We would all like to have a bright future and even more so for our children and grandchildren. In Canfield & Hansen’s Chicken Soup for the Soul I found this gem that was originally written by Frank Trujillo. The title “bilding me a fewchr.”
Toddler’s Letter
Dear Teachr
Today, mommy cryed. Mommy asked me Jody do you realy kno why you are going to school. i said i don’t know why?
She said it is caus we are going to be bilding me a fewchr. i said what is a fewchr what one look like? Mommy said i don’t kno Jody, no one can really see all your fewchr jest you. Don’t wory caus youl see youl see. tats when she cryed and sed oh Jody i love you so.
Mommy says every one need to work realy hard for us kids to make our fewchr the nicest one the world can offer.
Teacher can we start today to bild me a fewchr?
Can you try espeshly hard to make it a nice prity one jest for mommy and for me?
I love you teacher.
Love
Jody xxooxx
Teacher’s role
So what will make for a bright future for Jody? Jody’s teacher will for sure be occupied with teaching him reading, writing and arithmetic and of course, continual assessments will follow to determine his grasp of what was taught.
Lessons from the sandbox
But Robert Fulgham, also in Chicken Soup for the Soul, says “Most of what I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be, I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate mountain, but there in the sandbox at nursery school.”
According to Fulgham these are the things he learned: “Share everything; Play fair; Don’t hit people; Put things back where you found them; Clean up your own mess; Don’t take things that aren’t yours; Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody, etc.”
The teacher teaches competence yet Fulgham’s character was formed in the sandbox. Both are important for Jody’s “fewchr”; many workers are employed for competence but fired for character.
# Quality workers
When I talk to business owners most of them complain about the quality of workers they need to work with. In most cases it is the workers attitude and character that they complain about.
Two weeks ago a friend told a group of us about a Zimbabwean worker he once had that was absolutely trustworthy. He mentioned how he once had to do a contract abroad for a month leaving this man to carry on with his business locally. He left him with his business’s pick-up, cell phone, credit card, everything. When he came back everything was in perfect order and accounted for. Naturally everyone in the group’s reaction was, “you’ll not find that today.”
Attitude
Business guru Tom Peters’ motto is
Appoint for attitude, train for whatever.
This does not mean that education is not important, but implies that it is easier to teach people the necessary skills than to change their attitude and character.
To determine whether a prospective employee will match the requirements for a certain job, consider a Career Direct Assessment. It will make all the difference for years to come.
Also tune in to my radio program “Jy die Entrepreneur” Monday evenings at 20:00 and Saturdays 12:30 on Radio Namakwaland www.934fm.co.za.
