Chapter 9 - Common Sense
This chapter discussed one of my favorite things….organization. I live to organize something…..And, I concur with Ron Clark that “it always baffles me how disorganized students can be.” When I help a child with his/her bookbag, desk or cubbie, I sometimes act like I am hyperventilating because of the paper explosion that sometimes erupts. How children keep their personal space always amazes me. Yet, it is also our responsibility to assist students and help them learn how to be more organized. I used to tell my students, “believe me, there is a method to my madness.” They would laugh, and some would even grunt, but when their projects, term papers, assignments were complete, they realized that I was correct. I tried to not only teach the academic content, but I also tried to teach them how to tackle the daily study and organization of “keeping on top of things.” With it being Back to School time right now, I liked Ron Clark’s suggestion of how he actually took pictures of the school supplies that students needed. That way parents knew exactly what to purchase. What a great idea! Also, as a school administrator, it is my responsibility to help nurture and retain new teachers to keep them from leaving our wonderful profession. I have 10 new teachers this year, and I help and provide assistance to them on a daily basis. I enjoyed our New Teacher Luncheon yesterday. These teachers are eager, excited, and inspired! And, I know that our faculty and staff will welcome and assist them in any way possible. Also, my motto is “work smarter, not harder.” While I do work hard, I feel that I often get bogged down in the details and paperwork. Thus, I pledge to follow Ron’s tips to work smarter and anticipate things which will help save time and allow me to be more efficient and organized in my daily school and family work.
On to Chapter 10…Appreciation! Get ready - the grand finale of our book study is coming up. Be sure to be finished with our book by Monday. We will be discussing this book in our Back to School Staff Development sessions as we build our vision for the upcoming year! Thanks for all you do, DME Dolphins!
