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Chapters 5, 6, & 7 offer a wide variety of strategies for eliminating distractions, focusing our attention, and making the most of positive, collaborative relationships. Lisa guides us through ways to apply these strategies to our personal and professional lives. What are some strategies that you are trying out or thinking about implementing with your family, colleagues, or students? For example, are you trying to cut down on multitasking or perfectionism? Are you finding ways to form more positive habits? Have you considered the Appreciative Interview in Chapter 7? Please share any ideas or adaptations that you are gaining from this book.
4 Comments
Janice Ewing
2/18/2019 08:06:22 pm
As I was reading these chapters, and throughout the whole book, one idea that keeps coming up for me is that most of the teachers that I've worked with agree that their students need social/emotional learning learning. Some students have experienced trauma in their lives, others have severe anxiety for various reasons, some have shifting family situations, etc. Often, teachers feel that they are dealing with these issues the best they can, but also feel that they need more support and guidance. It seems to me that a large gap in this issue is that teachers are not getting the fuel that they need to support their social/emotional health. With the push to raise test scores and meet the demands of overloaded curricula, teachers are under more and more pressure to perform in ways that don't meet their students' needs or give them a sense of agency about their work. One specific strategy that stood out to me was the Appreciative Interview. I think that focusing on the strengths that each individual brings to the team and building on the power of the mentoring relationship are authentic ways to support new teachers and to sustain the energy of teachers at all stages of their careers. Sometimes, just a word of encouragement at the right time can make all the difference...
Rita Sorrentino
2/21/2019 11:09:43 am
In Chapter 5 Lisa reminds of the importance to slow down, recognize fatigue, and resist the urge to multitask, especially with digital distractions. These are three strategies that can certainly benefit me. Even in retirement, I tend to overwork on a project, become mentally and physically fatigued, and as a result find myself lacking the joy that first prompted the activity. Likewise, students need a pause in routines, an opportunity to wait and ponder, stretch their limbs, and to air their brains. I am reminded of the saying. “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” The Jack’s and Jane’s in our classes have little time to pursue an outside thought, to slow down for clarification or reinforcement of ideas, or to find joy in learning rather than merely covering mandatory content for testing. For myself, I am going to try to allow myself a few more minutes to think or to wonder by first turning off the distraction of notifications. Emails, social media, and other digital doings do not require an ongoing “breaking news” status. I don’t need to learn about everything at lightening speed. The “Pomodoro Technique” on page 112 might help me to carve out smaller chunks of work expectations with more focused attention. Worth a try.
Rita Sorrentino
2/21/2019 11:17:21 am
Lisa mentioned the book, "The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes" on page 113 to illustrate how delegation and interdependence help us avoid overload. Are there any other books that you have read or used in your classes that contribute toward understanding ways of practicing presence? Leave a Reply. |
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