Measles, Drones and Self Debate

Excerpt from Jennifer's Mistake Journal:

 - I failed to write and publish an entry for our class blog last week.

 -This mistake was completely due to laziness and avoidance and a huge dose of procrastination.

 -Students were left Leadership blog-less the entire weekend.  I hope they can recover.

 - I pledge to do better next week.

 -I realize that life has gone on.

Thursday's class started with a quick 20 minutes of great service in the church's garden.  There was weeding and pruning galore.  A little science observation was thrown in when a dead bird was discovered.  Has anyone come up with a hypothesis for what happened?

But anyway, count yourselves as 20 minutes closer to meeting your service hour goals.  Josh, thank you for your enthusiasm when this activity was announced.  Haley, I hope your moccassins were not ruined!  How did Sacagewea manage to dig roots everyday and NOT ruin her mocassins?

After watching CNN Student news and a rousing discussion about Mars' colonization, Teacher Jen treated us to a viewing of the public hearing for HB2009 concerning exemptions from immunizations for school-age children.  We got to see people from all walks of life standing up and defending their position on the bill.  It was such a great opportunity to hone our own debate and public speaking skills.

We saw nerves, emotion, facts, personal stories, etc.....

If you missed it here it is:

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=2009&year=2015

Next up, was the first of the three bill debates.  Haley and Josh did GREAT!  They have shown massive amounts of growth since their first in-class debate.  Teacher Jen was IMPRESSED!

This prompted a discussion about the possibility of a "self debate" of sorts.  Each of you will have the opportunity to debate the pro and con side of a debate.  HOW FUN!!  

And this leads into this week's homework.

1) Mistake Journal and mistake autopsy - Josh is the only one who completed this

2) Prepare for your bill debate if you have not already

3)Come up with a topic that you or a classmate can use to "self -debate"

This Thursday, we will be delighted with presentations from Haley and David.

We can't wait.

Building Bill Arguments, Making Mistakes, and David's Ballroom Journey

So with the absence of Teacher Jen (we sure miss her), we talked about where we stand on our debate prep.  A few of you were ready to "fight" it out with your arguments, but a few were still working it out.  Hopefully, talking with each other gave you great ideas.  Remember to start out by DEFINING!!  Hannah, this might help you. Start by coming up with a definition.  Then find statistics (and personal stories) to back up what the bill wants to do.  I know you can do this!!

We moved on to our lesson delivered by Teacher Genne.  It was such a great lesson about embracing our mistakes.  She also suggested keeping a mistake journal.  What a great idea!!  This will help you to 1)realize the world is still spinning despite your mistake(s), 2) help you see that tomorrow is another day, and 3) help you to know that God still loves you despite your mistakes.

A few notes I jotted down were:

-Learn to admit your mistakes (own up to them)

-Forgive yourself for your mistakes past and present

- Be able to handle criticism and work through criticism

As homework this week you are to write three mistakes (or more) in your Leadership Notebook.  And then choose one and do a mistake autopsy on it. Also, it would be truly INCREDIBLE if you can go out and meet FIVE people you have never talked to in FILA.  It can be mentors, scholars, love of learners and even core kids.  Go introduce yourself! They will LOVE it  : )!

Now that we have our list of FANCY PARTY requirements(thank you, Genevieve), I KNOW you will be quick to complete your assignments. 

Good job on last week's assignment.  Keep thinking about your priorities!  Have they changed?  Make a schedule for the week putting the most critical items at the top.  Hopefully, your debate prep and mistake journal will be somewhere near the top!

Great job on your ISIS research.  It was awesome to see you research something that interests you.  I enjoyed hearing about this AWFUL group! Thank you!!

Finally, don't forget to keep on top of your activity planning.  Don't let it get away from you.  Paige and John, our FILA Event Coordinator, Becky Owen, will be joining your planning team for the field day.

Haley presents next week!!  YAY!  I can't wait to hear all about Abigail Adams.

One more thing!!  Thank you, David, for showing us your dance videos.  Do you guys realize that by just watching the videos and asking David questions, we were well into LEVEL 2 of our leadership steps?  We were building our relationships, seeing through other people's eyes, and David was certainly including us in his journey!  See how easy leadership development is!!!

See you next Thursday!

