SULPHUR — Teachers at a workshop at Maplewood Middle School on Thursday and Friday learned how to apply and teach “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” in their classrooms.

The effort is part of the Leader in Me program, an initiative started in 1999 by a Raleigh, N.C., school principal who integrated the seven habits into student instruction in effort to change the culture in her school.

Since then, more than 1,700 schools worldwide, including 12 in Calcasieu Parish, have implemented the program.

During the workshop, teachers reviewed the habits — “Be proactive,” “Begin with the end in mind,” “Put first things first” — and learned different ways to apply them in the classroom. They also went through exercises to apply the habits personally and in planning for the coming school year.

Dolby Elementary Principal Missy Bushnell, who helped organize the training days, said the workshop is a “transformational process” for teachers and that the training helps students learn by example.

“You can’t sit through this and not take away a totally different perspective on everything, whether it’s being reactive or proactive, or managing your time,” Bushnell said.

“We can’t share it with kids until we understand it and live it ourselves. … It’s vital as leaders and educators in the school that we model the habits all the time.”

She said Dolby has drastically changed since becoming a Leader in Me school nearly four years ago, widening its focus to include the whole child and not just academic performance.

Bushnell said the program equips the students with language that enables them to articulate the challenges they face and to find a healthy solution.

Teachers have integrated the seven habits into the classroom through literature, workbooks, repetition and example. Bushnell said Leader in Me also teaches children about leadership qualities and that Dolby has incorporated this into the classroom by putting every child in charge of a school job.

“It’s about taking responsibility for your choices and helping them realize that it’s all about choices and that everything you do is a choice,” she said.

Bushnell said the ultimate goal is to sustain the program in existing schools and integrate it into every school in the area. Another two-day training session is scheduled for late September.(MGNonline)