Goal Setting – Page 5 – The Independent Learner

Hello, Is Anyone Listening?

I read a brief article from the publication The Master Teacher (Volume 48, No. 24), a series of professional development brochures that administrators and teachers can sign up to receive throughout the school year. This particular brochure talked about the importance of teaching listening skills. The article titled, Teaching Students a Neglected Life and Literacy Skill, had me reflecting on my own listening skills. Yes, we often teach the importance of reading, writing and speaking, but the listening skills are often taken for granted—and we can do something about that.

There are a number of strategies that we can use with students on a daily basis to improve our listening skills and make our teaching more effective for them.

Stop and make time to listen. You may have heard the expression, “be fully present”. This is particularly important in listening to others. It’s necessary to block out all the distractions and the noise around you. People can tell when you are fully present.
Make eye contact. You don’t need to stare at the person every minute, however strong eye contact shows you are paying attention and care about what the other person is talking about.
Practice empathy. Taking another’s position or point of view is difficult for us sometimes. By simply putting yourself in their shoes for a while, you can get a feel for what they are expressing and more importantly, why they feel this way. This is missing in lots of the political debates going on right now.
Ask questions. By asking questions, the listener is gathering more detail to better understand what the other party is saying. Ask questions that are inquisitive, insightful and intelligent—ones that truly help you understand the other person.

Listening has become an even more critical skill in our daily life these days as we are forced to make hundreds of decisions and many times, with little data or little time. Think about your daily conversations with the people around you—do you really use these strategies?

If you focus on being a better listener, good things happen—good luck!

Other resources: Leadership For Teenagers by Carol Carter and Maureen Breeze, 2011, p.125.”

Peace at Last – A Career Odyssey

“When your daily activities are in concert with your highest priorities, you have a credible claim to inner peace.” —Hyrum Smith, co-founder Franklin Covey

My first research report was for my middle school science class. I cannot remember the actual topic but I remember visiting the main public library (life before the internet for you young ones!) where I was awed by the reference librarians and the abundant amount of material. I felt thrilled to read, make notes and cross-reference!

As an adult, I studied educational theory and wrote a thesis on educational philosophy. I spent hours alone in school archives and I LOVED it! I remember when the ideas started to come together so fast I could barely record them. I would read through documents for hours, my only human interaction being brief exchanges with the archivist, “I’d like box two, folder six of this collection please.” I was incredibly happy and filled with energy.

In my career, I worked as an instructional designer for corporations and felt that same thrill taking apart complex information and re-structuring it for learners. It didn’t matter what the content was, I was on a mission to make it clear and useful.

As much as I loved some of the challenges of my professional life, my career just felt “off” sometimes. My academic interests were abstract and idea driven and my corporate career felt too bottom-line and pragmatic. Finally, when my last corporate job ended, I resolved to find an environment that would be a good fit for me—that was when I joined the University. At last, my academic interests, my work life and my existential nerdiness are in congruence and it feels terrific!

This week I was in a meeting listening to faculty and instructional designers discuss changes to a Biology grading rubric. As they talked, everyone in the room grew more and more excited, “Yes! That will definitely help the learner!” and “This will give the student confidence to take on the more difficult concepts!” I watched them in real-time applying Bloom’s Taxonomy in the service of others and I smiled. These are my people and I am free to let my nerd light shine.

So I implore you to take note of your everyday activities—whether in work or academics—and fit these with your highest priorities and passions in life. You will be amazed at the amount of energy and peace you will experience when your daily work is aligned with what you value most.

4 Tips for a Successful School Year

For many high school students, August seems to be the favored month for the start of back-to-school. For students involved in sports, many have actually been training and working out even before the traditional pre-season of the school year officially began, and August means the start of when they can demonstrate their hard work. For others, the start of school means the reduction or the stopping of work for summer jobs as they begin to focus on their studies.

As a high school principal, my previous talks to students at the start of the school year focused on these four rules—applicable to all whether you’re an athlete, have a part-time job or anyone else.

