Genre Reflection #1 - A poem most l33t!

Txt U L8r

Click, click, click...tap, tap

: P text, post, like

message and reply

Our phones a vibrating reminder

that we could be elsewhere

that we have friends

that we are important

What can a teacher give us?

:( Busy work...

homework to gouge our fun

to lock us away from life

What can a teacher give us?

A kind word - spoken, written

o_O texted!?!?

“Good job on that essay!”

What can a teacher give us?

Knowledge, questions

books, words, skills, respect

O_o self-reliance!?!?

What can I give my teacher?

: ]

The 7 Habits of Highly Stressed-Out Pre-Student Teachers, Part 2

 This is a pseudo continuation of my previous blog entry. That entry described a really interesting and well paced lesson plan my CT, Ms. R executed. In contrast this is mostly for self-exploration and humor. For those who do not have access to Sean Covey's book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens I am going to give the lists with the brief descriptions Covey gives in the first chapter.

Sean Covey's list of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens:

Habit 1: Be Proactive

Take responsibility for your life.

Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind

Define your mission and goals in life.

Habit 3: Put First Things First

Prioritize, and do the most important thing first.

Habit 4: Think Win-Win

Have an everyone-can-win attitude.

Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood

Listen to people sincerely.

Habit 6: Synergize

Work together to achieve more.

Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw

Renew yourself regularly.

Covey's “The 7 Habits of Highly Defective Teens”:

Habit 1: React

Blame all of your problems on your parents, your stupid teachers or professors, your lousy neighborhood, your boy-or girlfriend, the government, or something or somebody else. Be a victim. Take no responsibility for your life. Act like an animal. If you''re hungry, eat. If someone yells at you, yell back. If you feel like doing something you know is wrong, just do it.

Habit 2: Begin with No End in Mind

Don't have a plan. Avoid goals at all costs. And never think about tomorrow. Why worry about the consequences of your actions? Live for the moment. Sleep around, get wasted, and party on, for tomorrow we die.

Habit 3: Put First Things Last

Whatever is most important in your life, don't do it until you have spend sufficient time watching reruns, talking endlessly on the phone, surfing the net, and lounging around. Always put off your homework until tomorrow. Make sure that things that don't matter always some before things that do.

Habit 4: Think Win-Lose

See life as a vicious competition. Your classmate is out to get you, so you'd better get him or her first. Don't let anyone else succeed at anything because, remember, if they win, you lose. If it looks like you're going to loose, however, make sure you drag that sucker down with you.

Habit 5: Seek First to Talk, Then Pretend to Be Listen

You were born with a mouth, so use it. Make sure you talk a lot. Always express your side of the story first. Once you're sure everyone understands your views,, then pretend to listen by nodding and saying “uh-huh.” Or, if you really want their opinion, give it to them.

Habit 6: Don't Cooperate

Let's face it, other people are weird because they're different from you. So why try to get along with them? Teamwork is for the dogs. Since you always have the best ideas, you are better off doing everything by yourself. Be your own island.

Habit 7: Wear Yourself Out

Be so busy with life that you never take time to renew or improve yourself. Never study. Don't learn anything new. Avoid exercise like the plague. And, for heaven's sake, stay away from good books, nature, or anything else that may inspire you.

      Think about where you are on these lists. I am still fluctuating between the two. It inspired me to create my own list, The 7 Habits of Highly Stressed-Out Pre-Student Teachers. Feel free to post your own lists, be they joking or serious.

My “The 7 Habits of Highly Stressed-Out Pre-Student Teachers”:

Habit 1: React to Emails a Week Later

Habit 2: Begin the Semester Thinking Graduation is a Million Years Away

Habit 3: Do the Easy Homework First

Habit 4: Think Better in the Hot Tub

Habit 5: Sparknotes First, Read Later

Habit 6: Don't Anger Cooperating Teacher/School

Habit 7: Wear Yourself Out with Eureka or Harry Potter Marathons

Online Reflection #2: The 7 Habits of Highly Stressed-Out Pre-Student Teachers, Part 1

      Friday August 2^nd, when Ms. R broke out spanking new copies of a book I was like “cool – new book smell.” Then I saw it was The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey. I thought hmmm. I have seen a chapter or two of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. I suspected at this point that they would be similar. [Spoiler alert!!! The 7 habits are the same in both books and I will be listing them in this blog entry.] Before having the students crack the books she had them get out a piece of notebook paper and individually define the word “habit.” Their desks are clustered in groups of 4 or 6, so it made sense that Ms. R next had them define it as a group. Each group had to add their definition to the SMART Board. In addition she had them stand and give an example of a habit. Some student examples included playing with hair, tapping pens and brushing teeth. She also took a few items from the book, though I didn't know it at the time. She had the students stand up and cross their arms. Then cross them the other way. It demonstrated how strange it felt to cross your arms in a non-habitual way. The students were surprised and attentive. (I am so stealing that.)

      Ms. R had them discuss a Samuel Smiles quote from the book (Covey, Page 8):

“Sow a thought, and you reap an act;

Sow an act, and you reap a habit;

Sow a habit, and you reap a character;

Sow a character, and you reap a destiny.”

Whoo-hoo, talk about deep. She kept the discussions short, around a minute, but that handy little quote contains much to work with. She utilized another quote for a mini-discussion. It was a portion of a much bigger riddle, author unknown. “Take me, train me, be firm with me, and I will place the world at your feet. Be easy with me, and I will destroy you. Who am I? I am a Habit.” I am going to make a poster of this for my future classroom.

     Then she did something amazing. She gave them a writing assignment prompt. On the PowerPoint slide she titled it “3 Point Source Integration.” The rest of the slide looked like this:

“In the text ________(title), _________ (author) __________(verb). This is a valuable point because _________.”

Example: In the text The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, Sean Covey states “Take me...(rest of quote).” This is a valuable point because....

Ms. R gave an example of the quotes value because it is a 21^st Century Skill. The students then copied down the example, writing the entire quote, and finishing with their own analysis. They not only got more familiar with the book, they learned about source integration, formatting, and were made cognizant of the fact that this quote addresses their 21^st Century Skills. Only then did she give them the reading assignment and have them find the correlating handout Get in the Habit. It was fabulous.

     I read the assigned pages as I walked around the room. I stopped to answer questions, redirect and observe but I still got through half of the reading. Enough to answer pertinent questions. I found it colorful and interesting. I was shocked by the “The 7 Habits of Highly Defective Teens” list (Covey, Page 7). I have in the past possessed all of those bad habits! I scrambled back to page 5 and the 7 habits the book is about. How ineffective, or defective, was I now?!

     Even though Ms. R says she is only going to work on The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens a few weeks, I ordered a copy. It has good information in a fun package that I think will be invaluable to self-reflection as a person and a teacher. I figure I can always add it to my classroom library when I have a classroom of my own. Besides I already had an Amazon cart full of YA books for CI 454E, a book for ENGL 362, and Umbrella Corporation parking permit stickers for myself and my husband. (You have to laugh and smile at some point.) What's another $8 towards my education?

     Take a peek at the lists in my blog entry appendix. Where do you stand? What about your students? For a laugh check out Part 2.

Appendix to this blog entry:

Sean Covey's list of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens:

Habit 1: Be Proactive

Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind

Habit 3: Put First Things First

Habit 4: Think Win-Win

Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood

Habit 6: Synergize

Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw

Covey's “The 7 Habits of Highly Defective Teens”:

Habit 1: React

Habit 2: Begin with No End in Mind

Habit 3: Put First Things Last

Habit 4: Think Win-Lose

Habit 5: Seek First to Talk, Then Pretend to Be Listen

Habit 6: Don't Cooperate

Habit 7: Wear Yourself Out

From The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey pages 5-8.