I’m
a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.
Thomas Jefferson
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If you
are talking to someone who doesn’t usually react favorably to new ideas, consider
these approaches:
- Shape your idea so that it meets with approval by your
listener. If your listener has to get approval from someone else, it may never happen.
- Discuss the idea with your friends and others who might be
affected. If your listener says, "Others won’t like it," note that you have
obtained support of friends who might be affected also.
- Find some guidelines or policies that will support what you
want to do. Some people love to follow someone they perceive is more important than the
two of you.
- Explain how the change will help both of you get where you
want to go faster, easier and perhaps cheaper.
- Show how the change will make everyone look good and more
reputable.
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- Use language and terms that your listener understands and will
inspire him or her. If possible, relate the change to something that is one of the
listener’s goals or objectives.
- Use illustrations and examples to persuade.
- Offer three reasons why your idea should be accepted. Two may
not seem like enough and four may be too many.
Adapted from Communications Briefings, Vol. 8, No. 5
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| e-Tutor,
Inc. is providing an incentive to teachers and others involved in K-12 instruction. Those
who write lessons using the e-Tutor template at http://www.lessonpro.net
will receive a $25 stipend. Not only will you be providing content for students from
around the world, but writers will also be able to have students access their lessons. It
couldn’t be easier! Using a simple online template, a lesson can be completed in a
few hours. Learn more about this exciting opportunity at http://www.lessonpro.net. |
|
Education takes place in
the combination of the home, the community, the school, and the receptive mind. Harry Edwards
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 Sometimes
students who are not ready to show improvement and growth in traditional school assessment
measures can be "caught" showing growth in other areas… areas that are many
times taken for granted and go unnoticed and unmeasured. Simply becoming observers can
give teachers insight and information into a student’s progress. To uncover these
growth areas, teachers need to become keen observers and data collectors. The following
five target areas can quickly provide valuable information about students: |
- Attendance and tardy rates. A student needs to be in school to
learn and grow, so attendance is a good starting point.
- Class participation. Active participation in class can be a
huge signal that a student cares and is curious about learning.
- Attentiveness. This is a key area because having the student
pay attention to the teacher and his work is a foundation of learning.
- Social interactions. Negative social interactions can hinder
school success.
- Behavior. Students who are not engaged in school will expend
their energy in negative and attention-grabbing behaviors.
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| By documenting growth in these key areas and
using the data to let a student and his or her parents know that these efforts are being
noticed, you give the child a huge push toward continued growth and school success. Excerpts from Classroom Leadership, February
2000
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If all the year were
playing holidays, to sport would be as tedious as to work. William Shakespeare
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Successful
teams may require strong support from their leaders. They may even require their leaders
to act as their "caretaker" and to serve as its ambassador to management. The
leadership style of the "servant leader" is to support the best interests of
team members. By doing this you:
- Ensure your team has an equitable share of
resources;
- Advocate for your team;
- Ask what your team needs to accomplish its
goals;
- Motivate your fellow teammates to follow in
your footsteps;
- Keep the group focused on customer service
and product quality; and
- Seek out recognition and rewards for the
team’s successes.
The Breakthrough Team Player, Andrew
J. DuBrin, 1995
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Reading is the work of the
alert mind, is demanding and, under ideal conditions, produces finally a sort of ecstasy.
This gives the experience of reading a sublimity and power unequaled by any other form of
communication. E.
B. White
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Children
who are good readers do better in school than those who are poor readers. As a parent, you
can make a vital contribution to your children’s reading skills. Even if you are not
familiar with the technical side of reading instruction, much of what you do with your
children at home parallels and reinforces good reading instruction. The following pointers
can help children of all ages improve reading skills: |
- Read aloud to them, beginning when children are a year old or
even younger. Stretch older children’s understanding of words and ideas by reading
stories that are on their interest level but slightly above their reading level.
- Have them read to you. Beginning readers thrive on having
someone value their emerging skills.
- Ask Questions when you or your children have finished reading
a story, making sure the questions require something other than a "yes" or
"no" answer.
- Talk about events, especially past and future events. These
can range from last summer’s vacation trip to what they will be doing tomorrow.
- Practice phonics. Have small children label objects such as
the clock, dresser, chair, curtains and toys to help relate the sound of the word to the
written word. Teach rhymes and alphabet songs. All children like to find the letters in
their names.
- Let them practice their writing. Encourage preschoolers to
scribble and trace letters on paper. Chalkboards, a family message board, pen pals and
letters to relatives and friends involve older children in writing with a purpose.
Starting a journal or writing stories together can be fun, particularly if these
activities can be shared with younger siblings or friends.
- Make wise use of television. While too much random viewing
takes away from reading time (and other useful activities), educational programs can
encourage learning.
- Visit the Library. Steer younger children to the shelves for
beginning readers, let them browse through the books, and let them pick their own books to
check out. Get older children their own cards and allow them to go to the library by
themselves.
- Take them other places as well. Children who go on trips, walk
in parks, and visit museums and zoos get good background knowledge for school reading.
- Use records and tapes. You can borrow records and tapes from
the library that have follow-along books for young children.
- Give books or magazine subscriptions as gifts. Putting books
and other reading materials in this special class of items will reinforce the value you
place on reading.
- Promote a positive image of school. Help them look forward to
school as a happy place by talking about it in a pleasant, positive way.
- Set regular reading times aside at home.
- Let your kids choose their own reading materials. Even if you
disapprove of an occasional choice, allowing your children this freedom encourages reading
as a leisure activity.
- Set an example. Children who read well come from homes in
which there are plenty of books, magazines, and newspapers and in which everyone reads.
Illinois Association of School Boards
|
 Learning is not
achieved by chance; it must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence. Abigail Adams
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| Start
Summer With Great Sites! |
Copyright © 2000
e-Tutor, Inc. All Rights Reserved. |
|
Another
month has passed! Where are they going so quickly! We remain extremely busy and e-Tutor is
now in over 25 schools and there are over 600 individual subscribers. School subscribers
now have a new daily planner that they can use like their lesson plan books… and it
is all electronic. Along with the student portfolio, assignment wizards and lesson writing
tools, the capabilities for educators have increased dramatically. We continue to strive
to provide educators with content and tools that will make the Internet a seamless
component of the teaching/learning process.
Our goal is to have the true experts
of curriculum, classroom teachers, write about the things that they know and do best in
the classroom. We plan to have 5000 lessons completed by the end of the year. Summer is an
ideal time for writing.
Although summer has not
officially started, it already seems like the dog days of summer. We have been hit
with a series of very hot days. The longer days provide some reprieve as I use the time
for walking and working in the garden. The weather in our part of the world remains
unusual, or so it seems. One week it is extremely hot and the next is very cold. I hope
you have time, no matter what the weather, to enjoy a change of pace during the summer
months. 
subscribers, both schools and individuals for your support and encouragement. It is such a
joy to hear from you and to learn the many exciting things you are doing in educating
students. I look forward to talking with more of you in the future and to a long and
gratifying relationship.
