Thoughts for new teachers

The value of cooperation is important when you are teaching or working with someone who is a beginning learner or an expert in learning.  

A research study shows the power of cooperation and uses a party game to re-enforce the concept. The game is called the "tapper-listener" name-that-tune game. You may have played it or a variation of this game at a party.

The original research took a roomful of people and gave them all a list of the names of simple and widely-known songs, such as the birthday song, a national anthem, and children's songs. 

The group was then divided in half and organized into pairs. One of the pair was designated the "tapper" and the partner was designated as the "listener."

The tappers job was to secretly select a song from the list and then tap out the song without telling (or singing) the song to the listener. The listener's role was to determine the name of the song being tapped out. 

The research showed, remarkably, that only two percent of the listeners could correctly identify the song being tapped out. The tappers found this to be very frustrating, and had extreme difficulty accepting the fact that the listener didn't "get it."

The reason there was such incredulity on the part of the tappers was that part of their process of tapping included humming (or singing) the song to themselves while they were tapping. In other words, the tapper heard the song very clearly (and loudly in his or her head) and the tapping (according to the tapper) was an easy give-away clue as to the song.

But from the listener's viewpoint, he or she heard no melody or song, but only rhythmical tapping. The tapping could have been virtually any of the songs on the list.

I'm equating the "humming along" to the tapping as what often takes place in an interaction between a teacher and the students, with which he or she is working. 

That is, the teacher knows exactly what the melody, phrasing, spacing, tone, and notes (intention, method, and purpose) might be, but the only thing being communicated to the other students are questions, listening type responses, and occasional supportive statements.

The learner does not really have a way of knowing the intention and purpose of the behavioural responses of the teacher. This type of communication limits the opportunities for the learner to be cooperatively involved in the engagement with the teacher. 

By sharing intention and rationale for methods with the learner, the teacher has an even greater likelihood of achieving the progress that they both desire.

Not every behavioural action taken by a teacher needs to be or should be preceded by an explanation of its purpose or the rationale for the method choices.

These explanations or method descriptions are best placed at the beginning of the relationship and restated in some form at the beginning of each subsequent session.

In addition, when a student appears puzzled or reluctant to move forward, the teacher should be prepared to understand this hesitation and rekindle the students cooperation by sharing his or her own thoughts about what he or she as the teacher is hoping to do.

Boomers turning 66--it is not the end of the world

There will be some interest, I think in the fact that the first of the Baby Boomers turn 66 this year and the pundits and those who want to make more about the aging of the boomers will carry on a conversations that are of little interest to us. The Beatles had a song about turning 64, but the song is about the sustaining of relationships not growing old. The lyrics are about how to keep love alive and the need we have to know that the relationship we are in is the correct one for us.

I had an interesting conversation the other day with three young colleagues (two men and one woman), it was after school and they were talking about how to know if a relationship was good and what they could do to maintain. I was asked my views and I suspect they thought that they thought with the wisdom of age I would have the answer. Sorry to disappoint but we as boomers value relationships, but many of us are not good at keeping them. All I could talk about is the following:

The idea is that we need to be honest to our selves about what we want and what we need, at an emotional, physical, and intellectual level. To find out what we need requires hard thought, and self investigation and is not something that is done easily. However, once you have spent the time and energy to find these things about yourself then be honest and communicate using "I language" to your partner what you need. It may be that your partner cannot give you what you need at this time in your life. If this is the case move on. This is easy to say but hard to do, however if you want to be happy then you may have to make tough decisions about the type of relationship you want.

Back to the Beatles, I saw the Beatles when they came to Vancouver in the 60's and enjoyed the show and love their music still today. Boomers may hold on to old memories but we find ways to make them come alive today. Music was an important part of my life and I have talked about this in an ealier post.

Remembering life as we start 2012--To the high school graduationg class of 65

Time magazine published an article entitled "Don't Worry, There's Life After High School."

The article got me thinking as we approachthe New Year that life 47 years after graduating from Nanaimo Senior High School is different than when we were seniors in high school, but its still life in the Boomers. We didn't know it at the time, but we were at the forefront of the Boomer generation, and we would change the world as we travelled through life. We continue to impact the world.

William Shakespeare in his play “As You Like It” has one of his characters Jaques, in Act II Scene vii compare the world to a stage and life to a play. In that speech Shakespeare catalogued the seven stages of a man's life: infant, schoolboy, lover, soldier, justice, pantaloon second childhood, "sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything" While the Bible in Psalms 90, vs. 10 defines our life span as, "The days of years are threescore years and 10 and if by reason of strength they be four score years yet it is soon cut off, and we fly away."

Forty Seven years after high school, we may be in our bonus years of life and we belief we have to hasten to complete unfinished dreams and plans. Thinking back to 1965, we have memories of the many changes that have occurred during the past 47 years. Yesterday we saw ourselves as young, strong, smart, and good-looking seniors in high school. Yesterday is history and we must live with who we are today. Yesterday I had a head full of dark wavy brown, (too wavy for me:-) hair but now while my hair is still too  wavy, it is no longer dark brown, and I no longer have a head full but what I have is silver white.

