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A friend of mine is the superintendent of a local school district. As
part of his agenda, he plans to spend about an hour of each monthly
meeting with his administrative staff (principals of schools in the
district) discussing reading material he has assigned.

This coming year (September), one emphasis he wants to highlight is
motivation. He is familiar with "1001 Ways to Motivate.." and the
district is co-sponsoring a seminar with Alfie Kohn. What books or
reading material containing practical applications would you suggest to
help his principals in their work with faculty?

Thank you, in advance, for taking the time to respond.

David Miron
djmiron@concentric.net

David,
One book your friend may want to consider is entitled, "Is There A
Public For Public Schools?" by David Mathews and from the Kettering
Foundation Press. While this does not specifically address motivation,
it does address an area of concern all leaders in the public school
systems need to address..
Rodney Vandeveer

>----------
>From: David Miron[SMTP:djmiron@CONCENTRIC.NET]
>Sent: Wednesday, June 03, 1998 11:06 PM
>To: MG-ED-DV@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU
>Subject: [MG-ED-DV] Request for book/reading suggestions
>
>A friend of mine is the superintendent of a local school district. As
>part of his agenda, he plans to spend about an hour of each monthly
>meeting with his administrative staff (principals of schools in the
>district) discussing reading material he has assigned.
>
>This coming year (September), one emphasis he wants to highlight is
>motivation. He is familiar with "1001 Ways to Motivate.." and the
>district is co-sponsoring a seminar with Alfie Kohn. What books or
>reading material containing practical applications would you suggest to
>help his principals in their work with faculty?
>
>Thank you, in advance, for taking the time to respond.
>
>David Miron
>djmiron@concentric.net
>

Greetings David:

Would your colleague be interested in using creative self-assessment
learning profiles?

These profiles are self-administered and self-interpreting. They
provide valuable feedback for individuals in a variety of topic areas.

They work well as self-directed learning tools. In a group setting,
individuals can discuss the interpretation and implications of the
profile results. Very powerful learning experience that increases
involvement and participation.

Here is a sample list of Learning Profiles:

PESONAL LEARNING INSIGHTS PROFILE: Appreciate differences in learning
styles by discovering your personal learning approach. A flexible tool
that helps teachers clearly understand and appreciate different
learning needs. Teachers become more effective as they learn to adapt
their style of teaching to capitalize on students learning differences
and preferences thereby maximizing learning objectives. Excellent for
teacher development. (Complete Facilitator's Kit is available
separately).

DIMENSIONS OF LEADERSHIP: Discover personal leadership qualities valued
most in yourself as you discover what it takes to lead in today's
schools.

INNOVATE WITH C.A.R.E. PROFILE: From team-teaching to curriculum
development to serving on important task groups and committees, this
Profile identifies a person's most natural team role. When administered
during "The Team Strategies in Education" inservice (a complete
Facilitator's Kit is available separately) it is teaches an effective
approach to building successful teams in schools.

PERSONAL LISTENING PROFILE: Improve overall communication skills as
individuals explore 5 different approaches to listening and responding
to people appropriately.

PERSONAL PROFILE (DiSC) SYSTEM: Enhance educator effectiveness using
the Personal Profile System. Based on the DiSC-Dimensions of Behavior,
this is one learning experience that will have lasting results on
teachers' ability and willingness to work more effectively with
colleagues, school staff, administrators and parents. It is the "adult"
version of the student I-Sight program. Discover your behavioral
strengths and how to increase your interpersonal effectiveness.

DISCOVERING DIVERSITY PROFILE: This profile offers teachers a
confidential and effective way to explore diversity issues in four key
areas: Knowledge, Understanding, Acceptance and Behavior. Helps teachers
limit the influence of stereotypes and transform resistance into
acceptance, cooperation and respect.

COPING & STRESS PROFILE: Improve performance, avoid burnout, reduce
lost productivity due to stress with this integrated approach to
managing stress and strengthening coping abilities.

TIME MASTERY PROFILE: This Profile offers a powerful opportunity for
self-assessment and training - a combination that makes it stand apart
from other time management programs. The profile includes a built-in
workbook that will help reveal your personal time management habits and
guide you in developing strategies for improving your productively.


I be happy to send you pricing information, including a special
variety pack offer which includes one of each of the profiles.

Hope you find this information useful.


