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Wednesday, May 7, 2008
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CLICK
HERE FOR A PDF FILE OF THE CURRENT PAPER EDITION |
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During summer
semester, Mitchell Columns will be published every other week.
This week is the last weekly edition for spring semester. The next edition
will be published May 21. See below for this summer’s publication dates.
Dates of
Publication for Summer ‘08
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May 21
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June 4
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June 18
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July 2
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July 16
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July 30
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August
13
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From the President's Desk |
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Did You Know? |
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Employee Birthdays |
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Faculty/Staff Profiles |
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Scholarships |
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Academic Calendar '07-'08 |
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Board Briefs |
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QEP Quips |
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MCC Inclement Weather Policy |
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Archive |
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Scholarship Luncheon |
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Spring Week |
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Awards Ceremony |
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Spring Court Ceremony |
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May 8 through 21
Kristen Morgan—12th
Roxanne Newton—14th
Joyce Roseberry—15th
Marie Prather—16th
Bobby Johnson—17th
Mike Brown—18th
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Deadline for article submissions to
Mitchell Columns is every Tuesday at
9 a.m. E-mail articles to
printgraph@mitchellcc.edu
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SELF MOTIVATION SERIES
(This series will explore the
role of what has been identified as the "inner voice," "self-talk," and
"intra-communication," etc. in effecting positive outcomes.)
Changing negative and self-defeating "self-talk"
can be encouraged by others, but it is ultimately up to the individual to
become aware of negative thinking, monitor it, and change it. One of the
best ways to do this is to be on the lookout for and avoid tunnel vision
(seeing only one aspect of a situation and ignoring or excluding all other
relevant information). One remedy is to avoid dichotomous reasoning (seeing
everything as black or white). This type of self-talk sounds like the
following: all or nothing, win or loose, succeed or fail, love or hate, and
everything is good or bad. Typical words include: "never", "all", "every",
"everybody", and "always". Teachers can help by encouraging students to
think in terms of gray areas. They can be taught to analyze situations in
terms of percentages. Seldom is anything 100%. It may be 50%, 20%, or only
5%. Strive for a balanced point of view. Remember the ancient Greek ideal:
"nothing to excess". —Submitted by Employee
Development (05.07.08)
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Exams
May 1 through 7
Nursing Pinning
Ceremony
May 7
7 p.m.
On the Circle
GED Graduation
May 8
7 p.m.
On the Circle
Curriculum
Graduation
May 9
7 p.m.
On the Circle
Faculty Workday
May 12
CCTL Registration
May 12
9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
BioTech and Life
Sciences: What’s In It For Me?
May 12
2 to 4 p.m.
Rotary Auditorium and the Circle
Summer Final
Registration
May 13
Faculty
Development—Developing Partnerships with Business, Industry and K-12
May 14
9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
SB-101
Administrative
Council
May 14
3 p.m.
Faculty Workday
May 15
Fish & All That
Jazz
May 15
6 p.m.
Mooresville Center
Ticket Required
Ten-week Session
Begins
May 16
Drop/Add for
10-week Session
May 16 & 19
Comprehensive
Articulation Agreement (CAA)
May 19
1:30 to 2:30 p.m.
Rotary Auditorium
Early Fall
Registration & Advising Begins for Returning Students
May 20
9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Early Fall
Registration
May 20 through 21
9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
May 22
9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
MCC Retirement
Reception
May 22
2 p.m.
Faculty
Development—Overview & Orientation for WebAdvisor
May 23
10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Memorial Day
No Classes—Faculty Workday
May 26
Memorial Day Band
Concert
May 26
6 p.m.
On the Circle
Faculty Workday
May 27
Security Test &
Drill
May 27
Student Services
Building Groundbreaking
May 27
4 p.m.
CNA Graduation
May 27
7 p.m.
Shearer Hall
Faculty/Staff
Development—Microsoft Office Training
May 28
Faculty Workday
May 29
Luncheon & MCCEE
Auction
May 29
11:30 a.m.
Old Gym
Faculty/Staff
Development—Microsoft Office Training
May 30
BLET Graduation
May 30
6 p.m.
CEC Auditorium |
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- The most effective way to begin is to is
to have the end in mind. Identify the meaning of "learning" and "success."
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Learning is fundamentally connected to a person's intrinsic motive to seek
meaning in the world.
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Leadership is difficult, at best, if one's own vision and values are not
continually and intentionality held out as a guide.
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Those who say to themselves that they are unable, inadequate, and not
responsible are in a poor position to guide anyone.
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A more caring, gracious, and personalized approach to education can only
be achieved by people who are caring and gracious.
-
In relationships the little things are the big things.
-
Strive to develop effective interactions that bring
mutually beneficial results to everyone involved.
- Deal with those things that you have direct control
over and you will find that many things for which you have only indirect
control or no control at all will become less problematic.
- In order to plan for success, it is important to examine
how we see ourselves, what our relationships with others are, and how we can
develop and nurture caring, positive relationships.
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Treat people the way they can be—not the way they are.
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Remove the negative.
Try to have all signs, written and
oral communications begin with please and end with thank you.
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A thousand good intentions are no match for a single positive act.
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Life loves those who love life.
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Do not be afraid to be caught in an act of caring.
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To deal with yourself, use your head; to interact with others, use your
heart.
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Many people will walk in and out of our lives leaving little or no trace.
Those who make a difference will leave footprints in our hearts.
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Strive to become more self-directing. To the questions of life, you are
the only answer and to the problems in your life, you are the only solution.
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Categories and labels are powerful instruments for social regulation and
control. Avoid using them.
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To be as successful as possible, we must strive to define others and
ourselves in positive and realistic ways.
-
To ensure the best product, we must coordinate and focus the energy of
all people, places, policies, programs, and processes.
-
Perceptions are learned. Be sensitive to how people perceive themselves.
- Attention to personal and professional
development is essential if one is to help others. "I to myself am dearer
than a friend." W. Shakespeare
- Enjoy silence. Consider who you are, where you
came from, and where you're going. Being at one with yourself can be
deeply rewarding.
- Critical thinking provides the link between
intelligence and emotions. When our thinking is of high quality, rational
emotions follow. When we develop rational emotions, we think reasonably.
- Teachers have a moral obligation to their
students to take care of themselves in order to avoid "burnout" and the
negative resentment that accompanies it.
- Too much isolation can be bad, but taking time to be alone can be helpful.
Enjoy silence. Being at one with yourself can be deeply rewarding and a
major step toward being more effective in helping others.
- Don't commit partial suicide--destroying talents, energies, and
creativity. Learning how to be good to oneself is often more difficult
than learning how to be good to others; but it is essential to remain
positive and productive.
- A guideline for accepting life's opportunities is a willingness to risk.
- Offering an invitation is another way of saying "I trust you, I respect
you, and I value you." Accepting an invitation says the same things.
- In a "learning environment" one must continually extend invitations
because if:
lI
don't invite, you can't accept.
lIf
you can't accept, you won't invite.
lIf
you don't invite, I can't accept.
lIf
there are no invitations, there is no development.
- To be inviting, one must take people seriously in every teaching/learning/
service contact. This means paying full attention to them, really
listening to them and caring about their needs and concerns, no matter how
large or small.
- Up to fifty percent of our communication is conveyed through body
language. Facial expression, eye contact, and posture tell others not only
who we are but what we think of them before we begin to speak. Attend to
all messages.
- Teamwork is critical to building a true teaching/learning/service culture
and achieving goals of continuous improvement and excellence.
- Collaboration—whether
formally through professional organizations or informally among colleagues—can
only enhance "best practices" and promote professional growth.
- In "knowledge "work quality is far more important than
quantity because "quality" is value-added.
- In "information " work, what is most valuable is not
the product itself, but the impact of what is produced and what it does in
terms of stimulating new knowledge.
- If nothing is put in, nothing comes out. Be certain that
information and resources are adequate to produce desired outcomes.
- Neither do excuses relieve one of responsibility nor do
reasons justify lack of results. Responsibility rests with the
responsible.
- Checking for understanding and satisfaction both completes and begins the
learning and quality service process.
- We all make mistakes and when we do we need to "make amends." In higher
education we may not be able to offer "a free dessert;" but we can make a
sincere effort to go the extra mile and make sure that things progress
smoothly from here on out.
