One of my favorite authors on the topic of educational leadership is Todd Whitaker. His writing has influenced me to a great degree. This week I found myself thinking about one of his books, Shifting the Monkey. Now you might wonder what monkeys have to do with leadership and how can they possibly relate to each of us even if we are not in a "leadership" position. But Whitaker explains that monkeys are responsibilities and that everyone has them. Everyone that is except for slackers and complainers, who often try to shift their monkeys onto others. Have you ever had someone bring their responsibility to you and then somehow make it yours? We don't need any excess burdens in life. How do you avoid taking on another's responsibility? Whitaker's message is to not allow others to shift their monkeys onto you. The way to do this is through a three question process:
- Where is the monkey?
- Where should it be?
- How do I shift it to its proper place?
The message is two-fold: 1) Don't try to put your responsibilities onto others and 2) Don't allow others to shift their responsibilities onto you. It can be a difficult process but the benefit is that our hardest workers won't be burdened by those who are only average. What I like most about this book is that the focus is on protecting the best workers. I promise those of you that fall into this category that I will do my best not to allow others to shift their monkeys onto you. I encourage all of you to follow this process so that you are not carrying an extra burden that belongs somewhere else.
- Field Days for grades 1-5 are next week.
- Our next Family Night is Monday at Tijuana Flats from 5:30 - 8:00. It would be great to see everyone there!
- Newsletter articles are due to Ms. Felton by Tuesday.
- Collaborative Learning is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon. Please remember that this is time scheduled for teams to work on your thematic units.
- Our next SAC meeting will be Wednesday evening at 6:00 PM.
- Interim reports will be printed on Wednesday and distributed on Thursday.
Quote of the Week - "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." - John Lennon. I have a framed version of this one on one of the walls in my office. This is from his song "Beautiful Boy", which I often sing to my boys at bedtime.
It's a great message to just slow down and appreciate each moment as it happens. Too often we are thinking about what's next or rushing toward the weekend or a holiday. If we continuously wish our days away how much time will we have left?
Think Like a Detective - Can you determine the Gator Run teacher based on the following clues?
- Is from New Jersey
- Went to FIU
- Is a self-confessed "computer geek"
- Loves traveling, writing and crafting
- Her husband (who she didn't know at the time) was one of her mentor teachers during her student teaching.
Denise!!
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