At our faculty retreat today, our principal introduced us to the "Schools of Fish / Fish! Philosophy" program, which we will be using this year. Anyone here familiar enough with the program to comment? Thanks!
Not familiar, but my P put a "fish philosophy" bookmark in my mailbox today....wonder if it's part of that?
The school I was at a few years ago tried to implement this by NOT explaining it to us They showed a video that made sense to no one. I bought the book that Christmas - I think the concept itself is neat, but the school I'm at now doesn't do it. Have you read the book? It is very inspiring. I don't use it because I think to be effective it would need to be school wide.
Trinda -- I'll bet the bookmark is from the program. djmondi -- We watched the video today. Our P also gave us a PP handout to go with the video, and she stopped it a lot to review & discuss what we had seen, so it did make sense to me. It will be school-wide for us. The wonderful thing is, the P said if any teachers do not agree with the program, or if any students do not agree with the program, then they are not bound to follow it. I have not yet seen the book. Where did you get yours, and was it expensive? Thanks!
I got mine at Barnes and Noble. I think it was like $15. I started reading in when we left NY to come back to NC and had it finished before we hit VA so it is a very easy read. And it's interesting. I couldn't put it down! You could check Amazon too, it might be cheaper on there or you might be able to find a used copy (I missed the video that year because I had to go sign insurance papers to move into my house that day! They seriously just had everyone watch the video and that was it - no one even knew what the FISH philosophy was, it still makes me laugh!)
Is the FISH philosophy about the Seattle fish market? I've heard of that when I worked at a bank in college, but I thought it was more geared toward the business world. Maybe this is something different....
Yes, the bank I worked at showed us the video and had the managers read the book to use the customer service strategies. I don't remember much about it, but I am interested how this philosophy is translated to the school environment.
... Oh my. When I walked into the teacher's lounge yesterday, it was covered in fish decorations....:help:
I use it in my 2nd grade classroom and love it!!!! I attended a FISH workshop over a year ago, so this will be my second year using it. it is basically a classroom management philosophy that follows 4 basic principles: Be there Choose your attitude Make their Day Be there The following is the letter i send home to parents" Dear Second Grade Families, We’ve recently set off on a journey investigating FISH! For Schools™ in our classroom. This exciting Classroom Management philosophy involves teachers and students (and maybe even parents) in establishing and maintaining a supportive learning community in the classroom. These tools help us to make our classrooms more caring, increase responsibility for our actions and attitudes, and motivate each of us to take ownership of our academic achievement. I would like to invite you to explore this new philosophy grounded in age-old wisdom. This philosophy helps students and teachers build effective relationships, establish individual accountability and provide an emotionally and physically safe atmosphere of engagement and fun. Students are drawn to it and teachers find their passion for educating children rekindled. It all started when a company called ChartHouse Learning discovered a group of fishmongers in Seattle. Despite their less-than-desirable work, these fishmongers brought amazing energy, focus and accountability to their jobs. Inspired by their example, ChartHouse Learning created a video, FISH!, with four simple principles (Be There, Choose Your Attitude, Make Their Day, and Play) to help non-fishmongers generate the same energy in their lives. A number of educators watched FISH! and thought, “How can I create a classroom with that much energy, fun and productivity?” and so, based on sound educational research, FISH! For Schools was created-by educators and students-for educators and students! As we begin to explore FISH! for Schools, your child might start talking about the four FISH! principles at home, so ask them what these mean to them. To help you in your conversation, here’s a little glossary: Be There—When we interact with others, we need to really focus on that moment, with that person. We take responsibility for “being who we are while we’re doing what we’re doing.” Choose Your Attitude—We can’t control what happens to us, but we do have a choice about how we respond. By accepting responsibility for the attitude we choose, we also empower ourselves to change it. Make Their Day—Too often we ask, “What have you done for me lately?” instead of “How can I make your day?” If we turn the focus around and do little things to make others feel good, we can have a powerful, positive impact on the people in our lives. Play—This does not mean goof off, but it does mean bring a light-hearted spirit to life. Think about how much little kids learn by exploring, experimenting, playing. Why shouldn’t we all approach life with the same curiosity and interest? Besides, it is more fun! If you want to learn more about FISH! For Schools, talk to your child, ask me, or go to www.fishforschools.com to read more about why FISH! For Schools is becoming an international phenomenon! Change is challenging, and great things take time, but if we all work together, there is no limit to what we can achieve. Thanks for being part of our educational team. Your child will be a more successful person because of you!
We watch this video pretty much every year during pre-planning... it's district wide. Then we never hear another word about it the rest of the year!
I had an inservice on it also and then never heard about it again too. Don't you love it when that happens?
Inhisgrip20 and teacherintexas -- I think the video is free and the rest of the program is $$$, which may explain why there was no follow-through :lol:
Is it that hard to implement or was it easy to get into the swing of things? Do you remember what you liked best about it? How about what the kids liked best?
