Fifty Ways to Achieve Excellence in Education
Building Student Relationships and Creating Success
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Your Words Mean Everything It is never a waste of time to talk with and motivate the students that you are responsible for educating. Talking is meaningful if you have something to say; otherwise, it is better to remain silent and observe. Everybody loves to hear positive words and productive advice. If you can offer words of encouragement, however small, while it may not make an immediate difference, it may very well be a seed planted for future reference. Words are indeed powerful and their effects can create success beyond your wildest imagination. However, when you talk with people, be sincere. Nobody wants to work with, listen to, or confide in anyone who is not sincere. Talking to someone is much more empowering than most people think. Most people think that it is a simple exchange of words and ideas. I submit to you the idea that conversations and interactions are much Fifty Ways to Achieve Excellence in Education more than what meets the eye. Let’s view the power of conversations in the context of your influence. How do you know which students you influence? You might respond quickly by saying, “It’s the ones who listen and follow your instructions.” However, the fact is that your influence is not dependent upon your perception but rather the student’s interpretation and weighted value of what you say and how you say it. Influence does not have to be continuous; it can be momentous. There is always a powerful and defining moment in a student’s life. As an educator who constantly works with students, you have a higher probability of creating that momentous experience if you are sincere in your interactions and conversations. As life would have it, you might never know when you have forever altered the life of your student, or anyone, for that matter, with whom you have interacted. Therefore, be empathic and there will be little doubt that your influence and impact on others will be positive and long-lasting.
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About the Book
Effective instruction begins with effective relationships, and this is particularly true in respect to educators who work with students coming from different cultural backgrounds. While there are a great number of programs that will instruct you on how to effectively teach, few share good ways to connect, motivate, and inspire students to succeed regardless of the various personal and societal challenges that they might face. This book will introduce a series of ways to open the doors of dialogue and connection, which is the basis from which students begin to believe in others and then in themselves. You will discover that many students, in order to be inspired by you, have to believe and trust in you first. Once they feel that you can be trusted as their leader, they will empower you to become an effective leader. In return, you can empower them to believe in themselves by creating an environment that trains the mind to be constructive and optimistic. For you, success must be a mindset, because the mind is the tool that each student will have to exercise to engineer and navigate his or her life. Your role must be that of an architect, in which you help each student design a blueprint of success. This process can be a considerably lengthy journey and a formidable task. This is, however, what leading educators will face if they are committed to positively affecting the lives of children and indirectly, the community and the world, one student at a time! Make no mistake about it, one person can make a difference, and as an educator you are in the unique position to become a great person of influence. Are you ready?
About the Author
Dr. Jerry D. Lamb earned his BA degree in Criminal Justice from John Jay College in New York, MA in Special Education from Hunter College in New York, MS in Administration and Supervision from Bernard Baruch College in New York, and EdD from Nova Southeastern University in Florida. He has been an educator for over fifteen years. He has taught on the elementary, middle, high-school, residential, and alternative levels. In addition, he has taught learning/emotionally disturbed special education, gifted, and talented students. Early on, during his teaching experience at an elementary school in Harlem, New York, he came to realize the significance of personalized student relationships in helping students to succeed. This realization came to Dr. Lamb when he was operating his classes in a very military, regimented way but ran into several students who would not conform, no matter how decisive and relentless he was. Dr. Lamb observed how each student would retreat into his or her own world of drawing or singing or looking at pictures when experiencing confrontation. Since Dr. Lamb was the president of The Golden Pyramid Fraternity at John Jay College, he decided to put together a mentoring program, in which students were paired with mentors who had similar interests and hobbies. The results of the paired relationships were immediate and absolutely astounding. Not only did the attitude of the students change, but so did their performance in class and at home. The parents, teachers, and students were so excited about this new experience, and life was better for everyone involved. It was only because of personalized relationships that these students succeeded. We know that they succeeded, because out of this small group, at least fifty percent, of these students were the first in their families to graduate from college and another quarter got employed by the city. Dr. Lamb still continues to mentor and develop mentoring programs. Dr. Lamb is currently an educational consultant. He facilitates meetings of individuals and organizations on how to be effective educators through building meaningful working relationships with students. He readily admits that this is a challenging process, but he insists that it is an invaluable tool that educators need to practice if they are to fulfill their professional and personal legacy. For more information visit www.Thurstonwilson.org