60 000 Thoughts per Day
Scientists say that we have over 60 000 thoughts each day. That is a scary, huge number. However, what is even scarier is thinking about which thoughts we listen to without even realising it and which ones we let fade off out of our minds just as quickly as they arrived. I like using the analogy of our minds being like a busy train station. Our brain is the station and our thoughts are the trains coming in and out. Thousands of trains pass through the station on a daily basis and most of the time we jump on board the first train that goes past without even being aware of where it is going. We don’t think too much…
Feeling Overwhelmed – Simplify Things
At times we can try to be all things, to all people. However, this can be to the detriment of our own well-being. The following strategies, inspired by author Kelly Exeter, are intended to help you slow down and bring some calmness to your life whenever you are feeling at risk of becoming over-whelmed. Reduce the Number of Decisions You Need to Make Decision making is incredibly tiring. Staff in schools make hundreds, if not thousands of decisions each day. The pure volume of decisions that we make leads to thinking fatigue. Establishing routines and pre-planning are great strategies for reducing the number of decisions we have to make each day (or at least reducing the number of decisions that…
The Pygmalion Effect (Part 2)
In part 1, I highlighted that teachers’ expectations can dramatically affect students’ achievement. This uniquely human phenomenon is the Pygmalion Effect. Here is another example. If a student in your class scores significantly better on a test, than you would have predicted, would you look first at alternative reasons before admitting you had pre-judged this student’s ability? Would you be tempted to re-mark the test or think about who was sitting close to that student during the test and compare answers for signs of cheating? As author W Wagner claims, “The ultimate function of a prophecy is not to tell the future, but to make it.” Every time a teacher sizes up or down a student they are influencing the…
The Pygmalion Effect (Part 1)
Teachers’ expectations can dramatically affect students’ achievement. Really believing makes a difference. Teachers can create better student results by just believing in them. This is even truer with underachievers. If a teacher is told that her students are bright, the teacher will be more supportive, teach more difficult material, allow more ‘wait’ time for students to answer questions and provide more thoughtful and useful feedback to the students. In turn, the students receiving this attention will perform to this level. They actually score higher on educational tests, even if they are not ‘bright’, simply because the teacher believes in them. This also applies in reverse. If a teacher believes his or her students are under-achievers, he or she will be…
A Picture Tells a Thousand Words
We often need to put images into our documents such as newsletters, reports or even in Powerpoint presentations to colleagues, students or parents. Using appropriate images provide powerful visuals to reinforce the written (or spoken depending on the format) words. As the old saying goes…A picture tells a thousand words that creates a memory that can often be recalled faster than any spoken words. When working with schools the two most common challenges I hear are: Placement – getting pictures located in the right spot and getting text to wrap around (or not wrap around) it. Editing or Cropping – how to “cut” areas of the picture off to just focus on what you want to share. Once you understand…
Why Would You Want to Work in Schools?
During my career, the status of the teaching profession has declined. A generation or two ago I believe that a number of parents were more supportive of teachers. In times gone by, when issues arose parents were more likely to back and support teachers than immediately jump to the defense of their children and ‘attack’ or question the teacher’s judgement. The cartoon depicting an angry parent questioning a teacher about a student’s grades, that is found in many staffrooms, is an illustration of this shift. There are many factors contributing to this change in status. These include increased stress levels of parents, the competitive nature of an aspirational society and how busy and time poor most people feel. People under…
Where Are Your Time Bandits?
One of the reasons people get themselves stressed, when trying to fit so many things into a day and deal with their distractions, is because they are ‘pleasers’. The problem is, when you try to be all things to all people, you end up reducing your working capacity and time, to focus on your priorities. Becoming resilient to pressure is finding the right balance (and not necessarily an equal balance) between toughening up and letting go. In this context, you need to know what your boundaries are. You may need to toughen up your boundaries and develop your own work priorities first before being prepared to help others. You may also need to let go of wanting to please and…
Applying the 5 Rockstar Principals
According to research conducted by Gallup, nearly 90% of employees worldwide are unengaged in their work. It has been my observation that this sober statistic could well include being unengaged in their life as well. The report concluded that many of us are just going through the motions which results in low productivity, performance and personal fulfillment. I have observed that there are five principles that, if actioned, will transform engagement and performance levels dramatically. I call them the five Rockstar Principles because all admired and successful Rockstars action and personify them (and because I’m passionate about Rock and Roll music). They are, in fact, the same principles all highly successful people use and they will work for anyone. Principle…
Communicate & Connect Minus Technology
It is pretty easy when you have something to say to write an email and push send. Whilst it “ticks” the box of having “told” people, many wonder why staff, parents and students don’t read emails or say they received it. In its simplistic form, the human brain is wired for fight or flight. As primates, every piece of information received was processed on this basis and the appropriate action was taken. Today, our brains are literally assaulted on a 24/7 basis with information. Radio, TV, newspapers, billboards, traffic lights, railway crossings, pedestrian crossings, the chatter of people around you. The challenge is blocking out the “noise” and focusing on the RIGHT STUFF… the things that really matter. With millions…
Attributes of Gr8 Teams
Schools are complex places and teamwork is vital. Staff in schools are members of many teams. These include teaching teams, year level teams, faculty teams, special needs teams, front office teams, curriculum teams, project teams, leadership teams as well as work teams. Teams have the potential to be powerful problem solving groups. However, working in teams often involves meetings and they have the potential to be monumental time wasters and time is a precious resource in schools. It is vital that we use time efficiently. Meetings need to have a clear purpose and operate effectively and efficiently. If this isn’t happening, all participants need to take responsibility for raising the issue and openly discussing their concerns and how improvements could…
Getting to Grips With Unconscious Bias
What is unconscious bias, can we eliminate it and if not, what can we do to mitigate it? Unconscious bias is a bias that we are unaware of, and which happens outside of our control. It happens automatically and is triggered by our brain making quick judgements (shortcuts) and assessments of people and situations, influenced by our background, cultural environment and personal experiences. We are all biased because our unconscious mind is geared towards bias and it is primarily the unconscious mind that drives our instinctive decisions. David Rock from the Neuroleadership Institute makes it clear – if you think you’re not biased, it means that you don’t have a brain. We all have brains, and therefore we are all…
Eight Keys to Running Effective Meetings
I confess that I hate meetings – at least those that are poorly run, go on forever and where decisions are never made. Such meetings are a complete waste of time. Here are my thoughts on what it takes to make meetings a good use of your time and everyone else’s. A clear purpose: Is the purpose, for example, to share information, consult, collaborate on solutions, plan for the future or to encourage relationship building? Whatever it is, don’t rely on people’s mind-reading ability – be clear on what the purpose is. Relevance: There is nothing worse than suffering through a long meeting that is completely irrelevant to your work. So ask the questions, ‘Who needs to be there?’ and ‘Do…