hold discussions here

-- Anonymous, October 23, 1998

Answers

Covey Comments, pages 247 -248

Left Brain/Right Brain

Karen Rigdon Now that you have read the Covey text I pose the following question to you. How are you planning to develop the weaker hemisphere of your brain within the realm of your masters program plan? Did your Meyer-Briggs type letter #3 indicate that you are a thinker? Do you work more with logic, analysis, sequential thinking, and measurement? Then your challenge is to develop your creativity, intuition, holistic thinking, and artistry. Terry Anderson surprised me when he said that our supplementary reader did not have to be in our concentration. What an ideal opportunity to choose a book, journal, or set of videotapes that exercise the non-dominant brain hemisphere. Sister Wendy tapes for the mathematicians. The book "Emotional Intelligence" for computer experts. "PC Novice" for art and music teachers. The opportunity has been given. Make informed choices so that you do not progress in a "half-brained" manner.

-- Anonymous, October 31, 1998

Covey Comments from Ch. 31 Principle- Centered Learning Environments, pages 302-312, submitted by Jill Katrin.

The Covey text talked about how society wants education to handle all of its deeper problems. I not only agree with this, but I can identify with it. I have been an educator for twelve years and I often feel overwhelmed with the variety of hats and roles I endeavor daily as a teacher of the 90s. I often feel more like a counselor or mother than a teacher to some of my students. Can children learn to build trusting relation- ships in a home where trust doesnt exist? On top of this, how do we best meet the individual needs of all our students? Covey talked about using the facilitator concept to help meet individual needs. Students become more responsible for their own learn- ing process and an attitude of learner versus master is created. I see the computers in our classrooms as one way of acting as a facilitator. After reading Coveys thoughts, I realized I had a better understanding of the importance of having a mission for any- thing. Reading over our school mission helped me understand my purpose as an educator.

-- Anonymous, November 01, 1998

In response to the Covey text, I find that Covey's ideas are commendable; however, somewhat unrealistic. The paradigm has shifted from a society that fostered honesty, dignity, and compassion to one that often applauds and compensates for deception and lack of integrity. I am concerned about the disregard for foundational principles that need to be applied for humanity and effective leadership. I believe that as an educator a large majority of responsibility lies in that fact that I can make a difference in how I react and model the role I have been hired to take on. As a facilitator I can implement some of the strategies Covey discusses in his text, but also must realize that the intrinsic values and principles modeled by others at home and within the family setting may not be those I possess. Covey states that there is a universal belief in fairness, kindness, dignity, charity, integrity, honesty, quality, service, and patience (95). I cannot argue any of those qualities, I believe they exist, but question to what extent they exist within society or the workplace. Individuals and organizations can become highly productive, effective and efficient, but with a tremendous amount of training. Changes upset and disturb people, stirring up fears, uncertainties, and insecurities (133). Any interpersonal relationship, whether it is within a family or within the workplace, will go through changes. We all need to understand ourselves and commit to productive and positive change. Reading a textbook can broaden a point of view, but if the philosophy is not implemented and the approach is not changed by the individual(s) or organization nothing can change. The cycle will continue. We all strive for rewards, and through a principle-centered approach it could lead to a more enjoyable existence and genuine intrinsic happiness. In conclusion, I enjoyed the text and agree with some of Covey's philosophies. No matter how unrealistic some approaches seem, they still have merit if we chose to apply them.

-- Anonymous, November 03, 1998

Covey Reaction Paragraphs

Submitted by Karen Swenson

Principle-centered learning environments are the key to effective educational reform. Controversy and conflicting expectations have diverted educators away from a focused task. We have to create an environment of shared responsibilities. The energy must be shifted to empower students and create trust. In this ecosystem students will learn the Seven Habits and develop along the maturity continuum of dependence, to independence, then to interdependence My favorite quote from Covey is, If we create the environment that models the characteristics that we want in students, we never have to teach integrity, honesty, or trustworthiness. The key is to model these behaviors for children. This is an approach not another curriculum.

