The Power of Reflection

I recently read the book 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth by John C. Maxwell.  I am now reading it again--a chapter each week.  This week's chapter is "The Law of Reflection." 

Peter F. Drucker said, "Follow effective action with quiet reflection.  From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action." 

Maxwell notes that studying the lives of great people will reveal that they speak a considerable amount of time alone--thinking/reflecting.  Therefore, I am going to encourage each Esperanza staff person to keep a reflective/growth journal. 

Maxwell suggests that good questions lead to better answers.  Some possible questions:

• Am I growing daily?
• What am I doing daily to grow?
• How am I growing?
• What are the roadblocks that are keeping me from growing?
• What were the potential learning moments I experienced today, and did I seize them?
• Am I passing on to someone what I am learning?

It would be beneficial to write these questions and answers in one's reflective/growth journal.

It's important to schedule time to pause and reflect.  Maxwell suggests the following:

1. Every day--10-30 minutes
2. Every week--an hour or two
3. Several times a year--half a day
4. Annually--as little as a day or as much as a week

This type of reflection turns experience into insight. 

What Is Most Important

I just finished reading the English translation of Cien Años de Soledad (100 Years of Solitude) by Gabriel García Márquez. I had already read it in Spanish. I was reminded of a comment made by Dale Rees when he worked in the district office for Salt Lake City. He was speaking of students reading The Diary of Anne Frank in Spanish--He said that 10 years from now students wouldn't remember whether they had read it in English or Spanish, only that they had read it.

Too often people (sadly, even some educators) equate intelligence and knowledge with speaking English. Although our committed goal at Esperanza is for all students to eventually become biliterate--listening, speaking, reading, and writing--in both English and Spanish I don't want us to ever forget that English and knowledge/intelligence are not synonyms. Hopefully that will help us all to not become overly concerned when a student, especially in the early grades, may be seeming to lag behind in English OR Spanish. Growing and learning isWhat what is most important, no matter what language. Once the language is learned the knowledge can be transferred.