Wow - Over 90 days since...

Wow over 90 days since I have done a blog post. What kept me so busy that I didn't stick to my requirement to do at least one blog post per month?

So I took an employer funded college course as described in my last blog post in April 2014, Lots of reading with ADED 6487 Instructional Strategies in Adult Learning, went to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas and completed the CES Advanced Course, and I am enjoying the great weather before fall and winter arrive. Of course the 4 year old Gbaby keeps me on my toes and sometimes I just do not have the energy to do any creative writing at the end of the day.

I have been more active behind the DoD firewall with milSuite and Intelink, so I haven't totally stopped blogging and participating digitally.

So I will recommit to posting at least once a month, while continue reading other blogger's posts.

Would you work or learn from you?

Colonel Garland Williams, Ph.D presented the keynote address to the Intermediate Course Class 9-09 from the Army Management Staff College. He reflected and shared with us how many keynote speakers he remembers/ed throughout his military and educational graduations.

This caused many of us to reflect on our own graduation ceremonies. Do you remember the keynote speakers or themes during any of your graduations?

So he asked, "Would you work for you?" He then took us through some key points to consider.

Time - Are you generous with your time and stingy with your people's time?

Reliability - Are you there during the good and the bad times? Are you there for the personal important events like birthday parties, graduations, funerals, etc.?

Unwavering support to your people and Underwrite honest mistakes - People don't come to work to intentionally screw up; Underwrite honest mistakes so that they can continue to grow, experiment, and learn.

Stability - Do you take good and bad news equally well? Don't shoot the messenger.

Transparency - It is OK to protect secrets from the enemy, but your vision and thoughts need to be transparent to your people. They need to be able to make decisions in accordance with (IAW) your intent when you aren't there.

Then he asked us what did the first letters of the key points spell out. TRUST

The TRUST acronym can also be used in self reflection as an educator, formal or informal. In your daily, weekly, and/or monthly reflections, remember...someone is always learning...from you, in spite of you, around you, and/or imitating you. If you haven't participated as a student in the lifelong learning process lately, take a day and participate as a student.

So would you work or learn from you?

Want to know more about CES? Transforming Leaders Through Education

The three major underpinnings of CES are Student Centered, Problem Based, Experiential, and Inquiry Learning establish the foundation of success in the Intermediate Course on how to develop a cohesive organization, while applying leadership skills to achieve results. These underpinnings are supported using Army doctrine; educational and leadership theories; small group instruction; along with a combination of behaviorist, cognitivist (information processing), and constructivist learning theories.