Challenge Yourself in Year F I V E

I hope everyone has a GREAT first day of school tomorrow. Please let me know if there is ANYTHING I can help with. I am excited to pop into spaces and see all of our learners and YOU!

I read Culturize by Jimmy Casas this past summer, and his "10 ways to Challenge yourself to choose a positive response and be a merchant of HOPE for ALL students" really resonated with me so I wanted to share as we begin Year F I V E:

1. Bring Your Best to Work Every Day.

Be grateful you get the opportunity to make a positive impact on a child’s every day.

2. Give 2 Minutes of Your Time to One Student and One Staff Member Every Day.

Be intentional with your time and then follow up with a quick note or word. The small things can make all the difference.

3. Be Empathetic.

Taking the time to understand, share, and be sensitive to another person‘s feelings is critical in building a culture of trust.

4. Value the Mistakes of Others.

Risk takers are born here. If you yourself make a mistake, own it, apologize, ask for for forgiveness and work to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

5. Model Forgiveness.

Be willing to sincerely accept an apology and move on. Believe that most people‘s intentions are good.

6. Understand You will Not Always See Immediate Results when Working with Kids.

Be patient and think long term. Many "troubled" students are just testing a system which has failed them many times over long before you came into the picture.

7. Have High Standards for ALL Kids Every Day.

Do not make excuses for kids based on race, socio-economic class, environment, poor parenting, etc. Believe in all kids all the time (It also helps if you love them all the time too!)

8. Address Inappropriate Behavior.

When you don’t address any inappropriate behavior, you send a message that the students or staff in question are not worth the effort and/or that you have given up. If you hesitate to correct poor behavior because you were worried about their response to you, you have become part of the problem

9. Don’t be Negative.

Constant complaining and speaking negatively about kids, staff, work environment, etc. without offering a solution is a poorer reflection on you than those about whom you were complaining. Bring positive energy every day.

10. Take Time to Smile, Laugh and Encourage Others to Have Fun.

When it’s no longer fun to go to work, it is time to do something else.

Who is ready to take on this challenge with me??