Today is Friday, so this post is on interpersonal competence.
Annually, USA Today creates and All-USA Teacher Team. Throughout the year, they run profiles of these teachers. On Tuesday, April 17, Diana Schmiesing, a second grade teacher Providence Elementary School in Fairfax, VA was profiled.
At the beginning of each school year, Ms. Schmiesing has her students create a constitution for their year together. I was intrigued by a point on these second grade constitutions that was made in the article. “Year after year, under Schmiesing’s subtle guidance, the pupils discover that all their suggestions boil down to: respect yourself, respect others, respect our classroom.”
From the mouths of babes…“respect yourself, respect others, respect our classroom”. Great advice for becoming an interpersonally competent person.
Respect yourself. If you don’t respect yourself, you won’t be able to respect anyone or anything else.
Respect others. Treat people with the respect they deserve as fellow human beings. It doesn’t matter who they are, or what they do. Every person is entitled to respect from every other person – just because we are all human beings. No one is beneath you. No one is above you. We are all people – treat everyone with respect, and you will find that your life becomes brighter and more interesting.
Respect your classroom -- the places you live, work and visit. Treat other’s places the same as you would treat your own. I spend a lot of time in hotels. I treat these rooms as if they were my home. If I drop something near the wastebasket, I pick it up and put it into the wastebasket – that’s what I would do at home. (This also shows respect for the housekeeping staff. Their job is difficult enough. I try to make it easier – and show them the respect they deserve as human beings -- by being as neat in a hotel, as I am at home.)
So today’s common sense point on becoming interpersonally competent comes from a bunch of second graders – respect yourself, respect others, respect your classroom. Interpersonally competent people make it a point to do all three of these things, in all of their interactions with the people in their lives.
That’s it for today. Thanks for reading. Log on to my website www.BudBilanich.com for more common sense. Check out my other blog: www.CommonSenseGuy.com for common sense advice on leading people and running a small business.
I’ll see you around the web, and at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.
Bud
PS: Speaking of Alex’s Lemonade Stand – my fundraising page is still open. Please go to www.FirstGiving.com/TheCommonSenseGuy to read Alex’s inspiring story and to donate if you can.
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