Currently I am involved in a teaching approach that follows many of Coveys ideas.The Responsive Classroom is a developmental approach that stresses the importance of consistency in building community. Nothing is assumed and all expected behaviors and guidelines are modeled by the teacher before the children participate. Rules are not dictated by the teacher, but are generated in collaboration with the children and their parents to assure ownership in the process. Five social skills are consciously built into this approach. Cooperation, assertiveness, responsibility, empathy, and self control are essential skills for becoming a successful member of society. These skills are nurtured and developed through the Responsive Classroom.

Common to both Covey Leadership Center training and the Responsive Classroom is the goal to empower a school district to train itself through implementation workshops and development of a mission statement. Both of these programs depend upon personal commitment of individual staff members who understand the concepts of personal empowerment, principle-centered learning, and the inside-out approach.

-- Anonymous, November 03, 1998

Covey Comments

Chapter 31, pp. 302-312

Principle-Centered Leadership Environments

Submitted by Dawn Schindeldecker

Coveys book, Principle-Centered Leadership, discusses information that can help anyone to improve their professional, as well as their personal life, through hard work and dedication. More work than some people might be willing to go through, unfortunately.

The chapter I enjoyed most was on Principle-Centered Learning Environments. I agree that education often is looked upon as the cure-all for what children lack in other parts of their lives, then criticized when these children dont grow up successful. Covey suggests that through patience, empathy, and careful guidance teachers can create an environment which builds internal character. The responsibility of learning is then placed on the student rather than the teacher. The student will hopefully start to display traits of integrity and self-confidence which will lead to students who feel good about themselves, who want to get involved, and who want to get the best learning experience they can. One way we can start to accomplish this is by getting students, at an early age, actively involved in activities which model these characteristics. Students then get to see the advantages, as well as the disadvantages, before they are faced with real dilemmas. The DARE program, which we are fortunate to have in our sixth grade curriculum, provides an excellent opportunity for students to role-play, ask questions, hear about select cases, discover options, and finally, form opinions of their own as far as drug use. I feel that teachers who use programs like these in their classrooms will see worthwhile results for their students, as well as themselves.

-- Anonymous, November 03, 1998

Discussion Paragraph on Covey Textbook Timm Ringhofer

I found the book by Covey to be very idealistic and therefore to be unrealistic in a school. To find the ideal situation anywhere is very difficult and even more so in a school.

Administration needs to be providing the essential tools, the teachers need to be working towards a common goal, parents need to be backing their childrens education, and the students need to want to be learning in the classes they are attending. All of these factors and more would have to be in place before most of the information found in Covey can be put into practice.

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach him to fish and you feed him for a lifetime is the quote on the front cover of Covey. This is true, and I cannot argue against it. However, when a 16-year-old has parents that are possibly divorced, remarried, alcoholic, drug abusers, or generally dont care about their children and then you add the fact that this student works, is involved in extra-curriculars, has their own abuse problems, and have enough hormones raging through their bodies for many adults, it is very difficult to teach the child to fish. He/she wants a fish for the day and to feel good about what they are doing. This all that some of the students at this age can handle. I believe it is a different story for a 22-year-old. He/she can handle much more and be taught to fish!

One other point I would like to address is the idea of win-win situations. I cannot believe that every situation can be a win-win situation. When dealing with students, many decisions regarding their education can be these type of situations. Eventually though, the student is not going to know what is the best decision for them, and the decision needs to be made for them. In their eyes, they have lost and I have won. I believe that most situations in their adult lives are going to be win-lose decisions, and to lead them to believe that they can always win is a dangerous precedent.

-- Anonymous, November 03, 1998

Covey text, Chapter 5, Breaking With the Past.

The chapter I enjoyed most in the Covey text was Chapter 5. I think we need a significant breakthrough in the traditional ways of thinking and teaching in our educational system. Why change, this has worked the last 25 years? This a common statement made by colleagues. I think we need to communicate a significant vision for the children we educate, aligned with principles, roles and goals. We will then achieve a sense of personal contribution through our commitment to our students.

