Be Simply Fit

 This is an eight week life changing course that will transform you personally, professionally, and the best part of all permanently. It will help you make changes from the inside out and bring you to a point of self awareness and self actualization which will help you reach your full potential as educator and a person. Click below to start your journey. Principles of Teacher Transformation

  When I first started talking about the quality of compliance I used the word obedience. I got such a negative reaction from teachers and parents that I had to change the name of the quality from obedience to compliance. It seemed as if obedience was too strong a word and parents and teachers were offended by it. I still don’t think that there is anything wrong with the word obedience....

 Just lesson plans are just that; just lesson plans. They provide the teacher with a lesson plan when they need one. These plans are not your garden variety, and they’re not academic. These are about the topics that we don’t always talk about like respect, responsibility, kindness, cyber-bullying, friendships, and other things that for some reason we just don’t have the time for. But, if we m...

  The character quality of forgiveness is a tough one for most people to practice on a consistent basis. Most people when they are wronged want to forgive because in reality the reason they are forgiving someone is for their own mental health. Unfortunately a person may forgive another person but may have a tough time forgetting what was done to them. So they bounce back and forth betwee...

For some reason people in society believe that there is nothing wrong with lying or bending the truth. People can usually find a way to justify their actions by saying, "Oh, that was just a little white lie," and they really do believe that there is nothing wrong with lying. What is truthfulness and why is it so important? The definition of the word truthfulness is earning future trust by accurate...

When people don't understand the importance of time or money, they will waste it. Often people will be given resources and really not understand how to use them. All people are given twenty four hours in a day, a certain amount of money, and a certain amount of ability to use in areas of their life. When a person waste or uses their resources incorrectly, problems will always occur in areas such a...

  It is true that there is no substitute for hard work. Often time’s people don’t take their jobs seriously enough or view the jobs that they do as so menial that they don’t do the job to completion or they don’t put forth their best effort. Children in school who may not understand their subject matter tend to give up when the work becomes to hard, and don’t have the drive to put their...

The concepts of self-control, delayed gratification and discipline seem so counter to our cultural values. We use our credit cards because we want things right away. We become impatient if we wait more than a few moments at a drive-through at McDonalds. We eat ourselves into obesity and poor health because it feels good, with little consideration of the long-term consequences. Self-control should...

The definition of the character quality of initiative is: Recognizing and doing what needs to be done before one is asked to do it. The opposite of initiative is unresponsiveness. The idea that a person can survive and succeed in this world without initiative is ridiculous and wrong headed. Having initiative doesn’t mean that a person is pushy or obnoxious; it means that a person can see what has...

Many years ago schools used to take lateness much more seriously than they do today. If you have ever been in a high school and observed students milling around in the hall between classes what you would notice is that the students don’t start moving to their class until the late bell rings. I have spoken to many teachers who have complained about student tardiness and asked them what they conside...

The quality of proactivity is in a larger sense related to one's response when one is under stress and how one handles difficult situations. People who are proactive know how to choose their response in any circumstance because they have a set of values and principles that they have learned that are plugged into their heart and soul.  Reactive people on the other hand are very emotional and w...

When we make demands on kids do they even know what were talking about. "Oh grow up." Or "Act your age, not your shoe size." Character needs to be taught directly and by example. You can't tell them without showing them. In this first of a 10 part series we will be exploring the quality of maturity and really put the feet to it. In this manner students and children will not only grow physically bu...

Listen in and you will discover the items for your school to include in any type of behavior management plan. The plan should always promote respect, encourage responsibility, and addresses the mental health issues associated with addiction and bullying. The Behavior Management Teacher's Toolbox

If you are situationally reactive and think that yelling at your kids is going to build character think again. Discipline means to teach and it's a process that parents, teachers, and even children need to go through. Discover the three behaviors that need to be developed in all children and how to get children to be compliant and do what they are told to do when they are told to do it. This is a...

 When you are an effective teacher, your teaching takes hold, and your students slowly but surely learn from you, and the learning is permanent. Remember, too much too fast won’t last. It is much better to spend 10 days teaching one skill that your students will be able to use for a lifetime, than teaching 10 different skills in 10 days that your students will forget the day after you taught...

We all know that bullies are motivated by power. They love to impose their power on those that are weaker and who are different. Victims on the other hand are motivated by revenge. When we strengthen the victims of bullying we help build their confidence and give them the opportunity stand up for themselves and become resilient. But, a victim left to themselves doesn't have the skills to stand up...

Bullies have a keen eye and can zero in on a victims rather quickly. They look for weaknesses and differences in the victim that can be used to berate, belittle, and harass. So what are some of these characteristics, and how can we as teachers and parents proactively work with our students and children to help them become more aware of their behavior. No one deserves to be bullied so let's help th...

We all know that kids need to develop resiliency and confidence. To just tell them to stand up for yourself or face your fears doesn't help Here are 10 concrete things that kids need to do if they are being bullied. I have included a link for Strengthening The Victim Of Bullying (online course) below.  Strengthening The Victims Of Bullying

All conflict has to be finished. Who we finish it with can be a problem. If we have had unresolved conflict with out parents it has to be finished with them; not our boss, spouse or any significant other. Finish what was started in order to achieve lifelong peace and success.  The Bully Proof Classroom

The brain learns best at certain times in a person's life. The younger the better. These are called windows of opportunity. The Social and Emotional Window of Opportunity opens between 2 and 30 months. If closes around the age of 5. We need to take advantage of this time and build children up so they don't have to be mended as adults. 

I am not a doctor or a psychologist but I do have my thoughts on why young kids are getting more and more anxious by the day. It could be medical, organic, or environmental for sure. My thoughts, our kids have to learn how to deal with, disappointment, and discomfort at times. If we do too much for them when they are young, they will always feel less capable then they really are. As kids get older...

Three things that anyone can do to make someone feel special or to build any relationship. They're not hard and when practiced they can help make the world a more kind and caring place. Join Jim for this short podcast on what we can do to make positive contributions to the climate of the world in which we live. 

Students can intimidate. They  look for ways to do it, and they can keep you up at night. They look to hurt others physically, mentally, and emotionally; they are anti social. Join Jim as he outlines 5 steps that can be taken to deal with this behavior in your classroom. Some of the steps are tough, but if you deal with them cooperatively and have the right support things can change.

Kids bully for a variety of reasons; weakness and difference to name a few. Understand, bullying is not organic it's learned. Victims learn how to be victims, and bully's learn how to be bullies. Listen in as Jim explains why kids bully.  The Bully Proof Classroom

A life lived out of balance can create stress and at times conflict. Listen as Jim describes the four dimensions of life; the physical, the mental, the social and emotional, and the spiritual and why it is so important to practice these dimensions daily. Teachers are under pressure everyday whether it be academic or behavioral and need to finds ways that bring peace to their heart, mind, and soul....