What is the Turn-It-Around Principle?

There is a lot to say about discovering yourself, living your true potential and facing your fears and difficulties.  We have to embrace life and learn how to overcome difficult situations so that we can move forward, improve ourselves and ultimately achieve our dreams.

Yet at the core of any life discovery is acceptance.  Acceptance without judgement.

Most of the problems, difficulties and challenges we face are not so much the actual circumstance in itself, but the fact that we judge or resist it.  The minute something goes wrong, we say “this is wrong, it shouldn't have happened – or I shouldn't be like this” etc. 

Talk about

self-discovery and how we need to change in order to improve?  Long before that we need to accept ourselves first. Discovering ourselves is not half as important as accepting ourselves first.

It is in this acceptance where the healing lies.

And this is where the Turn-Around Principle begins.  We cannot move forward unless we accept who we are, accept our circumstances, learn not to judge it and in so doing, we open the mind to look at positive possibilities as to how to Turn It Around!

That is the first step.

Secondly, the world of judgement can be devastating. We continuously judge ourselves, others and life. The root of self-esteem issues, in my opinion, begins here.  We don’t listen to one another because someone is always trying to be right.  We have difficulty in understanding one another – because that would depend ultimately on who wins the argument. 

How do I look at my life without judgement?

How do I look at my weaknesses, challenges and circumstances without it being WRONG?

This is the second step.

We form an understanding that every person, in his/her own right is unique, that circumstances are temporary and that we have, within our core, all the wisdom and ability to walk through these and to grow and to use every single weakness or barrier and turn it into a strength. Our fear can become our fuel.

And finally, once we learn how to do this – we pass it onto others. 

When we give away what we have learnt, when we make an effort to create understanding and remove judgement from others in the same way that we have removed it from ourselves – then we experience inner harmony and acceptance.

 

We don’t want to be right anymore, we want to be ourselves! We have the confidence and understanding that we can achieve, overcome and embrace life. We learn how to understand and love each other, our parents, our peers and our circumstances. 

In the light of the above, we have had huge success with the Turn Around Principle in adult workshops, turning from self-doubt and fear into self-awareness, worth and driving their own success in life and work – our teenagers need this. 

We can realise some of the learnings earlier in life,  we can be taught principles to turn any situation around from a young age.

This is why TEEN TURN AROUND was born.

Submitted by:

Michelle Vooght - Channel for Spiritual Teaching | Healing & Divine Guidance | Angel

Readings | Virtual / Face 2 Face | Inspirational Speaker & Trainer in Turn Around Principle

– www.michellevooght.com | 076 576 1664 |michelle@michellevooght.com

Roll your eyes and say ‘Go figure’?

“You do want me to pass, don’t you?”

That’s an ambush question like “Does your father still beat your mother?”  Say ‘Yes’ … say ‘No’…  you could be admitting dark family secrets.  Best answer?  “At what?”

The passing question came to me when I refused just before Valedictory in October 2012 to accept a Grade 12 learner’s project that had been due in March. 

In the US they have an expression accompanied by rolling of the eyes:  “Go figure!”  It suggests that whatever has prompted the frustrated rolling of the eyes is something incomprehensible. And crazy.

But let’s take up the challenge: What is the thinking behind the question in the context:  “You do want me to pass, don’t you?”

As a start, it suggests that my Grade 12 learner understood the teamwork and collaboration required between him and me for his success.

He also understood that handing in the project was essential to passing, and that his passing was desirable.

So why did he not hand in when he should have?  Myriad reasons are possible. Socio-economic. Psycho-social. Parental. Societal. Pedagogical. Maybe also that he knew I’d have it on my conscience if I didn’t.  Or maybe he knew that a WCED official would say “Go figure!” about me and force acceptance.  Maybe all of the above!

The buck stops with the teacher.  “If it has not been learned, it has not been taught.”  A colleague whose school in Khayelitsha offers a narrow Maths & Science curriculum like ours at Oude Molen has the following motto: “No excuses, just results”.

So what is the figuring that one has to do?  Education thinkers like Proff. Brian O’Connell (UWC), Jonathan Jansen (UFS), Crain Soudien (UCT) and others have focused our attention on the difference between the 1976 generation and the current cohort.  In 1976 the youngsters took to the streets to demand high quality education. Now far too many of the current cohort seem to have no sense of agency nor urgency to make the effort for their own success. 

