Change our Focus!

Since last week I shared with you a Tim Elmore Post, I thought why not make this a regular thing.  So this week I want to share this article from Tim that we must change our focus to be better parents, but also better Teachers.  As mentioned in the last post, Mrs. Konkel uses a lot of Tim's stuff.  Mrs. Konkel shared this article with us during one of our staff devotions.

http://growingleaders.com/blog/five-destructive-parenting-habits-must-replace/

Tim talks about 5 habits that we must change to make "all the difference in the world" for the students/children.  Tim starts out with a funny realization of parenthood.  "First child eats dirt. Parent calls the doctor immediately.  The second child eats dirt. Parent cleans out his mouth.  The third child eats dirt. Parents wonder if they really need to feed him lunch.  As a parent myself, I find this to be awkwardly true between my oldest and my youngest.

I will let you read the article itself, as Tim does a great job defining each habit and how to change it and an example of each.  What resonates with school the most is probably the 2nd and 3rd habit. In reality, they are all good and applicable.

The second habit Tim discusses is changing from a focus on grades to a focus on growth.  I could not agree more as an educator.  Although as a father, I don't always remember this.  This is why at CTK we have invested in the NWEA tests.  By taking it in the Fall and Spring we are able to see the growth of the students.  Although scores are important and Tim talks about that, but we ask the question did the student grow and with NWEA it tells us about how much the child is expected to grow.  If they don't meet that goal, then we can ask why.  That "why question" is very important in my opinion.  Tim mentions when we focus on that one bad grade compared to the 10 good grades, we can create undo stress upon our student/child.

The third habit is replacing our clutter schedules with simplicity.  I am guilty of this myself, we want our children to be involved in a lot, and be good at everything.  Tim talks about the importance that maybe we need to focus on one event at a time.  This isn't just for children, though, I can relate this to myself even.  I often find that I feel that I am burning my own candle from both ends.  I hate saying no to people when they are in need or need help or someone to take care of items.  This can be very overwhelming even for myself.  I look at my schedule for today, Wake up early, be at school by 7am. School to 3.  Drive to a soccer game.  Find or make dinner.  Make sure my sons' homework is completed. Do my doctoral school homework.  Go for a walk or run.  I am sure there will be two or three other things I will have to do that I am not even thinking about at this time.  I could be better at cutting things out of my life.

I am interested though through these posts to get feedback and having conversations.  Please feel free to post comments and respond to other comments.  We are here to grow together.