According to Covey, personal contribution is the highest level of human motivation. I personally agree with Covey on this. I believe to have our students be the best that they can be, we, as educators, have to be the best that we can be. We need to be ready to make positive changes in our lives to better ourselves and eventually blossom throughout a community. Old habits are hard to break, and I believe that we all have them. We have to have successful private victories before we can have public victories. We need to start small, gain perspective, and make decisions and commitments in regards to our perspectives. As we succeed in our private and public victories, they do not go unseen. We are constant role models with the children we raise and the children we teach. We can show, respect, empathy, integrity, self discipline, kindness, cooperation, etc. within our daily lives without actually teaching them per se. We have to be willing to make positive changes in our own lives so we are better able to teach and role model changes for students and/or fellow colleagues. As we overcome our own new challenges, we will unleash a new kind of individual freedom and power. We will continue to fuel our own personal behavior.

-- Anonymous, November 03, 1998

Response to Stephen Coveys Principal Centered Leadership

I found this book to be a helpful reminder of what is important in the big picture of life. Although a bit redundant at times, Covey conveys the message that integrity, trust and empathy are the foundations of success in our work and personal relationships. This timeless message has been conveyed over the years in a variety of ways. The sayings Put your best foot forward or Do unto others as you would yourself  as well as Always do your best are just a few that came to mind while reading this book. In essence, hes not telling people anything new, but restating it in new ways. I believe it is a message worth restating.

Answered by Lisa West (rainy@norshor.net) on November

-- Anonymous, November 04, 1998

Covey Review - Jill Herzig Principle- Centered Leadership by Stephen Covey is a book with many good points, ranging from personal principles to family value systems. I enjoyed the first half of the book a great deal and looked forward to the insights it held. As I continued to read the book I began to feel a redundancy in his writing style. He discussed the same concepts repeatedly. I found the second section more difficult to get through and found myself losing interest. I feel he could have written a book with the same content and fewer pages.

Answered by Jill Herzig (herzig@northwinds.net) on November 03, 1998.

-- Anonymous, November 04, 1998

My Response to Principle Centered Leadership It seems that Mr.Covey clearly distinquishes between his principle centered life and the habits he endorses which are interdependent, arriving from a rich private life,constantly educating and obeying his conscience thru private meditation, contemplation, prayer and study of the scriptures. (pg.140) He suggests nature as one of the best scripting, but states marraiges naturally end in divorse. Which is it, natural or spiritual. Is he placing his candle under a basket of secularism to make it more palatable for the acceptance of his followers. How can a secularized point of view understand spiritual laws? Its like he is functioning on the third level of a city. There are those at ground level, realists accepting things as they are in a dog eat dog and live it my way mentality. If you were to ask them,"how are you?" they would say," ok I guess or I just don't know." Then there are some who live underground that would say there's just no hope. Some after a time, through care and effort would gain knowledge, that there is a bedrock of truth and began to use principals to build a powerful practical tower lifting them high into the fresh air, where at times they can see others flying overhead without a care. This fourth group also had found that bedrock. They had swept off the surface to find a blue print engraved on its surface. They thoroughly picked at it, penitrating deeply into the intentions of the designer, following and mastering it with devotion to build a landing and launching pad for a lift off into the wild blue yonder, free. They had not distorted by their simple reasoning of natural sences believed in something bigger than themselves and beyond their imaginations. The time has come for all of us to make the quantum leap for excellence which is not a relative term according to the shifting ideas of our society's imaginations. Covey is a master in natural practicallities which he admits is flawed from the start. Supernatural laws supersedes the natural. Answered by B.R.Trask (btrask@rainy.rr.cc.mn.us) on

-- Anonymous, November 04, 1998

Covey Text Comments

Submitted by Tim Everson

After reading the Covey text, I have come away with mixed emotions. I totally agree that great leaders have a strong set of principles that they stick to. These principles include trustworthiness as the basis. I think that trust is the underlying bond in all relationships. I also like how Covey states that all change must come in gradual steps, with the first of these steps involving a person getting their personal life in order. Quick and easy change probably isnt based on correct principles.(p. 29)

The idea of sharpening the saw also made a lot of sense. A person must continually strive to learn more and make changes accordingly as they grow older. Hopefully these changes will come based on new wisdom gained. I think it is important as teachers to model this to our students so they see that their education doesnt end the day they graduate from high school.

