MuskogeePhoenix.com, Muskogee, OK

Local News

Related Photos

  • Staff photo by Cathy Spaulding

    images_sizedimage_297010035

Discussion

October 23, 2009

Three-day workshop habit-forming

By Cathy Spaulding

Teachers from two Muskogee schools found new ways to tap the “leadership potential” in their students this week at a three-day workshop “The Leader in Me.”

The key, according to presenter Dr. Nancy Moore, is to look for “untapped potential.”

“The best teachers never give up on kids,” Moore told teachers from Ben Franklin Science Academy and Irving Elementary School. “Don’t we trust teachers like them.”

“The Leader in Me” is a teacher-student leadership program that implements principles from Stephen Covey’s best-selling self-help book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.”

Irving and BFSA teachers spent three days this week being trained on how to put the program to use in their classes. The workshop featured videos of Covey explaining how his seven habits could apply to the classroom. Then Moore, a former school superintendent from Utah, continued the presentation, often having teachers break into groups to discuss how to implement the habits.

During one session, she talked about honesty and fairness.

“If you want the loyalty of a child that’s present, you have to be loyal to the child that’s absent,” she said.

Irving Elementary Principal David Shouse said the session prompted him “to take a deep look at the leadership styles and abilities of the students.”

“It made us redefine our purpose and goals,” Irving fourth-grade teacher Donna Sisson said.

Moore said she wanted teachers to “unleash and inspire the potential for young children.”



‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’



• Habit 1: Be proactive — You're in charge.

• Habit 2: Begin with the end in mind — Have a plan.

• Habit 3: Put first things first — Work first, then play.

• Habit 4: Think win-win — Everyone can win.

• Habit 5: Seek first to understand, then to be understood — Listen before you talk.

• Habit 6: Synergize — Together is better.

• Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw — Balance feels best.



Source: “The Leader In Me”

Web site.



Reach Cathy Spaulding at 918-684-2928 or Click Here to Send Email

Text Only
Local News