7 Common Habits of Unhappy People Image by Mitya Kuznetsov (license). “Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.” Marcus Aurelius “Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” Circumstances can certainly make life unhappy. In this article I’d like to share 7 of the most destructive daily habits that can create quite a bit of unhappiness within and in your own little world. But I’ll also share what has worked, what has helped me to minimize or overcome these habits in my life. 1. Does life has to be perfect before you are happy? Do you have to behave in a perfect way and get perfect results to be happy? Then happiness will not be easy to find. How to overcome this habit: Three things that helped me to kick the perfectionism habit and become more relaxed: Go for good enough. 2. No one is an island. It becomes a lot harder to be happier if you let yourself be dragged down by negative voices. You can start small.
Teaching and Learning ‘Market Place’ CPD. A key strand of our ‘research-engaged’ philosophy and practice is that all KEGS teachers are involved in a Teaching and Learning Workshop throughout the year. This is in addition to the CPD that takes place through departmental meetings, individual CPD courses and the routine practice of ‘reflect and refine’. We are looking to explore new innovations and ideas. The workshop groups meet on six specified occasions across the year plus any time in between that is planned spontaneously. Some are within departments; some are inter-departmental. Some people work in pairs, others in larger groups. Last year we asked for a definite link with formative assessment but this year, it was wide open. In May we held the annual event we call the ‘Carousel’ which provides an opportunity for teachers to share their work to-date with each other. Today, the range of ideas explored included the following: We will be involving Sue Brindley from Cambridge to help guide us with this process. Like this:
When Assuming the Best is the Worst When Assuming the Best is the Worst Assume the best about others until history says assume the worst. Believe history not hope. Before you go with the hope that they’ll pull through, ask yourself, what’s changed since the last time they fell short. “Bad” hope makes you passive. If nothing’s changed, nothing will change. Expectation History predicts the future. Expect more of the same, unless there are concrete reasons to anticipate something different. More of the same now results in more of the same later. “I’m going to change next time,” is gobbledygook. Everyone who offers reasons why change is better tomorrow, will do the same thing tomorrow. Present Present behavior predicts the future. Close your ears to what they’re saying. 5 reasons assuming the best is the worst: Nothings changed since the last failure or disappointment. Hope is not a strategy for building the future. If you don’t see action, take action. How has hoping for the best gone wrong in your leadership journey? Like this:
Raising The Bar. Raising the Bar: Ambition and Technique From my perspective, a number of recent discussions and policy initiatives have missed the target when it comes to tackling the issue of educational under-performance in our schools. Even where I agree with the diagnosis, the prescribed medicine doesn’t seem to match. At classroom level, where it counts, there are a number of reasons why ‘raising the bar’ might appear to be required in some lessons in some schools: The curriculum standards are too limiting: this could be the curriculum framework determined by an exam board or the National Curriculum. The ‘enacted’ curriculum is too limiting (to borrow from Joe Kirby via Michael Gove ) : this might be a shallow interpretation of a text or topic or a mis-judgement about age-relevance. The pedagogy is inadequate ; teaching methods are leaving too many students behind or not providing sufficient challenge for others. Behaviour is poor. It’s not about the National Curriculum content. .. Like this:
Discipline: Teacher Focused vs Student Focused Discipline can be filtered into two trains of thought: teacher focused and student focused. What is it? Pretty straight forward. Teacher focused educators believe discipline is about punishing kids for their behavior, and removing them from class makes it easier to teach their content. Student focused educators believe their jobs are to teach kids (Math, Art, Science, Spanish, Behavior, etc.), and that is challenging to do if students are removed from their instruction. Who “does” it? What is the foundation of it? Behavior is… Teacher focused educators believe behavior is a choice. Teacher becomes frustrated when… Teacher focused educators feel punishments should match how upset they were with the student’s infraction, and that the behavior should be immediately corrected by administration. Scenario: Today we’re working on quadratic equations.
What Should We Look for in Senior Leaders? | headstmary's Blog This post was prompted by #SLTchat which has started to become part of my Sunday evening preparation for the week ahead. It gets my mind back on the job and allows me to pick up a whole number of ideas through rapid fire responses to key questions of the day. About three to four years ago I changed both the information requested about colleagues applying for a leadership role and the style of the response. The reference request is built around a document called “Rush to the Top” from Hay Group – it is well worth a read. A full copy of the leadership reference request form is attached at the end of this post and you are welcome to download and use all or any part of it . The part specifically focussed on leadership is the second table. Impacts Positively on Outcomes, Systems & Process and Others I’m looking for a senior leader who is a credible teacher, someone who has a positive impact on the academic or vocational outcomes on the students in their class. Like this: Like Loading...
A Comprehensive Framework For Student Motivation A Comprehensive Framework For Student Motivation by Terry Heick When researching student motivation and gamification late last year, I came across the most comprehensive gamification framework I’ve ever seen. Developed by gamification expert Yu-kai Chou, it was an ambitious effort that distinguished black hat gamification (which is “bad”–think Farmville and Candy Crush) from white hat gamification (which is “good”–think Minecraft or even an ACT score). (It’s also copyrighted, but they graciously allowed us to use it.) While it is designed not as an educational framework, but rather as a way to demonstrate gamification and its many strands, gamification is about human encouragement and motivation. So what began as a post about gamification became more a matter of student motivation–what motivates students in the classroom and why. 8 Core Drives Of Student Motivation 1) Epic Meaning & Calling Educator takeaways? 2) Development & Accomplishment Educator takeaways? Educator takeaways?
How do schools succeed against the odds? Ethos and Leadership ‘Football’s a simple game. You play for 90 minutes and then the Germans win’. Gary Lineker, after losing in the 1990 World Cup on penalties. It was an extraordinary scoreline, against all betting odds. Three decades of research into school effectiveness and school improvement have asked two questions: what makes a school effective, and how can schools improve their effectiveness? Leadership and ethos emerge as the non-negotiable priorities of school improvement. Beyond teacher quality Pasi Sahlberg, one of the world’s leading experts on school reform and the author of the best-selling “Finnish Lessons: What Can the World Learn About Educational Change in Finland?” “Teacher quality is often cited as the most important in-school variable influencing student achievement. “Education policies in Finland concentrate more on school effectiveness than on teacher effectiveness. The Challenge Ofsted research into the most effective schools corroborates this. The Results Like this: