Education Quotes For The Day!

 

"Without books, we should very likely be a still-primitive people living in the shadow of traditions that faded with years until only a blur remained, and different memories would remember the past in different ways.  A parent or a teacher has only his lifetime.  A book can teach forever"  ~Author Louis L'Amour

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"The ultimate goal of the educational system is to shift to the individual the burden of pursuing his own education.  This will not be a widely shared pursuit until we get over our odd conviction that education is what goes on in school"   ~ John W. Gardner, former HEW Secretary

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“I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.”
― Mark Twain

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"Whatever the cost of our libraries, the price is cheap compared to that of an ignorant nation.”
― Walter Cronkite

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“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.”
― Saint Augustine of Hippo

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“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” ― Nelson Mandela

 

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"Intelligence plus character-that is the goal of true education.”

― Martin Luther King Jr.

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“The best thing for being sad," replied Merlin, beginning to puff and blow, "is to learn something. That's the only thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honour trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only one thing for it then — to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting. Learning is the only thing for you. Look what a lot of things there are to learn.”

― T.H. White, The Once and Future King

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The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.”
― Plutarch

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“Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.”
― Margaret Mead

Quick Tips to Help You Interpret Body Language? , by Sonia McIntosh

(http://www.flickr.com/photos/63168233@N06/8215739815/)

During my certification as a professional coach, I was introduced to the topic "Interpreting Body Language" and received training  on how to watch for these signs.  Often we tend to overlook this area when we lead, teach, coach or manage people. Although in International business meetings body language can have different meanings (we should familiarize ourselves with when conducting business meetings with people of different cultural background), nevertheless, in our day to day meetings, addressing an audience, performing reviews or evaluations, or just meeting one on one with a subordinate, we can learn to interpret body language and strive for a positive outcome in any situation.

Here are a few common hands, facial and body gestures:

(http://www.flickr.com/photos/plaisanter/5289014718/)

• Raised eyebrows and slight smile  -----------------      Encouragement
• Open expression and tilted head -------------------      Shows interest
• Upright posture/demeanor ---------------------------        Alertness
• Shoulders hunched /no eye contact-----------------    Low level of concentration, low self confidence
• Clenched fist, head lowered-----------------------------    Displeased, angry
• Arms folded, avoids eye contact----------------------     Boredom
• Hand pointing aggressively-----------------------------     Provocation, heckler (as stated in my previous post)
• Hand pushing up against head-------------------------   Lack of motivation
• Fingers cupping chin/eye contact---------------------   Desire to learn or know more
• Tapping fingers or restlessness------------------------    Lack of enthusiasm or a "don't care attitude"
• Eye contact/open body language---------------------   Attentiveness
• Wide eyed/raised eyebrows--------------------------      Annoyance, irritation
• Averted gaze/touching ear, squeezing eyes --------- Disbelief
• Open hand gestures--------------------------------------     Enthusiasm

Note:  Closed posture denotes hunched shoulders and no eye contact.

           Open posture denotes arms and hands relaxed, sitting or standing in an upright position.

 If you can watch out for these signs (not limited to this list), you can respond appropriately, or take the necessary corrective action to control a situation.

Simple Ways To Identify Stress - How Stressed Are You At Work? , by Sonia McIntosh

(From Evil Erin)

Stress is labeled as the "invisible killer." Most premature deaths in the US are caused by stress and half are work related. According to my family doctor stress will cause changes in your heart rate, metabolism, blood-pressure levels, and activity resulting from an increase in adrenaline and cortisol hormones.  Stress can be extremely damaging to you in the long run resulting in phobias, mood swings, panic attacks, sleeping disorder, alcoholism, drugs, and can mimic a heart attack.

My doctor further explained that stress will cause you to lose your ability to make sound decisions which can affect your family, children, marriage,  company, career, education and your health.  Understand that we can't live a stress free life, but we can learn to minimize stress and  know the symptoms.

(http://www.flickr.com/photos/finsec/483033130/)

I reearched various symptoms of stress and found these in common - fatigue, insomnia, headache, skin rashes, anxiety, overeating,  loss of appetite, looking disheveled, or  poor concentration.  Learn to beat stress!