I do have a problem with his belief that following correct principles alone, will inspire employees or students at all levels to excel. I believe that following these principles will help, but not alone. In business I feel that money and power are the major driving forces for many employees. To think that money and power arent the major forces is ridiculous. He does finally mention toward the end of the book (p. 296) that economic well-being tied with quality of life is a major driving force.

I think that as educators, it is vital that we demonstrate our belief in values and principles to our students. In an age with many broken homes and poor home lives, the school is the main source of values and morals for many students. I think educators can make a great difference in the final outcomes of many of their students. It is sad to see that the schools and teachers are now responsible for things that should have been learned at home. However, we must face the times and do what we can to help our young people achieve to their greatest potential. We cant let ourselves get to the point where we just want to make it through the day (p. 303), we must keep the end result in mind and keep striving to reach it.

-- Anonymous, November 04, 1998

Covey Discussion Comments

Stephen R. Coveys book Principle-Centered Leadership, in my opinion, is quixotic. It is a kind, noble and romantic approach, but in a way foolish and not practical to execute in an existing atmosphere. Selling his concept that everyone involved in leadership, or organization whether in the home, in a club, or society, or in business can organize and attacking the same encountered problems will be solved by practicing his principles are idealistic and impractical. It is one thing to paint the perfect picture than to implement it. His beliefs of creating team spirit and harmony among people, getting people and culture aligned with strategy then committing to it is theoretical but not practical without TRUST. I agree with his opinion of the need for trustworthiness at personal and interpersonal levels. Who wouldnt? Coveys philosophy of the value of developing personal and interpersonal meaningful relationships for a Total Quality environment is pragmatic. The rhetoric needs to be substantiated by demonstration of trust in the environment by a collaborative effort of all parties.

The environment I am employed at is an example of a malfunctioning or disruption to the productivity because of the lack of trust among board members, administration and educators. In my classroom I feel that positive reinforcement and a feeling of contribution and worth energies people. To extend trust building at all levels is overwhelming, but is badly needed to improve our working environment. Like Covey, I advocates gradual, step by step changes occur with one step at a time. Being an educator our next challenge will be much as Covey describes. How can we have a culture characterized by change, flexibility and continuous improvement and still maintain a sense of stability and security? Coveys Principle-Centered Leadership program implementation plan through the EMPOWERMENT process.

-- Anonymous, November 04, 1998

Response to Stephen Coveys Principal Centered Leadership

I found this book to be a helpful reminder of what is important in the big picture of life. Although a bit redundant at times, Covey conveys the message that integrity, trust and empathy are the foundations of success in our work and personal relationships. This timeless message has been conveyed over the years in a variety of ways. The sayings Put your best foot forward or Do unto others as you would yourself  as well as Always do your best are just a few that came to mind while reading this book. In essence, hes not telling people anything new, but restating it in new ways. I believe it is a message worth restating.

-- Anonymous, November 04, 1998

Some of the thoughts that stay with me after reading the Stephen R. Covey book, entitled "Principle-Dentered Leadership", are 1. try to resolve conflicts with "win-win" agreements, 2. function and operate with integrity, 3. leadership needs to be "principle centered", 3. to have every part of an operation, classroom, industry or corporation be a mission statement that has ownership and contribution from everyone. The book kept saying to me that to have everyone involved in the production, goal or outcome, is to have all feel the importance that they are an equal part of it, have ownership. I can relate this to my choirs that I work with at the high school, in that I want to have each member feel that they are an important and integral part of the unit, like a chain, and if any part of the chain is not there or performing his or her part up to the standard of the whole, the chain is broken. In corporate and the competitive market, I understand the unified effort to develop a mission statement, goal or product, but the problems of individual competition, even within a group striving for the same outcome, still nags at me and makes me wonder how long the principle centered leadership will last before competitive, individual selfish nature takes over. -that is the coubting side of me. The theory is great, and we all have experienced that when there has been those precious moments of cooperation, unity and win-win solutions at home or at work. Then, ah yes, life is good.

