Teach Different

How do you know when to adapt your goals?

Rarely to we achieve our goals by following the exact path we set at the beginning. Instead, we experience twists and turns that we must learn to adapt along the way. These unexpected events inspire us to refocus and change our goals. Other times, however, we push through and continue along the path with the original goal firmly fixed in our mind. We maintain focus in the midst of uncertainty.

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What is the best way to respond to hard times?

Tough times greet all of us in varying degrees. The challenge is how to figure out exactly how we should behave when those tough times arrive. One plan is to push through the difficulties and emerge stronger at the other end. That way, our pain can be short-lived. We can also stop the pain and change direction so that we can avoid the hardship and discover joy on the other side.

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How hard should we try to be accepted by others?

Being excluded for unpopular opinions hurts. Being excluded because of race, gender, ethnicity or sexual orientation is devastating. Exclusion devalues our humanity, which can make us bitter, resentful and angry. At these unpleasant moments we face crucial moral decisions. We can walk away and create space to preserve our dignity or we can stubbornly assert ourselves to gain acceptance and respect. Each decision carries consequences felt throughout our lives.

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How do we know which risks are worth taking?

Everybody wants success, however it is defined. That is clear. The confusion comes when we think about the best way to go about getting success. Some people carry the logic that success will only come from taking risks and that if we don't learn to push our comfort zone, then we're destined never to achieve anything. Others conclude that by avoiding risks and taking the slow cautious approach, we can achieve great things over time. The challenge is how to blend these two approaches in a way that maximizes chances for success.

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Image source: Philosophers for Change | Creative Commons

How do we know if we should change our goals?

Setting goals forces us to picture success before it happens. If we are able to create a picture of what success looks like, then we are more likely to achieve it. Seeing the end motivates the beginning of the journey. But it is often the case that journeys take unexpected turns and force us to redirect our plans towards goals different than what we had at the start. The challenge then becomes how to best change our goals along the way and pursue the proper end that reveals itself over time. Living life this way demands less clarity and more patience.

Join Steve and Dan Fouts for a conversation about goal setting using the Teach Different 3-Step conversation method. 

Whether you are a teacher, school leader, or simply someone interested in experiencing the joy and fulfillment of challenging kids with big ideas, join our worldwide Community of Educators FREE for 30 days. Membership includes access to our robust library of resources, conversation plans, and lively discussions among teachers and faculty.

Image source: Flickr | ABRAS

What's the best way to use questions?

Not all questions are the same. Some challenge authority, break rules and send people down new pathways of thinking. Other questions take the safer road and are designed to gather new information. Regardless of how they are used, questions are the heart of student engagement. The more questions our students ask, the bettter critical thinkers they become.

Join Steve and Dan Fouts for a conversation about education using the Teach Different 3-Step conversation method. 

Whether you are a teacher, school leader, or simply someone interested in experiencing the joy and fulfillment of challenging kids with big ideas, join our worldwide Community of Educators FREE for 30 days. Membership includes access to our robust library of resources, conversation plans, and lively discussions among teachers and faculty.

Image source: Ian Leslie | With permission from Ian Leslie

What does it take to be a good leader?

Sometimes leadership means control and enforcement of rules. The leader must demand compliance from followers. At other times leaders must empower their people to be the best at what they do. In this way, leaders become helpers who put their own needs behind their followers for the betterment of the organization. Knowing when to embrace each of these roles at the right times is a challenge.

Join Steve and Dan Fouts for a conversation about leadership using the Teach Different 3-Step conversation method. 

Whether you are a teacher, school leader, or simply someone interested in experiencing the joy and fulfillment of challenging kids with big ideas, join our worldwide Community of Educators FREE for 30 days. Membership includes access to our robust library of resources, conversation plans, and lively discussions among teachers and faculty.

Image source: Robert Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership

What is the mark of an educated mind? 

When we hear a new idea, our first instinct is to accept the idea without question, either because we have intuition that it is true or we simply trust the messenger. Accepting truth in this way is comforting for it requires very little work and gives us permission to stop thinking. It's also dangerous. Sometimes new ideas must be met with delay and smart suspicion. Delaying acceptance affords us time to evaluate the true worth of ideas and compels us to reject the bad ones. 

Join Steve and Dan Fouts for a conversation about critical thinking using the Teach Different 3-Step conversation method. 

Whether you are a teacher, school leader, or simply someone interested in experiencing the joy and fulfillment of challenging kids with big ideas, join our worldwide Community of Educators FREE for 30 days. Membership includes access to our robust library of resources, conversation plans, and lively discussions among teachers and faculty.

Image source: Wikimedia | Tilemahos Efthimiadis

Should we tell the truth?

Everybody hates to be lied to. When that happens, we feel anger and dissapointment. There is a sense of betrayal, a loss of trust, and enemies are created. But, there is another kind of hate we feel when somebody tells us the truth, especially when it is a truth that we don't want to hear. It's that feeling we get when a teacher calls us out for not trying our best, or when a parent catches us breaking the rules. In those cases, we don't want to hear the truth and we take our anger out on the messenger.

Join Steve and Dan Fouts for a conversation with David Olson, Director of Education at Retro Report, about honesty using the Teach Different 3-Step conversation method. 

Whether you are a teacher, school leader, or simply someone interested in experiencing the joy and fulfillment of challenging kids with big ideas, join our worldwide Community of Educators FREE for 30 days. Membership includes access to our robust library of resources, conversation plans, and lively discussions among teachers and faculty.

Image source: Look and Learn | Rijksmuseum

Do we have control over our own success? 

There are few things more frustrating than having to wait for other people to decide your future, whether it be waiting for college admission, that lead role in the play, or making the baseball team. In all of these cases, somebody else has control over your future. Rather than live a life of waiting for the approval of others (which may never come), rely on yourself. Be different and chart your own path for success. However, relying on others and "playing the game" are also necessary for success, because they show you know how to be a good follower. 

Join Steve and Dan Fouts and best-selling author Dave Burgess for a conversation about self-reliance using the Teach Different 3-Step conversation method. 

Whether you are a teacher, school leader, or simply someone interested in experiencing the joy and fulfillment of challenging kids with big ideas, join our worldwide Community of Educators FREE for 30 days. Membership includes access to our robust library of resources, conversation plans, and lively discussions among teachers and faculty.

Image source: Flickr | Jared Goralnick