I'm constantly thinking of ways I can incorporate the 7 Habits into my daily routine in the art room at Winchester. Proactive is one of my favorites and also one of the easier habits to incorporate. I'm almost sick of hearing myself telling the kids to be proactive, in a discipline situation. I rather use proactive in a positive situation like, let's be proactive about completing our paintings so we can add a layer of chalk pastel next week!
I do start my lesson explanations by telling the students to begin with the end in mind. Try to imagine what your project might look like, and try your best to achieve it with hard work and good craftsmanship. I love looking at their faces and seeing the wonder in their eyes (and the wheels turning) as they try hard to imagine their artwork. But you always have to put first things first, and my art students create an initial sketch of their ideas for all projects. So the first three habits have been easily covered in the art room.
Today I had a particular discipline issue with a fifth grade boy who seems to do the opposite of what I ask, and enjoys making it a public display. After he was done with his antics, I had a one on one conversation with him. I told him that I was not going to play this game with him, and that he needs to be the leader that everyone knows he is and show everyone how to behave in the art room. I then gave him a stack of drawings to hand out to the class so he would feel like and important leader. Shortly after that I had no other problems with this boy. In fact, the rest of the class ran like a well oiled machine, even though it started out chaotic. There are other challenges in this class involving other boys that can be very disruptive. They too continued to work and do very well for the rest of the period. I almost could not believe my eyes.