Joan of Arc, Bills, Priorities and a FANCY Party

 

An in-depth discussion of ISIS (or should I say IS) opened class today.  It was AWESOME to hear Teacher Genevieve's insight and research into the situation.  Go forth and research on your own.  We are extremely blessed to have boundless information at our fingertips.  But what good is it, if we don't utilize it.  Sort out all the details and bring them to class next week.  Haley is planning to figure out WHERE ISIS is.  John is going to look into the situation in Egypt.  Paige is researching the reasoning behind the ISIS acts (is there any reasoning?).  David is going to look into the military involvement against ISIS.  And Josh is going to surprise us!!  Maybe by next class time we can offer some solutions to the new US Defense Secretary (whoever it is.)

Paige went first and Paige rocked!  What an insightful presentation on Joan of Arc!  Thanks, Paige. We are looking forward to your further enlightenment when you read a book about amazing Joan.  Overall, you did a great job diagnosing Joan of Arc as a leader.  I enjoyed the background information and as you said, it definitely shaped her character and ability to go forth and lead.  I also like the time period information you gave.  Would she had a chance to lead or would she have been called to lead if there was not a Hundred Years War going on?  Her life would have been completely different.   Think about the kinds of events happening now that will affect your choices and opportunities in life.  There are many battles being fought, will you be called to spearhead one of them?

I don't know about you, but I feel like I know the FILA Constitution A LOT better!  Thank you, Josh, for the excellent effort you put forth in your homework.  And bravo to the rest of you whom checked off the assignment.  I hope your love and respect for the people of FILA has grown.  Don't stop with that small assignment, keep it growing!  Maybe this time get to know someone you have no ties to (other than FILA).  This means NO FAMILY MEMBERS or FRIENDS. 

Boy did we miss Teacher Jen!  But she is going to be so proud of us: )!  We actually had four bills to choose from.  Sorry, Hannah!  Your bill did not make the cut.  (But we sure missed you in class!)

The following are the debate assignments:

Drones – Bill SHB1093 – CON – Haley   PRO – Josh

Mental Health – Bill SB5078 – CON – John PRO – Hannah

Missing Children – Bill 1311 – PRO – David CON – Paige

GO forth and build your arguments.

 

Successfully arguing these bills is part of the incentive program.  Do you want to come to the FANCIEST of FANCY parties?  Get cracking'!

This is what will get you entry into the party:

-Bill Debate

-Leadership Presentation

-Read a book of your choice on a leader (the leader of whom you present) and report it to the class

-Weekly assignments

-Attend a legislative session (fieldtrip to the Capitol or Tacoma City Council meeting)

-6 Hours of service

-Lead and successfully carry out a FILA activity

 

And finally, this week you are going to get your PRIORITIES in order!!  Whether it's ballroom dancing or Science Olympiad, do the big things first!  Then fill in your life with all the secondary priorities.  Fill out your priority handouts and USE your LISTS!!  See if you can fulfill all of your high importance/high urgency priorities FIRST and then concentrate on the others.  But first you need to distinguish WHAT these are.  YOU CAN DO IT!!! 

So in short, research your bills, build your arguments, figure out your priorities, make and live by your priority lists this week, and we will see you Thursday!

 

Hannah and David, I am attaching the priority documents to the email.

Bills- the good, bad and ugly AND Leveling up with Sweethearts

We finally got back to debate today! There are three interesting bills on the table right now from David, Hannah, and Josh, but we WANT MORE:)! ONE more week until we decide which bills will be up for debate, so RESEARCH, find a bill that sparks a passion in you. You can do it! Find a bill, read it, and come up with pros and cons. Easy peasy:).

http://app.leg.wa.gov/billsbytopic/default.aspx?year=2015

Your activity plans sound great. Be thinking about where you should be in your planning. Do you need to secure any items for your event, recruit people, gain approval, etc.? The time we have in class to plan is short but valuable, so use it wisely. Next week, we need to talk with Sage about the upcoming scholar activity, so we will move our planning session to the end of class when she can be there.

Today our short lesson centered on building your influence with those around you. We want you to have some followers. We want you to share all your wisdom:)! So ponder your influence level this week. Where do you stand with others? Grow your relationships! We want to build level 2 this week, so get cracking on your assignments.

