I look at my students faces as they stress about the upcoming assignments in class. That is when I thought about this habit and what it "looks" like when young adults do not know how to put first things first. Are their parents/role models/heroes, available to them to teach them this skills for becoming a prioritizer? Is it enough for me to discuss? Are they listening? My Honors World History Book Club Students are getting a new book, Faithful Elephants. It is a children's book, but the message is much deeper. We will discuss the elephants in the book and what they meant to the zookeepers and metaphorically what they also mean. I am hoping through this experience, the students will see the importance of putting first things first, or at least the struggle that comes with it. I will post reflections from the students as they are finished. | I know what is important in my life and those big rocks will not be moved. These are my BIG ROCKS: my family, my friends, my running, my students, my colleagues, my job. All those who know me, know that house chores, cleaning, cooking, shopping and cool movie releases are not my priorities because I am just way too busy with my big rocks. However, this got me thinking. There are different priorities for different parts of my life. My life as a whole is made up of the big rocks, that is my foundation. However, within my life there are other compartments that contain their own big rocks. This might be a different way to look at it, but please correct me if I am wrong. At work, I have big rocks, with the educational program there are big rocks and even as a coach, I have big rocks. At different times, I have different bowls, like in the video of Covey with the woman who is trying to make all the rocks fit. Is there such a thing as having multiple bowls? Nevertheless, I do see myself as a procrastinator! That quadrant has me pinned. I would love to start making changes that moves me into the prioritizer. This is what I commit to: create a calendar, stick to the dates and commitments! Do things before they due! |
2 Comments
2/12/2015 12:28:48 pm
I am looking forward to hearing what your students consider their priorities. I remember my priorities being very out of whack when I was in high school. I really like the idea of reading "Faithful Elephants" with your group, and, yes, there are some significant metaphors your students will be able to think about. I think you're right about "within my life there are other compartments that contain their own big rocks." Take relationships, for example, there are some big rocks in that sector of our lives that have to be prioritized for the relationships to thrive. Great observation! Prioritizing is a challenging endeavor for sure, there are just so many variables. I think, generally speaking, the older we get, the more focused we're able to be on the really important things, though, as you've read, I definitely have struggles with prioritization!
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Bill
2/13/2015 12:48:21 am
Joanna,
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