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How Full Is Your Bucket

4/5/6

Chapter 4 tells the story of how the co-author was nurtured with positive support at home.  He had/has medical problems that would have been much worse if his attitude was negative.

Chapter 5 addresses recognition being authentic when it is individuaized, specific, and deserved.  A cookie cutter, one-size-fits-all approach to recognizing someone carries far less appreciation and effectiveness than authentic recognition.

Chapter 6 presents 5 strategies for increasing positive emotions and offers web site help to determine one's attitude. 

I took the online test and scored poorly.  Or rather said in positive terms--I have a lot of area to investigate so that I can be more positive.

I did not come away from reading this book with any new ideas to use in the classroom.  I know that positive reinforcement is very important in the school setting.  As with most self-help books, the author presents the need but offers little practical measures to change one's attitudes.

How Full Is Your Bucket?

3/22

This week's reading included chapters 2 and 3.  Most of the information dealt with the differences between negativity and positivity.  Ways in which positive people live longer and are more healthy.

Praise and recognition fill buckets and leads to productivity regardless of the work site.

Negativity costs in loss of productivity--$250-300 billion annually.  Sinks organizations.

Most of us don't praise enough.  We focus on the negative--"Why did you get the "F"?  We should emphasize tell me how did you get the "A."  The author presented a ration of 5 to 1 in marriage relations and 3 to 1 in the work place (positive to negative).

Clearly, positive strokes are needed in the school setting.  I assume the rest of the book outlines ways to do this.  Thus far, the book is a rehash of educational psychology without practical "how to" methods.  I'll wait and see what the rest of the book reveals.

How Full Is Your Bucket

3/15/06

The first week's reading included an introduction by Dr. Donald Clifton's grandson and co-author Tom Rath.  He recounts his grandfather's final days of life while transcribing information to include in the book.  Dr. Clifton's life work revolved around a field of psychology termed "positive psychology."  He studied the negative effects of Korean War POWs that simply gave up when faced with endless months of being ignored by their captors.  The POWs only received negative reports, letters, and were denied ALL positive emotional support.  He termed this "mirasmus."  As a result the North Korean's "Ultimate Weapon" was the denial of emotional support that comes from interpersonal relationships.  Dr. Clifton studied this effect and set out to study the opposite of negativity--his premise was to see if positivity has an even stronger impact than negativity.

With this as background, I expect to read on to understand ways to be more positive than negative.  I wager that by filling others' invisible buckets to the brim by using positive psychology will increase self-worth of the affected students in the class room.

Craft Lessons

2/22/06

This week's readings addressed 13 more writing lessons.  As I found when reading about the first second set and again in this set of readings, the author has compiled many examples and samples for us to try in the classroom.  I especially appreciated the contributing writers comments about "there is no right way" to teach writing.  Good writers learn by first becoming good readers.  It is in reading where one establishes a foundation to experiment with various writing methods.  This weeks readings addresses ways to emphasize setting, flashback, irony, symbolism, and circular ending so as to create interest in the story being written.  I have found myself pausing when the class has been reading The Golden Goblet to bring out points the author is making in her choice of words, change of scenes, internal monologue, etc.  I direct students to some of the colorful words and commented on ways to also use colorful wirds in personal writing.

Although not part of the assigned reading, the book's FAQ section contains interesting and helpful ways to implement some of the lessons.

I have enjoyed reading this book.  I plan to implement some of the lessons in future writing assigments this year.

Craft Lessons

2/14, pages 79-91

Interesting writing activities that have the purpose of engaging the writer deep into the writing process.  I see that "ownership" is key to being a good writer.  To this end each lesson addresses a specific writing need.  Each lesson includes literature and/or practical examples in the "how to" write process.  I gleaned ideas in ways to create a real life character with specific traits through the specific helps described in the appendixes.  Perhaps I'll be able to incorporate them in the weeks ahead.  I do see that the entire set of lessons could be sprinkled throughout the academic year beginning in August.  It appears that these lessons are arranged in that order.

Craft Lessons

2/8/06

Craft Lessons by Ralph Fletcher and Joann Portalupi is a how-to book on writing.  The first assigned reading delved into the purpose of the book:  Age specific craft lessons to support the need for unplanned teacher moments rather than relying preprinted materials.  The problems that teachers have faced is identifying grade level expectations for writing.  The authors state that yes, there should be grade level expectations that are based on appropriate developmental abilities of the child.  The authors present a 3 step process CONCEIVE-----CRAFT-----CORRECT, and state that the middle stage receives the least attention by teachers and students alike.  In the introduction section, the authors present a template for each craft lesson presented.  The rest of this initial assignment was called Setting the Table for Craft. This section star5ted by identifying the need to learn to write.  That is, there are no short cuts to writing.  Students must write in authenic ways regularly.  Next the authors identified shared beliefs on writing.  1.  Time must be given to students to write.  2. Response by both teacher and student is needed.  3. Responsibility or student ownership of writing is critical.  Therefore, choices of writing assignments are necessary.  4. Literature sparks writing and consequently must be used in conjunction with the writing process.

