My Quirks

In The Eccentricity Bus: Please Find Your Seat! From Lisa Ricard Claro – Author, Lisa Ricard Claro

“What quirks do you claim as your own? Who is the quirkiest person you know? What books, movies, or television shows do you love because the characters are quirky? Are there any you don’t like because the quirkiness is overdone?”

A lot of my quirks are in relation to my husband. We have been married for 36 years so I guess he is used to my quirks.

I like to sleep in bed on my husband’s left side. If I try to sleep on the right side of him, I won’t sleep a wink.

I also like to walk on his left side. If I try to walk on his right side, I feel awkward.

When I eat a plate of food, I like to eat one food at a time instead of having little bits of each item.

When I wake up, I have to brush my teeth before I eat or drink anything.

When I drive anywhere, I always say a prayer that I get to my destination safely.

If we play the lottery, I ask my husband to get the ticket because he is always luckier than I am.

My favorite quirky person is Sheldon on Big Bang Theory. He is different than others and he knows it but he doesn’t apologize for being different.

Explaining these quirks to my students helps them see that we all have quirks and it isn’t always a bad thing. These quirks are what makes us all unique. We should embrace our differences and not make people who are different feel bad.

What are your quirks? Who is your favorite quirky character on TV? Please share.

Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

Helping Students Make Changes

In What's the Key to Influencing Your Students? From  @DavidGeurin Blog, David Geurin asks.

“What are strategies you've used to help student's make pivotal changes?”

I am always quick to think my students need to change and I encourage them to seek changes in their lives. Yet, I don’t go a step further and help them figure out the steps they need to make these changes.

I am sometimes too quick to shoot down their dreams and hopes by saying they aren’t realistic. Yet, maybe I need to help them break down these dreams and help them make smaller changes in their lives that work towards achieving their big goal. Maybe along the way, they will decide to change their goal. They might end up finding a more realistic and achievable goal.

I need to look at the student’s big goal and then break it down into smaller goals. Once the smaller goals are identified, then help the student figure out what smaller steps need to be done in order to reach the smaller goals. As each smaller goal gets achieved, maybe I will find out that the big goal is more realistic than I could hope for. Maybe along the way, the student may see the difficulty in achieving the big goal and I can help them steer to a more achievable goal.

I can help the student find resources that are out there. I have more experience and knowledge than the student does in order to find what people or agencies are available to the student. I can help arrange for the support that the student might need.

Instead of just expecting students to make goals and change their lives, I need to help them figure out the steps to achieve this.

Photo by Ross Findon on Unsplash