-- Anonymous, November 04, 1998

I found the Principle Centered Leadership by Stephen R Covey to be unique in it's own way. "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a life time." I can relate this statement to my own life and present classroom as an educator. Their is always that student who will ask and expect someone to reveal the answer on a assignment this is the person receiving only the fish. As an educator it is my responsibility to teach my students how "to fish". Students must play an active role in the learning process through this process they become capable young men and women who can rely on themselves to provide a future of success and happiness. Another topic was the top down vs the bottom up leadership control. This is a topic that needs to be addressed in schools today. Although leadership seems to be based on a top down technique with the superintendent making the important and final decision, leadership in schools should be based on a bottom up technique. Ideally teachers need to listen to the students, principles should listen to the teachers ideas, superintendants listen to the priniciples, and the school board should listen to the community in the process of making important decisions concerning the school. The main objective of education is to meet the needs of the students while allowing them to learn to their full capacity. In order to make this happen we need to listen to the students and work from there.

-- Anonymous, November 05, 1998

I am impressed by the depth and breadth of your commentaries on Covey's Principle-Centered Leadership. Is anyone reading an alternative text which refutes Covey's ideas at the educational guru level? Feel free to respond to your colleagues' ideas. Thank you.

Mary Jean Menzel M.Ed. Partnerships Program Coordinator

-- Anonymous, November 10, 1998

Paul Brownlow

Covey Book Response

The Covey text has interested me from the start. The personal stories and comparisons help to illustrate the points he is trying to make. The only real problem I have with the book is his constant repetition of the same ideas. It seems as though his book could have been more concise and still had the same results. His ideas about cooperative teamwork interested me the most. He made several strong points that contradict the way I lead my high school band program, and has caused me to rethink the way I will do things in the future. For example, Covey stated that competition and team building do not go hand in hand. When I was in band, I used external and internal competition to excel. Therefore, I tried using this in my teaching style to motivate the students to do their very best, not only as individuals but also as a group. The only problem was this competition was not making the group feel like a cohesive, cooperative unit. My plan from the start of this year has been to work on team-building skills in the high school band. Today, I involved all of my students in coming up with their goals and purposes for being in the band. I heard several different ideas, many of which I did not even think of before we did this project. Their reasons were all sincere and mainly positive. Their enthusiastic response to this new idea surprised me very much and showed me how much they do care in the development of a strong music program. My next step will take place next week when we take these goals and purposes and incorporate them into a mission statement that everyone can relate to and feel good about.

Asked by Paul Brownlow (brownlpj@norshore.net) on November 03, 1998.

Answers

I commend you for taking what you are are learning from this program and trying out new things in your work. Let us all know what you discover.

Answered by Karen S. Rigdon (dbrigdon@northwinds.net) on November 08, 1998.

Contribute an answer to "Response to Covey"

-- Anonymous, November 11, 1998

In his book, Principle-Centered Leadership ,Stephen R. Covey gives his philosophy for creating more meaningful relationships and the ground rules for success in our lives.

I agree with his statement," Centering on unchanging principles brings permanency and power into their lives," By putting correct principles at the center of our lives our life support system has four fundamental dimensions: security, guidance, wisdom, and power. These four fundamentals are interdependent. Security and guidance bring wisdom, and wisdom becomes the spark to release and direct power.

As I read Covey's words I had to stop every so often and think about how this relates to my life. What principles are at the center of my life? Are they the correct ones? I found as I read further into his book that I do have good principles at the center of my life. These principles are directly related to putting God first in my life. With God at the center I have found a secure basis to do what I do. Thus I feel confident and knowing my mission in life has given me the freedom to use Covey's ideas.

-- Anonymous, November 11, 1998

Well, I sure feel that I am in the minority on the opinion of the Covey Text. It is my belief and I agree that, yes, the ideas from this book are good and all have merit, but the ideas are just impractical in our everyday setting. I know that we are a large driving force in our students' lives, but everything that he asks us to do in this book is just not realistic in a school setting.