Tom Sullivan
Professional Growth Associates
412-835-7341
http://www.freeyellow.com/members2/progrowth/


David Miron wrote:
>
> A friend of mine is the superintendent of a local school district. As
> part of his agenda, he plans to spend about an hour of each monthly
> meeting with his administrative staff (principals of schools in the
> district) discussing reading material he has assigned.
>
> This coming year (September), one emphasis he wants to highlight is
> motivation. He is familiar with "1001 Ways to Motivate.." and the
> district is co-sponsoring a seminar with Alfie Kohn. What books or
> reading material containing practical applications would you suggest to
> help his principals in their work with faculty?
>
> Thank you, in advance, for taking the time to respond.
>
> David Miron
> djmiron@concentric.net

At 12:21 AM 6/5/98 -0400, David Miron <djmiron@CONCENTRIC.NET> wrote:

... snip ...

>the superintendent of a local school district. ... plans to spend about an
hour of each monthly meeting with his administrative staff (principals of
schools in the district) discussing reading material he has assigned.
>
>This coming year (September), one emphasis he wants to highlight is
motivation.

... snip ...

I think there is immense value in these three books that came off the top of
my head. Readers will have to make their own connection to "motivation"...

"The Founding Fathers on Leadership: Classic Teamwork in Changing Times,"
Donald T. Phillips --

Wonderful facts about and lessons from the patriotic giants who laid
the groundwork for a new nation. If principals aren't team leaders, I don't
know who is. A side benefit is that it will generate ability to apply a
different perspective to material the teachers and children will be covering
at just about every educational level. (You mean this stuff really is
something people want to learn about?)

"Ishmael," and "My Ishmael," Daniel Quinn.

A must-read for anyone who considers him or herself a facilitator...

John
_______________________________________________________

Prins Associates planning group process facilitation
prins.assoc@worldnet.att.net electronic meetings

Advanced Technology for More Productive Work Groups

I would also encourage the reading of the educational standards for the
Baldrige criteria for educational excellence. That can be obtained free (for
a single copy) from their web-site www.quality.nist.gov

David Miron wrote:
< meeting with his administrative staff (principals of schools in the
district) discussing reading material he has assigned. ...
What books or reading material containing practical applications
would you suggest to help his principals in their work with faculty?>>

I'd like to suggest
Title: Seeing Systems - Unlocking the Mysteries of Organizational Life
Publication Year: 1995
Author(s): Oshry, B.
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler
ISBN: 1-881052-99-0
This is not your average

I agree -- this has been a very useful book for me to think about systems and
from which to begin to construct management training.

mbayers@MMM.COM wrote:

> David Miron wrote:
> < > meeting with his administrative staff (principals of schools in the
> district) discussing reading material he has assigned. ...
> What books or reading material containing practical applications
> would you suggest to help his principals in their work with faculty?>>
>
> I'd like to suggest
> Title: Seeing Systems - Unlocking the Mysteries of Organizational Life
> Publication Year: 1995
> Author(s): Oshry, B.
> Publisher: Berrett-Koehler
> ISBN: 1-881052-99-0
> This is not your average
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> ?systems? book or your average ?business? book.
> The author slips from expository prose to theatrical metaphors (e.g.,
> invented dialog between He and She) to poetry (sort of) to dance metaphors
> with great fluidity. But his final message comes through pretty clearly --
> we need to see systems more effectively if we want to survive as robust
> entities. In particular, he discusses the differences in world-views in
> organizations between 'Tops', 'Middles', and 'Bottoms'.
>
> Sample quote:
> "We do not know what others are experiencing, what their worlds are like,
> what issues they are dealing with, what dilemmas they are facing, what
> stresses they are undergoing. . . . We have our beliefs, myths, and
> prejudices, which we accept as the truth and which become the bases of our
> actions. This blindness to other parts of the system -- which we call
> spatial blindness -- is a source of considerable misunderstanding and
> conflict.
> Temporal blindness refers to the fact that all current events in system
> life have a history; there is a coherent tale that has led to this
> particular point in time." (p 1)
>
> It seems that what motivates people depends on several things, not the
> least of which are their internal values and where they find themselves in
> the organization.
>
> Michael A
>
> --
> Michael Ayers
> mailto:mbayers@mmm.com Voice (612) 733-5690 FAX (612) 737-7718
> IT Educ & Perf Svcs\3M Center 224-2NE-02\PO Box 33224
> St Paul MN 55133-3224
> "Sometimes the right question is, 'Are we asking the right question?'"
> Ideas contained in this note represent the author's opinions and do not
> intentionally represent the positions of anyone else in this galaxy.