Are You Engaged?

11/18/2008

The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.
Carl Gustav Jung

In the November/December 2008 issue of Exchange, Bonnie Neugebauer wrote...

“Good Morning, Ma’am. How is your day going? How is your life?" With that question, I sensed my day was going to take an interesting turn. Sometimes you just know when a story begins.

“Well, that’s quite a big question," I responded as I tumbled into the taxi with suitcase, camera, computer, and assorted paraphernalia for my visit to Sanchez Elementary School. "I think it’s going pretty well."

“That’s good, very good."

And so my taxi driver, Shah, and I began our conversation. At some point driving down Market Street, we talked about living apart from family, his family still in Pakistan, my children in distant (to me) places, and we talked about the joys of family. "When I arrive home every day, very tired," he said, "my grandson runs to greet me. It’s beautiful."

And so begins Bonnie's story about her time with the taxi driver who had so much to share. You can read the whole story on the Exchange web site.

Learning to Lead

Exchange's Director of Community Development, Debra Sullivan, has written an insightful guide for fostering leadership skills. Written for early childhood teachers at all levels, Learning to Lead: Effective Leadership Skills for Teachers of Young Children, combines accessible leadership theory and practice with important topics and issues such as human development, diversity, anti-bias, work with families, and social change. Each chapter is built around a combination of theories, examples, and reflection questions — all designed to prompt self-evaluation and personal leadership development.

Motivate Teachers
Do you ever feel like your staff could use a little help when it comes to creating friendships at work? Perhaps they jump into relationships with co-workers too fast and then get disappointed when confidential information is not kept confidential. Or perhaps they mistake destructive communication patterns such as workplace gossip as a friendship bond when in fact it's a false connection. FREE Today: 11 Tips To Help Staff Create Positive Friendships At Work.

For more information about Exchange's magazine, books, and other products pertaining to ECE, go to www.ccie.com.