- The smallest negative factor can have a tremendous impact. As James
Thomson wrote in 1730: "Oft, what seems a trifle, a mere nothing, by
itself in some nice situations, turns the scale of fate, and rules the
most important actions."
- Self-assessment is part of continuous improvement. However,
when that evaluation is constantly negative we are setting ourselves up
for failure. Alexander Dumas wrote in the nineteenth century: "A person
who doubts himself is like a man who would enlist in the ranks of his
enemies and bear arms against himself. He makes his failure certain by
himself being the first persons to be convinced of it."
- A positive self-concept is essential to being happy and effective. That
concept is developmental and is affected by everything and everyone around
us. We are challenged to attend carefully to our role in others’
development. W. Somerset Maugham wrote in The Razor’s Edge (1944):
"For men and women are not only themselves; they are also the region
in which they were born, the city apartment or the farm in which they
learned to walk, the games they played as children, the old wives’ tale
they overhear, the food they ate, the schools they attended, the
sports they followed, the poems they read, and the God they believed in."
- "Leadership is a matter of how to be, not how to do. We spend most of our
lives mastering how to do things, but in the end it is the quality and
character of the individual that defines the performance of great
leaders."—Frances Hesselbein, Leader to Leader, (1999)
- When core values include continuous improvement and growth there must be
trust, both within ourselves and with others. Where there is
trust there is likely to be risk-taking, and where there is risk-taking,
there is likely to be creativity and innovation.
- In real estate, the cardinal rule for success is location, location,
location. In teaching and learning, the cardinal rule is preparation,
preparation, preparation. The chance for student success is
significantly increased if materials, classroom atmosphere, procedures and
the instructor are ready and in place before the first student
arrives.
- Studies have shown consistently that the single most important factor in
the learning environment is the teacher. Haim Ginott expressed this well
in Teacher and Child, 1976.
- I have come to a frightening conclusion. I am the decisive element in the
classroom. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my
daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher I possess tremendous power
to make a student’s life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of
torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or humor, hurt or
heal. In all situations it is my response that decides whether a crisis
will be escalated or de-escalated, and a student humanized or
dehumanized.
- Quality service requires that we help each other and "follow-through" with
our internal customers as much as our external customers.
- High expectations of excellence can be a very good thing. However, if
those expectations are so high that we feel that no one else can possibly
do "it" correctly and we try to "do everything" ourselves —we weaken trust
within the system. We must develop trust in the ability of others and in
ourselves to deal with changes and differences in the work of others.
- It is important to learn and
continually update one’s knowledge of how a system like MCC works. The
more we know, the less likely it is for communication and process to break
down and inconvenience everyone involved.
- Conflicts are a normal part of
human interaction. They cannot be ignored and allowed to go unresolved. In
a service environment, such as MCC, talking out issues can resolve
problems and strengthen the team relationship.
- Mutual respect is critical to creative problem-solving. It is just as
important, if not more so, to focus on one’s internal customers as
it is to concentrate on one’s external customers.
- To insure continuous improvement, it is essential to evaluate every place,
person, process, program, and policy to identify what is working well and
what is not; and how to make it work better in the future. All
participants in the service environment must be involved in this task to
make it work.
- The Greek philosopher Zeno stressed the importance of maintaining a "calm
soul " and demeanor. In this ever increasingly stress-filled world problem
solving requires more reason and patience, and less emotion.
- Success depends to a great degree on effective interdependence. The
foundation of that interdependence rests on personal independence. Samuel
Johnson put it this way: "There can be no friendship without confidence,
and no confidence without integrity."
- In an inviting learning-centered environment everyone is encouraged to
have confidence in their ability to learn, to trust their feelings, and to
celebrate their personal uniqueness.
- In a "learning-centered"
environment one is responsible for his/her own learning and for planning a
long and healthy life. Take responsibility for your own support system.
The greatest proportion of health and safety care one receives is
self-administered.
- Personal and professional lives
do not exist in isolation. Lives are connected wholes. Everyone and
everything in our "learning environment" are signal systems that
are either positive (inviting) or negative (disinviting). We must work
together to move all systems to the positive and realize that this is a
reciprocal process.
- According to Bennis and Nanus
in Leaders: The Strategies for Taking Charge, "Leaders articulate
and define what has previously remained implicit or unsaid; then they
invent images, metaphors, and models that provide a focus for new
attention."
- Building community is a way to tie
teaching and learning together in a special way that contributes to shared
values and ideals. It builds higher levels of self-understanding,
commitment, and performance; and provides a growing sense of identity,
belonging, and place.
- To encourage
discussion and dialogue, ask open-ended questions. Make sure that
questions require more than a yes-or-no answer. Try: "What do you think
about....?" or "How would you describe...?" Generate thinking and
involvement.
- Communication and cooperation can be improved by sharing one’s person.
Students and co-workers need to know us in more than one dimension. Try
sharing anecdotes about family or pets, feelings about popular culture,
and even moods. You might be surprised at how thoughtful, caring, and
supportive others can be when they "know" you.
- Encourage positive, inviting communication by using collective, inclusive
pronouns such as we, us, and our.
When someone hears, "you have to...," it can seem
impersonal, un-inviting, and evening threatening.
- Invite dialogue. In a learning-centered environment it is not the answers
to questions but rather the questions to the answers that is most
important. Knowledge is dynamic and today’s accepted fact may soon become
tomorrow’s outmoded concept. People grow intellectually by challenging
ideas.
- Public relations is part of everyone’s responsibility. It is not a matter
of whether or not an institution has public relations; but rather the kind
it has. Make as certain as possible that all encounters and "messages" are
clear, positive, and affirmative.
- In a learning-centered environment everyone must have a sense of control
over what happens to them whether in the classroom or in the office.
Jonathan Swift put it this way in Gulliver’s Travels: "That which
gave me most Uneasiness among those Maids of Honor, when my Nurse carried
me to visit them, was to see them use me without any Matter of Ceremony,
like a Creature who had no sort of Consequence."
- In a learning-centered service environment collaboration and cooperation
at all levels is essential for personal and professional fulfillment. Walt
Whitman expressed it this way: "If you tire, give me both burdens, and
rest the chuff of your hand on my hip / And in due time you shall repay
the same service to me."
- People who are unintentionally "disinviting" are negative and
counter-productive forces in the environment even though they are unaware
that this is taking place. In the work place (especially a service,
learning-centered one) this can also be characterized as "unconscious
incompetence." Well-meaning people can exhibit behaviors that are
perceived as uncaring, chauvinistic, condescending, patronizing,
dictatorial, sexist, racist, or just plain thoughtless. It can be like
being hit by a bus; whether intentional or not, it still causes damage. We
must learn to be intentional. That means we must consider the consequences
of our behaviors in advance.
- According to Kouzes and Posner in The Leadership Challenge: "people
with a hardy attitude . . . take the stress of life in stride. When they
encounter a stressful event—whether positive or negative—(1) they consider
it interesting, (2) they feel that they can influence the outcome, (3)
they see it as an opportunity for development. This optimistic appraisal
of events increases their capacity to take decisive steps to alter the
situation."
- "Invitational leaders...," according to Purkey and Siegel in Becoming
an Invitational Leader, can avoid sending negative messages by using
"...the language of optimism." For example: "lost becomes
misplaced, problem becomes situation, or even
opportunity, no trouble becomes my pleasure, never
becomes unlikely, can’t becomes won’t, and
impossible becomes difficult."
- Poor
communication can be deliberate. Withholding information and knowledge
from others is an effective way to deny them power. Without information,
misunderstandings and rumors flourish. To minimize these problems provide
full and complete facts wherever and whenever possible. Collaboration
begins with sharing information.
- The four basic assumptions of Invitational Education are: 1.) People
are able, valuable, and responsible and should be treated accordingly. 2.)
Education should be a collaborative, cooperative activity. 3.) People
possess untapped potential in all areas of human endeavor. 4.) Human
potential can best be realized by places, policies, and processes that are
specifically designed to invite development, and by people who are
intentionally inviting with themselves and others, personally and
professionally.
- Remember the Jell-O Principle. This
principle maintains that everything and everybody is interconnected. If
you poke the Jell-O, all of it jiggles. If one person is rude to another,
as far as that person is concerned, the whole faculty and staff is rude.
Everything and everybody in the college is making a statement for the
entire institution. Each person is an ambassador.
- "Since we are what we do, if we want to change what we are we must begin
by changing what we do," and we "must undertake a new mode of action." A.