One thing I stopped doing years ago was to take home work from my job.  I do understand that there are exceptions as in the case of occasionally meeting a project deadline. I am talking about taking work home on a regularly basis when this could be left for another day or delegated to an employee.  Avoid routinely working  late and going in when not needed on the weekend. Other things to consider to relieve stress is to exercise regularly, take a walk sometimes, get involved in your community and other social networking groups, go shopping, or treat yourself to  a massage and so forth.  It is ok to tell your boss that you are stressed and need some time off, or start delegating more, take short walks from the office.  Sometimes we are hard on ourselves when things don't go the way we anticipate so we focus more on the negative than the positive.  We constantly blame ourselves and dive into more unnecessary tasks. This can cause stress! You are damaging yourself both physically and emotionally.

Listen to what your body is telling you! Relax!

(http://www.flickr.com/photos/auduhomes/3857714048/)

How to deal with Hecklers in a Meeting - by Sonia McIntosh

It's your first big meeting to conduct since your promotion and you are excited and very well prepared, however, you have one problem and that is to deal with one or two disruptive person(s) in the audience - heckler!.  Before you got promoted, previous supervisors had to deal with a few hecklers , so now that you are  in the spotlight, you are  nervous about your encounter.

Wikipedia defines a heckler as "A person who harasses and tries to disconcert others with questions, challenges, gibes.  Hecklers are often known to shout disparaging comments at a performance or event, or to interrupt set-piece speeches, with the intent of disturbing performers

or participants."

Hecklers have hidden agendas.  They are attention seekers that love to respond to a speech with sarcasm just to make themselves look clever. Hecklers are pretty much trouble makers.   While others may respond to a  rhetorical question without intending you any malice, hecklers on the other hand are unleashing sarcasms and hostility.

Everyone deserves a fair hearing, even if you cannot agree with their point of view.  Give the heckler a chance to speak, reassure everyone that they will get a chance to speak especially if you know that others are waiting to be heard, and allow answers to be short. To deal with hecklers  you must be confident, courteous and firm and not enter into an argument. Do not allow a heckler to undermine you.  Remaining calm will diffuse any negative hostility. 

You are the mediator of the meeting therefore, only you can bring balance.  One key thing to remember is that the more exposure and experience you have, the better you will become at responding confidently and politely.

http://www.aboutleaders.com/bid/142084/Leadership-Skills-Forgiveness-and-Feedback

Effective Tips Repositioning Your S.M.A.R.T Goals - by Sonia McIntoah

 Are you unable to achieve your goals?  “Reposition” them and make sure that they are S.M.A.R.T!

*Specific*Measurable*Attainable*Relevant*Timely*

The biggest challenge many of us face when setting goals is that they are not clear enough.  Your weaknesses are at the start and if you are using the same strategies year after year, then you need to reposition them by changing the way you think, feel and envision your goals.  Don’t just focus on “what I want” syndrome.  Look at what you eventually desire in the end that would be beneficial for you, your company…the final outcome!  Where will S.M.A.R.T take you, your department or company in the end?  Will you still be at point “A” after you have used all the framework of S.M.A.R.T?  Perhaps you need to reposition your goals from the customer or employee viewpoint when aligning your specifics.

Let’s look at this scenario for Jane Smith when she first opened her business:

·        Specific – Create a wedding consultancy website for budget conscious couples.

·        Measurable – Gain one client quarterly by participating in area bridal shows and utilizing own in house metric to measure progress.

·        Attainable – Offer free consultation to all clients and share exclusive content through “Constant Contact” to engage  leads.

·        Relevant – An increase in clientele will create an increase in revenue.

·        Timely – Achieve first three clients in 6 months.

Looking at this S.M.A.R.T set up, everything seems to be on point; however, Jane Smith was not achieving these goals the way she had them outlined.  Jane really wanted to be a destination wedding consultant and to show off her expertise in this area (final outcome).   A new year has begun and now Jane Smith is repositioning her goals.   She redefined her Specifics, “Create a wedding consultancy website for budget conscious couples seeking destination weddings.”   Her Attainable now reads “Share exclusive content through Constant Connect to engage the numerous specific leads; and networking with destination hotels/resorts, other destination wedding planners, photographers, videographers and attending specific destination bridal shows.  This new S.M.A.R.T framework will give Jane Smith a clearer picture of where she is heading.

In conclusion, the next time your S.M.A.R.T goals are not in alignment with your passion, “reposition” them.