I have two favorite Friday afternoons. Twice a year my son’s school invites parents to an end of the semester reflection. Students orally answer
What habit have I most grown in?
How do I know?
What habit do I most need to improve in?
What step can I take?
Students are remarkably humble and candid. I walk away every time thinking we parents could go and do likewise.
So what heart habits would make your list?
The twelve- through fourteen-year-olds focus on
Reverence
Reflection
Obedience
Respect
Attention
Service
Humility
Thoroughness
Self-control
As a writer, what do you want to cultivate? You might adopt some of the middle schoolers’ list. You may also want to deepen
Faith
Craft
Innovation
Generosity
Joy
When you have your list ask yourself
In which habit am I lacking?
What steps can I take to shore up the lack?
Think on these things. You’ll be glad you did.
You need to break these down with suggested ways to improve. I expect I need to work on them all, so where to start????
ReplyDeleteI would only add patience and perseverance to the writer's list.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments.
ReplyDeleteI'm like you, Sharon. I'd like to tackle all the habits at once, and I would tackle them all if I knew the exact next step to take toward improving each one. The middle school students reflect and determine in which one they are most lacking and what is the most appropriate step toward maturity.
For instance, one student might say she needs to improve in attention, so she determines to listen when she is tempted to talk. Another student might say he wants to improve in reverence. Rather than mumbling words of a song he determines to engage his heart.
Those are simple examples but I hope they help. I really appreciate that the students choose one habit on which to focus, and choose one way to improve it in the coming semester. Zeroing in on one habit and one step to improve makes the habit stick.
Thank you, Loree, for your additions. Writing is far more difficult than I expected. Patience and perseverance are essential.
What wise middle-schoolers!
ReplyDeleteI like the polite tag "perseverance," closely related to my not-so-virtuous forte, stubbornness.