Well.... there are signs that tell you whether you should quit your job or not.
Knowing When It's Time to Go
by Roberta Chinsky Matuson
Change is difficult for many of us, so we often ignore the signs that indicate it is time to move on. Often, it isn't until a work situation becomes unbearable that we finally decide it's time to change jobs. By the time we reach this point, we feel desperate and are willing to take the next thing that comes along, which might not be any better than the situation we left. If you learn how to recognize the signs that indicate it is time to leave a job, you will be able to plan your next step rather than be forced to make a quick move just to get out. So what are some of these signs you should watch for?
1. Key personnel no longer ask for your opinion.
If you used to be invited to participate in meetings where important decisions were made and you are no longer invited, it may be time to think about your other options. Management may have lost confidence in you. If your opinion is no longer valued, how effective can you be in your role?
2. You have been passed up for a promotion.
Your company has been grooming you for a better position and has assured you that you are next in line. But they fill the job with an outside candidate. Somewhere along the line, someone has not been totally honest with you. Is this really the type of organization you want to work for? Can you be guaranteed this won't happen again?
3. You have gone from being a stellar performer to doing nothing right.
You have always been praised for your work. Now every time you complete a project, you are told you are not meeting expectations. Has there been a change in management lately? Perhaps the new team would like to bring in its own people? Why wait to go out on a bad note? You might want to start putting your feelers out now.
4. The plum assignments keep going to other people.
You are in your job because you want to learn. Yet every time an opportunity comes up for a challenging assignment, it goes to someone else. It is clear that you are the one in the department who will be doing the lower-level work. If you have already mastered those skills and it looks like your situation won't be changing, it may be time to find a position where there is actually room to grow in your job.
5. Your boss tells the staff he is open to suggestions. But is he open to suggestions from you?
You are constantly suggesting how to improve your department. Your suggestions are ignored. It is obvious that your opinion is not being valued. Ask yourself again, why are you still in this job?
6. A larger company is buying out your company.
Although management insists there will be not be any staff reductions, you will need to look at the reality. Do they really need two of you? Remember, you are much more employable if you are currently working. If you are not willing to move to the new corporate office, then perhaps you should see what other opportunities are available close by.
7. Everyone in management seems to be bailing.
Do they know something you don't? Do your best to find out what is really going on and then decide if you should start looking.
8. Work is not fun anymore.
This is perhaps the best sign that it is time to move on. After all, you spend most of your waking hours at work. If you no longer enjoy what you are doing, then why are you still there?
Keep your eyes and ears open for these signs and make sure you keep your resume updated, just in case your time to go arrives sooner than you expect. Being prepared will make the transition that much easier to make.
How does your child learn?
What teachers know about multiple intelligences that helps kids excel
Two decades after Howard Gardner identified multiple intelligences in his ground-breaking book Frames of Mind (1983), educators around the world are using the theory of multiple intelligences in their classrooms. In some ways, parents and teachers have always intuitively known that children learn in different ways and that an activity that grabs one child may not be of interest to another. But many of our traditional ideas about teaching imply that there is a certain way to learn particular skills. As parents, we've all had times when we've become frustrated by our children's apparent inability to accomplish a task the way we were taught to do it. When we have a better understanding of their individual intelligences and learning styles, we can provide experiences that speak to how our children learn best.
To understand your child's learning style, observe her as she plays. Which toys does she tend to choose? Chances are, you'll notice that her favorites have something in common. Perhaps they all have bright colors and distinct patterns or interesting textures and shapes, or make sounds. Then look at how she plays: Does she tend to look at objects intently or to hold and feel them in her hands? Perhaps she is less interested in toys than in rolling, tumbling, and moving around. As you cuddle up with your child and a favorite book, pay attention to what she is most interested in. Is it looking at the illustrations? Listening to the cadence of the words and rhymes as you read aloud? Touching the different objects pictured on the page? Or does she practically leap out of your lap and start to act out the actions in the story as you describe them?
Most children have a number of different intelligences and learning styles and can be engaged in a variety of ways. If you don't see a strong preference for particular toys or games, it means that your child has more than one primary intelligence or that she isn't old enough to have developed a strong predilection. In most cases you can begin to see a preference for particular styles at around age two. By then your child will most likely respond best to specific activities and types of experiences.
Respecting individual intelligences and learning styles means offering your child a variety of ways to learn. This doesn't mean that you should shy away from helping him master certain skills -- almost anything can be taught in a way that works well for a specific intelligence. When you identify and respond to your child's intelligence and learning style, you help him approach the world on his own terms. Playing to his strengths can make mastering new skills less frustrating -- and can help him develop a lifelong love of learning.
Many Ways to LearnOne of the benefits of the multiple intelligence theory is that it offers parents many options -- if a child isn't responding to a particular activity, there are many other approaches to try. Once you have a sense of your child's learning style, take a look at your home environment and routine to see how well they work for the way she learns. If you find that your child gravitates toward music, make sure that she has instruments available. Try playing music throughout the day and using songs as a way to encourage her enjoyment of different activities (a special song for doing the dishes or going grocery shopping can go a long way!). If she seems to have a powerful physical, or bodily-kinesthetic, intelligence, remember that creating fun hopping or jumping games to play while you're waiting on lines or at the store can help to make these tough times easier.
