Author of

 "Good Kids, Difficult Behavior" and "Discipline Works: 5 Main Things" http://www.thehumanconnection.net   Volume 23 June 2004

Note from the Editor:

Dear Educators and Friends,

Welcome to our new monthly newsletter.  Our schools here in Georgia are out for the summer, and for those of you who are not out yet, I know that your school year is drawing to a close.

This is an excellent time of the year to spend additional quality time with the kids, vacationing, reading, etc.  Don't miss out on this important time in your child's development.  Summer can be an exciting time for them if they are stimulated and have plenty of activities to keep them occupied.  Reading and doing creative activities helps them keep their minds fresh and prepares them for the next school year.  Be sure to visit My Favorite Link of the Month - Family Education.  It is an excellent resource for all those creative and educational activities for the summer months.

Continuing Education Reminder

For those Superintendents, Administrators, and School Board Members, don't forget about the training this month in Peachtree City, Georgia.  Joyce will be conducting two programs on June 24th and 25th.

Supervising and Supporting the Struggling Teacher:

How to Address Poor Performance, Negative Attitudes or New Teacher Overwhelm

Who is Paying Your Energy Bill? 

How to Protect Your Personal Energy Supply from Burnout and Exhaustion

You can visit our website for all the details and registration forms or call us directly. 

Don't wait, time is running out.

Check out "Ask Joyce" below for her answer to an educator's question. What would you like to ask Joyce? See how to send in your own question below! We look forward to hearing from you during this school year. Please let us know how it went if you try some of Joyce's suggestions. Joyce really wants to be a help to you.
 

If you like the newsletter, please consider forwarding it to your colleagues and system staff development specialists.

June 20th is Fathers Day & the 21st is the First Day of Summer;

Enjoy Both

We will not be publishing a newsletter for July/August, so you will hear from us again in September.  Have a great Summer!

Mark @ The Human Connection

Special of the Month for our E-zine Subscribers

  SPECIAL for $35.00   (22% Discount)

For this month's special we are offering the complete line of the audio tapes;

• Successful Strategies for Dealing with Difficult Students (2-tape set)

• Motivating The Unmotivated Student

• Communicating Effectively With Difficult Parents!

• Safe and Effective Strategies for Defusing Hostile Students

Order by check/purchase order/credit card by calling/faxing/mailing your order in to the office; just tell us you saw our ad in the newsletter.  Contact info is at the end of the newsletter.

As Joyce travels and works with educators all over the country, she is constantly being asked--- "What do you do when...?" questions.  She has the greatest respect for "what do you do when questions" because usually the questioner is genuinely seeking new information and the teacher is willing to be a student.  Each month, Joyce will answer one or more of the most common "what do you do questions".  Feel free to send one of yours.  She'll do her best to answer it.  Keep in mind, her answers may be different from the customary response but they are tried and true strategies for getting students to do what you are asking them to do.  Give yourself permission to try something new! Email Joyce at joyce@thehumanconnection.net  with any questions or situations you would like input on.  Let us know if we can show the question in a future newsletter or if you prefer to keep it private. We are hoping Joyce can help address situations you encounter and by sharing these questions/answers others can benefit as well.

FROM Joyce:

Once again a school year ends.  Most of you are heaving a great sigh of relief and looking forward to a little down time.  Of course, there are the incorrigible workers among you who are chomping at the bit to get to the first of many projects they have lined up to be accomplished during the all too short summer break.  Even you folks are mighty glad to be switching gears.  Before you head off to goof off or work hard, I’d like to share a few thoughts and maybe a suggestion or two for making this summer a time of rest and rejuvenation. 

Since my books and most of my writing centers around behavior issues and how to get children and teens to do what you need them to do, let me offer some food for summer thought on this subject first.  One of the most effective tools an educator can bring to the business of teaching young people to behave properly is a sound sense of self-esteem and self-respect.  People who truly respect themselves and hold themselves in high regard usually are able to do two things that are immensely helpful when it comes to classroom discipline.  First, they set a good example by treating their students respectfully, even if that student crosses the line and acts disrespectful toward them.  Because of their own high regard for themselves, they do not feel defensive and hurt when treated disrespectfully.  They may find it offensive and unacceptable but it does not become a personal matter of needing the student’s approval. 

Second, they expect respect and that expectation is communicated to their students and colleagues.  Students, even particularly difficult students, very often rise to their expectations.  It’s as though they say to their students, “I value me and my work and expect that you will too.”

So how does this relate to your summer vacation, rest and rejuvenation?  Self-esteem and self-respect are do-it-yourself projects.  Make one of your summer projects a couple of self-esteem boosting activities.  Boosting your own self-esteem is one of the best things you can do for you, especially in a time when educators are being derided and devalued by many.

Here is some self-esteem boosting suggestions.  1)  FEEL PROUD.  Do something that makes you feel proud of yourself.  Let yourself feel proud.  Tell a friend how proud you are of yourself for your accomplishment.  It doesn’t have to be a huge accomplishment like losing 20 pounds or learning a new language.  It can be as simple as sorting through a long neglected pile or writing a long letter to a dear but neglected friend.

2) TAKE CREDIT.  Reflect- as in spend time thinking and smiling and telling someone about that one student you saw progress and succeed because of your hard work and dedication.  Celebrate your success.  Toast yourself, even if it’s lemonade. 

3)  BE PLAYFUL.  For some this is as natural as breathing, but for some of us more serious minded folks, it can require a commitment and discipline just to let ourselves play.  Recently my sister talked me into playing a crazy card game called Hand & Foot with a group of her friends.  I felt self conscious for fear I would play badly and quite frankly was not thrilled at the idea of just sitting and playing cards for hours. (I am one of those serious minded folks).  In any case, I agreed to play and what fun!  Four hours zoomed by.  We laughed, we talked and most of all we just had fun.

Believe it or not, letting ourselves relax and have fun and do things that we enjoy makes us feel good about life and feeling good about life is fundamental to valuing ourselves, i.e. building self esteem.

Go this summer and feel good, have fun and come back feeling rejuvenated and proud of yourself for your accomplishments, even those as simple as having fun.  See you in September.

P.S.  If you get to the HSTW conference in Atlanta this summer, come by our booth and say Hello.

Inspiration:

The future depends on what we do in the present.
Mahatma Gandhi

Taken from ~ http://www.inspirational-quotes.info/index.html

Personal Energy Saver:

Who ever said physical activity is all work and no play? In fact, it can be just the opposite! There is no need to think of strenuous workouts that are painful and boring. Instead, imagine doing fun physical activities you enjoy and look forward to. Do physical activity for enjoyment and watch the health benefits follow! 

Visit CDC's website for additional information. http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/physical/index.htm

Just For Fun:  Bored with school - jokes and humor

           (From - www.schooljokes.com )

Editor's favorite link of the month:

Family Education what your child needs to know.  An excellent resource site.

http://www.familyeducation.com/

The Human Connection

125 Highgreen Ridge

Peachtree City, GA 30269

Phone (In Georgia): 770-631-8264                     

Phone (Toll free): 1-888-460-8022

Fax: 770-486-1609 

Email: For info about newsletter/website, contact mark@thehumanconnection.net

To order books, and get info on training programs, contact divinyi@mindspring.com

Website: http://www.thehumanconnection.net

Copyright 2004 The Human Connection