Submitted by Ben Johnson <author> (not verified) on March 26, 2008 - 06:23.
Brandi:
Urgency is a motivating force and it is contagious. I am not talking about the desperate urgency one feels when they are a day late and a dollar short, although it is certainly powerful, I am talking about the crackling, sparking urgency of deliberate and proactive purpose, enthusiasm and willpower. Now that is motivation. Business as usual is the exact opposite of this kind of urgency.
You sound like you are one of those people who are not afraid to shake things up a bit. As I stated, your sense of urgency is contagious and affects, however slightly, everyone you meet. As educators it is one of our past times to complain about the state of education. I too have fallen into that trap. I have since learned to look at things another way. What am I going to do about what I view as areas in need of improvement.
I recently read the book, The 360 Leader by John Maxwell (2005). He cues in on the fact that even though we might not be the one who has all the power and calls the shots, we can be a powerful force for change within any organization. Mr. Maxwell proposes that we can be leaders for the people above us, parallel to us and below us in the organization. For example, an English teacher in California named Mary Swanson saw a need and had (and still has) a sense of urgency to fill that need. She saw a group of students that had potential but no support to go to college. She started filling that need for the students. Soon other faculty saw what she was doing and imitated her. School leaders saw the results of her efforts and asked her to replicate them elsewhere and before you know it, Mary Catherine Swanson had created AVID which is an internationally recognized college preparation and academic improvement reform model helping hundreds of thousands of students(Freedman, 2000).
My question to you is how are you going to use your "charisma" and your sense of urgency to see if you can motivate your students to become fully engaged?
Freedman, J.(2000) The wall of fame: One teacher, one class, and the power to save schools and transform lives. San Diego, CA: AVID Academic Press in collaboration with San Diego State University Press.
Maxwell, J.(2005) The 360 degree leader: Developing your influence from anywhere in the organization. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc.
We all need urgency
Submitted by Ben Johnson <author> (not verified) on March 26, 2008 - 06:23.
Brandi:
Urgency is a motivating force and it is contagious. I am not talking about the desperate urgency one feels when they are a day late and a dollar short, although it is certainly powerful, I am talking about the crackling, sparking urgency of deliberate and proactive purpose, enthusiasm and willpower. Now that is motivation. Business as usual is the exact opposite of this kind of urgency.
You sound like you are one of those people who are not afraid to shake things up a bit. As I stated, your sense of urgency is contagious and affects, however slightly, everyone you meet. As educators it is one of our past times to complain about the state of education. I too have fallen into that trap. I have since learned to look at things another way. What am I going to do about what I view as areas in need of improvement.
I recently read the book, The 360 Leader by John Maxwell (2005). He cues in on the fact that even though we might not be the one who has all the power and calls the shots, we can be a powerful force for change within any organization. Mr. Maxwell proposes that we can be leaders for the people above us, parallel to us and below us in the organization. For example, an English teacher in California named Mary Swanson saw a need and had (and still has) a sense of urgency to fill that need. She saw a group of students that had potential but no support to go to college. She started filling that need for the students. Soon other faculty saw what she was doing and imitated her. School leaders saw the results of her efforts and asked her to replicate them elsewhere and before you know it, Mary Catherine Swanson had created AVID which is an internationally recognized college preparation and academic improvement reform model helping hundreds of thousands of students(Freedman, 2000).
My question to you is how are you going to use your "charisma" and your sense of urgency to see if you can motivate your students to become fully engaged?
Freedman, J.(2000) The wall of fame: One teacher, one class, and the power to save schools and transform lives. San Diego, CA: AVID Academic Press in collaboration with San Diego State University Press.
Maxwell, J.(2005) The 360 degree leader: Developing your influence from anywhere in the organization. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc.