The No Excuse University
The textbook, “No Excuses University” written
by Damen Lopez, is a manual about creating the perfect school for 21st-century
learning. I found the text to be encouraging and informative.
Structure of the Text
The chapters in the text
are structured in a way that made it easy for me to follow. Each chapter is one
page long. At the top of the page, the key concepts are listed, creating an
outline of the chapter. The main body of the text explains the key concepts. At
the bottom of the page, the “Theory to Practice” sections asks questions on how
you apply what you learned in the chapter.
Important Applications
The concepts presented in this book are very useful in
creating my tutoring business. I want to be able to fill my students with the
knowledge they will need to make it in the 21st century. This text
is like a guidebook on how to create a successful 21st-century
school.
Key
Concept. “Successful schools simplify their focus” (Lopez, 2013, Ch.
4). I am currently working on opening my tutoring business, and this statement
made me stop and think about my curriculum plans. After looking at my curriculum
choices, I realized I was incorporating too many different programs into my
lesson plans. I am now re-evaluating my choices, and choosing what would work
best.
Theory
to Practice. “As a school, decide on one goal
that drives everything that you do. Get it in writing and live by it. If you
have several goals, stop thinking of them as “goals” and start thinking of them
as steps to help you achieve your ONE GOAL” (Lopez, 2013, Ch. 5). I have many goals
for my business, and it was a bit overwhelming. By deciding on ONE GOAL, it
seems more achievable.
Experiencing “My Moment”
I have
always enjoyed working with children. When I was a teenager, I helped my mother
with the children’s group in church. But I did not always want to teach
children. I earned my Associate’s Degree in Psychology, and was working toward
my Bachelor’s when my son was born. I decided to take time out to raise him,
and would finish when he started school. When he was in preschool, he started
having panic attacks in crowds. Going to school was going to be very difficult
for him. Homeschooling was the answer. When he started high school, I decided
to go back to school so I could start work as soon as he graduated. Going back
to psychology didn’t interest me any longer. I had been involved in teaching
for so long, I felt like I belong in the teaching field. I decided to pursue a
degree in education, and I really love it.
Avoid Losing Commitment
As
teachers, we need to be careful that we don’t fall victim to stresses that
cause us to become jaded and lose their enthusiasm. Families that are poor and
barely able to provide for their children can dishearten good teachers. Parents
can cause undue stress on teachers which causes them to lose faith in their
ability to help the children. Other teachers who have become jaded are filled
with negativity which can be contagious. The biggest cause of teachers becoming
jaded is the stress of the government changes in education and standardized
testing.
If
negativity starts getting to us, we need to look for ways to regain their enthusiasm.
First, we need to turn to other teachers who are filled with enthusiasm.
Positivity can be as contagious as negativity. Find ways to remind yourself of
the students with who you were successful. I suggest a file with little notes
written about each success. When I get down, I can go back and read about my
students. This will help me remember why I started teaching in the first place.
References
Lopez, D. (2013). No excuses university: How six exceptional systems are revolutionizing
our schools (2nd ed.).Turnaround Schools Publications.