Wheelis, How People Change (1973)
- Rehearse the future, not the past. Often when we make mistakes, we go over
them again and again in our minds, in effect, reinforcing the mistakes. A
better approach is to ask: "How will I handle this situation the next time
it appears?" By concentrating on the future responses and behaviors, the
future can be rehearsed and possibly the past will not be repeated.
- Trust does not develop over night. It is
built through consistency and predictable behavior over time.
- Invite explicitly. The more explicit the information (i.e. the
invitation), the more likely it will be understood and accepted. Vagueness
leaves others wondering: "What did he mean by that?" For example, saying:
"You will have a test on chapters four and five on Friday" has a much
better chance of being understood than "We will have a test on this when
we finish the material."
- Learning (behavioral change) can be achieved only by changing the
consequences and their contingent relationships with the behavior in
question. The task of teaching thus becomes arranging contingencies of
reinforcement.
- When in doubt, don’t do it! In customer service that is only half true.
Actually it might be better to say: When in doubt, don’t until you have,
sought, found, understood, and verified the needed information.
Afterwards, don’t forget to follow-up to see if the "customer" got what
was wanted and that he/she is satisfied.
- For the next four or five weeks we will be following up on Judith Bell’s
presentation on customer service. We know that it takes a team effort to
provide excellent service to our "customers." There are, however, specific
roles and opportunities that present themselves to each work area.
Front-line staff needs broad knowledge since they see customers first.
The challenge is to continuously learn about your job, office, and
institution in order to provide quality service to both internal and
external consumers, and to partner with administrators to identify and
solve problems. Take each encounter as an opportunity to teach customers
about our programs and services. First impressions are lasting.
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Managers and supervisors should model best practices in attitude
and behavior and mentor/coach their employees. Make your office
user-friendly for both internal and external customers, provide a thorough
orientation for new staff and ongoing training. Empower staff and include
them in decision-making. Work to improve communication with other service
areas and work together to identify and solve problems that impede quality
service.
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Faculty can build a service culture by creating a learning
environment in the classroom that focuses on individual student needs. Be
timely and accurate in grade reports, book orders and other academic
procedures. Advocate for student-centered course scheduling, be available
for students by honoring office hours, and know the campus personnel and
academic resources to which you can refer students.
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To make quality service and continuous improvement an institution wide
priority the following steps should be taken:
1. include service expectations into job descriptions and performance
evaluations,
2. include service as part of the mission statement,
3. make sure that search committees are trained to interview for service
skills,
4. provide a reward and recognition system for all staff that effectively
promotes service excellence,
5. regularly invite input on institutional policies and procedures from
all employees and students,
6. implement a quality service training program,
7. encourage and reward continuous learning and improvement campus wide,
and
8. survey all staff and students regularly and use the data to effect
appropriate changes.
These suggestions are adapted from Advanced Connecxtions—Moving
Quality Service Beyound the Basics, 1996.
- Relationship skills and leadership ability are closely related according
to Sessa and Taylor in Executive Selection: Strategies for Success
(2000). Successful leadership at all levels involves taking a strong
personal interest in associates and enhancing positive results through
respectful relationships. It becomes more a matter of stewardship as
contrasted with ownership.
- Retention and satisfaction of students and employees is often associated
with the level of involvement with people and organizations within the
institution. Encourage participation in all activities and lead by
example.
-
Lifelong learning as a concept and mission, especially for the
community college, has been around for such a long time that it has become
almost a cliche. It is nonetheless increasingly vital for the twenty-first
century with the tremendous changes that are occurring in the
geo-political and economic arenas. Knowledge is doubling at five-year
intervals in most areas. There is rarely only one answer or solution to
anything in today’s world. We must encourage continuous learning in
our students and ourselves and provide the tools to think critically,
problem solve, become more self-directing, more interactive, and
appreciative of learning.
-
According to Purkey Siegel in Becoming an Invitational Leader, each
of us decides what invitations we will send to others. This decision gives
us great power, for we are an essential part of those opportunities others
have for acceptance. Further, we must send positive messages even when
they are not responded to in kind. When we only react to behavior of
others, we are being controlled by their actions.
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Perceptions may not be "real": however, they are essential filters through
which we organize and make sense of our world. We cannot take perceptions
lightly. We must be sensitive to how people perceive themselves and others
in order to choose appropriate modes of interaction. Careful reflection
aids significantly in this process.
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More can be accomplished working in the company of others than alone.
Cooperation is key. Encourage cooperation by being cooperative.
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Accessibility and visibility are essential elements for
creating a professionally inviting environment. Participate in college
activities and keep office hours that do not impose hardship on others.
Closed and Do Not Disturb signs are disinviting.
-
Community is the tie that binds students, teachers, and staff together in
special ways, to something more significant than themselves: shared values
and ideals. It lifts everyone involved to higher levels of
self-understanding, commitment, and performance—beyond the reaches of the
shortcomings and difficulties they face in their everyday lives. Community
can help transform us from a collection of "I’s" to a collective "we,"
thus providing us with a unique and enduring sense of identity, belonging,
and place which is essential for effective learning. Adapted from Thomas
J. Sergiovanni, Building Community in Schools (1994).
-
Thinking critically requires "open mindedness." Dichotomous reasoning,
thinking that everything is either black or white, prevents critical
thought. In an all-or-nothing universe there is no middle ground. Anything
less than perfect is flawed. People are either with me or against me. You
may be living in this polar world if you think in terms of "never-always,"
"everybody-nobody," winners-losers," "all-nothing," "victory-defeat," or
"success-failure." (Ways to combat this unproductive way of thinking will
be covered during the month of March.)
-
Diminishing dichotomous (black or white) reasoning might begin with
focusing on gray areas. Analyze situations in terms of percentages of
time. Rarely is anything 100 percent bad or wrong. Remember that mistakes
as well as successes are opportunities to learn.
-
Concrete thinking such as dichotomous (black or white) patterns of thought
can be diminished by recognizing one’s own strengths and weaknesses,
potential and limitations, and successes as well as failures. The
mental filters through which we evaluate situations are directly
related to our self perception. If we use negative words like "awful,"
"horrible," "catastrophic," "disastrous," and "appalling" we are likely to
smell flowers and look for the funeral.
-
Limiting dichotomous (black or white) thought processes might be minimized
by monitoring our inner "self-talk." The negative side of
the concept is often referred to as catastrophizing. When we focus
on the worst possible scenario, we risk becoming too cautious, too
limited, and confuse fantasy with reality. We must challenge self-debasing
and self-destructive self-talk and take well-reasoned personal and
professional risks if we are to move forward and have opportunities for
success.
-
Leaders delegate and give associates the breathing room to carry out
assignments. According to the United States Navy Advanced Officer
Leadership Manual (1997), there are five categories of tasks that
should be delegated: (1) matters requiring minimal coordination, (2) tasks
involving technical knowledge, (3) routine, on-going matters, (4) matters
covered by detailed procedures and policies, and (5) projects with clearly
defined results.
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James M. Kouzes maintains in "Finding Your Leadership Voice" Leader to
Leader (1999 p.42) that: "You can learn to lead, but don’t confuse
leadership with position and place. Don’t confuse leadership with skills
and systems or with tools and techniques. They are not what earn you the
respect and commitment of your constituents. What earns you their respect
in the end is whether you are you. And whether what you are embodies what
they want to become. So just who are you, anyway?"
-
Leadership requires passion, activism, and a commitment to make things
happen to achieve a vision of how things can be. If things are accepted as
they are leadership is lost and the leader becomes an administrator and a
functionary within the existing system.
-
Staff, faculty, and administrators at community colleges work in a field
with an implied obligation to the larger community. Service is a natural
part of the college’s mission—service to students, community, and on a more
abstract level, service to the future.
-
R.K. Greenleaf (2002) in Essentials of Servant-leadership
describes service leadership as follows: "The servant-leader is servant
first . . . Becoming a servant leader begins with the natural feeling that
one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to
aspire to lead . . . The best test, and the most difficult to administer, is
this: Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become
healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely to become servants?"
(pp. 23-24)
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If a community college is to serve the community, we may be well served
by strengthening the community that we are. Peter Block (1993) expresses
this notion clearly in Stewardship: Choosing Service Over Self-Interest.
