Hi, everybody!!

I have had really bad luck with the Wi-Fi service here; it’s off and on. Unfortunately, it’s been off when I want to work on the blog.

This will be a long entry, so stick with us……..Don’t forget to comment at the end!!

The book I read before the trip was In Pursuit of Happiness by E. Perry Good. Based on title, one might wonder how it relates to educating students. But the concept of this entire theory is about controlling ourselves, so making ourselves happy will change who we are with kids. We all have four basic needs:

• Love – belonging, friendship, caring, and involvement.
• Power – importance, recognition, skill, and competence.
• Fun – pleasure, enjoyment, learning, and laughter.
• Freedom – choice, independence, liberty, and autonomy.
  

“If you meet these needs you are happy. If you don’t, you are unhappy. This sounds simple. But it’s not THAT simple.”

“…….all our actions are directed towards meeting one or more of these needs and……how to choose the most effective behavior to meet each. The achievement of happiness and personal fulfillment is possible when we maintain the balance of love, power, fun, and freedom in our lives.”

Happiness is a CHOICE; we cannot depend on others to make us happy. We can only control OURSELVES.

Moving on……………..Some of my notes from yesterday (MY comments are in parentheses):

• A Connected School is achieving, caring, and safe.
  
• Academic Achievement Traced:
  *6% to teaching techniques and lesson presentations (WOW! Much lower than what we give ourselves credit for!)
  *16% to factors over which the school has no control (not nearly as much as we complain about!)
  *78% to the quality of human interaction in the school (this is a real eye-opener for me! Maybe I’m focusing too much on the wrong things……)


• Precursors to Violence:
  *Does not feel part of the group
  *Does not have behaviors to deal with frustration
  *Shame of being ashamed (it’s OK to make a mistake!!)


• Keys to violence prevention – providing students a way to:
  *Be connected to the group
  *Learn to understand what to do when they are frustrated
  *Learn to self-evaluate. Learn to say, “It’s OK to make a mistake.”


• “There is no secret to being a good connected teacher. If you know how your students feelthere won’t be school shootings and there won’t be boys and girls of desperation. It isn’t rocket science. It’s connection, connection, connection.” – Dr. Bill Pollack, Director of FBI Profiling Unit for School Shootings


• Kids like to do the right thing, but teachers often get in the way! For example, kids helping each other in class but then the teachers gets on them for talking. (I know I’ve done this...)


• Top three traits businesses are looking for: Teamwork, Problem solving, and Interpersonal skills. Writing, Computation, and Reading are #10, 12, and 13.


• We want kids who are responsible, independent, and self-disciplined.


• If we can only control ourselves and NOT others (kids/teachers), then we have to TEACH others how to control themselves.


• Anytime you want something from your students or staff, always ASK, don’t TELL. You are much likely to get what you want. We have to lead kids/teachers, to their own answers.


• Rewards and punishment – which teachers has always done – we have to SHOW kids/teachers how to be responsible for themselves.


• If I don’t like what my students/staff/spouse/children are doing, then I have to change what I am doing. (This is really hard for me…I want to change others; I certainly cannot be the problem!! But I can only control MYSELF and no one else. I cannot continue to do the same things and expect different results.)


• The relationships you develop have a great deal of influence on the perception you have of people. This takes a lot of work and effort. (When we have relationships with students and staff, it’s a lot harder to be upset with a person when you KNOW them. This is one reason why helping to connect the staff through social events, etc… It means a lot to ME to develop those relationships because somewhere down the road it helps me to understand/work with another staff member.)


• People WANT to be connected!!


• Everyone has different points of references. When we ask a student to show respect, what does that look like to each student? Is their picture of respect the same as my picture? When an administrator asks a teacher to be professional, are their pictures of professionalism the same?


• In a connected school, we keep the rules and consequences, and we add a system of beliefs and values.

On a lighter note, don’t hate us because we’re in Hilton Head…….the weather is FREEZING, and we have to walk to everything outside. We LOOKED at the beach but didn’t go down there. The hotel is beautiful (pictures below), and I would highly recommend it – in WARM weather!!! A funny story…….when we were leaving the airport, we were walking through the rental cars. Shane saw a PT Cruiser and said, “Our car is a PT Cruiser. No, I’m just kidding. I’m hoping for a Charger.” We walked to our slot, and look at the car we got! Shane is so embarrassed to drive it!! I tried to get him to pose with it, but he wouldn’t! LOL!

Go Pacers!!!