While understanding your child's style helps you speak to his strengths, it is also important to give him opportunities to strengthen his weaknesses: Even if you're sure your child is a linguistic learner, there is plenty to be gained from engaging him in spatial or musical experiences. Here's a look at each kind of intelligence and the types of activities and experiences children with it tend to excel at:
Knowing When It's Time to Go
by Roberta Chinsky Matuson
Change is difficult for many of us, so we often ignore the signs that indicate it is time to move on. Often, it isn't until a work situation becomes unbearable that we finally decide it's time to change jobs. By the time we reach this point, we feel desperate and are willing to take the next thing that comes along, which might not be any better than the situation we left. If you learn how to recognize the signs that indicate it is time to leave a job, you will be able to plan your next step rather than be forced to make a quick move just to get out. So what are some of these signs you should watch for?
1. Key personnel no longer ask for your opinion.
If you used to be invited to participate in meetings where important decisions were made and you are no longer invited, it may be time to think about your other options. Management may have lost confidence in you. If your opinion is no longer valued, how effective can you be in your role?
2. You have been passed up for a promotion.
Your company has been grooming you for a better position and has assured you that you are next in line. But they fill the job with an outside candidate. Somewhere along the line, someone has not been totally honest with you. Is this really the type of organization you want to work for? Can you be guaranteed this won't happen again?
3. You have gone from being a stellar performer to doing nothing right.
You have always been praised for your work. Now every time you complete a project, you are told you are not meeting expectations. Has there been a change in management lately? Perhaps the new team would like to bring in its own people? Why wait to go out on a bad note? You might want to start putting your feelers out now.
4. The plum assignments keep going to other people.
You are in your job because you want to learn. Yet every time an opportunity comes up for a challenging assignment, it goes to someone else. It is clear that you are the one in the department who will be doing the lower-level work. If you have already mastered those skills and it looks like your situation won't be changing, it may be time to find a position where there is actually room to grow in your job.
5. Your boss tells the staff he is open to suggestions. But is he open to suggestions from you?
You are constantly suggesting how to improve your department. Your suggestions are ignored. It is obvious that your opinion is not being valued. Ask yourself again, why are you still in this job?
6. A larger company is buying out your company.
Although management insists there will be not be any staff reductions, you will need to look at the reality. Do they really need two of you? Remember, you are much more employable if you are currently working. If you are not willing to move to the new corporate office, then perhaps you should see what other opportunities are available close by.
7. Everyone in management seems to be bailing.
Do they know something you don't? Do your best to find out what is really going on and then decide if you should start looking.
8. Work is not fun anymore.
This is perhaps the best sign that it is time to move on. After all, you spend most of your waking hours at work. If you no longer enjoy what you are doing, then why are you still there?
Keep your eyes and ears open for these signs and make sure you keep your resume updated, just in case your time to go arrives sooner than you expect. Being prepared will make the transition that much easier to make.
How does your child learn?
What teachers know about multiple intelligences that helps kids excel
Two decades after Howard Gardner identified multiple intelligences in his ground-breaking book Frames of Mind (1983), educators around the world are using the theory of multiple intelligences in their classrooms. In some ways, parents and teachers have always intuitively known that children learn in different ways and that an activity that grabs one child may not be of interest to another. But many of our traditional ideas about teaching imply that there is a certain way to learn particular skills. As parents, we've all had times when we've become frustrated by our children's apparent inability to accomplish a task the way we were taught to do it. When we have a better understanding of their individual intelligences and learning styles, we can provide experiences that speak to how our children learn best.
To understand your child's learning style, observe her as she plays. Which toys does she tend to choose? Chances are, you'll notice that her favorites have something in common. Perhaps they all have bright colors and distinct patterns or interesting textures and shapes, or make sounds. Then look at how she plays: Does she tend to look at objects intently or to hold and feel them in her hands? Perhaps she is less interested in toys than in rolling, tumbling, and moving around. As you cuddle up with your child and a favorite book, pay attention to what she is most interested in. Is it looking at the illustrations? Listening to the cadence of the words and rhymes as you read aloud? Touching the different objects pictured on the page? Or does she practically leap out of your lap and start to act out the actions in the story as you describe them?
Most children have a number of different intelligences and learning styles and can be engaged in a variety of ways. If you don't see a strong preference for particular toys or games, it means that your child has more than one primary intelligence or that she isn't old enough to have developed a strong predilection. In most cases you can begin to see a preference for particular styles at around age two. By then your child will most likely respond best to specific activities and types of experiences.
Respecting individual intelligences and learning styles means offering your child a variety of ways to learn. This doesn't mean that you should shy away from helping him master certain skills -- almost anything can be taught in a way that works well for a specific intelligence. When you identify and respond to your child's intelligence and learning style, you help him approach the world on his own terms. Playing to his strengths can make mastering new skills less frustrating -- and can help him develop a lifelong love of learning.
Many Ways to LearnOne of the benefits of the multiple intelligence theory is that it offers parents many options -- if a child isn't responding to a particular activity, there are many other approaches to try. Once you have a sense of your child's learning style, take a look at your home environment and routine to see how well they work for the way she learns. If you find that your child gravitates toward music, make sure that she has instruments available. Try playing music throughout the day and using songs as a way to encourage her enjoyment of different activities (a special song for doing the dishes or going grocery shopping can go a long way!). If she seems to have a powerful physical, or bodily-kinesthetic, intelligence, remember that creating fun hopping or jumping games to play while you're waiting on lines or at the store can help to make these tough times easier.
While understanding your child's style helps you speak to his strengths, it is also important to give him opportunities to strengthen his weaknesses: Even if you're sure your child is a linguistic learner, there is plenty to be gained from engaging him in spatial or musical experiences. Here's a look at each kind of intelligence and the types of activities and experiences children with it tend to excel at:
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