Keep Hope Alive

Covey's final thought is a quote from Moaward, "You can't make footprints int he sands of time by sitting on your butt.  And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?"

What is your "flight" plan in order to leave footprints instead of buttprints in the sands of time?

Habit #7 Sharpen the Saw

Which key dimension have you been neglecting?  Body- the physical dimension; Brain - the mental dimension; Heart - the emotional dimension; Soul - the spiritual dimension?

How are you working to "sharpen" that dimension?

Habit #6 Synergize

What does this habit mean to you?  What differences are you celebrating?

Habit #5 Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood

Covey mentions five poor listening styles: spacing out; pretend listening; selective listening; word listening; and self-centered listening.

Describe a time when you used one of these poor listening styles. What happened?  How do you think the other person felt?  How did you feel afterwards?  What are you doing now to avoid poor listening after reading this habit?

Habit #4 Think Win-Win

Take a moment and think about a person who you feel is a true model of Win-Win.  What is it that you admire about this person?

The Relationship Bank Account

Throughout this week find time to make a deposit into "The Relationship Bank Account."

Take a look at the ideas listed under "Baby Steps" on page 144:

Keep Promises

Do Small Acts of Kindness

Be Loyal

Listen

Say You're Sorry

Set Clear Expectations

Be sure to post which area you addressed.  How did you decide which step to take?  How did you feel about the outcome?

Post by Friday, September 11th at 5:oop.m.

Habit #3 Put First Things First

Most of you identified this habit as your biggest challenge.  Sean even states in the book that of all the people surveyed, this is the most difficult habit to truly develop.

Fortunately, you all have agendas/planners to help you prioritize your time.  How are you using your agenda?  Are you using it to establish your "big rocks" for the week?  The month?  The year?

Take a look at your weekly calendar you completed recently.  What is your biggest time-waster?  How are you prioritizing your time to eliminate this time-wasting activity?

Please comment on all of the above listed questions.  Your post is due Thursday, September 10th at 4:00p.m.

Habit #2 Begin With the End in Mind

Review "The Great Discovery" on pages 84-89.  Take note of your responses and begin creating your own mission statement.  Posting your statement on the blog is optional.  Your mission statement is yours; it's personal.  Once you have written your statement, post it inside your binder.  You should have access to your statement at all times.  Eventually, you will have it memorized!

Habit #1 Be Proactive

In one month you will start the application process for high school.  Use the link below to learn more about your options for selective enrollment school.

http://cpsmagnet.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=72696&type=d&rn=7852156

After examining at least three different schools, find one that matches your needs.  List it in your comment along with why this is one of your choices.  Be sure to include your academic interests in this school along with your social and athletic interests.  

Post your comment by Thursday, September 3rd, 4:00p.m.

Do Random Acts of Service

After reading the chapter titled "The Personal Bank Account", review the section about acts of service.  Reflect on your own personal experiences and think about a time when you did something for someone else for no reason at all.  

Over the weekend, find an opportunity to do a kind deed.  Share that moment, what you did, how the person(s) reacted, and how you felt about it.

Please proofread and edit your comment before posting.  Post your comment by Monday, August 31st, at 4:00p.m.

Be Honest!

On page 7, Covey lists "The 7 Habits of Highly Defective Teens".  Do any of these habits ring true?  If so, which ones are all too familiar for you and are soon to be old ways.

Be sure to list the habit title.   Explain why this is a familiar habit or provide a personal example.

Deadline:  Thursday, August 27th, 4:00p.m.

Essential Question

Take another look at the essential question for this unit:

"How is what I’m doing right now preparing me to be an effective individual?"

Respond to the question, be honest and thoughtful with your post.

Welcome to Blogging!

Blogging is a form of journaling on-line.  We will spend time this year blogging and journaling on-line with several of our book studies.  In addition to keeping a reading response journal, we will be blogging while we read Sean Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. 

A few rules to keep in mind when blogging:

• When you post, be sure to include your first name and last initial (only) with your response.  For example, Jenny V.
• Be sure to spell check and proofread your work before posting your comment.  You need to write in proper English.  You will lose points for posting with text language.
• Meet deadlines for submitting your comments.
  

Looking forward to your posts,

Mrs. Veltman