It's really interesting and inspiring to read everybody's sentence! I think it's a particularly nice way to get to know each other because we can learn each others' goals and values. As for my self, hmmm... as you may guess, I am SUPER indecisive! I was still trying to come up with my sentence right until we presented them to each other. But as some people mentioned on their blogs, our sentences are likely to change throughout life.I found that thought comforting and decided to just stay simple.
She tried to see the good in every person.
I wondered if this makes me sound naive or a goody-two-shoes. But I still think it's an important thing to do and at the same time, something that I like to do as well. Finding something to respect or like about somebody makes it easier for me to relate and to communicate with him or her. I don't know what I'll be doing in the future yet, but I hope wherever I am, I won't forget my sentence :)
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Week Two Writing Assignment
Draw upon Chapter 1 “Vision and Quick Victories” to define your own Long-term vision and the Short-term Goals for getting there.
Use the questions on pgs. 27 and 28 for ideas, but what you want to do is describe your hopes and dreams for the future,
and the various steps along the way that will help you to achieve them.
Dennis Perkins mentions on page 26 how "Winning leaders cultivate the ability to monitor the condition of each person on the team and to sense when individuals are becoming overwhelmed." This is a really important lesson for me too, as one of my long-term goals is to collaborate with people of various backgrounds and age groups, in the future. Whether this will evolve into the form of a counselor, teacher, consultant, or some kind of colleague, I can't say for sure. My dream is still very vague, but it definitely includes a lot of interaction and encouraging others!
My first short-term goal leading up to this would be to better understand the people around me: what makes each person happy and sad? In order to do this, I am trying to place myself in different environments and interact with as many people as possible. For example, in addition to going to our super diverse university, I work at an English cram school. I love doing team teaching, which is where I pair up with a native teacher and we teach students together in the form of an active group lesson. I don't have a fixed class so I get to work with teachers and students who have different styles and needs. It's difficult to figure out how I should place myself in the classroom and where I should assist, but it feels great to find qualities to praise and to see students enjoying themselves. Of course, every class does not always go so smooth and sometimes I may not be on the same page as the native teacher, but I try to take all of this as an important learning process.
Also, I try to notice what makes me happy. I think it's important to figure out how I can manage my stress well for my own good and as a leader, to steer a group back to a positive route. Simple things like a walk outside, the smell of freshly baked bread, or a chat at Starbucks can lift my mood. When I feel particularly distressed, I talk to people like my mom, friends,and a counselor at school. I take their encouragements to my heart and sometimes, when a friend consults me, I may refer back to their words. I don't think it's possible to completley understand myself. But to be able to "sense when individuals are becoming overwhelmed," I need to get to be able to do the same for myself too!
See you all tomorrow :)
Use the questions on pgs. 27 and 28 for ideas, but what you want to do is describe your hopes and dreams for the future,
and the various steps along the way that will help you to achieve them.
Dennis Perkins mentions on page 26 how "Winning leaders cultivate the ability to monitor the condition of each person on the team and to sense when individuals are becoming overwhelmed." This is a really important lesson for me too, as one of my long-term goals is to collaborate with people of various backgrounds and age groups, in the future. Whether this will evolve into the form of a counselor, teacher, consultant, or some kind of colleague, I can't say for sure. My dream is still very vague, but it definitely includes a lot of interaction and encouraging others!
My first short-term goal leading up to this would be to better understand the people around me: what makes each person happy and sad? In order to do this, I am trying to place myself in different environments and interact with as many people as possible. For example, in addition to going to our super diverse university, I work at an English cram school. I love doing team teaching, which is where I pair up with a native teacher and we teach students together in the form of an active group lesson. I don't have a fixed class so I get to work with teachers and students who have different styles and needs. It's difficult to figure out how I should place myself in the classroom and where I should assist, but it feels great to find qualities to praise and to see students enjoying themselves. Of course, every class does not always go so smooth and sometimes I may not be on the same page as the native teacher, but I try to take all of this as an important learning process.
Also, I try to notice what makes me happy. I think it's important to figure out how I can manage my stress well for my own good and as a leader, to steer a group back to a positive route. Simple things like a walk outside, the smell of freshly baked bread, or a chat at Starbucks can lift my mood. When I feel particularly distressed, I talk to people like my mom, friends,and a counselor at school. I take their encouragements to my heart and sometimes, when a friend consults me, I may refer back to their words. I don't think it's possible to completley understand myself. But to be able to "sense when individuals are becoming overwhelmed," I need to get to be able to do the same for myself too!
See you all tomorrow :)
Friday, April 15, 2011
Expedition Log: Preface
I've never really been in a situation where I was stretched to my limits of endurance/performance in terms of survival. But I can think back to a time in my second year at high school when I had to lead the whole grade. I joined the committee that would organize the shuugaku-ryokou, the five-day trip we juniors would take at the end of the school year. Planning the trip itself was difficult, but I found that one of the largest hurdles we had to overcome was proving to the school and ourselves that we were responsible enough to go on this trip.
Unlike previous years, Task 1 for us was to regain trust from the teachers and the school; the trust we had lost on our previous school trip where some students had been caught smoking and disobeying other rules. Before we even got to planning the actual trip We needed everybody's cooperation to show that we had learned our lesson and were responsible enough to take on this large scale trip. In order to do that, we needed strong teamwork within the grade.
Instead of simply blaming the grade from afar or a higher position, we as a committee discussed how our goal would be: to lead our peers, while maintaining the mutual understanding that we were all part of the same team. We organized events such as Mini-Sports Day and a laid-back talk session in the cafeteria, to get to know each other better and to induce teamwork. To include everybody, I typed up our weekly meeting records and pinned it to onto our notice board. We carved out a "Popo-chan box" out of a cardboard for people to write their opinions on a slip of paper and hand in.
There was no obvious indiciation where the teachers finally told us, "Ok, you guys can go on your trip." But it was clear that there was a strong sense of togetherness that had naturally spread throughout the grade, and was driving us toward our ultimate goal. At the same time we had to lead, it was important for us to show that we weren't smarter, superior than everybody else in any way. Being a good friend and listener built a strong basis for the trust we needed as leaders.
Unlike previous years, Task 1 for us was to regain trust from the teachers and the school; the trust we had lost on our previous school trip where some students had been caught smoking and disobeying other rules. Before we even got to planning the actual trip We needed everybody's cooperation to show that we had learned our lesson and were responsible enough to take on this large scale trip. In order to do that, we needed strong teamwork within the grade.
Instead of simply blaming the grade from afar or a higher position, we as a committee discussed how our goal would be: to lead our peers, while maintaining the mutual understanding that we were all part of the same team. We organized events such as Mini-Sports Day and a laid-back talk session in the cafeteria, to get to know each other better and to induce teamwork. To include everybody, I typed up our weekly meeting records and pinned it to onto our notice board. We carved out a "Popo-chan box" out of a cardboard for people to write their opinions on a slip of paper and hand in.
There was no obvious indiciation where the teachers finally told us, "Ok, you guys can go on your trip." But it was clear that there was a strong sense of togetherness that had naturally spread throughout the grade, and was driving us toward our ultimate goal. At the same time we had to lead, it was important for us to show that we weren't smarter, superior than everybody else in any way. Being a good friend and listener built a strong basis for the trust we needed as leaders.
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