How to Teach Respect
I receive calls and emails from parents and teachers every week asking for my help to teach children respect. Adults are amazed at the general lack of respect children have today - sadly, I am not. Just look around and the examples everywhere. Children taking things that don’t belong to them, pushing/punching/hitting others, how they speak to each other, and dozens of other examples.
The solution for parents is easy. Pay attention to what children watch, read and hear. Movies, TV shows and especially video games tend to show violence and in too many cases, even rewards it. If these messages get into a child’s head, it is only natural that they are going to believe that is the way they are supposed to act. Listen to the lyrics of the songs children listen to and you may be surprised at the message.
Teachers wanting to improve the level of respect in their classroom have more of a challenge. If there is little to no respect at home - the teacher is going to have an uphill battle. That is not to say it can’t be done. There are two possible directions you can go - reward positive behavior or punish negative behavior. In my experience, children will go a lot further to get a reward then they will to avoid punishment. Create a reward system in your classroom and make it a challenge and watch the kids follow your instructions!
The best part? This same idea works at home!
If you are stumped on how to create, start, or use a reward system, call me and I will be happy to schedule some time to sit down with you one on one and help you get started to having respectful children in the classroom and at home.
As each new year begins, thousands of people start to think about what goals they want to accomplish in the upcoming year. Unfortunately, that is as far as most of them get - thinking about it.
One of the skills martial arts students are always using is goal setting. They have learned how to set a goal, keep their mind on it and see it through to the end - even when times get tough!
One of the key elements to being successful at finishing goals is to write them down. This simple act improves your chances by 80%!
So take a few minutes, write down your goals for 2010 and then keep them some place handy to remind yourself of them. And remember, it is not a requirement that you complete every single one.
Best wishes,
 |
Denny Strecker |
Family Adoptions a Success
Students at Denny Strecker’s Karate and their family members helped make Christmas possible for 30 families in Warren Michigan. The school partnered with Volunteers of America to help out families that are struggling and would not likely have any Christmas at all.
The students were part of the entire process from donating and raising money for the gifts, to shopping for each family member, to wrapping the gifts and eventually delivering them to each family.
It is a great lesson to teach children that they have a good life and that there are people in the world less fortunate. They will begin to learn to appreciate the things they have and develop an “Attitude of Gratitude” which will serve them well as they grow up.
Problem Solving by Zig Ziglar
Fortunately, problems are an everyday part of our life. Consider this: If there were no problems, most of us would be unemployed. Realistically, the more problems we have and the larger they are, the greater our value to our employer.
Of course, some problems are small, like opening a ketchup bottle. Others are monumental like a seriously ill or injured child or mate, which present ongoing, daily complications. Successful living comes when we learn to handle those business and personal problems with as little fanfare as possible. The successful business executive can handle challenges and solve problems at a remarkable clip. He/she makes quick and final decisions as a result of years of experience. The homemaker with small children at home handles many "catastrophes" each hour with the same dispatch.
Many people use counter-productive methods to deal with problems: They refuse to recognize them, deny responsibility for them, pretend they will go away if they ignore them, or are just flat insensitive to them. The first step in solving a problem is to recognize that it does exist. Next, we determine whether the problem is our responsibility. If the answer is yes, we must determine how serious and/or urgent it is. When that last determination is made, we either take immediate action if the problem is simple and quickly solvable or develop a plan of action and prioritize it if the solution is more difficult and time-consuming.
Problem-solving becomes a very important part of our makeup as we grow into maturity or move up the corporate ladder. I encourage you to take the time to define the problem correctly, learn the skill of quick analysis and remember, if it weren't for problems in your life, your position might not be necessary in the first place. Ironing out the wrinkles and solving the problems is what most jobs are about. Think about it, and I'll SEE YOU AT THE TOP!
Ha
Ha Ha!
Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot most of the time, which produced an impressive set of calluses on his feet.
He also ate very little, which made him rather frail and with his odd diet, he suffered from bad breath.
This made him what?
A super callused fragile mystic plagued with halitosis! |