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Inside Out |
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September 10, 2008-- Volume 4, Issue 7 |
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A Message from Kim |
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Hi Everyone, This is the time that marks the beginning of the school year for many in the US. Many teachers are feeling rejuvenated after having their summer vacations and are excited about starting the new year. I am so excited about where I am right now. I am sitting in a hotel in Kalamazoo, MI where I am delivering a three-day customized training for a group of dedicated teachers just starting up a brand new alternative education program. They want to base their program on the work of Dr. William Glasser and his very effective Choice Theory and Quality Schools program. It is so exciting to me to be able to infuse a brand new program with these powerful ideas, especially in an alternative education program where most, if not all, of the students have decided to take school, teachers and education out of their Quality Worlds. They no longer see these things as having anything of value to offer them. Enter Choice Theory. Choice Theory's application to schools starts first with an emphasis on building quality relationships between teachers and students, as will as creating cooperative relationships among the students. Then teachers help students explain the usefulness of what they are being asked to learn and they are held to a standard of developing competence at a minimum. No grades are given until students achieve competence in a particular subject area of study. In this way, students learn that people care about them, they are important and they can produce competent work. In a Glasser Quality School, students understand they do not move up in level based on time (e.g. the end of the school year), but rather they are moved up a level when they can demonstrate competence. Of course, it is awesome and amazing when a school administrator has the foresight to create a Quality School program in a new program, a separate school building or an entire district. I realize, not every teacher is fortunate enough to be operating under these circumstances. However, you can still become a Quality School Teacher even though you are operating without the express support of your principal or superintendent. YOU can become a Quality School Teacher by learning how to implement Glasser's ideas in your particular area of influence, your classroom. If you are interested in learning how to do this, I have a week of Choice Theory training scheduled in the Chicago area for the week of October 6-10, 2008. Please check out www.choicetheorycentral.com for more information. I'd love to see you there. I guarantee it will be a safe, fun, empowering, and connecting learning experience. Make today the day you want it to be! |
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In This Issue |
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Feature Article Upcoming Events Book Review |
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Want A Better School Year?
It’s About Relationships Forget curriculum. Forget better classroom management programs. Start looking at how you teach and the relationships you have with your students. As an Empowered Teacher, you need to balance two things masterfully. You must balance important, meaningful relationships with your students with high expectations for them to do competent work. It is not only possible to have both; it is imperative. As Dr. William Glasser says, “What people fight or resist is control; not education; not relationships." As an Empowered Teacher, you know the teachers you worked your hardest for were the ones you liked and who held you accountable for stretching and growing. I know today’s students may make it seem difficult, if not impossible, to teach your curriculum. This is a very real challenge if you don’t take the time to get to really know your students, collectively and individually. There is an old expression that says, “People don’t care what they know until they know that you care.” Never is this more true than today in teaching students in our public school systems. Many of you were taught in your undergraduate programs to make sure you don’t smile at your students until Christmas. This is very poor advice. While it is true, you don’t just want to exclusively get your kids to like you, developing relationships should initially take priority over everything but safety. Your school year should begin with you spending time introducing yourself in more than a superficial way. Tell them who you are, what you stand for, what you will and won’t do for them, what you will and won’t ask them to do. Spend some time crafting your answers to these questions, keeping in mind what is most important to your students. Then, don’t even look at your curriculum for the first two weeks. You can’t have a free-for-all with no rules and total anarchy. After introductions, begin with a class meeting to discuss what rules you and your students need to co-exist with each other throughout the school year. Begin with your non-negotiable priorities. I recommend three. First, you must ensure your room is a safe place to be. Whatever happens, you cannot allow anyone to be hurt on your watch. Secondly, learning is a priority. While you can’t insist everyone will learn in your room, since you can’t make anyone learn who refuses to. What you can do is ask that if a student is temporarily disengaged from the learning process, that he or she does not get in the way of others learning. In this way, if a student needs a little time out, there is no penalty as long as that student is not disruptive. Finally, tell your students that you stand for respect. While everyone may have a different definition of respect, no one in your class will say he or she doesn’t want his person and things to be respected. Once you have those non-negotiables firmly in place, you can openly discuss with your students what specific classroom rules they want to have in place to help honor those non-negotiables. After getting the rules established, you can go about the business of developing teamwork, cooperation and respect between you and your students and among themselves. There are many kinesthetic activities that can be used to get to know your students and to help them to know each other. I recommend the book, Classroom of Choice, by Jonathan Erwin to help you with specific exercises to build relationships in your classroom. Copyright © September 2008 Kim Olver. All rights reserved
NOTICE: This article is free and can be copied and reproduced *Click Here to read some of Kim's other articles* |
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Teleconferences All teleconferences are free, one (1) hour in length and all you need is a telephone. When you register we will send you a phone number that you will call five minutes prior to the start of your teleconference. You will have the opportunity to ask questions, but if you prefer to just listen that’s all right too. You do not need a computer or Internet, only a telephone. Don’t delay. There are a limited number of slots available. The following Teleconferences are FREE