-- Anonymous, November 11, 1998

Covey Reflections - Kim McDonald

As I continued to reflect upon the ideas found in Covey's book while reading through other Cohort members responses, I realized that many of us strive towards the values and principles developed by Covey. We are overwhelmed with the tremendous undertaking it would be to actually implement the techniques fully into our personal and professional lives.

I hope that my personal values and principles are modeled to my own family and the children I teach.

-- Anonymous, November 11, 1998

I"ve read many of the paragragh discussions and agreed with some and disagreed with some. One thing that kept coming into mind as I read through these writing is the thought that each supported making a better learning environment, either by modeling the correct behavior or creating the best environment for learning. We do need to remember that change doesn't happen quickly. For some learners it will take years to undo the incorrect habits and learn better ones.

-- Anonymous, November 11, 1998

I feel that the word Patty Ross used to describe the general "feeling" of the Covey text, quixotic, was a very appropriate adjective. I also was impressed by Bruce Trask's insight that Covey has revamped some timeless spiritual laws into a businessman's verbage. Covey mentioned his son's mission, the Ten Commandments, and gave a plug for God at the end of the book. My impression is that Covey is a Mormon but did not want to lay this out on the table. His ideas, books, and workshops that are sweeping the country are BIG BUSINESS. The bottom line is that we all desire the world, our classrooms, and our communities to be peaceful and harmonious places to grow, learn and earn a living in. So, the Covey programs will probably continue to sell for a while until the next new novel idea is presented. The fact remains that it is difficult to teach old dogs new tricks. If someone has told little white lies for 45 years and you tell him that you can't have a bond of trust without being trustworty, he still probably won't change. Start them as young as possible, teach them well, model what you desire in them, and then pray real hard that all that did some good!

-- Anonymous, November 11, 1998

I liked Lisa West's and Kevin's response to the Covey text. Lisa shows that Covey's ideas are nothing new, but a restatement of old ideas. I definetly agree with that, and to think the money he has made coming up with these old ideas.

Kevin states how today's students work. They want the quick answer and do not strive to come up with their own creative ideas. A regurgitation of simple answers is all that most students want to learn.

-- Anonymous, November 11, 1998

Covey's key words keep coming up in many of the different paragraphs submitted by cohort members. Everyone seems to take Covey's ideas and compare, contrast, or dismiss them from their educational style or ideal situation. The vast difference in individual comments shows how different we all are even though we are all involved in the same basic area. Education is a very broad term which we all use to describe what we do. Variety and disagreement are essential in our quest to do what we think is important.

-- Anonymous, November 11, 1998

I found it interesting to read the many different ways that we applied the Covey text to our lives and teaching situations. I agree that the book was often repetitous, but it gave us an opportunity to think.

-- Anonymous, November 18, 1998

I like Lisa West's response to Covey's text. It was short and to the point in stating that Covey's timeless message, though restated and repetitive throughout the book, is still something we can all benefit from.

-- Anonymous, November 18, 1998

It was very interesting to read the varied responses to Covey. Many felt that his ideas and principals were unrealistic or impossible without having many other factors "in place". Many thought that these ideas would work in a perfect world, but certainly not in our world. I guess I took Covey's writing and simplified it. That's the only way I found meaning in it. If we do our best for ourselves and others even though things may not always work out, at least we can say we gave it our best effort. I don't think we are ever aware of all the people we affect in our lifetime.

-- Anonymous, November 18, 1998

After reading many of the comments about Covey, it struck me that Covey probably accomplished what he set out to do ... make people have some type of reaction or provoke some thought regarding the subject matter he writes about. While I find Covey idealistic and in need of an editor, I would not be truthful if I indicated that the book was not thought provoking or somewhat inspirational. I think that message comes through in the class comments. I also believe that any information we are subject to is carried with us - even if in a small way.

-- Anonymous, November 18, 1998

In response to the Covey book discussion, I have to agree with Patty in the use of the word quixotic. ( a great Scrabble word!) It paints the world in an unrealistic light. I found some of the responses enlightening and thought provoking.