"Let the commitment and the cause be the place where we work. It is not
so much the product or service of our workplace that will draw us out of
ourselves. It is the culture and texture and ways of creating community that
attract our attention. Our task is to create organizations we believe in and
to do it as an offering, not a demand. No one will do it for us. Others have
brought us this far. The next step is ours. Our choice for service and
community becomes the only practical answer to our concern about
self-interest." (p10)
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Research (Harter, 1988; Matthews, 1991) points out that the
more students sense positive regard from significant others (ie.
instructors especially), the more they feel valued and the harder they are
likely to work.
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Often, without realizing it, instructors tend to treat low and high
achievers differently based on their optimistic or pessimistic views
regarding these students’ likelihood of success. Low achievers frequently
get less time to answer questions, if called on at all, and are more likely
to be criticized for failure. High achievers tend to get more eye contact.
They are the go-to-students who receive more verbal and nonverbal signals of
support. Instructor’s should monitor their behaviors toward students to
assure maximum benefits from the experience.
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It is important to remember at all times to be positive and inviting;
however, it is especially important as new students and co-workers enter our
expanding community. Avoid comments, actions, and body language that can be
perceived as disinviting. The most frequently reported experiences that are
self-perceived as disinviting involve those that project feelings of
worthlessness, inability, and irresponsibility.
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According to Combs, Avila, and Purkey in Helping Relationships,
2nd edition, "Human behavior is always a product of how people see
themselves and the situations in which they are involved. Although this fact
seems obvious, the failure of people everywhere to comprehend it is
responsible for much of human misunderstanding, maladjustment, conflict, and
loneliness. Our perceptions of ourselves and the world are so real to us
that we seldom pause to doubt them." Negative self-perceptions can begin to
be reversed if we choose to treat everyone with dignity, respect, and a
communicated belief in their ability.
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In every environment, especially an academic one, to insure personal growth
and learning it is vital for the individual to feel a need to grow and
learn. This growth is further enhanced if the learning environment is
characterized by physical comfort, mutual trust and respect, mutual
helpfulness, freedom of expression, and acceptance of differences.
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In a "learning centered" environment, students embrace the goals of a
learning experience as their goals. The learner must also accept a
share of the responsibility for planning and operating learning experiences
in order to ensure commitment toward it. In all cases the experience must be
active —not passive.
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Learning experiences are more effective when they make use of and relate
to the experience of the learner, and there is a sense of progress toward
goal achievement.
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The many intervening variables that effect outcomes make it difficult,
especially in the affective domain, to determine just what makes for
positive teaching/learning experiences. Research suggests, however, that
teachers who behave approvingly, acceptingly, and supportively; and tend to
speak well of their own students, students in general, and people in
general; and who tend to like and trust rather than fear other people of all
kinds are the mostly likely to make a significant desirable difference.
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In a traditional "content model" for teaching and
learning, the educator decides in advance what skill or knowledge needs to
be presented. In working with adult learners, however, a "process model"
might be more appropriate. In this strategy the following elements are
included: (1) establishing a climate conducive to learning; (2) creating a
mechanism for mutual planning; (3) diagnosing the needs for learning; (4)
formulating program objectives (i.e. content) to meet needs; (5) designing a
pattern of learning experiences; (6) conducting these learning experiences
with appropriate materials and techniques; and (7) evaluating the learning
outcomes and re-evaluating learning needs. Malcolm Knowles, The Adult
Learner: A neglected Species.
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Educational research has demonstrated that involvement is key to
enhancing learning. We are fortunate at Mitchell Community College to have
numerous student and community activities hosted on campus. We must find
ways to increase participation for our students and employees. This being
said, working adults often lack the time to participate fully and the
classroom becomes the place for involvement with peers and
teachers. We must find ways to make teaching/learning more active and
encourage students to be more proactive and responsible for their own
learning.
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Continuous improvement is key in a learning environment. See students and
coworkers as they can be, not as they are. Too often we encourage people to
"do their best" when "you can do better —so practice" can be a more powerful
invitation to realize potential. Every student and employee in the college
is in the process of becoming, so it is important for educators to invite
them to become in positive directions.
- One of the keys to an inviting learning-based environment is
collaboration among all members of the community. In every way, individuals
in the college are expected to take cooperative responsibility for what
happens in their shared lives. Everyone is expected to participate in the
decision-making process. Administrators, teachers, students, and staff are
not isolated from decision-making, but rather, in a very real sense, are
co-executives of the college. A side effect of this process is that
competition is minimized in favor of mutual support when all activities are
based on cooperation, collaboration , and mutual respect and concern.
- Becoming an "inviting" person or institution requires commitment,
sensitivity, courage, and imagination. Inviting, or not inviting in some
cases, is a complicated process of decoding messages, reaching for meanings,
making connections, and recognizing subtle nuances of human interaction. It
is not easy. It is more a journey than a destination. Growth toward
potential, however, is not possible without effort and moving consistently
toward trying to invite the best out of ourselves and others.
- Successful organizations bind people together and give meaning and
purpose to their lives. An often overlooked or at least under-estimated
element in that process is the power of context (i.e. the physical
spaces in which we work and live.) The physical environment is a socially
constructed support system in which people develop ideas about themselves.
They receive signals from this communication medium that tell them how much
the people who design, build, operate, maintain, and manage the physical
environment respect them, trust them, and care about them. Developing an
inviting physical environment involves creating and maintaining a clean,
comfortable, and safe setting. The spaces between the spaces are just as
important as the buildings themselves. When the grounds are attractive, well
lighted, and secure; and the work spaces are clean and comfortable the
message is that someone is in charge and someone cares.
- The key to continuous improvement or quality enhancement to use
the current jargon is to be proactive professionally with oneself. Faculty,
staff, and students need to read appropriate materials to expand their
knowledge base. Participating in workshops, seminars, clinics, joining a
peer group committed to sharing information, and soliciting feedback from
others concerning one’s performance are other methods to become
self-directing and move forward with competence and confidence. Waiting for
others to plan our lives is usually waiting too long.
- An often overlooked part of continuous improvement is the development and
structure of the self-concept. We are not born with a view of who we
are—it is created through interaction with others, ourselves, and our
environment. Cues that indicate how valuable, competent, good or bad, able
or not able we are are communicated to us from early childhood. The school
and workplace, after the home, are the primary sources of these cues. We
must challenge ourselves, therefore, to send the most positive, helpful, and
thoughtful messages to those with whom we interact. We are doing more that
conveying information, we are reflecting judgments and attitudes that help
teach others about themselves.
- Let us begin this new year and semester with optimism. The belief that
people possess untapped potential in all areas of human endeavor is
fundamental to a positive view of ourselves and our work. Norman Cousins
stated this very clearly on the occasion of his seventieth birthday. "The
most important thing I think I have learned is that human capacity is
infinite, that no challenge is beyond comprehension and useful resource. I
have learned that the uniqueness of human beings is represented by the
absence of any ceiling over intellectual or moral development." Let us
dedicate ourselves to become all that we can be and to help others do the
same.
- Being the best we can be and reaching our full potential professionally
or personally may lead to neglecting other areas of our lives that are just
as important. The key to everything is balance. If we expect too much of
ourselves, if we always find something to criticize, and use words like
ought and should and must and more, we are very
likely becoming over-expecters. Be sure to retain joy,
laughter, and fun or fall victim to the tyranny of the urgent, the uptight,
and the essential. Focus on balance or expect the coronary.
- Leadership and guidance, at all levels, involve a proper, balanced regard
for places, policies, programs, processes, and people. However, people
should and must come first. When decisions, policies, and practices are
based solely on efficiency, effectiveness, and conformity rather than on
respect for people we may be doing more harm than good. Good intentions may
have the opposite effect. "No Food or Drink" signs may help keep places neat
and clean; "Reserved Parking" signs may help the few and relegate others to
fend for themselves; "Closed . . . No Admittance" may allow work to be done
without interruption; "No Late Work Accepted . . . No Exceptions" may
encourage discipline and attention to task; but the convenience of those in
charge may be at the expense of the many. Examples of this include the fact
that on December 7, 1941, when Pearl Harbor was attacked, defenders were
hampered due to ammunition being locked up for the sake of convenient
accountability and security; and we should not forget the Hamlet, NC
"chicken plant" fire that cost dozens of lives because doors were locked to
prevent the possibility of workers stealing processed chicken nuggets that
weren’t worth eating anyway. We do need to be efficient and secure; but we
must maintain a conscious awareness of how our efforts to achieve these
goals impact the people we serve.
