About me
Kevin Shockency
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Discussion Comment
This is a hard one for me to do at times. I try not to say "this is going to be difficult" or "not very many people get this right" Statistics show that is an accurate figure, however, I may be maintaining that figure due to the way I teach it. If I always say "this is going to be difficult" then it will be difficult and I subconsciously will give in to that "fact" and never make changes to improve. Great topic and I will work on making a difference there.
Discussion Comment
I tend to bring the students into my world of understanding by bringing up real world instances where I ran into obsticles and overcame them, or not. I learned one way or another and let my students know they will have simiar issues in class, in relationships, in life overall. Bringing this blanket of understanding to the beginning of class, letting them know it is going to happen and I understand, helps the student to know I am there for them, I have real world expereiences they can learn from and begins to build the relationship.
Its funny, I never thought my time in the industry working with customers would point me in the direction of instructor. Much of what I did in my industry was sale myself. Sometimes I was successful sometimes not. If I had confidence in the product I could sell it better. Having the same course material over and being the one delivering it, I am the product and salesman so to speak. So finding the value in the content I create and deliver, is not hard to find, and I can sell that idea and value to the student/customer.
Discussion Comment
Having a rich background of experience really heps with keeping the intersest in class, which improves the learning experience by keeping the student engaged. I integrate my experiences and experiences of others into my lectures to keep them entertained and interested in the subject matter. It also gets their brains motivated to actively thinking about the information rather than just having it enter one ear and out the other.
Discussion Comment
I feel the pressures of stress and responsibility mostly when I do doubles. I have a child with special needs and have adopted a mother and her two children with special needs and an ex meth adict. To help pay the bills I do side jobs out of the garage and at the track to pay for vacations and extra things that come up. My wife stays home to take care of everyone and I do my best to help her when I am not working. We don't have a lot of free time, but we make a date half… >>>
Discussion Comment
I was in a position years ago when a non performing boss was replaced with a new one. I was the lead on the projects underneath him and ended working 70-80 hours a week to mantain and keep up with the disorganization comming from HQ. When the new boss came in there was little room for negotiation. He basically said things are going to change and he did not agree with the last boss's decisions. I was interested and eager to try a new direction and they laid off the entire team 2 weeks later. I doubt I had much… >>>
Discussion Comment
Self awareness and continual growth is sometimes difficult to maintain when I get busy with professional and personal life. The continuing growth though, is an important tool for me to prevent complacency in my job. I notice when I improve my skills, through awareness, I tend to have more interest, better attention to detail and improved self-esteem. I do notice though that i have limits. Too much training and thinking can cause me to burn out, so I do have to take a break, and that is my goal for that moment.
Discussion Comment
In some minds the first thing to create structure in a class is by using biggest hammer you can find and cracking down on the students that get out of line. While this may relive tension in the instructor it will only bring retalliation in the student. I find preparing the students at the beginning of class with requirements, rules and regs to understand what is expected of them. When working with them I find being firm yet fair, explaining why they were docked points and how it would affect them in the field works well. I tend to get… >>>
Discussion Comment
As instructors we need to reinforce retention in our students by showing the value of their education. A good way to do this is to point out how this information and practice will affect them when they leave the learning environment and start working in the field. Questions like, “What will you do when “X†happens?,†“Are you ready to do this without help or practice?,†“Will the customer want to pay you for the level of work you provide?,†place them in the theoretical situation and make them think about what happens after all this, am I ready, will… >>>
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In most real world instances, when a leader/figurehead addresses a problem with me and we come up with a solution, there are consequences for not doing them. If a consequence is created, they may not want to leave the solution unattended. This will help with expectations in work ethics.
Kevin