-- Anonymous, November 18, 1998

I like Paul Brownlo's response about the having a mission statement with his band members. When I read Covey's book, I found it very repetitive, along with many enlightening ideas. I feel that Paul felt the same way. Covey has great ideas if we are willing to try some or a portion of one of them. We have to start some place. Team building with a mission statement is a great way to start. We didn't start with a mission statement in our classroom. However, our parents and students wrote hopes and dreams for their individual child. From this, we came up with our classroom rules. We were team building with our students. They are a part of those rules. I feel if kids are a part of their own learning, conflicts, etc., they will be motivated to actively learn. Thanks for sharing your insights Paul.

-- Anonymous, November 18, 1998

When I read the responses to the Covey book, I feel that we centered in on the Covey ideas of principle based leadership. I find myself, after reading the book, concentrating on win-win solutions and integrity when dealing with others. I liked P. Ross's response and agree with her that our own working situation in this school district is not supportive of its teachers, nor is it operating with the Covey ideals. The responsibilities of one in education are so varied, extreme, all inclusive and constantly changing. Thus, it would be encouraging to educators to feel that there is support and guidance from the administration and district.

-- Anonymous, November 18, 1998

I liked how Karen Swenson responded to Covey's book and how she correlated this book to how she teaches. I am very interested in learning more about the Responsive Classroom approach. I think we have to teach trustworthiness as a starting point in building the right environment for our students. Many members from our cohort talked about the importance of trust. I agree with the following statement from Shelby, "We have to be willing to make positive changes in our own lives so we are better able to teach and role model changes for students and/or fellow colleagues." Many members also talked about the repetitiveness in Covey's book, but it never hurts to hear how the positive approach can help us over and over again. I also agreed with Tim Everson's statement about how for many students, school is the main source of values and morals for many students, and that as educators we need to strive to help students work to their greatest potential. I commend Paul Brownlow for trying team-building skills with the high school band, and good luck with your mission statement!

-- Anonymous, November 18, 1998

Kevin Erickson's comments are deep and very informational. His ideas on management from the bottom-up is truly a kids first philosophy. The kids after all should be the priority in our educational systems.

-- Anonymous, November 18, 1998

After reading through the Covey discussion, I found a couple of responses quite interesting. Lisa West's findings really hit the nail on the head. Covey did not come up with any new principles or ideas. He just put them into new words and ideas. Just think the amount of money he made with ideas that have already been out there for several years.

The other thought that came through real strong was the unrealistic ideals he put forth. I agree, one person cannot change the world and influencing the mass is very tough to do. We have to much of a "me" society and it going to be tough to make a major transformation even if you start with the private victories. I do agree with Shelby and Karen when they say we can model appropriate behavior for our students. We I feel are the one of the most important role models they have.

-- Anonymous, November 18, 1998

I enjoyed reading Tim Ringhofer's discussion because I agree with his view on how idealistic Covey is. We all just need to do our job-administrators, teachers, and students. Tim also brings up how the student comes to class with so much baggage. Realistically, we have more to deal with than just providing an education. Often times we are trying to teach to a student who has more immediate needs. Maslow's hierachy of learning where you have to have a students personal needs such as food, security, love before they will learn is something Mr. Covey needs to consider.

-- Anonymous, November 18, 1998

In reading the different comments and opinions about Covey I am very relieved that our group feels he has some good points to make but certainly does not have all the answers for every educator. If there ever were a profession filled with unending and unique situations, teaching, especially in elementary and secondary levels, certainly presents this challenging atmosphere. Motivation,desire, and self-worth will come from many different sources at this level and require a multitude of approaches. Pick through as many sources as possible, no one has the blanket answer.

-- Anonymous, November 18, 1998

Mr. Brownlow I agree with your ideas about cooperative teamwork everyone needs to have some sort of cooperation in their activities at school. If the students are working together everything seems to flow that much better.

-- Anonymous, November 18, 1998

Response to Covey Comments

Submitted By: Tim Everson

I found reading the Covey book discussions to be very thought provoking. I think that the objective of this reading assignment was to do just that. There were many different reactions and some of them caused me to question my own reactions to the book. Even though this would not have been my book of choice to read, I have come away with new ideas that I will in small ways integrate into my life both professionally and personally.

-- Anonymous, November 23, 1998