What a trip life is; full of challenges and constant changes. Boomers are a blessed generation, more good opportunities came to us than bad ones, most of us acquired a mate, a home, children, vehicles, a good job, friends, etc. Challenges and changes also caused us fear. Fear of fear, fear of getting old, going broke, having a stroke, getting fat, going bald, losing our job, fear of dying, etc. and the never-ending question of "why are we here"?

Songs and Music helped me to deal with my fears. Music and song helped calm my fears, gave me hope and helped me sleep throughout the night. I remember that I learned to listen late at night to my transitor radio. I learned the words and music coming over the radio and slowly learned to appreciate the words and stories that the songs told me. Over time I learned what those sweet, sweet, sounds and words and meaning meant and how they helped shape my world Words of one of my favorite songs are: "Summertime and the living is easy, fish are a jumping and the cotton is high, your daddy's rich and your maw's good looking, SO HUSH little baby don't you cry. One of these mornings you're going to rise up singing and you'll take your flight to the sky, but until that morning nothing can harm you with Daddy and Momma by your side."

These songs contained sweet melodies and offered calm assurance to me so that I knew that I and the world were going to be all right. Knowing that I could live one day at a time and that today's problems can be dealt with! Wiht music I believed that we could face our problems one day at a timeand I also believe that Yes I could!

I have no musical training, can't read music notes, can't play a musical instrument and cannot sing! But listening to music I feel emotions rising from within, the sound of hope, freedom and peace moving free through the air. When fear and doubts come upon us this emotion deep within us can burst forth in a song that will help us overcome our doubts and fears.

Today's music may be foreign to our understanding, however, we have learned our songs from the world's best teachers, the voice of experience that we have acquired through the trials in our lives and the blows and hardships we have overcome. It may be more difficult to learn "new tricks" but we can and we can also share with others what we have learned from experience. What is more important, what is more valuable than a proven old friend?

Most of us can recall when we were young children and being held when someone was singing to us. A time of comfort and security when our imaginations were set free and we could ride on a rocking horse, we could see a spider going up the waterspout, we could see the twinkling little stars, and sometimes we would catch a glimpse of an angel fluttering over us. Magic moments, smelling a sweet fragrance, feeling a power of sweet love all around us and then the singing would stop, the magic moments would disappear, but we would be left with memories that would last a lifetime.

Forty seven years after highschool and I am still remembering the magic moments and angels in my live. I remember and pay respect to our many departed teachers and classmates and departed friends. I imagine many of the present members of the class of 1965 have lost their parents, friends, husbands or wifes, some have lost children and other family members and favorite family pets. In spite of these loses the precious memories still linger and we are able to grasp and recall some of yesterday’s blessings.

Members of the Class of 1965 are the leading edge of what is described as "The World's Greatest Generation" and 47 years after high school, life is still good.

Most members of the Class of 1965, I think would agree that the spring and summer of our lives have past, autumn is almost gone, and winter and snow is soon coming.

The writers of Psalms and Summertime uses "flight" and the poet Frost uses "walk" to describe our Earthly endings. Hopefully we like one of Frost's poems have miles and miles to go before we sleep.

My wish for all people and especially for the members of the Class of Nanaimo Senior High School and all others who graduated in 1965 is that we all continue to have our own music, and that it is always, "Summertime and the living is easy."

There is life 47  years after high school, and my hope is that for all of us in the class of 65 life continues to be good!

Happy people don’t just accept change, they embrace it

The only time most of us ever learn about unlocking our self-improvement power is when the whole world is crashing and falling apart. We think and feel this way because it is not easy to change. But change becomes more painful when we ignore it.

Change will happen, like it or hate it. At one point or another, we are all going to experience different turning points in our life – and we are all going to eventually unlock our self-improvement power not because the world says so, not because our friends are nagging us, but because we realized its for our own good.

Happy people don’t just accept change, they embrace it. Now, you don’t have to feel a tremendous heat before realizing the need for self-improvement. Unlocking your self-improvement power means unlocking yourself up in the cage of thought that “its just the way I am”. It is such a poor excuse for people who fear and resist change. Most of us program our minds like computers.

Jerry repeatedly tells everyone that he doesn’t have the guts to be around groups of people. He heard his mom, his dad, his sister, his teacher tell the same things about him to other people. Over the years, that is what Jerry believes. He believes its his story. And what happens? Every time a great crowd would troop over their house, in school, and in the community – he tends to step back, shy away and lock herself up in a room. Jerry didn’t only believed in his story, he lived it.

Jerry has to realize that he is not what he is in his story. Instead of having his story post around his face for everyone to remember, he has to have the spirit and show people “I am an important person and I should be treated accordingly!”

Self-improvement may not be everybody’s favorite word, but if we look at things in a different point of view, we might have greater chances of enjoying the whole process instead of counting the days until we are fully improved. Three sessions in a week at the gym would result to a healthier life, reading books instead of looking at porns will shape up a more profound knowledge, going out with friends and peers will help you take a step back from work and unwind. And just when you are enjoying the whole process of unlocking your self-improvement power, you’ll realize that you’re beginning to take things light and become happy.

