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#21 Focusing On Quantity
and
Not Quality...
What's important?
What message are you sending students when the emphasis is on
the number of pages read in the textbook, rather the relevancy
of the subject matter to their everyday needs and concerns?
The message
is quantity not quality. The message is... I don't know what
you need, and I don't know how to find out!
Oops... that's a mistake!
Today business and industry are consumed with the total "quality
movement." The movement was not created because of a want
to or a will to. It was created by an understanding that in order to survive,
quality must come first.
The primary tenets of the quality movement are the customers’
needs come first and customers’ input is vital to determine those needs. Sounds simple
to me! What do you think?
1. What do you
want?
2. What has to happen for you to get what you want?
Your customers are your students. When was the last time students
were consulted about their needs, concerns, and wants?
Never! Right?
Stop and think of ways to ask the right questions... right....!
Determine their needs... their wants... their fears. Ask the
right questions... get the right answers... then you can teach
for quality... quality of life!
Think about this definition of intelligence... It's beyond cool! It helps me focus on quality of instruction...
"Intelligence
is the ability to solve everyday problems and contribute to the welfare of mankind."
Wow!... That's a chill bumper... Read it again.
Think about what is says to you and how you should teach...
I wonder how many students would drop out of school if they were
given the tools to solve
their everyday problems...
and feel the joy
of contributing to other?
I wonder?
Read the "How
to" and learn how to
ask the right questions... right!
Take Me
Back to
the...
Table of Contents...
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 The first ingredient is courage. That's
right! Courage!
It takes tons of courage to stop and ask your students "how"
you can meet their day to day needs when teaching your subject.
It's much easier to continuing doing what you're doing...
The problem
is... Is what you're doing giving you and your students what
you both need and want?
Initially, many of your students’ answers will be ridiculous.
When they see your sincerity coming through, answers become more
meaningful and helpful.
It only makes sense in today’s world to stop teaching from
a text that doesn’t remotely touch the concerns of your
students.
Start today by asking your classes how you can make your class
a quality class in which down-to-earth information, ideas, and
skills are taught to help make their lives work.
I know you have a curriculum to follow and outcomes to produce,
but you can still meet your school’s “quantity”
expectations and the quality needs of yours students at the same
time.
It takes
ingenuity and an open mind as well as courage to be different
and change.
Looking for innovative ways to make your subject matter relevant
to your students and incorporating them into the existing curriculum
makes a world of difference in the “quality” of many
lives—the student lives you hold in your hands.
Quality is YOUR
Job One!
Teach
what needs to be taught in the right quantity to produce the
right quality.
The Point!
Ask the two most important questions you can ask your students
to help determine their needs.
1. What do you
want?
2. What has to happen to get what you want?
The power of
these two questions is beyond awesome!!! But to tap into the
power... you've got to have the courage to ask. So... ask! Please!
Questions are the answer, and quality is the cure,
Karl
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