Jenifer Fox...

Sorry it has taken a while to update my blog. School has been crazy, trying to finish the nine weeks and getting grades in. I am excited about having a week off to recharge my batteries.

It was great meeting Jennifer Fox last Thursday night at her book signing in Orlando. Her presentation was AWESOME! A couple of things have stuck with me over the last week and I even began talking with my students about the ideas in class today.

First, what is a strength? Most students get this, it's something that you do well. But more than that, it is something that makes you feel STRONG and gets you excited! Secondly, I asked them what is the opposite of a strength, most of the students said weakness. I said not necessarily, and asked one of my students how he felt when he did something he was not good at. He said he felt like crap. That's the key, the opposite of a strength is DEPLETION.

The key to living a strong life is doing the things that excite you and staying away from the activities that deplete you. That's how you will find true fullfillment in your work.

Jenifer also made a statement that I firmly believe will change the lives of students. She said, "Your strengths are what make you EXCEPTIONAL." As a teacher I know how true that statement is. I get excited about the thought of spending the last nine weeks helping students to find their strengths and helping them to experience success and strive to be exceptional on a daily basis.

I would love to read your thoughts.

Do you agree with Jenifer's statement, "Your strengths are what make you exceptional."
Also, what are your strengths and what depletes you and how are you currently staying on your strengths path.

More to come. I am off to Los Angeles next week for StrengthsFinder training. I can hardly contain my excitement!!!

Benjamin Zander...

Who is Benjamin Zander you ask. He is the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic and author of the book "The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life". I was listening to a Podcast last night and the speaker was talking about Mr. Zander and being a teacher I was intrigued by the title. Afterall that's what I try to inspire my students to do everyday, imagine what you could become or do with your life. If this is anything like "Uncommon Genius", it should be a REAL treat and well worth your time.

I am super excited to be attending Jenifer Fox's book signing tonight in Orlando, Florida. If you have not gotten her book, what are you waiting for...it's FABULOUS!!!

Your Child's Strengths: Discover Them, Develop Them, Use Them by Jenifer Fox M.Ed.

I will be writing about my experience next week. Until then have a GLORIOUS Easter Holiday with your families.

You have to watch this movie!!!

Chalk is a mockumentary that was shot in Texas and its opening scene showed the following statistic...

50% of teachers leave the profession before their third year

This statistic absolutely floored me. I knew teacher retention was a problem, but I didn't know it was that bad. I saw chalk for the first-time at The Jacksonvlle Film Festiville in 2006. At the time I was finishing my second-year and was thinking about what I was going to do next year. I loved the movie, it was shot like The Office and had some really likable characters and I loved the dialogue. A lot of the conversations and thoughts were ideas that I had been pondering over the last couple of months and towards the end of my first-year of teaching in 2005.

If you get a chance, rent or buy the movie. It is VERY inspiring and is a good motivator for first-year, new teachers. It will make you laugh, but also remind you of the impact that we make on the lives of students as teachers.

If you get a chance to see Chalk or have seen it. I would love to read your thoughts...

What's your Red Rubber Ball?

I attended a conference last year and a person I met there told me about Kevin Carroll. She told me that he was a motivational speaker and has written a wonderful book called "Rules of the Red Rubber Ball". I was interested so I bought a copy and was blown away. I was so inspired that I decided to share it with my students last year and they loved the book. I even created a "Red Rubber Ball Gang". The group only had two requirements for initiation. First you had to memorize the 7 rules and secondly, you had to know what your red rubber ball is. This year I took it a step furthur and bought journals for my students and they read the book and wrote journal entries about their experience reading the book and telling me what their read rubber ball was. Some of the entries made me tear up. It is a joy being in a job where you can connect on a heart level with the people you are trying to impact.

So what's your red rubber ball? What excites and energizes you? For more inspiration check out http://www.kevincarrollkatalyst.com/

Strengths Movement in Schools

I am SUPER excited to read Jenifer Fox's new book "Your Child's Strengths: Discover Them, Develop Them, Use Them". I have been using Gallup's StrengthFinder in my classroom with my students and am excited to finally get my hands on a actual strength-based curriculum that has helped students to reach their full potential in the classroom.

Like, Jenifer, I believe that teaching to a student's strengths in the next big idea in education. If you are interested in reading more about the strengths movement in schools check out the website, www.strengthsmovement.com . It has a wealth of resources for teachers and also has an on-line community where you can interact with other people from around the world that are passionate about the strengths movement.

If you have taken StrengthsFinder. I would love to read your 5 strengths. If you have not, you can purchase StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath at any bookstore and take the assesment online by using the code that accompanies the book.

More to come. I look forward to having many strength conversations on this blog. I am excited to see what will happen with the strength revolution in schools over the next couple of months as more people are exposed to the benefits of teaching to students strengths.

...Charles "Tremendous" Jones...

I ran across the quote by Charles "Tremendous" Jones in December and decided to give my students an assignment over Chrisnas Break...The goal, read a book that you REALLY REALLY enjoy over Christmas break and write a journal entry about it. I have to admit I was pretty skeptical about whether or not my students would take the assignment seriously much less do it. Boy was I pleasantly surprised, 90% of my students completed the assignment, to this day it is my most successful homework assignment. There is something to the fact that LEADERS are READERS, as Mr. Jones says...now that's a legacy to leave behind...that we as teachers would turn our students into life-long readers and they would turn into leaders that would change our world for the better!!!

BOOKS you MUST READ!!!

"Rules of the Red Rubber Ball" By Kevin Carroll

"Made to Stick" By Chip and Dan Heath

"The Go-Giver" By Bob Burg and John David Mann

"Love is the Killer App" By Tim Sanders

Uncommon Genius" By Denise Shekerjian

My goal is to read 20 books in 2008...I have read 5 so far and am well on my way...What has been a book that has inspired you this year? Look forward to reading your thoughts...