Chapter 9: Enrollment… I like that. This chapter spoke volumes in how important it is to not only talk to or teach students, but to engage them and get them personally involved in the process. I loved the beginning with the quarters and no change for a $10 dilemma. The first approach initially made the two strangers feel inadequate and stupid. After the author just asked for the two quarters the rest just flowed into place. People usually like to feel useful and helpful. Sometimes the way we approach a situation can put that on the defense. The enrollment approach gets everyone vested and makes it more enjoyable for all.
Chapter 10: Be the Board. Well, that’s a tough one. It’s really hard to be the board all the time. Sometimes life gets a bit overwhelming and you do place blame on others whether it is justified or not. I like the concept, and think it’s worth a try though. You can control the board, you can’t control others or situations. Like the blame placed on the violinist who had other obligations – everyone doesn’t always feel as passionate about a project as you do. Taking a step back and researching all of the data – Cora was a volunteer, she had other obligations, she had notified a fellow violinist that she could not attend that night – and taking a few minutes to digest it before reacting would have produced an entirely different outcome. The letter was a nice touch, but had he been the board from the beginning he would not have had to overcome that obstacle to begin with.
Chapter 11: A vision is a long line of possibility radiating outward (Zander and Zander, 2000). A vision doesn’t have to be something that will actually occur exactly as you imagine, but it can be an idea or concept that can grow and morph into something bigger and better. It’s like a stepping-stone to something great.
Chapter 12: Wow, I really liked the We/Us approach as opposed to the I/You. What a difference it made it the examples given. I know that sometimes I get frustrated with people who ask me to pile on yet another task when I am already drowning in too many. After years of experience however, I try really hard to see it through their eyes and to not react as to how “I” will be affected. We are there as a unit, and a team. If the team needs this to be completed then we will make the time and get it done. It’s not like they came to me to harass me and overwhelm me, it’s not about “me”.
Your thoughts on the We/Us approach were great! Our culture has produced in us the idea that we have to be independent people who do not need anyone else. Often I take on too much responsibility or do not feel the freedom to ask for help. However, the concept of We/Us approach gives away to working together with other people!
ReplyDeleteGinny,
ReplyDeleteIf we could solve the problem of I/You/Me talk, the world would be a better place. When our staff got the news the other day about budget cuts and they told us that they were going to cut 14 days off of the school year, so many people instantly went straight to "how does this affect me?" I know one lady is so focused on her income and what she is going to have to do to balance it out, she is acting like such a victim. But the reality is that this affects us as teachers, it affects our students and their parents. If we could all look at how this affects all of us, we can work together to solve a problem. There is the possibility of adding those days back on at the end of the year, so if we were to work together on finding the support from our government to fund those days throughout the school year, we all would be back on track and no one would have to worry about their individual income. We all are a collective group that is connected in one way or another, so why not embrace the we/us talk. Where did this sense of self-entitlement come from and when, along the way, did we loose sense of other people? As teachers we have a great advantage, we can teach our students how to embrace this thought and help them to get rid of the me talk. Great post, I am glad you added something from each chapter, it reminded me of all of the great points from those chapters!