Tag Archives: #success

Opportunity Today & Legacy Tomorrow

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BLOG 3.13.17 Opportunity and Legacy

Opportunity is everywhere we look.  Do you see it?  Look closer. Our attitudes provide our lens – our outlook to see the opportunities around us.  Sure – hindsight is 20/20, but if we start looking forward for it, we may just find it out in front of us in our very path. Opportunity today can impact our legacy tomorrow.

If you recall a few posts back, Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Outliers: The story of success, was mentioned.  Well, for those of you on the edge of your seats waiting for more, here is your opportunity to read and learn more.  It brings to light so many thoughts on so many levels, and can be part of each our legacies if we seize the moment – seize the opportunity.

Let’s start with the basics – the definition of two important terms: opportunity and legacy.

Opportunity can be defined as a set of circumstances that makes it possible to do something. According to Merriam-Webster, opportunity is a favorable juncture of circumstances or a good change for advancement or progress. Also, according to Merriam-Webster, legacy is a gift by will, especially of money or other personal property or something transmitted by or received from an ancestor or predecessor or from the past. These are two positive, powerful words.  I say we set them free and employ them every chance we get.

In Outliers we come to understand that “success arises out of the steady accumulation of advantages: when and where you were born, what your parents did for a living, and what the circumstances of your upbringing were… all make a significant difference in how well you do in the world”… as well as traditions, attitudes, and cultural legacies (p.176).

Gladwell provides various and multiple stories to support his theory. He weaves his narrative to tell the story of opportunity in Part One by considering the Matthew Effect, the 10,000-Hour Rule, and more. From there he progresses to Part Two where he addresses legacy with personal stories to demonstrate how our ancestors’ legacies and our own legacy plays a major role in our success.

Outliers says that “success follows a predictable course. It is not the brightest who succeed. Nor is success simply the sum of the decisions and efforts we make on our own behalf. It is, rather, a gift. Outliers are those who have been given opportunities – and who have the strength and presence of mind to seize them” (p.267). Hmmm… seize the day? That is a quite common phrase about capturing oopportunity.

One particular focus in the book raised my eyebrows as an educator. Summer vacation. Love-hate relationship here as an educator… So, what does he say?
Gladwell notes the unchallenged mindset of summer vacation in the United States. We point fingers when it comes to low test scores without seeing the big picture.  Our learners are “out-houred” when it comes to education. We focus on the faults of schools when in fact, they are mostly pretty good with some fine teachers.  What is missing?  The extra days and hours that other countries provide. The author compares “The school year in the United States is, on average, 180 days long. The South Korean school year is 220 days long. The Japanese school year is 243 days long” (p.260). Year-round schooling may be unpopular to many – especially to those of us who grew up with a long, care-free summer – but it makes sense. Sorry. Again – hope not to lose any of our fabulous blog followers with my open comments about summer… Don’t get me wrong, I love summer! I do need to take this moment to share my thoughts, however. What if? … What if we tried a trimester-system, where engaged learning happens in schools for a term with an extended break of maybe 2-3 weeks before starting up again and repeating.  July holiday? Sure – it should still work and not diminish student retention.  You have to admit there is some validity in this way of thinking. What if? Okay – back to the book…

Life is hard.  Life is harder for some. Life is even harder for others.  How is it decided whose life will be especially tough while others experience what seems like smooth-sailing?

“We are so caught up in the myths of the best and the brightest and the self-made that we think outliers spring naturally from the earth” (p.268).  Gladwell continues “To build a better world we need to replace the patchwork of lucky breaks and arbitrary advantages that today determine success – the fortunate birth dates and the happy accidents of history – with a society that provides opportunities for all…The world could be so much richer than the world we have settled for” (p.268).  Why do we settle? Why do we think it is okay to leave behind any of our neighbors? Why don’t we offer a hand to help everyone up and to do better each day? We are only as strong as our weakest link, right? Let this be our legacy – that opportunity is truly a possibility for all.

Gladwell closes with his own family’s history, and the thought that the success of outliers being attributed to history, community, opportunity, legacy, advantages and inheritances. “The outlier, in the end, is not an outlier at all” (p.285).

