Thursday, February 24, 2011
Smile!
Hopefully your school year is flying by. That means you are having fun. If your school year seems have come to a halt, just keep smiling. Research does show us that smiling relieves stress, so you might want to try it. Just remember the old saying: "It takes more muscles to frown than to smile!" In fact it takes 41 muscles to frown and 17 to smile. Judy T., a teacher from Carol's building, uses this fact to her advantage. If Judy is having a bad day and someone tells her she is frowning, she always says, "I'm trying to use more muscles, so I can burn more calories! That way I enjoy my desert with less guilt!" She always makes us chuckle.
Teachers: “A role model is a person whose behaviour is imitated by others.”
We all hope that learners have good, strong role models who possess the kind of qualities that make our students want to be better people. While there is some variation in every teacher’s definition of what it means to be a good person, I believe the following characteristics should remain constant.
Little eyes are watching and little ears are listening. Talk about your experiences to the learners. Someday, they will be in the same predicament and think to themselves, “What did Miss or Mr X do or say when s/he was in the same situation?”
When you have a tough choice to make, allow the learners to see how you work through the problem, show which decision is best, but also how they can to come to that conclusion.
Nobody’s perfect. When you make a bad choice, let those who are watching and learning from you know that you made a mistake and how you plan to correct it. This will help them to understand that everyone makes mistakes; it’s not the end of the world; you can make it right; and you should take responsibility for it as soon as possible.
We all want children to stick with their commitments and follow through with their promises. However, as adults, we get busy, distracted, and sometimes, a bit lazy. That means be on time, finish what you started, don’t quit, keep your word and don’t back off when things get challenging.
While it may seem like a great deal of pressure to be a positive role model; nobody is expecting you to be superhuman. We certainly wouldn’t expect that behaviour from the children who are looking to us for answers and guidance—nor would we want them to expect that kind of flawless behaviour from themselves or others. You can only do your best. And, if you mess up today, you can always try again tomorrow.
Here’s to a great Weekend!
Little eyes are watching and little ears are listening. Talk about your experiences to the learners. Someday, they will be in the same predicament and think to themselves, “What did Miss or Mr X do or say when s/he was in the same situation?”
When you have a tough choice to make, allow the learners to see how you work through the problem, show which decision is best, but also how they can to come to that conclusion.
Nobody’s perfect. When you make a bad choice, let those who are watching and learning from you know that you made a mistake and how you plan to correct it. This will help them to understand that everyone makes mistakes; it’s not the end of the world; you can make it right; and you should take responsibility for it as soon as possible.
We all want children to stick with their commitments and follow through with their promises. However, as adults, we get busy, distracted, and sometimes, a bit lazy. That means be on time, finish what you started, don’t quit, keep your word and don’t back off when things get challenging.
While it may seem like a great deal of pressure to be a positive role model; nobody is expecting you to be superhuman. We certainly wouldn’t expect that behaviour from the children who are looking to us for answers and guidance—nor would we want them to expect that kind of flawless behaviour from themselves or others. You can only do your best. And, if you mess up today, you can always try again tomorrow.
Here’s to a great Weekend!
Building a school’s character
A school needs to create a character or ethos of its own in order for the learners to identify with the school. These characteristics should be positive and inclusive for growth and traditions of excellence to be established.
Lovedale (1824) in the Eastern Cape was a non-racial school which started with 11 black and 9 white children. It was a training institution where book learning and practical application (apprenticeship) went hand in hand. The first Xhosa dictionary was compiled at Lovedale.
It was also a school in which values were promoted and where women were educated as early as 1869. Music was an important part of the curriculum. Lovedale was destroyed in 1954 and is now derelict.
Healdtown (1854) was developed by Methodist Missionaries. In the nineteenth and early twentieth century it was also a centre of learning excellence. Its list of alumni is impressive and includes former president Nelson Mandela, Govan Mbeki (President Mbeki’s father) and Robert Sobukwe (the founder of the PAC). It is now derelict.
These examples show how tender the life of a school of excellence can be. The powerful people who came from these buildings went on to influence the world, who knows who we have attending classes at the Western Cape Sport School?
Think about the Western Cape Sport School, and its history, purpose and the future in relation to excellence in education. A teacher’s purpose is to manage and foster good traditions. A final question is “How do we water our seeds so that they grow into strong and powerful leaders?”
Let’s see what we as a staff can grow together.
Lovedale (1824) in the Eastern Cape was a non-racial school which started with 11 black and 9 white children. It was a training institution where book learning and practical application (apprenticeship) went hand in hand. The first Xhosa dictionary was compiled at Lovedale.
It was also a school in which values were promoted and where women were educated as early as 1869. Music was an important part of the curriculum. Lovedale was destroyed in 1954 and is now derelict.
Healdtown (1854) was developed by Methodist Missionaries. In the nineteenth and early twentieth century it was also a centre of learning excellence. Its list of alumni is impressive and includes former president Nelson Mandela, Govan Mbeki (President Mbeki’s father) and Robert Sobukwe (the founder of the PAC). It is now derelict.
These examples show how tender the life of a school of excellence can be. The powerful people who came from these buildings went on to influence the world, who knows who we have attending classes at the Western Cape Sport School?
Think about the Western Cape Sport School, and its history, purpose and the future in relation to excellence in education. A teacher’s purpose is to manage and foster good traditions. A final question is “How do we water our seeds so that they grow into strong and powerful leaders?”
Let’s see what we as a staff can grow together.
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