LASTLY, Paige will present her Leader Deconstruction presentation NEXT WEEK! The topic is going to be a surprise (because I failed to ask her about it today.) Please be ready to be a good audience member as she instills her knowledge to us. Also, this will help us in our level 4 leadership- building others and their leadership skills.

You all are doing amazing things out there. Think of all the people you are influencing and inspiring! Now you just have to kick it up a notch.
Thank you!!!

Thank you to those who were prepared today. It makes class go so much smoother.

Oh, yes, I almost forgot, study the FILA Constitution! I know JOSH is going to take his assignment seriously!!! Thank you, Josh!
It can be found here:
http://www.filacommonwealth.com

For some inspiration:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-cl=84924572&x-yt-ts=1422411861&v=d6wRkzCW5qI
Sent from my iPad

Week 3 - You're HIRED

This last class started out with some very enthusiastic planning of your events!  We are excited to see what you have up your sleeves.  We are starting very early in the planning stages so we can see great success when the actual events come around.  One of the biggest lessons we learned from our Christmas and Halloween parties was that we needed MORE PLANNING TIME!  Well this time you get it!  So go forth and SUCCEED: )!

Also, Teacher Gene wrapped up her awesome lesson on the characteristics that all great leaders should have.  You then closely examined job descriptions for various positions in different industries.  You revealed what type of traits companies were looking for and developed your own interview question to ask your applicant, Sage.  We love when she drops in class!!  She did a great job answering questions, did she end up getting a job?!

So for next week: FIND A BILL TO TRACK!!!  Be prepared to debate it from both sides!!  JUST DO IT!!!!

Also here is the schedule for our Leader Deconstruction Presentations:

February 5 -Paige - TBD

February 19 - Haley - Abigail Adams

February 26 - David - Ronald Reagan

March 5 - Hannah - John Adams

March 12 - Josh - Abraham Lincoln

March 19 - John - Martin Luther King Jr.

We are excited to hear your amazing incites into these great leaders!!

Week 2 - Bills, Project Managers, and Mopping like a Mormon

Teacher Jenn gave us a fantastic tour of the state legislature's website. She challenged (or should I say assigned) each of you to find a bill that incites your passion. So find a bill and read it! Get to know it in and out. What do you think it says? What are the possible effects of the bill? Look at it from a debate prospective. Find the cons and pros.
In two weeks be ready to debate your bills!!! TWO WEEKS!!

You all chose a project to head up and are moving forward with the enthusiasm of a U.S. marine!!! Start brainstorming!
1) winter scholar activity- Sage
2) Shakespeare bake sale-Haley and Hannah
3)Field Day- Paige and John
4) Scholar Retreat - David and Josh

And finally, Genevieve gave an amazing presentation on traits of a military leader. You need to finish assigning each trait a number based on your self assessment.
And THEN choose one trait that speaks to you and discuss it with someone this week. Or maybe compliment someone that exemplifies it! And think about how it applies to leadership.
There will be a QUIZ next week and believe me, after getting a glimpse at the rewards, you WILL want to STUDY:)!!

Lastly, don't forget to record something in your leadership mini notebooks. Brainstorming ideas, quotes, experiences, etc!

Hannah's idea of a scholar blog is moving forward. Who wants to head it up? Do you?

See you next week!!
Sent from my iPhone

Week 1 - Let's get serious

Welcome back!

We had a great class coming out of vacation.

We set a new class agenda that will include watching and discussing CNN Student News (puns and all), debating, student leader presentations, event planning, and leader attribute activities and presentations. We are going to be BUSY, BUSY this semester but will GROW so much as leaders.

So here are some things to work on for next week:

-Make sure you have chosen a leader to present on and start your research! Remember you are responsible for reading a book on your chosen leader.

-Choose an event you would like to head up.  This will be marvelous experience for being THE BOSS.  Your choices are: 1) the winter scholar activity 2) Shakespeare play 3) Field Day 4) the scholar retreat.

-Start jotting notes, ideas, experiences, etc into your Leadership Notebook.  I know Hannah has already come up with an idea to share next week during class.  Great job!!

-Get ready to set your debate resolutions in motion.

Thank you!

See you Thursday!