Ali asked the Prophet, “What action can I take that is not totally lost and worthless?”

Obligatory charity for the sake of God is due from every single part of your body, even from every root of your hair. in fact, charity is due for every instant of your life.

Charity of the eye means looking with consideration and averting your gaze from desires and things similar to them.

Charity of the ear means listening to the best of sounds, such as wisdom, the Quran, and the benefits of faith contained in warnings, and good counsel, and by avoiding lies, slander and similar things

Charity of tongue means to give good advice, to awaken those who are heedless, and to give abundant glorification and remembrance and other, similar things.

Charity of hand means spending money on others, to be generous with God’s blessing to you, to use your hand to write down knowledge and information by means which others will benefit in obedience to God, and to restrain your hand from evil.

Charity of the foot means to hasten to carry one’s duty to God by visiting virtuous people, attending assemblies of remembrance, putting things right between people, maintaining ties of kinship, engaging in jihad (inner struggle), and doing things that will make your heart sound and your faith correct.
– Al-Sadiq
Essential Sufism, James fadiman & Robert Frager

I thought i should share this, as well as a constant reminder to myself. insya Allah.

Today I am in such a shape
that i can’t differentiate
the load from the donkey
i am in such shape today
that i don’t know which is the thorn
and which is the rose

My Love put me in this shape today
i don’t know who is the lover
or who is the beloved

Yesterday drunkenness led me
to the door of the Love
but today i can’t find
the door or the house

Last year i had two wings
fear and hope
today i don’t know of wings
don’t know how to fly
don’t know of my lost fears

-Rumi

Some ways to reach out and teach teens without yelling…hehehe

Ring a bell or blow a whistle. Start a noisemaker collection so you can vary sounds.

Choose a hand signal with the children that they can all remember and agree to honor. When it is noisy, make the hand signal and wait for all the children to follow.

Praise attentive behavior: “I like the way Jane is ready to listen” and “Joe is ready to listen, too – thank you” until they all quiet down.

Throw a small, soft ball to the first child who pays attention who then throws it back to you. Only toss it to children who are paying attention and just until it is quiet.

Talk VERY softly so they must strain to listen.

Flash the lights on and off a few times.

While talking, stand next to the chatterboxes. Lightly touch their arm or shoulder if they start to talk.

Start a physical routine such as a clapping sequence or a sequence where they touch their heads, shoulders, noses, etc. Stop when everyone has joined the sequence.

Play a “freeze” game. Whenever you say “freeze” they must stop and freeze in place without talking. You can then give your directions and “thaw” them.

Pick out one positive code word, such as “focus”, and use it as needed.

taken from Shelley Murdock, M.Ed., Community and Youth Development Advisor(ucdavis.edu)

Here are some ways you can get what you want at work (game plan tactics):

* Schedule a meeting and ask. Make sure you bring concrete facts, lists, and reasons why you should get what you want. Make lists, charts, trackers, etc. Be organized and professional.

* Ask your boss if they need help with anything. Always be willing to help no matter how menial the task is. This shows your boss you care, you will eventually turn into the person they lean on when they need something, and in turn, you will be more worthy of getting what you want.

* If its a new project or responsibility you want, make suggestions. Say this new project gets brought up in a meeting. Share your insights. If the person working on the project already mentions something about it, try to work in the line ” Oh, let me know if you help with that…”

* Always show gratitude and always show interest and excitement. Whenever you do get new responsibilities, or someone gives you feedback, help, etc. Never forget to be super thankful, and always say things like ” I am so excited to help you with [insert not so fabulous project here]” People respond better to those who are always positive.

Warnings and Tips:

* Be persistent, but don’t be annoying.

* If you are just starting out in a position or career, do not ask for too much too soon, you need to put your time in.

* Don’t walk around feeling jipped because you deserve x,y, and z. If you want to keep your job, you need to realize that you are disposable, replaceable, and someone is always waiting to snatch your job up if you screw it up.

* Be patient. You may not be getting what you want because your boss doesn’t think you deserve it yet, so, work harder.

taken from http://hubpages.com/hub/howtogetwhatyouwantatwork

A story @ Qisas.com

leaving you a moment to read and have a thought on it. whichever way you want to interpret it. my reflection, well can’t hate hardwork and having a career if they can bring happiness in life in the most simplest way.
__________________________________________________

Classroom should

• Allow for flexible groups
• Foster the students’ responsibility for their own learning
• Provide a mechanism for students to get help when the teacher is busy with other students
• Provide ongoing learning activities
• Display assignment/project schedules, scoring rubrics, general procedure

Instruction should

• Be less teacher lecture and more investigation and group sharing
• Be less whole group and more small group or individual
• Be aimed at different learning styles
• Allow for a variety of responses
• Allow for conference time between student and teacher