- We have asserted that people are most important in establishing and
maintaining a healthy working and learning environment. Place,
however, is more important in creating a positive mind set than one might
think. Places take on a life of their own. Some are alive and vibrant,
others are lackluster and dreary. Physical squalor can contribute to
disengagement and burnout. Make an effort to keep facilities and grounds in
good repair, well lighted, attractive, accessible, and safe; and avoid
negative signs that generate negative emotional responses.
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People and places are influenced by the
regulations, guidelines, commands, codes, orders, mandates, limits, plans,
rules, and edicts that regulate the ongoing functions of an organization.
These elements are called policies. Sometimes, policies are
created that, although well-meaning, place undue restrictions and burdens on
people and even the places in which we work. Even the smallest policy can
serve as "tipping point." When policies place unreasonable, insensitive, or
uncaring restrictions on people, they detract from the overall potential of
the organization. Moreover, they sometimes contribute to the difficulties
encountered by the very people they are designed to serve. Unintended
outcomes are often more meaningful than the intended.
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Thus far in this series we have addressed issues dealing with people,
places, and policies. This week, programs are the focus of
our attention. Developing and managing programs are necessary functions of
leaders and the institutions they head. Regrettably, sometimes well-meaning
programs actually harm people and ultimately the institution if their focus
is too narrow. When meeting "minimum standards" is the goal of a program,
minimum standards often become maximum goals. Programs that treat people as
objects to be fixed are doomed to failure. Successful programs affirm the
value of collaborative decision-making, mutual trust, and a warm and caring
collegiality. People generally behave according to the way they are treated.—Submitted
by Employee Development (02.16.05)
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The fifth "P" in our series is process. It is embedded in
the places, programs, policies, and people considered over the past four
weeks; but process is so important that it deserves recognition in its own
right. Process is the context in which things happen, i.e., the glass
that holds the water. In a positive teaching/learning environment we should
evaluate each process by asking these questions: 1. Does the process
demonstrate respect of individual uniqueness and cultural diversity? 2. Does
the process reflect a cooperative spirit where people care about each other
and assist those who may need special assistance? 3. Does it encourage a
sense of belonging where everyone thinks in terms of our
organization, our traditions, our colleagues, and our
responsibilities? 4. Does the process reflect positive expectations that
encourage feelings of self-control and individual decision-making? 5. Does
the process encourage democratic interactions among members of the
organization and the larger community? Careful assessment of the responses
to these questions allows us to measure the effectiveness of our institution
against its core values.
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The importance of people, places, programs, policies, and
processes working together to achieve desired outcomes has been briefly
reviewed over the past five weeks. When these five "P’s" are congruent the
sixth "P," i.e. purpose or product, is achieved.
Mitchell Community College’s sixth "P" is expressed in our core values as
delineated in our belief statement. "We believe...that the student is the
focal point of all efforts of the college; that we are a college community
that respects diversity and is supportive of individual achievement; that
Mitchell Community College has a responsibility to enhance the social,
civic, cultural, and economic development of the community and the global
society; that Mitchell Community College has a responsibility to enhance the
quality of life of the community; and that the door of opportunity for
learning should be open to all who seek personal and professional
development."
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This week we are beginning a series that focuses on managing conflict.
Conflicts are a normal aspect of human interactions —crises are
common-place, problems arise, tensions are inevitable, and complications are
to be expected. These situations are often opportunities for new ideas and
fresh innovations. Remaining positive, i.e. inviting, in negative
situations that require active intervention is a major challenge that
requires thought, practice, and above all respect for oneself and others.
Next week we will begin introducing a six step process {the six "C"} that
give us direction and insight into conflict resolution.
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The first step when an apparent difficulty or problem occurs to define
the concern. Does the concern really exist and is it solvable?
Often what is done is done, i.e., don’t cry over spilt milk, and some
concerns cannot be resolved. Next, determine if the concern is sufficient to
justify the time and effort needed to resolve it. If the concern is
sufficiently troublesome and requires more than analysis don’t wait too long
to take action. Make certain, however, that the concern is not based on
bias, prejudice, or a desire to express power, and that you are willing to
accept responsibility for bringing attention to the concern. If you
determine that the issue will not solve itself express the concern early and
clearly, at the appropriate level, so that it does not escalate. Collect
sufficient information and then move to the next step which is to confer.
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Once a concern has been determined to be
significant, the next step is to confer. Make certain that you are
calm and in control of yourself and you are conferring with the people
involved and at the lowest possible level. Also, keep the conference
non-threatening, informal, and private. Avoid counter concerns. Deal with
the initial issue before moving to any other concern that might come up. Ask
the individual or individuals to do something specific for you that would
resolve the concern. You rarely get if you don’t ask. Consider if you have
indicated exactly what you want and that the request be granted. Decide if
you have a clear answer to your request, if there is room for compromise,
and if there are ways that you might be able to further help in the
resolution of the concern. If there appears to be no solution move to the
next step which is to consult.
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When faced with issues where conferring has not worked, either because
the individual rejected the request for mitigation or because the request
agreed to was not acted upon, consultation becomes the next
step. Basically consulting is a more formal version of the previous
conference. Ask for cooperation again while playing your lowest possible
card. Restate the request making certain that all parties understand what is
being asked and the consequences for not resolving the situation. If the
issues have been made crystal clear in a no-nonsense discussion and the
situation is not addressed, it is time to move to a higher level:
confrontation which will be covered next week.
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Confrontation is a serious attempt to resolve a problematic situation
that has persisted. When the concern is great, and the lower levels
of conferring and consulting have failed to achieve resolution
to the situation it becomes necessary to make the consequences of the
behavior in question very clear. Remind the individual that he/she agreed to
correct the situation, that it has not been corrected, and that there will
be actions taken in consequence. Ask the individual to please take
appropriate action to remedy the situation for you to prevent taking the
process to the consequence stage.
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Six Steps Toward Problem Solving
When confronting the individual(s) who has/have failed to resolve
a troublesome issue has not worked, it is time to combat the
situation. Please note that combat is used here as a verb, not a noun.
Because the situation has not been resolved it is time to move to the
logical consequences. Penalties should make sense to the individual(s)
involved as a logical result of their behavior. Penalties should be designed
so that individuals realize that what they did was incorrect and that they
should not repeat the behaviors. Any anger they have should be self-directed
because of their actions–not toward the individual in authority. However,
even when people are treated with respect, this "last resort" action can
force people into the role of winners and losers, particularly if there is
the perception of unfairness or of being controlled. It is important to
attempt to restore a non-combative relationship at the end of this process.
Conciliation, the final step in the process, will be covered next
week.
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Six Steps Toward Problem Solving
Conciliation is essential after combating a situation to restore a
non-combative relationship. Resolving a problem may be insufficient in
itself. Damaged relationships can extend far beyond the original conflict
and taint the whole environment. Hopefully we can grow from negative
situations. To help in this process we might ask ourselves several
questions: 1. Do I respect people enough to not "rub it in?" 2. Have I
allowed sufficient time and space to pass before attempting to return to
normal interaction? 3. Can I find intermediaries and non-threatening
activities to be used to restore a sense of community? and 4. Can I, when
faced with a new potential problem, go back to the first "C" of concern
and not begin to resolve the new problem the way the previous one ended?
A harmonious, positive feeling of community and a shared focus on common
core values is essential for any group of people to achieve their
objectives.
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As the semester draws to an end, it is time to celebrate our successes
and learning opportunities that may become next year’s successes. Beyond
that, we must never fail to celebrate life itself when the opportunity is
presented, for it may not come again. Our lives are filled with a variety of
duties, responsibilities, activities, and opportunities which leave us
juggling both rubber balls and glass balls. The rubber balls represent work
and our place in our professions. These balls bounce back when they are
dropped. They come back to us, and we can begin to juggle again. However,
glass balls that represent family, friends, and health do not bounce and may
shatter. If they don’t break, they have to be picked up. The message is
that, while all activities and relationships need to be honored and
celebrated, we must take special care of our "glass balls."
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Having taken stock of our successes and challenges and celebrated both,
it is time to thank and recognize those who have contributed to this effort.
This simple act helps to build community and future success. While others
are essential to helping all of us achieve our personal and professional
goals, we must not forget to thank ourselves and reward ourselves for our
efforts. Have a great summer.
