Now that we have taken the time to think about the habits that help us take control of ourselves, it is time to start thinking about how we interact with others. Just like when in an emergency, you put the mask on yourself before you help those around you. With the metaphorical mask on, now we have to look at how we begin to build relationships.
With my students this week, we had a discussion about maturity. I think this was a good time to actually just sit and talk for a while, and to share some things about myself. I told them about a realization I came to after high school. Something like this:
I always played sports. Not just in high school, but ever since I can remember. My family is a sports family, and I love it. Practices and games consumed all of my free time, and even though it was hard, it was never something that burnt me out. I love competition. You can probably tell from all the metaphors I use to make points in class that my brain is hard wired to sports. The problem with thinking that way is that it makes everything a competition. I practiced basketball so we could win games. I ran after practice so I could beat out my teammates for playing time. I swam extra to make sure I beat out some of the last few guys and get on the varsity water polo team. Everything I did was a competition. I look back on that now and I feel so petty and small. Part of becoming more mature is being able to think about more than yourself, and being able to find balance in your life. Just because I wanted to win, doesn't mean that somebody else has to lose.
As a class we all looked at what small steps we could do to start developing a better habit. We all looked through a list of the 9 Baby Steps that Covey provides in his 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens book, and chose two that we would practice this week.
My two commitments were to make sure that I rewarded the students in class who were being models for this type of behavior, and to model it myself by trying to be happy for others when they succeed. To practice this we took about 15-20 minutes of class, and played board games. I have Trouble, Connect 4, and a few other games in my classroom closet. I put some sentence starters on the board on how to show sportsmanship, and to focus on building a relationship rather than winning a game, and we all had a good time.
With my students this week, we had a discussion about maturity. I think this was a good time to actually just sit and talk for a while, and to share some things about myself. I told them about a realization I came to after high school. Something like this:
I always played sports. Not just in high school, but ever since I can remember. My family is a sports family, and I love it. Practices and games consumed all of my free time, and even though it was hard, it was never something that burnt me out. I love competition. You can probably tell from all the metaphors I use to make points in class that my brain is hard wired to sports. The problem with thinking that way is that it makes everything a competition. I practiced basketball so we could win games. I ran after practice so I could beat out my teammates for playing time. I swam extra to make sure I beat out some of the last few guys and get on the varsity water polo team. Everything I did was a competition. I look back on that now and I feel so petty and small. Part of becoming more mature is being able to think about more than yourself, and being able to find balance in your life. Just because I wanted to win, doesn't mean that somebody else has to lose.
As a class we all looked at what small steps we could do to start developing a better habit. We all looked through a list of the 9 Baby Steps that Covey provides in his 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens book, and chose two that we would practice this week.
My two commitments were to make sure that I rewarded the students in class who were being models for this type of behavior, and to model it myself by trying to be happy for others when they succeed. To practice this we took about 15-20 minutes of class, and played board games. I have Trouble, Connect 4, and a few other games in my classroom closet. I put some sentence starters on the board on how to show sportsmanship, and to focus on building a relationship rather than winning a game, and we all had a good time.