Thing 1: Lifelong Learning

This is the first I have ever heard of the “7 Habits of Highly Successful Lifelong Learners”. It sounds familiar and was beneficial to go through them all. I feel they are things we see and are told through a lot of team building and workshops but I feel these are always great things to be updated with and reminded of. The habits pointed out in the tutorial were as follows:

Habit 1- Begin with the end in mind

Habit 2- Accept responsibility for you own learning

Habit 3- View problems as challenges

Habit 4- Have confidence in yourself as a competent, effective learner

Habit 5- Create your own learning toolbox

Habit 6- Use technology to your advantage

Habit 7- Teach/mentor others

Habit 7 ½ - PLAY!

This tutorial really had me thinking. As I looked at each habit I thought to myself “How do I do this, or do I do this at all?” “What can I do to make this habit better and more beneficial to me and my learning?” Whether it is for me or the children in my classroom I always focus on what I can do to help them seek their highest potential possible. Whether you are 5 or 95 these habits are something everyone can learn and profit from.

The habit that I feel is the hardest for me would have to be, “viewing problems as a challenge”. I have what you could call a bit of a high stress level at times. I let things get to me more than I should and that I something I am really working on. Whether in personal or professional life I can sometimes take things to heart instead of taking them with a grain of salt and learning from them. Although this habit is my weakest it is definitely the habit I want to soon succeed in the most! Turn every negative into a positive, “don’t stress, be blessed!!” (That is a quote from a wonderful book called the “Energy Bus” and EVERYONE should read it.)

The habit that I feel comes easiest to me would be, “accepting responsibility for your own learning”. Whether I take the easy road out or the long and productive road I am fully aware and hold myself accountable for what I am going to get out of it. Although in my personal life I sometimes, for time purposes, try to take the fast and easy route, in my professional life with learning and teaching that is not acceptable or helpful to anyone. This only ends up being a waste of time. If you really want the most out of your learning you have to put in the time and effort and then you will be willing and ready to take on any responsibility for what you have done knowing you have done your best!

Here is the link to my learning contract on Google Docs.

This was a wonderful and encouraging activity and a great start to a world of blogging!!