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When core values include continuous improvement and growth there must be
trust, both within ourselves and with others. Where there is
trust there is likely to be risk-taking, and where there is risk-taking,
there is likely to be creativity and innovation.
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"Leadership is a matter of how to be, not how to do. We spend most of our
lives mastering how to do things, but in the end it is the quality and
character of the individual that defines the performance of great
leaders."–Frances Hesselbein, o Leader, (1999)
REFLECTIONS ON PERCEPTIONS SERIES
- According to Combs, Avilla, and Purkey in Helping Relationships:
Basic Concepts for the Helping Professions, 2nd ed., 1978; "human
behavior is always a product of how people see themselves and the situations
in which they are involved." This fact seems obvious; however, the failure
of people everywhere to comprehend it is responsible for much of human
misunderstanding, maladjustment, conflict and loneliness. Our perceptions of
the world and ourselves are so real to us that we seldom pause to doubt
them. As educators we must begin to see people not as objects to be shaped
and conditioned but as they typically see themselves, others, and the world.
This can be a challenge. The starting point might be the notion that each
person is a conscious agent; he or she experiences, interprets, constructs,
decides, acts, and is ultimately responsible for his or her own actions.
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Every time I think about the role of perceptions in determining human
behavior, I am reminded of the verse in Robert Burns’ To A Louse: "O
wad some Power the giftie gie us To see oursels as ithers see us!" While
this ability would be a great reality check for us as we choose our actions,
it is just as important for professional educators to have some insight into
how those who come to us for services see themselves. People tend to behave
according to how they see themselves and assess the situations in which they
are involved at the moment. Remember the "looking-glass theory?" When we
project a positive, inviting, and nurturing attitude that says that people
are capable, valuable, and appreciated, we are very likely to discover that
our clients will see themselves that way as well.
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People tend to lock into perceptions developed early in life and this
can significantly limit their ability to grow. Fortunately, everyone’s
perceptual field can be enriched, expanded, and modified. If we did not
believe that was possible, we would not be in the teaching/learning
business. We must cultivate an appreciation and respect for peoples’
perceptual worlds as they are before we can begin to help them construct new
ones that will alter their view of the past, present, future, and the
imaginable.
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While behavior is largely based on perceptions learned through one’s
experiences in the world, they can be reflected upon in order to develop a
deeper level of understanding of self, others, and the world. We cannot
change the past, but we can change our thoughts about it. Understanding the
context of our feeling, our thinking, our knowing, and our imagining
are essential to opening future possibilities.
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Self-concept is probably the most significant perception that people
learn. It shapes our view of who we are and our place in the world.
Assessing what we think others think about us develops much of this
self-concept. Eliza Doolittle in George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion
expresses this well in her conversation with Colonel Pickering. She says: "I
shall always be a flower girl to Professor Higgins, because he treats me as
a flower girl, and always will; but I know I can be a lady to you, because
you always treat me as a lady, and always will."
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Self-concept begins early in life. Infants receive cues as to their
value in the eyes of significant others, in their posture, facial
expressions, gestures, eye contact, and body language as well as verbal
cues. Self-awareness continues and becomes a life-long development project.
Next to the family, the school, and then the workplace are the
greatest influences in identity development. We must send messages that tell
others that they are capable, valuable, and worthy of respect. Since
communication is multi-faceted, we must always ensure that there is no
disconnect between what we say and how we say it.
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Children begin to discover the world with great energy, enthusiasm,
creativity, and excitement. Rapid progress generates a self-concept that
leads them to believe that they are capable of learning and doing almost
everything. Numerous studies have shown, however, a downward trend in
students’ self-concept as they progress through school. This seems to be
true for both genders. While there are studies that have attempted to
identify variables of gender and race, results are conflicting.
None-the-less, one thing seems to be clear. Messages sent, even by well
meaning teachers and staff, tend to be un-equal, leading to a gradual
erosion of enthusiasm for learning. There is a dictum in visual art that the
shape a shape creates is just as important, if not more so, as the shape of
the primary subject. In other words, the surrounding negative space must be
attended to. If we focus only on the central, dominant form and ignore the
rest, the painting fails. All students, like all areas of a painting, must
be treated equally or nothing works.
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WELCOME NEW & RETURNING FACULTY & STAFF! Did you know that at the start
of the new century 75 to 80 percent of all teachers who were teaching in
1990 have been replaced by more recent graduates? One of the reasons for
this is the opportunity to move into administrative positions and into the
private sector that is spending great sums for retraining. Unfortunately,
another reason is that although educators are in the learning profession, we
tend to be among the worst when it comes to wanting to learn how to improve
our own competencies. Many educators do not go to conferences and deride
in-service opportunities. Those who want to grow will have the opportunity
to do so and within three to five years can expect to have virtually any job
in education they want, usually at a much higher salary. Successful
educators (1) work cooperatively and learn from colleagues, (2) seek out
mentors who serve as role models, (3) go to professional meetings to learn,
and (4) have a goal of striving for excellence. Welcome back, and let us all
recommit to becoming growing professionals.
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What Is a Teacher?
"Teacher—you are a poet, as you weave with your colorful
magic language a passion for your subject. Teacher—you are a
physicist, as you bring magic, logic, reason, and wonder to the
properties, changes, and interactions of our universe. Teacher—you
are a maestro, a master of composing, as you conduct and orchestrate
individuals’ thoughts and actions from discordant cacophony into harmonic
resonance. Teacher—you are an architect, as you provide each
student a solid foundation, but always with a vision of the magnificent
structure that is about to emerge. Teacher—you are a diplomat
and the ambassador of tact and sensitivity, as you facilitate
productive, positive interactions among the multiplicity of personalities
and cultures, beliefs, and ideals. Teacher—you are a philosopher,
as your actions and ethics convey meaning and hope to students who look to
you for guidance and example. From poet to philosopher, always strive to
present yourself to students as a person worthy of the noble title—Teacher."
Excerpted from That Noble Title Teacher by Trish Marcuzzo
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The effective teacher has positive expectations for student success, is a
good classroom manager, and knows how to design learning experiences for
student mastery. People tend to live up to or conversely down to what
expectations are set for them. Make certain that goals and objectives are
set high but within attainable, measurable increments. Remember that people
who do things right are efficient. And people who do things
right over and over again, consistently, are effective. Being
efficient is doing things right. Being effective is doing the
right thing.
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You do not get a second chance at a first impression. The first day of
class will set the tone for the rest of the semester. In the modern more
casual world it may seem archaic to say that the effective educator dresses
appropriately as a professional to model success; but it, none-the-less,
remains a powerful visible cue to the observer. In an ideal world, viewed
through rose-colored glasses, it would be wonderful to be accepted for
ourselves alone, not for our appearance. In the real world, however, our
all-too-visible selves are under constant scrutiny. As you are dressed and
act, so shall you be perceived; and as you are perceived, so shall you be
treated.
CLASSROOM ASSESSMENT AND CLASSROOM RESEARCH
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For community colleges to become true "learning colleges" faculties must
develop the skills to assess and research student success. Classroom
Assessment seeks answers to questions such as, "Did students learn what I
was trying to teach today?" or "How did students respond to the small group
sessions that we tried today?" Classroom Research, however, might ask how
students develop critical thinking skills or what role advising plays in
student success or how collaborative learning affects student involvement in
learning. Questions to be answered by classroom research arise out of the
teacher’s experience in the classroom, and the motivation for doing the
research comes from curiosity about how the students in the classroom
approach learning and the teacher’s commitment to improving it. Adapted from
K. Patricia Cross
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Classroom Research is characterized by being: (1) learner centered
where the focus is on improving "learning" rather than "teaching," (2)
teacher directed in gathering useful information on classroom learning
in their own disciplines rather than relying totally on professional
researchers to provide data, (3) practical and relevant to enhance
personal understanding than advance knowledge in general, (4) context
specific to a specific group of students rather than a general
population, (5) scholarly and professional which builds upon a
research base that recognizes teaching as a scholarly activity enriched by
research—not replaced by it, and (6) continuous in that changes
suggested by research need to be tested, evaluated, altered when needed, and
tested and evaluated again. Improvement comes from the process. Adapted from
K. Patricia Cross
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When community colleges first appeared their mission centered on
"access" and "technical and occupational training." By the 1990’s the
mission changed into "producing learning" accompanied by appropriate
additions to statements of purpose and efforts to define learning.
