The way you measure a society’s soul is by the way that it treats its children.
Nelson Mandela
Kidz Newz no. 138 – 29th November 2014
Welcome to Kidz Newz, especially to all new subscribers. Kidz Newz is a regular newsletter with information and teaching tips for anyone involved with young children. You are receiving this because you have attended one of my workshops, purchased a book, or you have requested to be on the mailing list. Thank you. Please forward this to anyone you feel it may be of interest to. Feedback is welcome. Don’t forget to stay in touch on our Facebook Page and watch out for our exclusive fan page competitions.
Emotional Intelligence
I was reading Rachel Green’s newsletter this week – always a good read – and thought how appropriate this topic is for absolutely everyone. In this particular newsletter she includes two tests to see how emotionally intelligent you are – how you respond to difficult situations at work and how you calm your negative emotions. With her permission, I am including the link to the first test here – thank you Rachel. If you or your school would like more information about Rachel and her keynotes, please see her website for more information – http://www.theEIinstitute.com.
We all face situations at work and privately which challenge us emotionally. When a personal situation gets too hard, you can choose not to see that person or those people again. Even in family situations you can avoid the person to some extent but this is not an option at work where a conflict can derail people. Bullies are not only found in a playground. Bullies are people who lack emotional intelligence, and they can be of any age. Bullies are not necessarily verbally or physically inappropriate but can use Passive Aggression to assert power over others. Think of all the instances (I have certainly encountered many) where a more sensitive person, perhaps not getting appropriate support from the Principal or maybe not even taking it to the Principal, needs to go on sick leave or even have a breakdown over a staff member who constantly undermines, criticises, sabotages and so on. (We are all on the same side here – be collegial not combative.)
It takes a certain level of emotional intelligence (in the olden days this was referred to as maturity) to know when it’s appropriate to confront a situation so it doesn’t get out of hand, and to know when to simply walk away. Walking away is not a sign of cowardice. Quite the contrary. And the way you confront a potentially difficult situation is vital so the problem is addressed appropriately with no egos getting bruised or long-term damage done. You don’t want to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
Next time someone says something insulting or offensive to you, you have a choice – smile and ask them to repeat it or in some other way diffuse the situation by making a joke out of it (because it may well have been a joke and not to be taken seriously or maybe you misheard) or else you can respond equally rudely and create a long-term feud wherein others around you feel uncomfortable and perhaps compelled to take sides.
These situations are not easy, but they are not that difficult either if you take your own ego out of it and recognize that sometimes when others behave badly it has everything to do with them and nothing to do with you so don’t take their moods on board. I’d be willing to bet that if you were to confront someone several days later about what they said or did, perhaps in the hope of getting an apology for the hurt they’ve caused you, they wouldn’t even remember, and here you’ve been stewing over it all that time. It’s not worth the stress and strain to your nerves.
I subscribe to a LinkedIn teachers’ group and in one post I complimented a Principal who had done a particularly good job of handling staff. This prompted another teacher to respond to me in a less than professional manner. When I suggested he sounded very stressed in his job and perhaps he did not have a supportive Principal like the one in the blog, he turned on me! It was extraordinary! I am a total stranger on the other side of the planet and yet he vented like you wouldn’t believe. No prizes for guessing whether I continued the slanging match or whether I walked away, recognizing his need to let off steam was overwhelming and so his tirade said everything about him and his situation and nothing about me. I suspect there may have been some professional jealousy in there, but who would know?
So go on, I dare you to take Rachel’s test. How emotionally intelligent are you? Here’s that link again HERE. It only takes a few minutes.
CHRISTMAS SPECIALS – 50% DISCOUNT!
Until 19th December I am offering the following specials. If your school has anything left in the budget for this year (or this half year for those in the northern hemisphere), maybe some of these might be on your wish list. Please contact me directly at info@kidzfizbiz.com and I will invoice you as these will not appear on the website.
Scarf Magic Pack – normally $55.00 – now ONLY $27.50! 50% Discount
Contains 40 page book, DVD and 2 scarves
Scarf Magic DVD – normally $27.50 – now ONLY $13.75! 50% Discount
DUO Pack Kidz-Fiz-Biz – Buy KFB Learning Through Drama Dance and Song at full price ($85.00) get the KFB Multicultural Book Half Price! Normally $85.00 – $42.50! Each book contains 2 CDs with 2 hours of music.
Let’s Get Physical – KFB DVD 1.5 hours of Professional Development – normally $49.50 – now ONLY $24.75!
The following books by Barbara Pheloung at Move to Learn –
School Floors – normally $39.95 – now ONY $20.00! 50% Discount
Overcoming Learning Difficulties – normally $39.95 – now ONLY $20.00!
Help Your Child to Learn – normally $29.50 – now ONLY $14.75!
Help Your Class to Learn – normally $29.50 – now ONLY $14.75!
For further information on any of the above products, please go to the KFB website at http://www.kidzfizbiz.com/products
Quotes of the Week
Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do.
– Benjamin Spock
Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission.
– Eleanor Roosevelt
Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.
– Mark Twain
Adversity is a part of life. Being a victim is a matter of choice.
– Unknown
Testimonials
I attended Marlene’s workshop at ECCPA 2014 and I could not give her higher praise! Marlene’s ideas are both creative and practical and have made me realize that from a simple scarf much can be learned. As a result I purchased her Multi-Cultural Kidz-Fiz-Biz book and CDS as well as her Scarf Magic pack.
Today I used some of her ideas from the workshop with my younger grades and WOW it was fabulous. First we went on a scarf boat and rowed out to sea, then we used our scarf as a scuba mask and dove under the water to collect shells in our scarf net.
We rowed to a scarf island made by all of the scarfs and I told the story of the Greek Fisherman and danced to the song from her Multi-Cultural cd.
Of course at the end we rowed home and used our scarf as a blanket and went to sleep!
AND all inspired by the very generous Marlene … one of the best workshops I have ever attended!
Mrs Susan Curbishley
Music Specialist Teacher
St Matthew’s Primary School Page ACT 2614
Holy Trinity Primary School Curtin ACT 2605
Entertainment
I have no idea what this has to do with Emotional Intelligence but there’s bound to be a link somewhere – ENJOY! Playtime helps balance your emotions. How’s that for a reason? Click here A word of warning – don’t go here if you are arachnophobic.
About The Author
Marlene Rattigan B.A., Dip. Ed. (ECS), CELTA
Marlene Rattigan is an Early Childhood teacher, a teacher of English as a Second Language, and from 1987-2000 was a nationally accredited fitness leader. Her background is in music education. A keen interest in motor development in children led to the creation of Kidz-Fiz-Biz which she taught successfully for 13 years. Marlene also conducts workshops for children, teachers and parents at schools, in the community and at festivals. She has produced teaching manuals complete with audio CDs which are an extension of her ‘Kidz-Fiz-Biz’ program.
Kidz-Fiz-Biz
PO Box 6894, East Perth WA 6892, Australia
T: +61 8 9355 4890 M: +61 (0) 410 64 2781 E: info@kidzfizbiz.com
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Until next time … continue being a legend in your classroom.
Marlene Rattigan, Editor
Kidz Newz
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