If you get the opportunity, read Outliers. And consider year-round education and our legacy…

Stay Calm & Carry On!
Profs Dr. Wendy & Dr. V.

 

Top 10 Teacher Traits by Our Top Teacher Candidates

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Blog ED Majors

SMSU Teacher Candidates are EDU Rock Stars.  We get to know our students from the time they arrive on campus in the fall of their freshman year until that final year they make their way across the stage to accept their diploma. Wow!! What a difference in maturity level as these young teacher candidates travel through their teacher prep program. It is inspiring to see their growth—both personally and professionally.

During their freshman year, our education majors are required to take an Introduction to Education course. At the beginning of this course, they are asked to list the top ten teacher traits they believe are the most significant traits to own as a teacher. These freshmen base their answers on those teachers they just left behind in high school or from their elementary days.

Now that these same students are currently teacher candidates and juniors here at SMSU, and have hopefully gleaned a thing or two from us wise ol’ profs, we posed this same question to some of them. Their answers demonstrate to us that they have indeed grown both personally and professionally since that day way back in Intro to Ed. This makes our hearts burst with joy!

Like David Letterman shares his top ten on the Late Show, below we share with you our top ten teacher traits by our top teacher candidates:

10. Prepared – Our teacher candidates are taught over and over and over again that if they fail to plan they plan to fail! In his book, Teach Like A Champion, Doug Lemov wrote “champion teachers excel at planning.”

9. Compassionate – Dictionary.com defines compassion as “a feeling of sympathy to alleviate suffering.” This verifies what we tell our teacher candidates—“Students don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care!” ~Anonymous

8. Creative – Being creative is one of the four C’s in the 21st Century Learning Skills. Not only is it imperative for our teacher candidates to be creative but the ability to teach their students to be creative is also a big deal.

7. Flexible – Snow days, field placement changes, and even an unexpected broken leg are all reasons our future teachers are learning to be flexible. Curve balls are thrown at them all the time so as they learn to be flexible, they learn to bend without breaking. No pun intended!

6. Patient – Patience is a choice, and because we are professionals, we are expected to make smart choices at all times. When issues cause us frustration, irritation, or pain, we must remind ourselves that we have the choice to stay calm and be patient. The top teacher candidates are perfecting their skill of being patient with students and each other.

5. Respectful – If we give respect, we get respect. Respecting others is a key ingredient when building rapport with students. We have respected our top teacher candidates thoughts and opinions and in return they have respected ours.

4. Leadership – Future teachers must be leaders in their classrooms. Becoming reflective practitioners to self-assess their teaching, influencing their students by the instructional techniques they choose, and completing action research projects are just a few ways our top teacher candidates learn to lead.

3. Organized – “Organization is the key to effectiveness” states Harry Wong in his book First Days of School. Organization is important whether teachers are novice teachers or seasoned teachers. Our teacher candidates learn the importance of organization during the many hours of field experiences they are required to finish along with their rigorous junior methods year.

2. Passionate – We can all agree that passion is contagious. Passion will make lessons more engaging which will elevate student achievement. In his book, Teach Like a PIRATE, Dave Burgess writes that ‘passion is like an intoxicating drug but without the dangers and side effects. Once you get the taste of it, you’ll always want to come back for more.”

Drum roll please—The number one teacher trait that our teacher candidates believe to be the most significant is…

1. Communication – In this era of emailing, texting, Instagram, and Snapchat, we were delighted to read that our teacher candidates still believe in communication and its importance. Communication is one of the substantial 21st Century Learning Skills so we are pleased that they chose this as their number one trait.

Hang on for the time of your life, future teachers. Teaching is THE best profession on Earth! Commit each school day to your students. After all, those children are the reason you are there. Without them, you wouldn’t have a job. Apply your top ten teacher traits in a positive manner and you will become a top-notch teacher! We wish you all the best!!

Blog SMSU ED Majors

Stay Calm & Be Top Notch!
Profs Dr. C. & Dr. V.