Assignments should

• Vary in content, based on student need
• Vary in difficulty, based on student readiness
• Allow for choice based on student interests and strengths
• Vary in time allocation
• Vary to reflect student goals
• Contain directions that are clear and direct enough for student and parents to understand

To reflect ongoing assessment and evaluation, records should

• Include a writer’s notebook and portfolio for each student
• Include interest surveys
• Document readiness for curriculum learning expectations
• Record individual goal setting
• Record achievement of goals
• Allow for scoring one assignment with differing scoring rubrics and for scoring a variety of assignments on the same topic

Despite having this knowledge, how do keep or retain this dynamics while conducting classes? its either we’re on the right track although not realising there’s a theory behind it, or we are not sure whether we’re on the right track or not. Got to act consistent :))
Extracted from “leadership for differentiating schools and classrooms”

You can build your confidence by acknowledging your successes for each step along the way to trying to achieve a goal. The self-congratulations will build and re-enforce your confidence along the way to feeling like a champion.
http://www.school-for-champions.com/excellence/confwbt.htm#10

….but not up to the point that you’re showing off.

anyway…was just thinking…i thought i had so many dreams. but by doing the job i’m in now, does that mean i have to forego the dreams i had? i thought i was going to do something for my alma mater, i thought i was going to visit the place often, i thought i was going to be a person who likes attending talks and suchs, heh, i thought i was going to be a volunteer at orphanages. i thought i was going to be a regular at hC? whatever happened to those?

or would it be justifiable to say – let’s concentrate one thing at a time?

1. Do something that requires a decision and a follow-through.

Have you been putting off writing that letter to aunt Martha? Is there a friend you’ve been meaning to call? Wash the car, tidy the garden or clean the house. You’ll gain confidence by setting goals (even small ones) and following through on them.

2. Enjoy something you do well.

Do you have any hobbies or sports that you enjoy playing? Some things like going swimming, painting or writing can hold your attention and get you into a state of ‘flow’. While you are in the flow you forget about everything else.

Afterwards, you’ll feel competent and capable. It’s a great way to boost your self-esteem. If you don’t have any particular hobbies or pastimes that you enjoy make an effort to try something you’ve always wanted to try.

Picture yourself doing it, and then give it a try! It doesn’t have to be something big – it can be as simple as joining a walking club.

You’ll find that you are more centered and happier if you do something that puts you in that flow at least once a week.

3. Shift the focus.

It’s been shown that low self-esteem develops hand-in-hand with individuals who put too much focus on themselves. You can gain confidence by doing something that focuses on someone else or even something else.

You’ll find that when you are in a situation where you are meeting new people, you immediately become less nervous when you focus on the person you are meeting.

At the end of the day, you’ve interacted with others and will notice that you feel much lighter.

4. Relax, already!

Learning to become more relaxed is a great life enhancer. People who are more relaxed have fewer problems with their memories and are more likely to take the bumps in the road of life in stride.

The practice of meditation has gained popularity for this reason. You might want to look into Tai Chi, which involves physical relaxation techniques.

Whatever method you decide on, take relaxation seriously. The benefits are just too great to ignore. If you’ve never considered relaxation important, think of it this way: if you can attend to something that results in feeling good, how can you not gain confidence in your personal abilities?

5. Make a list of everything you’ve ever accomplished.

Think small. An accomplishment is an accomplishment! Some things you could put on your list: passed my driver’s test and got my license, scored a goal when I played hockey, managed to save enough money to go on a trip and so on.

These are just a few ideas you can use to gain confidence and boost your self-esteem. Use these ideas as a base point and add these things permanently in your life.

Keep in mind, people are not born with good self-esteem, most of us have to work at it. It develops from your thinking and the things you do daily to make yourself feel good.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Gain-Confidence-and-Boost-Self-Esteem-in-5-Simple-Steps&id=152685

This would be the part which i believe is utmost important, especially for me, looking at the transition that i’m going through. everything which i must learn to be.

Leadership requires a person with vision and the capacity to extend it to others.

• Articulates a vision based on moral and professional purpose.
• Inspires others to think along with her.
• Listens to the ideas of others and incorporates them into the vision as appropriate.
• Gains acceptance for the vision.
• Teaches followers.
• Helps others.
• Focuses on maintaining a sense of direction over an extended period of time.
• Is an active participant in the change process, accepting responsibility for outcomes rather than merely assigning responsibility to others.

Administration = management role

• Make plans to ensure abstract visions for change become concrete.
• Taking care of budgets, schedules, access to materials and knowledge, and organization of other resources necessary for change.
• Working with teachers and administrators to determine their needs and responding effectively and efficiently.
• Assess the process.