Thomas Perkins

Drawing people to see similarities rather than differences is a good leadership quality. 

The last part of this lesson asked which part of the career development stage is most important to you. I think it is the commitment stage. Once a student commits to this process and the chosen career, that student will have the best shot at success.

Professionalism is something that needs to be taught and modeled long before students get to my high school level class. It is evident to me that professionalism is not being addressed early enough in multiple disciplines in educational settings. When it is demanded by teachers, it is often rejected by students because it is considered to be strict and off-putting due to it being such a foreign concept to the average student. I find that creating an atmosphere of professionalism is more effective than simply demanding professional behavior.

A thought that I had while reading the lesson is that a boss does not have to tell you the "why", but a leader should tell you the why. The "why" should come as a result of many considered factors and not just one persons thoughts on a matter.

I use a lot of technology for instruction and for giving absent students the opportunity to catch up to the rest of the class. I thought it was interesting that one of the final statements was to not let technology take over the course. I also use technology for allowing students to become involved in woodworking design and ideas.

One of the best things that was explained in this section was the idea that conflict can be beneficial as long as good leadership skills prevail. I wish more people were not afraid of useful conflict.

The difference between comprehension and evaluation was a useful summary. 

The things that I already knew about sustainability for an SBE and in building a professional advisory were simplified in the lesson. I teach in the CTE, but my Woodworking class is not a CTE class. It is a feeder for Carpentry. I do partner with other CTE teachers in interesting ways in order to promote the other opportunities. One partnership is with Engineering. My students will often take their wood projects to the Engineering room to get their projects laser engraved.

I enjoyed looking at the various ways in which Students can be held accountable to a standard that develops the soft skills in a way that is memorable, measurable and will stay with the students for a lifetime. I currently utilize a daily 5 point system regarding accountability. 

I enjoyed the detail of how to implement an SBE element in my classroom. Although I am not running a full-year program. I should be able to include a student driven / student focused element in the future. I have a long work history of working as a retail store executive. It would be very easy for to use that background and my background of owning a woodworking small business to develop an appropriate unit for my students.