Show up. Attendance is critical to your success—you have to be there to get the instruction offered by your teachers. For online students, you have to open up your coursework and you have to submit assignments frequently so that there is evidence of your involvement and participation on a frequent basis. Ask questions of your online teachers [unhsteach@nebraska.edu]—this lets them know you’re engaged in the process.
Do your work. Not only is it critical that you do the assignments and work assigned to you by your teachers, but you should do quality work. Remember, everything you turn in has your name on it. Your name should mean something—it is who you are and stands for the integrity of your good character. Be proud of each and every assignment you submit because it represents (or should), your very best efforts.
Practice civility. Students who really care about their education demonstrate great amounts of civility toward others—even folks they don’t know. Your words and actions matter, whether it is how you speak and act towards members of your community, others are forming an impression of how you manage yourself as a human being. Keep your words and actions positive and reflective of your dedication to yourself. Your words matter to your teachers as they grade your work and your projects. Use them wisely and carefully. Online teachers can quickly pick up the “tone” of your comments in your writing. Make it a point to practice your civility online!
School comes first. If you continue to work during the school year, which is perfectly fine (and more power to you!), just remember that your schoolwork should be your priority.

If you follow these simple rules, you are more likely to enjoy the learning experience this year.

I hope that what you will take away from this is experience is a life-long love of learning that will guide you along a very productive life. Have a great start to your year!

Travel Tips: When You Return Home

Charlotte-blog-small — Charlotte Seewald, UNHS Assistant Director

Your trip is now over, but don’t be too sad! Now you have fond memories to look back on, and I bet it also feels good to be home. Here are some things to keep in mind as you readjust to your home country.

Remember how you had jet lag when you traveled there? Coming home may be worse! While I hope you land and feel great, it is understandable if you feel tired, irritable, distracted as your brain and body readjust to the time zone.

Be gentle with yourself—most people need a day for every hour difference to be back to their normal energy level. So if you were in a country that was 10 hours different than your home it may take 10 days for you to adjust. It is a good idea to not have big projects or stressful agendas to work on the first week of your return. Also, let your family and friends know you need some time to “get back to normal”.

After a long trip home from Malaysia, I found myself crying over a TV commercial! My friend’s husband came home from a long trip and was a grouch for 2 days. Fair warning!

Now that you’re home, here are some things to do:

Store your passport in designated and secure spot for the next trip.
Review credit card charges to note any errors. Contact credit card companies to inform them you have returned.
Store electrical adapter where you can find them again.
Download photos, edit and share!
Sort through gifts and mementos you brought home to share now or later.
Reflect on your travel experiences and consider where you would like to go next!

Whether you are reading these tips before you travel to prepare yourself or are using the advice now, I hope you have a wonderful experience before, during and after you travel!

What is Worth Doing?

“Anything worth doing is worth doing well.” While it is a well-intended thought meant to elevate our work towards quality and perfection, I do not like its overall meaning.

If you perceive something is worth doing, then do it. If it is worth doing, then do it badly! You will either find it so worthwhile that you will improve or you will enjoy the experience and then turn your attention to other things that you will do well. But there is NOTHING to be gained by sitting out some activity you want to engage in because you may be perceived as not doing it well.

H. Macy of Macy’s started seven failed businesses before finally hitting it big in New York City.
Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor because he “he lacked imagination and had no good ideas.”
Albert Einstein was refused admittance to the Zurich Polytechnic School.
Oprah Winfrey was fired from a position as a television reporter because she was “unfit for TV.”
Stephen King’s first book received 30 rejections.
Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team.

These are some high performing people, but not because they were immediately and consistently good at their chosen activity. They were driven by a love of the activity or competition or performance. They would not have even understood the question, “Is it worth doing?”

The point is: YOU decide what is worth doing.

I love to sing. I do not sing particularly well, but it is worth doing because I enjoy it! I like the energy and well-being that comes from singing out loud. And the more I do it, the better I become. I am improving and making myself worthy of the activity I enjoy.

Maybe you like to write, or run, or cook, or ski…. Do it. I cannot tell you if it is worth it; but I can tell you that YOU ARE worth it!

Source: 50 Famously Successful People Who Failed At First – OnlineCollege.org. (2010, February 16). Retrieved June 15, 2016, from http://www.onlinecollege.org/2010/02/16/50-famously-successful-people-who-failed-at-first/