On Monday, I asked a series of questions.
I so appreciated the comments…
made by faithful readers…
Christy Gandara and Stephanie Howells.
Your input and insights help others to see…
that everyone struggles…
makes mistakes…
and is ever changing and growing.
Often…
by learning from those mistakes!
I hope that I never give the impression that I’ve ever arrived!
Lordy!…
wouldn’t that be a crock!
Our family has been at this Leadership Education thing awhile…
so any errors and insights from our journey that I can share…
will hopefully save you the same personal experience!
One thing that we had to establish early on…
was that everyone has a cause…
a project…
a mission…
that, to them, is important and noteworthy.
And they’re all looking for reliable…
trustworthy…
able-bodied individuals…
to help them move the cause!
What happens…
when you are uncertain of your “why” in many cases…
is that you commit to “everything”…
in the hopes of looking like you’re doing “something!”
Been there…
done that…
have several t-shirts!
In establishing clearly…
and firmly identifying what you want…
as a family…
as a mentor to your children and others…
as an individual…
you naturally “weed out” things that may be good…
thus more easily identifying what can be “better”…
and open up your line of vision and opportunity…
to ultimately see what is best!
This also helps to strengthen family identity…
because you can plan…
strategize…
and determine what needs to be done…
together!
This helps everyone to be on the same page…
especially when the going gets tough!
This doesn’t happen over night for anyone.
In fact…
it takes practice!
Which is why it is important…
to read…
study…
form a community…
of like-minded individuals and thoughts…
from which you can learn…
benefit…
and draw strength.
Some other things that have been helpful along the way?…
Look carefully and constructively…
at the leadership that heads up “the cause” or “event.”
Is it stable?
Strong?
Does it have a proven track record?
There is nothing more disheartening…
than being “on board” with an event or cause…
only to find out midstream…
that people are looking to you or others…
for the ultimate decisions or worse yet…
leadership!
This can be most unfortunate.
The larger the event or cause…
the more uncomfortable this situation gets!
Yes, I am speaking from personal experience.
It is frustrating and demoralizing…
not to mention in many cases…
a waste of both your time…
and the time of the individuals you set out to be a blessing to…
when upper level leadership is weak or non-existent.
Another thing that you must clearly establish…
is a direct intent to think outside “the box.”
In this case…
I’m talking about an actual classroom.
For many…
the “DEFAULT” button defines learning…
by actual subject…
in a desk…
void of practical application…
through actual life experience!
You must determine…
to begin practicing and seeing…
“the classroom”in the world around you…
complete with actual subjects that are ever present!
It will revolutionize how you define…
see…
and clearly identify…
real education!
For example…
here is a small…
yet significant list…
of a few of many things that the “Hero Hubby” and I determined long ago…
were skill sets and attributes…
that we wanted our children to see modeled…
to understand for themselves…
and then ultimately “own”…
in their journey to adulthood under our mentorship.
1. A complete understanding of their faith base and the ability to articulate and defend it.
2. A global awareness that includes an understanding of the needs and challenges of others.
3. The ability to work with all types of individuals, to see where they are coming from, to seek to understand their worldviews, and to value them as people above all else.
4. To problem solve when things don’t go as planned, and be a part of a workable solution.
5. To serve with an attitude of gratitude for all that they have been given.
6. To bless others with their God-given talents, gifts, and abilities.
7. To practice powerful, servant leadership that produces successful, effective results.
8. To have a broad based awareness of other people’s vocations, professions and even personal entrepreneurial pursuits.
Did we come up with these overnight?
No.
Were each and every one of these clear from the day Son #1 was born?
Again, no.
Leadership Education as a lifestyle is honestly a life-long pursuit…
precept upon precept…
line upon line.
It’s a journey…
full of discovery…
success..
failure…
lessons.
Come back Friday…
to see how we applied all of this…
in choosing Summer Spectacular…
as a way to minister and bless others!
In the meantime…
I hope you continue to think about…
and ultimately find…
your place of blessing where others are concerned!
One of the things I love about leadership education is the fact that it never ends, it is a journey. At times I am overwhelmed with my personal book list and educational goals? How will I ever get through all of it so I can be of some use to the world (or just my little family / community, lol) ??? I wish I had started sooner – had known I could be learning all this time, but after graduation I was done. I knew what I knew and that was that. Leadership education has freed me and given me permission to learn more. And if that means starting back at third grade multiplication at age 39 – then that’s WONDERFUL! I hope my kids absorb this lifelong learning philosophy – that’s my current major goal.
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Teri Reply:
June 23rd, 2010 at 8:39 am
And a great goal it IS, Miss Christy! As always…thanks for commenting. The goal that you have laid out is actually the heart of everything we do! If you are a life-long learner…can you explain where the lack of success could possibly be?!? ;0)
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Well, I, for one, will be swiping your list – which articulates a lot of goals that swirl around in my brain but I don’t take the time to write down. You’re such a time saver, Teri
Learning makes life so much more fun and interesting – regardless of your age – don’t you think?
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Teri Reply:
June 23rd, 2010 at 8:37 am
Hey…feel free, my dear friend! I find great stuff to adopt and adapt all of the time! ;0)
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Teri,
I love your list of skills. So many are missing the concept that education is meant to make us better. And many erroneously teach things for which they do not have an answer to why they are teaching it. Math for example is often taught out of tradition rather than deep understanding. I would love to hear others lists of skills that they are seeking to have their children adopt. I know that some of mine include:
1. The ability to think clearly in moments of crisis.
2. The ability to articulate clearly and precisely what they are thinking and feeling.
3. To know how to learn something new, verify its truth and then apply it to their daily living.
4. To be able to think logically, to build a well reasoned argument in their mind. (One of the reasons I teach math)
I hope to hear from others the skills that they feel are essential for their children.
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Teri Reply:
June 23rd, 2010 at 8:38 am
I love your list as well! Great to hear from you my friend! Thanks for taking the time to comment! ;0)
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Amen! I like it! Gives me something to think about.
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Teri Reply:
June 29th, 2010 at 8:37 pm
…Which is always a good thing! Great to see you here, Michelle! Thank you again for your generosity with the beautiful necklace! XO ;0)
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