As an educator, part of my teaching philosophy has always been to encourage lifelong learning. As I reviewed the 7 ½ Habits of Highly Successful Lifelong Learners, I reflected on my own personal views and found that I am stronger in some areas more than others. One of the most obvious strengths for me is to teach and mentor. From a young age I knew I wanted to be a teacher. Like most teachers, I enjoy seeing that light turn on when my second graders learn something new! I have also been a mentor to new teachers in our building and have helped them transition into the role of an educator. I enjoy sharing “tricks” I have learned along the way to help them be successful.
The most difficult habit for me is to view problems as challenges. When life gets busy and a problem arises, I have to admit that I sometimes view it as a crisis. I can remember back to my first few years of teaching and feeling like I could not find the time for one more thing. With experience, I have developed much better time management and I am able budget my time so that I can expect for challenges to come up. In hindsight, I am usually able to see it as a learning experience but it’s not always easy from the beginning.
I think it is interesting that you equate time with lessening the impact of a challenge/crisis. Do you think time is the main/only element that changes the dynamics from something being a challenge/crisis to a learning experience?
ReplyDeleteI think the secret key to change a crisis to a challenge is only in one's attitude. I guess it is all about how you spin something to yourself so what appears initially to be a bad thing ends up being a good thing. Pretty cool for you to be teaching teachers!
ReplyDeletevwb- I do not think it is the only element, but it definitely seems to be one of the main factors when I reflect back on personal experiences.
ReplyDeletemagdog- I completely agree with you about your attitude. That is something I have improved tremendously on, but there is always room for more improvement!