Keys to Excellence

The 8 Keys of Excellence

One of the missions of my internship site this year is to integrate "The 8 Keys of Excellence" into our middle school. Now these 8 Keys are strategies that are explored through the book of the same title by Bobbi DePorter. You can find out more here!

Our school has used Homeroom as a conduit for introducing and following up on these 8 Keys. After a brief overview of all of them, we are dedicating each month to a different key. Besides discussing them in homeroom, teachers are able to nominate students who are exemplifying the key of the month. I am in the beginning phase of creating a way for students to also nominate their peers.

The 8 Keys Created through Tagxedo

But what are these keys? Honestly, I just finished the book and am using the website for reference. But here are the descriptions of the keys:

1. Integrity - Match behavior with values
2. Failure Leads to Success - Learn from mistakes
3. Speak with Good Purpose - Speak honestly and kindly
4. This Is It! - Make the most of every moment
5. Commitment - Make your dreams happen
6. Ownership - Take responsibility for actions
7. Flexibility - Be willing to do things differently
8. Balance - Live your best life

Reading through all of these and seeing how they are exemplified through DePorter's book, I kept coming back to the feeling that we are using these words and keys to help our 6-8 grade students more intentional about their actions and their lives. As a graduate student, my program focuses on the same theme of intentionality and purpose.  

What areas are "locked" in your life?

After the introduction of the 8 Keys, our students were challenged to think of which key they would like to work on for the following week. At that time I decided I needed to work on the Balance Key which has thus resulted in updating my G-Calendar much more regularly and referring back to my scheduling tools. This upcoming week, I want to work on This Is It! and finding the value in every moment of my life. I'll let you know how that is going for me and I challenge you to to focus on one of the keys to help "unlock" an area where you might be struggling! I would love to hear which Key you are working on in the comments below!