What I Learnt From A Teacher Who Jumped Out Through The Window

(WARNING; the following article may change your life)

Some time ago during our teaching practice (attachment) while doing our teaching course, lecturers came to assess us to see if we were teaching the learners well or according to the expected standards. One of the student teachers who was set to be assessed realized that the lecturers were in the school to assess him. This was an unannounced unexpected visit which caught this particular student teacher off guard. The guy was unprepared with no written lesson plans to show how he was going to deliver the lessons for that week. When he saw the lecturers coming towards his classroom, this guy jumped out of the classroom through the window and vanished into a bushy area behind our playground! The lecturer entered the classroom and asked the learners where the teacher was. The learners turned their heads and they all looked at the window which the student teacher had used for his emergency exit and laughed. The lecturer peeped out through the window and saw the footsteps of the teacher in the muddy wet soil as it had been raining the previous day. Now what followed next was pure drama. The school was put to a standstill as all students teachers and learners were scattered into the bushes hunting for this culprit.

Look, I don't really get it: Is it really necessary to be so dramatic and jump out through the window? The lesson plans which the majority of educators don't do, are they done to benefit and impress the lecturer  or they actually make the lesson delivery easier, more organized and effective? It's not just about the lesson plans, more and more people need to come to the realization of the benefits of a well written and organized plan outlining how they will spend each day. If you fall into the category of these guys who embarrass us by jumping out through the window, here are some benefits of put into writing some clear goals you would like to accomplish for each day:
Well, before I outline the advantages of written down plan as to how you will spend each day, let me fir
 
Number 1.   Every time you write down the goals you would like to achieve, your mind becomes more focused on what you have laid down. When you write down your plan a night before the next day, you sleep much more peacefully because lack of piece of mind and quality sleep is often a result of your mind being restless trying to figure out the things which will be done tomorrow. When you have already written down what you will do the following day, your mind is put to rest, never having to wonder through the night what will be done the next day.

Number 2.  When you write down a clear outline of the goals you would like to achieve the next day, it has been scientifically proven that your subconscious mind continues to work while you are fast asleep, matching different solutions your goals. Very often than not, you will wake up in the morning with solutions to the problems you were failing to figure out the previous day or before you slept.

Number 3.  The number one reason why many people don't write down their plans of how they will spend the day is that they claim that they have no time to do so. What they don't realize is that a few minutes spent on the planning can save several hours in execution of the task. Let me ask you a sobering question. Mr John spends zero hours on planning to ends up spending ten hours trying to accomplish a task in disorganized manner. Then Mr Dobi spends 30 minutes  doing some research and thorough planning as to how best to effectively accomplish his tasks each day and as a result he spends only 4 hours   to execute with excellence the same task which took the disorganized Mr Dobi ten hours to do. This is vanity of vanities says Gwizi The Motivator. What shall it profit a man to spend  ten hours running around like a headless chicken to accomplish a task which could have taken him only four hours, just because he claims  he doesn't  have the 30 minutes for reflection and planning? One men once said, give me a 8 hours to cut a tree and I will spend the first 2 hours sharpening the saw or the axe. Many of us think the two hours spent sharpening  the axe is time wasted and we spend more ours laboring very hard and ineffectively. How sad. All this is Vanity of vanities cries Gwizi The Motivator. This is vanity and chasing after wind. Ecclesiastes 10:10 "When the ax is dull, one must put more effort, but application of wisdom produces great results." Spend time sharpening the axe (preparation and planning).  Write down the vision (Habakuk2:2.) And remember Proper Prior Preparation Prevents Poor Performance.
 
Number 4. Keep with you a small Brainstorming Notebook wherever you go. This one helps me a lot when I am writing my inspirational books. Write down any brilliant idea that comes into your mind during the day before it escapes your mind. You can then later on write down this detailed idea during your planning moments and expand on it. Occasionally we get brilliant ideas throughout the day as we are in the bank queue, walking down the street, relaxing on bed etc. Because we don't quickly write down these brilliant unexpected ideas in our Brainstorming Notebook, they escape our minds. We forget them.

Number 5. I have since learnt that there is absolutely no reason why you should jump out through the window, the plan is your own benefit not for impressing the lecturer! Not frequently jumping out through windows can also save your teeth!

Mthokozisi Gwizi is a multi-award-winning inspirational author and speaker. Send your feedback to gwizimotivator@yahoo.com.