Today the focus has shifted to proving through assessment that learning
is taking place. This paradigm change generates a tremendous challenge
for both faculty and students to understand the nature of the
teaching/learning process and to assume greater personal responsibility for
investigate it. The classroom must be the focus of this study since for most
working adult students the classroom is the place where active involvement
with instructors and peers takes place.
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WHAT IS A STUDENT? is the most important person ever in this school . . .
in person, on the telephone, or by mail.
- A Student
is not dependent on us . . . we are dependent on the
Student.
- A Student
is not an interruption of our work, the Student is the
purpose of it.
- We are not doing a favor by serving the Student . . . the Student
is doing us a favor by giving us the opportunity to do so.
- A Studen
t is a person who brings us his or her desire to learn.
- It is our job to assist each Student in a manner which is
beneficial to the Student and ourselves. This was adapted by Dr. William
Purkey, with some editorial modification by Steve Herman from the L. L.
Bean Company’s position on "What Is A Customer?" by J. M. Eaton.
THE SIX "P’S" OF INSTITUTIONAL CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
- Institutions committed to continuous improvement must undergo cyclical
efforts to assess, evaluate, and plan. Each step must be documented as to
what was planned, what happened, and what resulted from the effort if the
institution is deemed to be "effective." One of the ways this might be
accomplished is to periodically review the people, places,
policies, p rograms, and processes to determine how well
they are working together to effect the desired product —learning.
(For the next several weeks we will examine each of the "P’s" and suggest
possible goals for each.)
- Reviewing and examining the six "P’s" we introduced last week can aid
our goal of positively effecting student learning. First we need a strategy.
Consider GOALS as that strategy: Goal setting, Outlining
actions, Anticipating obstacles, Listing alternatives, and
Specifying action plans. Now, why look at the first P—people?
To improve the quality of life for students, faculty, and staff at Mitchell
Community College we might ask what we could do to nurture relationships in
ways that increase trust, respect, optimism, and a sense of community and
commitment to it. Expected outcomes might include improvement in retention
at all levels, a heightened self-concept both as learners and guides toward
learning, and an increase in recognition and rewards for all members of the
college community.
- Why examine Places? We need to know if Mitchell Community
College’s facilities and grounds enhance an environment that promotes
learning. (The Goal) Are they pleasant, aesthetic, clean, functional,
safe, accessible, and adequate? When facilities and grounds are well cared
for the message is that someone is in charge and someone cares. The opposite
is true when the reverse situation is in play. The effect would be that
these concerns are taken into account when reviewing where we are, and
planning for where we need to be. (Action Plan) Enhancements, based
on the review, might be made to lighting, access, parking, landscaping, and
signage that convey positive messages beginning with please and
ending with thank you. Understanding that Places impact
learning is one key to continuous improvement.
- Why examine Policies? At Mitchell Community College we must find
ways to ensure that all rules, regulations, and requirements are inclusive,
positive, encouraging, involving, disseminated, and understood. Policies are
a critical part of the climate or culture of our learning community.
They can affect retention, reputation, and success at all levels. Why
examine Programs? As with policies, all programs at Mitchell
Community College must be continually reviewed to ensure that they work for
the general welfare of the institution. Programs that appear to be
ethnocentric, elitist, sexist, discriminatory, outdated, under subscribed,
or no longer meet the changing needs of our constituency need to be modified
or eliminated. New programs must be evaluated as well to insure that the
mission of the institution, to meet the changing needs of its service area,
is met.
- Why examine Processes? Doing things the right way is as important
as doing the right thing. At Mitchell Community College we must ensure that
the processes we use to effect continuous improvement and enhance learning
are also evaluated. How we meet our goal is as important as the results. An
exciting, satisfying, and enriching environment requires that everyone be
on board. Everyone must know, become committed to, and be able to
articulate the goals of the institution. Understanding one’s role in the
process is essential to success. We must routinely evaluate our mission,
goals, and how we do things. We must discuss, evaluate, develop priorities
and action plans, coordinate efforts, and conduct in-service training where
needed so that everyone has the skills to accomplish our intended goal.
- An ongoing examination of the five P’s (People, Places,
Policies, Programs, and Processes) can result in
producing the desired Product –a learning environment in which
students, faculty, administration, and staff can be successful in achieving
their shared goal. Anticipated outcomes might include: greater retention,
higher GPAs, increased graduation rates, heightened levels of satisfaction,
a shared sense of place, and elevated enthusiasm with barriers coming down
and banners celebrating success going up.
- We began this series by talking about a GOALS strategy: Goal
setting, Outlining actions, Anticipating obstacles, Listing
alternatives, and Specifying action plans. Let’s look at this process
as it applies to our planning and evaluation practices. Goals, mission
statements, and job descriptions are not necessarily the same thing.
Goals are things we want to achieve to foster continuous improvement
within the framework of the other two. We need to outline specific actions
that we plan to take to achieve these goals. That action plan should detail
where we are now and where we expect to be after taking the action. For
example, let’s say that enrollment in a program is low—numbers of students
enrolled went from 50 to 30 in a two-year period. (Where we are now.)
The action plan to reverse this trend (the goal) is to visit all the
high schools in the spring of 2006, host an open house in the fall of 2007,
form a new advisory committee and meet quarterly, produce new, more
attractive and informative brochures about the program, etc. (the action
plan.) The expected outcome will be an increase in enrollment
from 30 to 40 the first year and from 40 to 50 the second year.
Assessment occurs when we examine (what did happen) after the
actions were taken. Either we met the expectation, exceeded it, or did not
meet it. In summary, we must decide: first, where we are now; second, where
we want to be; third, the Action Plan to get us there; fourth, what we
expect to happen as a result of our plan; and fifth, what did happen? At
that point the process will need to begin again.
- The New Year and new semester provide opportunities for new beginnings. A
strategy for connecting in the classroom is to share stories, or anecdotes.
Encouraging students to share their personal narratives, thoughts, feelings,
and experiences is one way to validate and recognize the student, and if the
story is pertinent to the course content, the whole classroom community is
strengthened. Likewise, instructors who are comfortable sharing their own
relevant anecdotes are humanized, and understanding of the topic under
discussion is enhanced.
CONNECTING WITH STUDENTS SERIES
- The New Year and new semester provide opportunities for new beginnings.
A strategy for connecting in the classroom is to share stories, or
anecdotes. Encouraging students to share their personal narratives,
thoughts, feelings, and experiences is one way to validate and recognize the
student, and if the story is pertinent to the course content, the whole
classroom community is strengthened. Likewise, instructors who are
comfortable sharing their own relevant anecdotes are humanized, and
understanding of the topic under discussion is enhanced.
-
A second strategy for connecting in the classroom and enhancing learning is
to foster an atmosphere that promotes discussion. The instructor is
most responsible for initiating the process that students can then buy into.
First, the instructor must have a command of the subject matter, and model
discussion techniques by presenting a variety of perspectives on a topic.
Next, ask students what they think about the opinions and alternatives
presented. Student comments must be welcomed, reinforced with positive
feedback so that fear is removed, and sometimes restated for clarity.
Restating can be as simple as saying: "what I heard you say, or what I
understood was…. Is that correct? Once again, the instructor is responsible
for keeping discussion focused on the topic, monitoring time spent, and
assessing the level of understanding being achieved.
-
A third area of consideration for connecting with students in the
classroom and enhancing learning is to consider the use of space. Space
involves several different elements. First, there is people space: the
instructor’s, the individual student’s, and the group’s. Secondly, there is
intellectual space for each, and there is the physical space itself.
Learning takes place in all of these spheres and they can be manipulated.
When students are in straight rows with a podium, desk, or table in front
with the instructor behind it—the instructor owns the entire space. This is
fine for lecture, not so good for discussion and active learning. Try
altering the space when appropriate by removing the podium and moving out
from behind the desk into the student’s space, which then becomes jointly
owned. If the instructor moves to the back or a far corner, the student’s
own the entire space and must take greater responsibility for their
learning. While spaces are shared and complete ownership of classrooms is
rare, everyone can take responsibility for keeping rooms clean, orderly,
well lighted, instructional equipment in working condition, and notifying
responsible staff when repairs or major cleaning needs to be done.