Set meaningful and achievable goals

• When people feel so down and low about themselves, help them move up. Don’t go down with them. They’ll pull you down further and both of you will end up feeling inferior.
• The world is a large room for lessons, not mistakes. Don’t feel stupid and doomed forever just because you failed on a science quiz. There’s always a next time. Make rooms for self-improvement.
• Take things one at a time. You don’t expect black sheep’s to be goody-two-shoes in just a snap of a finger. Self-improvement is a one day at a time process.
• Self-improvement results to inner stability, personality development and SUCCESS. It comes from self-confidence, self appreciation and self-esteem.
• Set meaningful and achievable goals. Self-improvement doesn’t turn you to be the exact replica of Cameron Diaz or Ralph Fiennes. It hopes and aims to result to an improved and better YOU.
• Little things mean BIG to other people. Sometimes, we don’t realize that the little things that we do like a pat on the back, saying “hi” or “hello”, greeting someone “good day” or telling Mr. Smith something like “hey, I love your tie!” are simple things that mean so much to other people. When we’re being appreciative about beautiful things around us and other people, we also become beautiful to them.
• When you’re willing to accept change and go through the process of self-improvement, it doesn’t mean that everyone else is. The world is a place where people of different values and attitude hang out. Sometimes, even if you think you and your best friend always like to do the same thing together at the same time, she would most likely decline an invitation for self-improvement.

We should always remember that there’s no such thing as ‘over night success’. Its always a wonderful feeling to hold on to the things that you already have now, realizing that those are just one of the things you once wished for. A very nice quote says that, “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” We are all here to learn our lessons. Our parents, school teachers, friends, colleagues, officemates, neighbors… they are our teachers. When we open our doors for self-improvement, we increase our chances to head to the road of success.

Pay yourself first

The following article is from Barb Wade and is her advice to coaches she mentors. I think it also applies to all of us so I am sharing with you

“Always pay yourself first!” Yes. Right. Huh? Over the years, I’ve heard financial experts, business gurus, and other teachers say that phrase, but I never really understood what they meant in practice.

It made a lot more sense to me to pay my mortgage, my utility bills, preschool tuition for my daughters, and other very important expenses first. Paying myself first sounded kinda crazy to me.
Then one day, one of my mentors said something that stopped me in my tracks:

“Paying yourself last sends a clear message to the Universe and to yourself: I don’t matter”.
Wow. That’s the last message I wanted to be sending out to anyone. I believe strongly that we, especially as Coaches, all deserve to be richly rewarded for the work we do and that our contribution to the world is very important and valuable.

So I made a decision to change my thinking about “paying myself first.” With help from my own coach I have been able to shift my entire paradigm. I’m now putting money aside regularly (paying myself), and yet still am manifesting more than enough to pay expenses. Funny that, eh?
Here are some tips to help you adopt this practice and draw in the abundance (money) you so deserve:
You Must Value Yourself
By not paying yourself first, you keep reinforcing the message to both yourself and the Universe that you are not worthy of being paid. But how can others value you and your word if you don’t truly value it yourself? You must set the tone, and when you do, many things will begin to shift in the amount of money you make and the kind of clients you attract.
Make Savings a Priority
Now that you’ve decided you will no longer de-value yourself, it’s time to take action to back that up. The first thing you’re going to do is to start putting away some money into your savings every month. This is the simplest way to immediately start paying yourself (although it’s not always easy).
So, open a savings account or an IRA and pick an amount of money you will put into that account on a regular basis. It doesn’t matter how much you put aside at first, what does matter is that you consistently take the action.
Important: make sure that this money goes into your savings account before you pay any of your bills or expenses. Remember, this is money you are not planning on spending, it’s not just another place to keep your expense money.
Some people like to divide their savings into three categories:

• Mandatory = Long term savings (this is often a retirement account)
• Great Idea = 6 Month Emergency Fund
• Optional = Goal Savings (vacation, new car, etc)

Be Aware of Money Blocks That May Come Up
If you’re not in the habit of valuing yourself, you may find some fears and money blocks coming up almost immediately. Just remember that you are changing a mindset that may go back years – or was even passed down to you by watching your own parents’ money habits. If that happens, remind yourself that this is normal and that you are committed to creating a shift in your relationship to money.
So don’t give up – make a plan and stick to it. Your fears will disappear in time and you will be well on the road to more money in the bank and more authentic self-worth, too.

Barb Wade, M.A., specializes in teaching Coaches to create thriving, 6-figure practices in under 20 hours a week! She teaches her clients how to attract an abundance of eager clients, how to charge what they're truly worth.... and get it (!), how to create multiple streams of income from their expertise, how to work on their terms and time schedule, and much much more -- all while still having ample time and energy to live the life they always dreamed of. For a free how to get clients "BREAKTHROUGH BUSINESS KIT" just for coaches visit  http://www.barbwade.com/?awt_l=KKeYg&awt_m=3gEjQ.Lu1HdVgpW