Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Top Ten Lessons

Top 10In If you could only teach ten points, what would they be? Ewan McIntosh asks,

“If you were to look at your school year ahead, and choose only ten things to actually teach explicitly, what would your top ten lecturettes be?”


I loved this question and it took me awhile to whittle down to the top 10. I first just started jotting all of the ideas I could think of and then deciding which were my top 10. Here they are:

1. Etiquette: table manners, social manners, transportation manners, over all good manners

2. Telling the truth: Your integrity is all that you have.

3. You are a Born Winner - Believe in yourself! Everyone is a born winner.

4. Strengths - Everyone has strengths. Some people don’t know what they are yet so you have to be willing to try different things in order to find out what they are.

5. How to Learn - Once my students leave the classroom, they need to know how to learn on their own. How do they find the information they need? What steps do they follow in order to learn how to do something?

6. Important Laws to Follow - Many students have heard different versions of the laws from their peers and these may be wrong or misinterpreted. A mistake like that could cause a person to be put in jail. It is better to discuss these laws and know exactly what they mean.

7. Why Reading is Important - I believe if you can read, you will find you can figure out just about anything. It can be the key to open any door.

8. How to Look at Things Critically in order to make your own decisions - There are always more ways to look at something than you would imagine. Making a decision involves looking at all perspectives possible and making wise decisions. How does a person do this?

9. Asking for Help - Many of us don’t ask for help when we should and sometimes we ask for help when we shouldn’t. We need to learn the difference. Then we need to learn how to ask for help appropriately.

10. Controlling our Own Behavior - we change the behavior of other people, only our own. How can we reflect on our own behavior? How do we make the changes in ourselves that need to be made.

Just by having these lectures, doesn’t mean I have all of the answers. I think these topics would open the door to great discussions. Discussion can lead to enlightenment. Sometimes we need to be willing to talk about the things that others feel is the “elephant in the room.”

What would be on your Top 10 list? Please share.

Image: 'Nailed it! My picture is a+perfect+10!'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/73645804@N00/3019961773
Found on flickrcc.net

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