Writing Makes An Exact Man

According to Sir Francis Bacon, "Reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man, and writing an exact man." Writing about what one has read with attention adds meaning and clarity to one's work and one's life.

Therefore, it would behoove both principals and teachers to seek for ways to write, not only encourage their students to write. Some writing opportunities:

• Handwritten letters and notes
• Reflective journal
• Dialogue journal
• Articles for professional journals and/or newletters
• Grants
• Book (s)
• Blogs
• Letters to the Editor

Being an example of writing, educators can encourage students to write.

Four Things To Do To Keep On Growing

Four things we can do as educators to keep on growing professionally:

1. Studying a topic for only ten minutes a day can make someone an expert on that topic. Ten minutes a day translates into 3560 minutes in a year--or 60 hours.
2. Read 20 pgs. a day--not just professional material but also recreational books, including books written for the age group of the students you teach.
3. Develop at least one new skill each year.
4. Continually use one's attributes, characteristics, and talents. One of Charlie Jones's seven "tremendous" laws of leadership is Use or Lose. This includes attributes, characteristics, and talents.

The Wisdom of Charlie "Tremendous" Jones

"You're the same person today as you'll be in five years except for two things: the people you meet and the books you read," declared Charlie "Tremendous" Jones. In other words, if we want to grow as an educator we need to meet new people and read. Reading is a great way to meet new people--not only the people in the books but the author, too. I've met many authors by contacting them after reading something they wrote that touched me.

Because people and books can have such an impact on who we become it would behoove us to seek out the best books and quality people. The best books can be fiction as well as nonfiction and self-help books. Biographies and autobiographies are great, too.

Charlie "Tremendous" Jones shared a great idea. He said that instead of giving people business cards which people usually throw away give people a book with your name and contact information inside.

Love of Reading Is Caught

Love of reading is caught not taught. The reason Oprah Winfrey has been able to inspire millions of people to read the books in her Book Club is because she is an avid reader herself. It is not uncommon for her to read 3 books in a week-end. Therefore, she is in a position to discuss a book in a way that whets the appetite of others.

If teachers are to inspire their students to read they might want to consider how they can become more like Oprah in this regard. There are studies that have shown that most teachers do not read professional journals or books and only 25% of them read 3-4 books in a month. An additional 20% said they had read nothing in the last six months. Educators are not reading much more than the general population. Yet, they have the responsibility to help develop in their students a love for reading.

Administrators can help. Research about teachers has shown that in schools where their administrators talk about books and professional journals, the teachers read more on their own. Administrators can also encourage teachers to join professional organizations--maybe even paying for the membership--because educators who belong to professional organizations read more professional journals.



Some ideas for this post:
The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease