Youth Track Session 1 Thank You for the Truth http:users'snowcrest'netlovewalk

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Youth Track Session 1Thank You for the
Truth!http//users.snowcrest.net/lovewalk
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Thank You for the Truth!

• Gods miraculous remedy for the class from hell.

It was a Friday afternoon in early February as I
drove away from school boiling with anger. They
had exceeded the limit, gone too far, crossed the
proverbial line. Living the Lessons, 1998
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Thank You for the Truth!

• The problem in a nutshell

The problem facing me was a class that, by
January, I had come to dread. As individuals, I
loved them dearly. They were friendly, fun,
charming and bright. They were just typical
teen-agers who loved to talk, and therein lay the
entire problem They didnt know when to
stop! Living the Lessons, 2006
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Thank You for the Truth!

• My lofty objectives to create a radical change
  agent that would
• wake my students up by helping them recognize
  the extent of their problems
• help them see that problems can be our greatest
  teachers and that they were not a problem simply
  because they had a problem
• encourage them to make wise choices
• teach them to respectfully respond with the truth
  and take personal responsibility for their
  behavior

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Thank You for the Truth!

• My lofty objectives to create a radical change
  agent that would
• teach them self-discipline (to control
  themselves)
• help them make real world connections
  regarding the natural consequences of their
  choices
• help them learn valuable life lessonsnot punish
  them

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Thank You for the Truth!

• I knew that the plan itself was not to be about
  punishment nor about a new set of rules that
  would get them in line. I knew that somehow I
  had to wake them up to see their need to learn
  respect and take personal responsibility for
  their actions. Somehow I had to find a way to
  help them see where their behavior would lead.
  They had to understand why they needed to change
  and how it would benefit them.
• Living the Lessons, 2006

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Thank You for the Truth!

• They absolutely had to accept the plan as an
  effort on my part to help them see that if they
  did not wake up and become conscious, thinking
  individuals who controlled themselves, their
  unwise choices would eventually lead to natural
  consequences that would, ultimately, spell
  disaster for their lives.
• Living the Lessons, 2006

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Thank You for the Truth!

• Asking, believing, waiting, receiving

With these intentions in mind, I began to write,
and one at a time, in mindful sequence, the
questions came to me. Each addressed an
intention, an objective I hoped to achieve. When
I finished late that evening, I was exhausted,
but happy. Little did I know that the plan I had
been shown was soon to become the most radical
change agent of my teaching experience. Living
the Lessons, 2006
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Thank You for the Truth!

• The Magic Missing Piece

Question 6 proved to be a key contributing
factor to the success of the plan. Knowing well
that my students might resist the rigid control I
would soon be imposing, I wisely incorporated a
powerful tool that would help them accept the new
restrictions. After all, if they fought the
system, they would not learn the lessons, and
the plan would be destined to fail! In other
words, pro-active planning on my part would
provide an environment conducive to
success. Living the Lessons, 2006
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Thank You for the Truth!

• The Magic Missing Piece

This tool, as it turned out, was the magic
missing piece I had finally been shown after
twenty-five years of searching! It came to me
that Sunday night in the form of a vision as I
sat quietly waiting for guidance. Simply stated,
I saw myself showing them how to respond to my
rigid control with extraordinary respect, rather
than react to it with defensive denial. Living
the Lessons, 2006
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Thank You for the Truth!
I saw myself showing them exactly how to
respond instead of react. I was actually modeling
responsive behavior in a sort of play acting
manner which they were imitating.
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Thank You for the Truth!
One scene went like thisAndy, are you on
task? Instead of answering with blame, or denial
(lies), or excuses, I taught them to answer in a
new way No, Mrs. LaField, the truth is Im not
on task. To which I would answer, Thank you for
the truth, Andy.
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Thank You for the Truth!
At first we all laughed! It was so new that it
sounded ridiculously contrived. But, like a new
language, we practiced it so often in the days
and weeks to come that it became second nature.
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Thank You for the Truth!

• Time to practice!