With this as background the book is divided into grade level areas.  I will be studying the 5-8 section of the book.

Thus far the book has rekindled the feedback (response) part of writing.  Rather than editing and correcting errors on papers, more dialogue on the worth of the paper can motivate the writer to continue the upward trek rather than give up.

 

Fish Sticks

Page 77 through end

People change.  Suddenly Rhonda's daughter dies.  Nurse Scappell takes charge of arrangements.  Her true character emerges.  Death leads others into taking an acccount of their lives and their priorities.  Naturally, the death tested commitment because Rhonda could no longer devote 100% of her time and energy in leading the 6th floor.  Others stepped up to the plate.  They began to implement FIND IT, LIVE IT, and COACH IT by dividing into teams and addressing each of the three elements.  They returned to Takara Too to learn the real secret to building and keeping an effective organization.  That is, they learned to blaze their own trail.  Using their own creativity and imagination each team came up with activities and actions to lead newcomers as well as reenergize oldtimers in the vision.  They put their ideas to test and learned that rituals and symbols indeed helped to keep the vision alive.  Actually, conversations took place as the result of rituals and symbols.  The theme of the success is certainly revolving around conversations among fellow workers.

This book interested me into thinking of ways to do our best as teachers.  Our mission statement has been directed upon us:  NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND.  We face the task to make these words come alive in our daily activities.  Each teacher is to FIND IT, individual vision statements of the meaning of NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND.  Talk with others about the vision statement.  Then LIVE IT through walking out the vision.  Finally, COACH IT to newcomers.  Once everyone has read this book, we could meet to discuss the meanings of individual visions.  Form teams and converse.....

Fish Sticks

1/18/06, pages 38-77

Takara Too becomes the point of interest for Rhonda.  She soon recognizes the insightfulness of this very popular sushi restaurant as a route to follow in inserting continuity into the 6th floor at Good Samaritan Hospital.  She learns ways that management create experiences that customers value.  Ishy, the owner of the restaurant, tell of her personal vision of IT--defined as the way she sees her restaurant going in the future.  Ishy converses with Rhonda.  Conversation becomes a necessary tool in moving forward.  (More on that later.)

Rhonda returns to the hospital and "converses" with Ping, a nurse.  In turn, Ping does the same with other nurses.  I see conversation as a way of getting others to "buy in" into the vision (mission statement).  Thus, new comers feel part of the team. 

Nurse Scallpell comes from corporate headquarters as new hospital head nurse.  She is a page out of the old book.  Immediately, she faults the staff with their silly trinkets and orders them removed. Rhonda worries about the progress her floor has made.  Destroyed, she thinks, but she talks positively with other nurses.  Rhonda tells others that Nurse Scappell as an opportunity to move their outward ideas, which may be only temporary, inwardly.  Nurses came up with their own ideas--example of bottom-up management.

Enter the thrust of Fish Sticks:  Find IT, Live IT, and Coach IT.  Personalize the organization's vision statement--Find IT.  Experience vision moments--Live IT.  Everyone participatges in teaching others--Coach IT

I'm seeing this book as helpful in individualizing our school's vision statement.  Putting it in my own words.  Showing how it pertains to me and my fellow teachers in our quest to teach 6 grade students.  As the book continues, I expect to learn ways to adapt to East Central.

 

Fish Sticks

1/9, pages 1-37. 

The main character, Rhonda Bullock, is a nurse-supervisor on her ward.  She has replaced an innovator of many new programs that changed the ward into a highly efficient one.  Rhonda fears and senses a decline in efficiency and attributes it to her management and leadership skills.  She meets an old friend and dines at Takara Too, a quaint sushi restaurant in New York City.  It is here that she meets the owner of the restaurant who describes the restaurant's 4-year run.  Ishy has a keen sense of customer knowledge that she has imparted to her employees.  Customers feel wanted and are individualized rather than just a number.  Recognizing similarities in the nursing field, Rhonda listens intently to Ishy.  Thus ends the first reading.

I recall an initiative that we in the Air Force adopted.  After reading The Pursuit of Excellence we studied ways to improve productivity and efficiency by embracing a philoshopy where the customer is always right.  Yes, even in the Air Force there are customers.  So  Fish Sticks seems to be taking the reader into the field of knowing, really knowing the customer, the patient, the other nurses (employees), and in education--the student. 

Saying this means to me the following:  We teachers have a product--education--that we must deliver to our customer--student--in a manner that the student can absorb.  At the same time, the environment--other teachers--must remain motivated and willing to carry on with the initial wave of energy--GPS for example--in a way that sustains the wave for a long period of time. 

If I and my fellow teachers can adhere to the following scripture:  John 4: 37 (Jesus says)  "One sows and another reaps.  I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors."