Have any of you ever watched the American Ninja Warrior? This week as I watched those who were attempting to navigate the difficult and demanding course I actually starting thinking about our book we are reading.  I noticed that all of the competitors had something in common even those who failed to complete the course. Which to be honest is most of them.  After they climbed out of the water (from the fall) or while they were being interviewed they made some of the following comments. 

"I guess I need to train harder", "That was an extremely hard obstacle, but I enjoyed the challenge", "I guess I need to work on my grip strength", "My balance just wasn't what it needed to be so I will work harder in the gym", "The course gets harder every year so I need to train harder."

Those are just a few examples but almost all of the competitors said something similar.  Can you tell what is the same?

They all took responsibility and put the burden on themselves.  Not one said, that obstacle wasn't fair, or if my finger wasn't injured I could have make it across ect...  I never hear any excuses and I never hear any blame not even those competitors who were competing with a disability.  

For some reason as I watched all I could think about was how many times I make excuses or look to place blame in situations that I feel I have not be successful in or have failed.  Many of those who compete have trained for years and then maybe their foot slips on the first obstacle and they say things like, "I guess I need to train harder."  

I want to be that type of person who enjoys the challenge, who takes responsibility for failure and then vows to TRAIN HARDER every year!

Chapters13 and 14 have some of my favorite quotes.
"Great teachers intentionally arrange, rearrange, alter, and adjust the structures that frame their teaching."
"Great teachers have a plan and purpose for everything they do."
"Great teachers base every decision on the best people."

My favorite quote from Chapter 11 is "Great teachers work hard to keep their relationships in good repair to avoid personal hurt and to repair any possible damage." TW continues to stress that the teacher is the deciding element and that great teachers try to treat people respectfully every day!  He goes on to say that even if they don't need to repair they always do.
Chapter 12 looked at the Great Teachers ability to ignore.  (Meaning they pick their battles and they know when to take a stand and when to let things go.)  TW shared that, "You can look for trouble or you can look away" and great teachers know when to do which.

As always there is so much wisdom in each chapter it is hard to isolate only a few to focus on in my posts.  (I will give it a try)

Chapter 9: Ten Days Out of Ten!  This sounds simple but in reality can be very difficult to live out day to day. Especially on those days when it seems everything is going against you and you have your own personal rain cloud following you around. When that happens I think I will take TW words as a challenge to exchange that cloud with sunshine since, as we have already learned we are the ONE variable that we can control!

Chapter 10: This chapter was one that caused me to examine and reflect on the power of our influence as educators.  When I (the variable) don't filter my response the repercussions can have a ripple effect that can go on for days or even years.  It made me think about that old saying, "Think before you speak."

 "Great teachers consistently filter out the negatives that don't matter and share a positive attitude." 

What would our school look like if we ALL did this Ten days Out of Ten?

Hello Summer Bloggers, sorry I am late starting our chapter 7 & 8 POST.  I am in Missouri on vacation but I did not forget everyone.  Right from the start the titles of chapters 7 & 8 really catch our attention.  Who is the Variable and Focus on Students First.

As always TW is asking those tough questions that require me to reflect and examine myself, "When we center on our own behavior, we feel empowered to make a difference." And "Accepting responsibility is an essential difference between more effective and less effective employers, teachers, principals-even parents."

I must admit that there are those times when I am in the midst of dealing with difficult parents, students, and even current legislation and mandates that I can lose my focus.  I can be drawn into the external forces that cause the stress and the anxiety when I need to remain focused on the ONE variable I can control and that is myself and how I respond to those situations. Next year when I find myself losing that focus amidst a storm I am going to remind myself to ask, "Who is the Variable?" (And then do something about it by changing myself, my approach, my strategy ect.)

Chapter 8 chargers teachers with the task of truly putting students first, being positive, encouraging, supporting, and remembering why we chose education in the first place.

I LOVE THIS BOOK! (Even reading it for a third time) :o)

Week 3
TW, " We all know we can't change what has already happened. What's the point of directing our energy there? Let's work instead to prevent the misbehavior from happening again."  There is so much wisdom in those three sentences.   In my experience a consequence given to a student due to poor behavior has to be paired with building trust, looking past the behavior and seeking the motive/reason behind the students actions.  Doing this takes time and requires me to treat the student with respect regardless of the behavior that landed them in trouble in the first place.  I would like to say that I have always followed this truth but there have been times when I focused more on the "WHAT" they did not the "WHY".  Building relationships /trust with your students and yes that means administration with students as well is one of the most important things we can do to focus more on prevention.

Week 2 (Started a little early)

Chapter 3 is FULL of so many things to think about and consider.  I will just share my favorite Quote:

"Great teachers expect good behavior, and generally that's what they get."

**I may have to try the "I do not want to hear a single peep" in the next faculty meeting just to see who will "PEEP" first! :o)