Instead, a sense of entitlement seems to have been born from the expectation that matric pass rate will continue to rise whether or not there are teacher strikes, service delivery riots, widespread indiscipline and significant numbers of unprepared, unprofessional ’educators’ whose example is that you get a government job and then relax in expectation of payday. “You can’t get me, I’m part of the union”.

So if a sense of personal agency has not been learned, i.e. the understanding that you have to make an effort if you want to change your circumstances, then, yes, I have not successfully taught it.

Did the young man pass?  Yes, he did.  He’s working now. Predictably, he took seriously his supervisor’s warning about meeting deadlines.

Aware that the pedagogical explanation for this is the uneven developmental rate of humans, I am still considering different strategies to engage youngsters more effectively.  I suppose that’s it:  No excuses, just results.

Written by:

Tony Marshall, Headmaster of Oude Molen Academy of Science and Technology.

Africa’s Premier Education Event

African EduWeek will host 85 of the world’s leading suppliers to the education sector, house free-to-attend technical workshops and an expert-led conference, all taking place 

at the Sandton Convention Centre from 10-11 July 2014.

With a dedicated team and an unrivalled assortment of contributors from across the education sector, African EduWeek 2014 has progressed from a conference to the most comprehensive education event in Africa in the past eight years. SABC Education has, for the first time, come on board as our Premier Event Partner bringing a wealth of knowledge, expertise and connectivity into the education sector.

African EduWeek is split into six dedicated sectors - Basic Education, Higher Education, Inclusive Education, Technology, Publishing and Stationery. This allows visitors to network and engage with key industry stakeholders from across the education spectrum in an easily accessible environment. Whether you are a classroom teacher or a university dean, there is value to be found at African EduWeek 2014!

The EduWeek Event Sectors:

Basic Education

High quality basic education is vital in every learner’s development as it serves as the platform to ensure every student is equipped with the knowledge and skills to succeed beyond their school leaving years, be that further study or employment. At African EduWeek 2014 meet basic education suppliers including Totem Bags, Libwin, Leap Skills, Eduloan & Education Labour Relations Council.

Higher Education

Higher education is where a learner’s career path is shaped. With economic development comes the necessity for highly skilled and motivated graduates to enter the work place.  South Africa is at a pivotal point in its history and it has never been more crucial from higher education institutions to deliver the graduate the country needs. Help your institution take this step and meet key higher education suppliers including Sage Pastel, Regenesys Business management, Eduloan and Umalusi only at African EduWeek 2014.

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The effective integration of technology into the classroom is widely considered to be a pivotal development point for education across Africa. See the latest classroom advances from tablets and mobile devices to interactive white boards from a host of education technology companies including our event Diamond Sponsor Intel Education, plus Audiosure, Dell, EDU365 Group, Extron, Festo, IQ Smart, Kyocera, LectorSA, LunchCard, MIB Technology, Mobitek, Mustek, Neotel, Parrot Products, RISO Africa and Samsung.

“If we want all the children of South Africa to have access to quality education, it implies that they should have access to technology to enable this engagement.

”- Andre Christian, Intel Education

Inclusive Education

Giving children with special needs and disabilities equal opportunities to participate in an integrated learning environment is becoming increasingly important in modern schools. Edit Microsystems are one of the country’s leading companies producing products and solutions to lower the barriers in the learning environment and promote inclusive education. Meet Edit Microsystem, plus Sensory Solutions, Intel and Microsoft to learn about the products and innovations designed to enhance the learning opportunities of your most vulnerable students.

“Inclusive education has become a key objective in education and there is a growing need to have the

correct tools and resources to meet this objective.”-Edit Microsystems

Publishing

Publishing remains at the core of education, providing learners with the resources they need to develop their analytical, reading and writing skills. The increasing affordability and accessibility of technology is changing the face of publishing as e-learning and m-learning are growing in popularity and may even provide a solution to the textbook shortages across Africa. Meet some of the world leading publishers including Impak, IO Publishing, Pearson, Macmillan, Capstone, Cambridge University Press, and Lectio Publishing at African EduWeek 2014.

Stationery

Stationery is simply a necessity of every education institution in the world. The stationery sector at African EduWeek includes BIC, Flip File, Butterfly products, and Statesman Stationery. So take this opportunity to meet some of the leading suppliers to the sector in one place.

The Expo is FREE to attend for all professionals, register NOW at www.educationweek.co.za to ensure you do not miss out on this fantastic event.

For more information regarding African EduWeek 2014 contact Event Marketing Manager Tim Phillips on tim.phillips@spintelligent.com or +27 (0) 21 700 3593