Remember.because responding in this manner is
new and sometimes uncomfortable, many of our
students may at first be extremely reluctant.
Helping them overcome their reluctance is
entirely up to us! We must, therefore, make sure
to remember several critical factors
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Thank You for the Truth!

• Time to practice!
• We must remain infinitely patient!
• We must never be confrontational (personalize).
• We must speak in a normal, pleasant tone of
  voice.
• We must address our students with extraordinary
  respect.
• We must coax, if need be, with a good sense of
  humor.

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Thank You for the Truth!

• Time to practice!
• We must always respond with a sincere, Thank you
  for the truth.
• We must, in the early stages of the training
  process, praise their responses.
• We must not dwell on the interruption!
• We must be prepared to apologize when we fail at
  some point in the process!

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Thank You for the Truth!

• Why Whos in Control? worked
• I PREPARED their hearts.
• They understood the PURPOSE of the plan.
• They saw how it would PERSONALLY benefit them.
• I gave them a tool--the magical missing
  piece--which they used
• to PRACTICE the lessons.

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Thank You for the Truth!

• Why Whos in Control? worked
• It was a POSITIVE incentives plan, not a
  traditional, negative discipline plan.
• In other words, it was not about PUNISHMENT.
• It included the crucial element of PRACTICE.
• It worked because of a PROMISE to treat them with
  extraordinary respect. No PERSONALIZING! No POWER
  STRUGGLES!

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Thank You for the Truth!

• Why Whos in Control? worked

Imagine what would have happened that Monday
morning if I had gathered my eighth graders
together on the rug and suddenly announced,
Kids, today Im taking away all your freedom,
and from now on we have a whole new set of rules,
which I will strictly enforce. And Kids, things
are going to be a whole lot different around here
because from now on, IM IN CONTROL!
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Thank You for the Truth!

• Why Whos in Control? worked

In actuality, that is exactly what happened.
They did lose their freedom, and I did take
control, and things were a whole lot different
from then on. If I had used my old dictatorial,
authoritarian approach that morning, the class
from hell WOULD HAVE REBELED!!! But they did
not. Why? Because unconditional love had prepared
their hearts.
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Thank You for the Truth!
The next yearand every year thereafter--I
introduced the magic missing piece the first
week of school. Allena had this to say about it
It was pretty weirdour first week of school
with Mrs. LaField. The strangest thing of all was
that she wanted us to own the truth by
responding politely to, So and so, are you on
task? with, No, Mrs. LaField, the truth is Im
not. Imagine that! At first I thought no one
would do it. Eighth graders normally arent
polite or respectful, and I certainly figured
that any kid that would get off-task would never
say such a thing
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Thank You for the Truth!
The next yearand every year thereafterI
introduced the magic missing piece the first
week of school. Allena had this to say about it
But I was wrong! They said it and they said it
nicely without any attitude. It was amazing! I
was no longer in a class where kids were trying
to find every way possible to break the rules and
not get caught. They now tried to prove
themselves as adults by listening and paying
attention. It was a whole new way to learn.
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Thank You for the Truth!
27. Mrs. LaField, to begin with, you are hoping
to teach me to be a thinking individual, to be
conscious, to make wise choices, and to examine
my life in the light of the truth. Next, you are
hoping to teach me to respond and not react with
my parents and teachers. In addition, you want to
teach me to know the difference between positive
and negative consequences and to remember that
the choices I make every moment determine the
consequences I either enjoy or despise.
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Thank You for the Truth!
Furthermore, you want me to remember that I am
not a problem simply because I have a problem.
And, of course, you want me to love the truth the
way you do. Finally, and most importantly, you
want me to be in control of my life! You dont
want me to be a mindless puppet that spends my
life being controlled by others.
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• Whos in Control video clip

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From the wisdom of Gibran comes the essence of
my initial intent for designing a plan that
would set my students free
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They told me, if you find a slave asleep, dont
wake him up he may be dreaming about
freedom. And I told them, if you find a slave
asleep, wake him up and talk to him about
freedom! -Gibran-