Goal Setting & Attainment Are you serious about attaining your goals next year? Do you want to do more than make a New Year's Resolution that you forget by the time the Super Bowl is on television? Join me on the free teleconference to learn my time-tested 7-Step process for Goal Attainment. We will do more than set goals--we will discuss a system to implement that will exponentially increase your opportunity for success. Also, my Goal Attainment System is multi-faceted. You won't just be focusing your attention on your career goals unless you want to. My system has you take a look at all areas of your life so you can accomplish an optimal work/life balance for you. There is nothing to lose but an hour of your time and so much to gain. Let's make this your best year yet! Workshops Reality Therapy & Choice Theory The Basic Intensive Week in Choice Theory and Reality Therapy is a 4 day or 4½-day workshop where you will be exposed to some highly innovative ideas of Dr. William Glasser. You will learn the new psychology of personal freedom called Choice Theory. There is application in this workshop for teachers, school administrators, counselors, therapists, social workers, business managers, clergy, nurses, parents, and anyone interested in improving the quality of their life. You will learn how to empower yourself by distinguishing between those things you can control and those you can’t and focus your energy on those you can. There is practical advice about how to improve the important relationships in your life and how to become the person you want to be. This workshop helps you become more effective in counseling and teaching others, particularly those who may not even know they need your help—non-voluntary clients and less than enthusiastic students. The group size is kept small enough that you will receive individual attention and have plenty of time to have your questions answered. Introduction to Choice Theory Choice Theory® takes the mystery out of behavior—yours and theirs. It provides and explanation for why we do the things we do. Choice Theory ® explains how a person’s perceptions shape their reality and teaches the four components of behavior. Armed with this new knowledge, problem conceptualization becomes much easier and the path to taking effective action is clearer. One of the things I like best about Choice Theory® is its wide-spread application—you can use it in your personal, as well as your professional life. It provides transferable skills for everyday life. Choice Theory® helped me to become a better counselor, mother, life partner, friend and a better all around person. When you truly embrace its teachings, Choice Theory® becomes a way of life instead of a hypothetical theory of human behavior. December 1 , 2008 Every year millions of people make their “New Year’s Resolutions” and every year many of those same people make the same resolution again. Are you one of those people? Do you know why you are not achieving your goals year after year? I know you start out the year strong and determined that this will be the year you will lose weight, go back to school, buy a home, look for a new job, complete that project etc… and you suddenly find another year has gone by and your list is not only the same, but it has gotten longer! You have new goals to achieve. That is why it is so important to work on your goals now! You are constantly learning and growing and there will always be a new goal you want to achieve. You can attain your goals year after year with a effective, time-tested system—a plan with built in support and accountability. Attaining your goals requires hard work and determination. You need to plan and make time to work on your goals. They will not just happen. My Goal Attainment Workshop will give you the strategies you need to make a plan, manage your time while still maintaining a positive attitude and staying motivated until you complete your goals. December 2 , 2008 During this workshop, we will talk about concrete steps you can take to achieve the results you want. Finally, real answers to creating, managing and expanding the diverse workforce you need to succeed in today’s diverse marketplace—whether you are competing globally, nationally, regionally or in your backyard. Demographics are quickly changing. If you want to keep pace with the changing times, now is the time to take action! December 3 , 2008 As a manager, you have the responsibility to create a need satisfying workplace for yourself and your workers. Managers need to hold the bar high—set the standards and lead by example. During this workshop, you will learn how to get the best from your workers, empower your workers, earn their respect and loyalty and open the lines of communication. Learning how to share the power between management and workers will empower both groups and ultimately lead to less employee turnover, improved employee satisfaction and an increase in productivity.
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“There are only two places in the world where time takes precedence over the --Dr. William Glasser This quote is referring to Glasser's idea that students should not be socially promoted, nor should they be given credit for less than competent work, especially just because it is the end of the school year. Glasser advocates teaching students for competency, not just pushing them through because it's summertime. |
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Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach their Kids About Money -- This book talks about the difference between one father who bought into the typical dream--work hard, save your money, invest in your house, save for retirement in your 401K and you will have a successful life--and another father who understands that dream is not really a dream at all. It is about living a life to feed someone else's dream. Click here to purchase this book | ||||||||||
Using Choice Theory in your classroom does not mean you will never have another discipline incident again. One thing I can tell you from my involvement in Quality Schools is that your overall discipline problems will virtually disappear. That doesn't mean you will never have another incident again. Providing responsible opportunities for your students to get their needs met in your classroom will eliminate the need for misbehavior. However, occasionally, it may be necessary to remove a child from your room but this should always be used as a last resort. Make sure your student has responsible ways to get his or her love & belonging, survival, power, freedom and fun needs met in your classroom. Then, know your students well enough that you can see or sense a potential problem. There is usually some type of warning sign, e.g. pacing, quiet, staring, mumbling, withdrawal. Attention at this pre-incident phase is what prevention is all about. When a child has escalated to the point of disruption, attempt to deescalate and then offer options for different behavior choices. If the child still will not cooperate, you may have to ask him or her to go to the "connecting place." This is a place where students can go and have someone to help them process what is happening. They will process what they want, what behaviors they are engaging in and then they will self-evaluate about the effectiveness of those behaviors. Once they make a corrective action plan, they will be reintroduced in the classroom and their teacher will be fully informed of their plan for the future. |
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Question: Don't you believe in time outs? One is when I am not feeling in effective control of my behavior. If I find I am about to engage in behavior that may hurt the relationship or be in the direction of external control, I will model taking a time out myself. I will tell the student, I need a minute to get myself together and will momentarily excuse myself from the conversation. Then, once I've collected myself, I will reengage with the student. Another time I use timeout is when a student is having difficulty engaging in the learning and is choosing behavior that is disruptive to the rest of the class. I may ask the student if he or she would like to take a minute of quiet time to regain effective control. I don't ever mandate it. It is merely used as a suggestion or reminder of another option available to the student other than acting out. |
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