Thursday, March 1, 2012

Dr. Seuss Friday Focus

Thought of the Week: I was listening to "The Dave Ramsey Show" the other day. He stated a quote that stuck with me, he said that failure is not the result of one single catastrophic event...failure arises from a culmination of bad decisions over time. He then went on to use the analogy of money. People don't just suddenly wake up and find themselves broke with no money. Rarely does is just "happen". Becoming broke happens with several bad money decisions that added up. In example...buying vehicles when you can't afford them, buying houses with no money down, buying "stuff" that you don't need, buying starbucks coffee rather than making it yourself, and having the habit of living beyond your wage for a period of time.


Wealth happens the same way. Years of making good financial decisions add up to being financially stable. Years of sticking to a budget, only paying for items with cash, and (when you don't have debt) investing for retirement. Again, wealth didn't happen over night, it was a culmination of good financial decisions that paid off (no pun intended) over time.


I was reflecting on this statement in relation to education. Ineffective instruction and poor classroom management don't just happen over night. It is a continual lack of expectations, procedures, professional development, poor attitudes about students/parents, and a lack of work ethic over time that add up to a less than stellar classroom experience for the student and the teacher.


In contrast, effective instruction doesn't magically appear! Effective teachers make many good decisions everyday to positively impact their instruction. They build relationships with students, set clear expectations, holds students accountable, contact parents, spend time planning/researching, and assessing what students have learned that makes effective teaching.


Education is not a microwave...its a crock pot. Its about good decisions and small victories day after day.

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