-
Humor can be an effective means to help build a sense of community and
enhance appeal, effectiveness, and delivery of material. Keep in mind that
humor must be appropriate, timely, and tasteful. Instructors must avoid
moving toward sarcasm or personalizing comments that might intrude into the
personal emotional or physical space of their students, and one must be
comfortable with the use of humor. When humor is forced, it is not funny.
Based on research, the jury may still be out; but the primary benefit of
humor in the classroom may be the creation of an environment in which
students feel free to take risks and to enjoy learning in a social context
that is good-natured and comfortable.
-
Using props is another way to engage students. While it may sound
like the old "show and tell" from grammar school, there is ample evidence
that utilizing all sensory systems increases learning. Many instructors use
video tapes, overhead projectors, and power point to augment lecture,
however, these are primarily auditory and visual—not unlike lecture. They do
add texture and vary the pace that aids in learning. Most classrooms do not
have pictures and seasonal bulletin boards and probably shouldn’t since most
spaces are shared, yet displaying examples of art, passing around objects,
and setting up simple demonstrations allows the student to learn in a
kinesthetic manner. Adding discussion, covered earlier in the series,
helps to then reinforce the new learning.
-
Using personal experiences to illustrate the linkages between the
everyday events in our lives and the information and concepts covered in the
classroom is a major way to effect active learning. When a connection is
made between abstract ideas presented in class and our current experiences,
we become invested in the learning process and are better able to deal with
the changes that genuine learning affects. Critical thinking skills are also
strengthened when students recognize commonalities and are able to use
existing knowledge to understand new information. The vitality and energy
that result from students becoming personally committed to the learning
process become palpable, and it becomes easier for students to apply their
new knowledge.
-
Changes in pace
are another way to stimulate and often revitalize the learning process
for both student and teacher. This may involve very simple things such as
the instructor moving from one place to another, changing the tone and
modulation of the voice, introducing an activity or discussion, using an
anecdote or illustrating a point with a personal experience, or having the
class break into groups. Research is clear that attention spans are short
and monotony sets in quickly when sameness is the order of the day. Active
learning requires activity on the part of teacher and student alike. Mix it
up.
CRITICAL THINKING, READING & WRITING SERIES
-
Critical thinking involves logic. Lewis Carroll wrote that "If it was
so, it might be; if it were so, it would be; but as it isn’t, it ain’t.
That’s logic." That is also funny and true; but how do we know when it ain’t.
Well, that involves a process by which we learn the skills of inquiry to ask
the right questions to increase the likelihood that we achieve the desired
goal or outcome. As we process the information, we must ever assess our own
thinking as to its validity by rationally examining our thoughts and ideas.
Basically, critically thinking is a way of thinking that moves from the
general to the specific as we narrow the focus until the questions and
evidence support the same conclusion.
-
Once information has been acquired, absorbed, and behavior established
based upon what we think is and how things ought to be, we tend not to
change unless we develop the skills of critical analysis. William Graham
Sumner possibly said it best in Folkways, published in 1906.
He wrote that: "The critical habit of thought, if usual in society, will
pervade all its mores because it is a way of taking up the problems of life.
Men educated in it cannot be stampeded by stump orators … They are slow to
believe. They can hold things as possible or probable in all degrees,
without certainty and without pain. They can wait for evidence and weigh
evidence, uninfluenced by the emphasis or confidence with which assertions
are made on one side or the other. They can resist appeals to their dearest
prejudices and all kinds of cajolery. Education in the critical faculty is
the only education of which it can be truly said that it makes good
citizens."
-
Critical thinking and writing rests heavily on critical listening and
writing skills. This is especially important in taking notes from lectures.
The "Six R’s" of note taking might be helpful. Adapted from Dr. Dena Bain
Taylor’s note taking handouts used at the University of Toronto, these "R’s"
are: Read, Record, Reduce, Recite, Reflect,
and Review. Record what is important based on the course
outline, objectives, and framework. To know what is important the student
should have read through assigned material—handouts and text. Before
reading the text thoroughly skim through the chapter noting topics,
headings, and summaries. During lecture do not try to transcribe everything,
but map the main topics and examples discussed. Take verbal and non-verbal
cues from the instructor to reinforce what is being stressed. Use spacing to
show groupings of ideas. Leave space on the left margin and at the bottom
for your own comments about what that grouping relates to, where it is
covered in the text, or fits into a specific unit objective.
-
Additional steps toward enhancing listening and writing skills that can
facilitate learning and critical thinking are: to reduce and
recite the material. Reducing means that as soon as possible
after the class students should reread notes for accuracy and completeness.
Pick out key words and concepts and write them in the left margin. If there
appears to be gaps in the notes fill in material from the text or
supplemental materials suggested by the instructor. Reciting means
that the notes should then be reviewed using the key words to recall as much
of the content as possible. Rewriting the key concepts in one’s own
words carries the reciting process further and helps to move information
from short-term memory to long-term memory.
-
The final two R’s in this series suggesting ways to improve
learning and critical thinking are to reflect and review. Reflection
means that one considers the relationship between the current material and
previous learning, noting any remaining questions, and relating the content
to one’s own experiences and the overall context and framework of the
course. Reviewing prior to writing an essay, taking a test, or giving
a report involves reciting once again the material paying special attention
to the key terms and cues written in the margins or high-lighted in the
notes. Reflect once again on how specific facts, names, terms, and ideas fit
into the larger context of the topic under review. Repetition of the
six R’s can be a very good thing.
-
According to Scriven and Paul associated with the National Council for
Excellence in Critical Thinking Instruction: "Critical thinking can be seen
as having two components: (1) a set of information and belief generating and
processing skills, and (2) the habit, based on intellectual commitment, of
using those skills to guide behavior. It is thus to be contrasted with: (1)
the mere acquisition and retention of information alone, because it involves
a particular way in which information is sought and treated; (2) the mere
possession of a set of skills, because it involves the continual use of
them; and (3) the mere use of those skills (‘as an exercise’) without
acceptance of their results." In other words we must think about the
information we receive, evaluate it for thoroughness and accuracy, and
consider the impact of the information on others and ourselves as we use it.
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Critical thinking, defined by Scriven and Paul, is "…self directed,
self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective thinking." As for
results, a successful critical thinker "…(1) raises vital questions and
problems, formulating them clearly and precisely; (2) gathers and assesses
relevant information, using abstract ideas to interpret it
effectively…coming to well-reasoned conclusions and solutions, testing them
against relevant criteria and standards; (3) thinks open-mindedly within
alternative systems of thought, implications, and practical consequences;
and (4) communicates effectively with others in figuring out solutions to
complex problems."
-
Critical thinking is a life-long journey that requires cultivation on a
continuous basis. We all have episodes of irrational thought, self-delusion,
blind spots, and prejudice resulting in biased, distorted, and uninformed
thoughts and beliefs. Half-baked thinking is costly in both money and
quality of life. Once realized, we must be ever diligent to ensure that our
thinking is based on intellectual standards that can be learned and applied
throughout our lives. (Review this series in the archive for helpful hints
toward achieving this goal.)
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INVITATIONAL VS. DISINVITATIONAL SERIES
(This series, as are all the
articles in this column, represents the views and best practices
recommended by the International Alliance for Invitational Education and
its proponents.)
Effective teachers and other stakeholders in the educational process have
the power and the ability to invite students and colleagues to learn
together in a positive and productive manner. One way to do this is to
constantly evaluate our comments, behaviors, physical
environment and thoughts to determine if they are positive (inviting)
or negative (disinviting). The following are examples of inviting
comments vs. disinviting comments:
|
INVITING |
DISINVITING |
|
"Good morning" |
"Keep out" |
|
"Congratulations" |
"It won’t work" |
|
"I appreciate all you do" |
"Not bad for a girl" |
|
"Tell me about it" |
"I don’t care what you think" |
|
"How can I help you?" |
"You can’t do that" |
|
"Yes" |
"No, because I said so" |
- INVITATIONAL VS. DISINVITATIONAL SERIES
The following are examples of personal behaviors that demonstrate
positive vs. negative messages:
|
INVITING |
DISINVITING |
|
Smiling |
Rolling one’s eyes |
|
Listening |
Yawning |
|
Holding a door |
Letting a door swing behind you |
|
Thumbs up/high five |
Looking at one’s watch |
|
Sending a thank you |
Forgetting an important date |
|
Waiting one’s turn | | |