Fly Lady column by Marla Cilley
One of the hardest documents I ever put together was the Teacher Control Journal. I was determined to let go of my fears and just do it!
What was I afraid of, you may wonder? I was scared because the document I was writing was going to be viewed by teachers. Maybe deep down inside I was afraid that it was not going to stand up to their criticism. I was able to let go of my fears because I received an e-mail from a teacher begging for a testimonial that we had sent out last year. She needed help getting ready for the fast-approaching school year.
I know in my heart that our simple system of habits and routines can work for everyone. I overcame my fears to reach out and help others. If I do this, then any of us can.
We all have fears! It is our perfectionism that keeps us trapped in them and by them! We don’t have to give into them another day.
I have to tell you a funny story. I shared it with my sweet darling over coffee right after I released the Teacher Control Journal. He explained to me that our ladies are above average, and the funny incident was evidence of that. I was literally terrified to release the Teacher Control Journal to our teachers. In the e-mail that told the world about the Teacher Control Journal I gave specific instructions on how I had set up my filters to get that message from me. Every e-mail that comes to my inbox without TCJ in the subject line is just another affirmation that my fears were so silly! Each e-mail is another reason to laugh at my perfectionism. What Robert told me is that super-intelligent people intuitively skip the instructions. I totally understand this. I have even complained to people at Yahoo and JumpCut that their programs were not intuitive.
So my dear friends, I have set up filters in many different ways to fill the requests for Teacher Control Journal. Then I get to look in my inbox and see there is one more way to say it. Isn’t that what really makes us special? We are all different, and together it just works.
Thank you all so much for overcoming your fears to ask for help! I am here! We can grow together as we put perfectionism in its place! I have spent many hours putting together the Teacher Control Journal. I had some help from a teacher. Her name is Jamie Hawley. I have included her examples in the document.
I have also included a letter to parents and the Student Control Journal. Please just jump right in and start using it. You can adapt it to fit your needs whether you are an elementary, middle, high school or homeschooling teacher. Right now the most important part is for you to get it and start to put together your Teacher Control Journal. I cannot do it for you. Every class is different. I can get you motivated to do it.
There are testimonials in this document as well as forms to fill in the blanks. Use what you need. You have my permission to adapt to fit your classroom. You can edit anything except my letter to the parents. If you want a copy of the Teacher Control Journal send an email to [email protected] with TCJ in the subject line and I will get it back to you.
We also have it on our website. http://flylady.net/pages/teacher_cj.asp.
Are you ready to FLY into a brand-new school year!
For more help getting rid of your CHAOS, check out Marla Cilley’s website and join her free mentoring group at www.FlyLady.net, listen to her www.blogtalkradio.com/flylady show, or read her books, Sink Reflections, published by Bantam, and her New York Times bestselling book, Body Clutter, published by Fireside. Copyright 2008 Marla Cilley. Used by permission in this publication.
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