Shara Johnson had the honor of representing the Nebraska statewide Canvas consortium at the New York City Department of Education in September. She provided support during their Canvas launch, sharing invaluable best practices for the implementation process as they introduce Canvas to New York teachers for professional learning. The Nebraska Canvas consortium is a collaborative platform used to manage online learning, including reporting, resource-sharing, grading, feedback, discussions, content creation, outcomes and tasks.
In this episode of The Good Life EDU Podcast, ESU administrators Dr. Dan Schnoes, Dr. Larianne Polk, and Dr. John Skretta join the pod to inform our audience about Nebraska’s legislative process and provide insights into several key education-related bills. In the show notes below, you will find several links referenced in the podcast. Continue to follow our show as this won’t be our last update from the 2023 session!
Nebraska Legislature Main Page: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/
Nebraska Public Media Page (Where Viewers Can Watch the Live Session): https://nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/watch/live/
Where to Access the Unicameral Update: http://update.legislature.ne.gov/
Mr. Charles “Tremendous” Jones helps individuals and businesses address their most pressing challenges, and he does so in an inspiring way. It’s safe to say that he knows a thing or two about human behavior. Regarding his popular quote shown in the illustration, Mr. Jones is correct!
Think of the people you have met over the past five years. What is it about them that had a positive impact on you? Now, think of the books you have read over the past five years. What is it about them that had a positive impact on you?
Millions of books are written each and every year, so what books should we consider reading, in order to experience a positive, everlasting impact? I have read Dr. Jordan B. Peterson’s book: 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos, and I strongly believe it’s a game changer.
The now world famous author’s “12 Rules” are based on scientific evidence, and as you read the details in each chapter, you will find them to be continuously thought provoking. Some of the “rules” seem like common sense, but they are clearly not common practice, especially in our current culture. As I read the book, I found myself thinking, “How much better would the world be if we all followed these 12 rules?”
Here is a list of Dr. Peterson’s 12 Rules
Stand Up Straight With Your Shoulders Back
Treat Yourself Like Someone You Are Responsible for Helping
Make Friends With People Who Want the Best For You
Compare Yourself To Who You Were Yesterday, Not To Who Someone Else Is Today
Do Not Let Your Children Do Anything That Makes You Dislike Them
Set Your House In Perfect Order Before You Criticize The World
Pursue What is Meaningful (Not What Is Expedient)
Tell The Truth (Or At Least Don’t Lie)
Assume That The Person You Are Listening To Might Know Something You Don’t
Be Precise In Your Speech
Do Not Bother Children When They Are Skateboarding
Pet A Cat When You Encounter One On The Street
If you are a person dedicated to your own personal development, I highly recommend Dr. Peterson’s work. It’s definitely worth your time. The ESUCC Professional Development Library has this as both an ebook and audiobook checkout for members. Select this link for the library.
Finally, If you’ve already read the book, I’d love to hear your thoughts, so please share your comments.
Citation: Peterson, Jordan B.. 12 Rules for Life: An Anecdote to Chaos. Random House of Canada. Kindle Edition.
“We have so much time and so little to do… Strike that. Reverse it.”– Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, 1971.
In these times of the virus, remote work, and family isolation, our life can seem reversed, scrambled, upside down. With so much change so fast, new uncertainties, worry, and kids needing our attention, focusing is hard. It is tempting to flutter all day from one need to the next, but all that thrashing around from meeting to meeting, task to task, thought to thought leaves us empty-handed at the end of the day. We feel like we didn’t really do or finish anything.
This is my struggle, and isn’t limited to only these circumstances, but any time of too much to do and not enough time to do it. This post is about how to pull some order and productivity out of a chaotic time.
It’s important to realize and admit that I can only do a few things well in one day. I do not multitask well and I suspect very few can. Yes, my to-do list and inbox are full, but I can’t handle it all at once. Some years ago I read David Allen’s book “Getting Things Done“, and his suggestions have been very helpful to me.
One is keeping a list of thoughts, tasks and projects. This list is a parking place for the interrupting thoughts and ideas that come up as I’m working on other things. Writing these down in one consistent place allows my mind to trust that I’ve captured what’s needed so I can leave it for now and switch quickly back to the main task at hand.
It seems to work best for me to pick two or three priorities each day and focus on those. Dividing my day’s time into significant chunks to work on those priorities, I can often make noticeable progress. Preparing for the next day, I revisit the list and decide which items are priority then.
Weekly or so, review the list. Allen says that each item on the list must be “actionable”. Decide on a next step for each item, and whether that step needs to happen at a certain time or as soon as possible.
Keep in mind that one person can only do a limited number of things. If I continue to let my to-do list grow faster than I can complete projects then eventually some will not happen. It’s better to realize this and say No strategically up front before over committing. Saying No can be difficult but serves everyone better by being realistic about what can be done.
I certainly have much yet to learn and practice in managing my own time. I hope some of these strategies will help you and that you might join our conversation about how you manage time and priorities.
What is your strategy to focus and get things done? How do you choose what you will do today?
In a time when new tech tools are being shared and implemented at a record rate, are educators taking the time to pause and put their student’s data privacy first? In this episode, ESU 3’s own Bill Pulte and Robbie Jensen share their knowledge and insights on student data privacy laws and what teachers, tech leaders, and administrators can do to ensure that their student’s data stays safe.
If you want to learn more from Bill and Robbie, they will both be presenting at the FUTURE READY NEBRASKA CONFERENCE on June 15 & 16, 2020. This online learning opportunity is free, just be sure to register ahead of time at bit.ly/FRNebraska
