Section II Review 1 Review of Now, Discover Your Strengths: Section II Marc Stephenson California State University, Northridge SED 600 Prof. RivasSection II Review 2 Introduction A large percentage of the world’s workforce does not feel strongly that they are playing to their strengths at work (Buckingham & Clifton, 2001). This is often due to taking promotions for monetary reasons or because their employers spend so much time emphasizing relative weaknesses through staff trainings (Buckingham & Clifton, 2001). After reading section II of Now, Discover Your Strengths and then taking The Gallup Organization’s StrengthFinder assessment I was able to better determine my top five strengths: Learner, Consistency, Harmony, Empathy, and Developer. Summary of Section II In order to discover our strengths it is important use gut reactions to certain situations in order to determine strengths, because our first reactions lead to the best talents (Buckingham & Clifton, 2001). By thinking it is possible to attempt to use a neural pathway that is not the strongest, thereby leading to a talent that is not as well developed as others (Buckingham & Clifton, 2001). It is also important to know that talents may not directly lead to strengths that we think of immediately (Buckingham & Clifton, 2001). On the contrary, our talents may lay hidden for years like the artistic ability of Grandma Moses (Buckingham & Clifton, 2001). Analysis of Section II After taking the StrengthFinder assessment, I was not surprised at my top five strengths. I have always considered myself to be a life long learner. I’m someone who reads just about every book I can get my hands on, because I want to discover new things. The examples that are provided in my strength guide describe people that could be me. I think that is one of the reasons that I became a teacher. The material I teachSection II Review 3 may be the same from year to year, but how I teach it is a learning experience. No, two days are the same and no two classes are the same. This is what makes teaching so exciting for me. I was also not surprised by my second strength: Consistency. My father grew up on a farm in the middle of the panhandle region of Texas. Along with his five brothers and sisters and his parents he struggle to help the family earn enough money to provide the simple things required like a home and food. Due to this I was raised to appreciate hard work and to treat the less fortunate the same, because they are not always the masters of their fate. If someone is working hard then I feel they should be treated equally to anyone else regardless of other factors or circumstances. The third strength of Harmony was the least surprising for me. I have always been someone who has tried to stray away from disagreement; to learn that accommodating others is a strength is nothing new to me. Empathy also was not a surprise for me due to my past experiences. Developer was the most surprising of my strengths if only because it is probably the one that gives me the most joy. As teachers I feel that it is important for us to find the best in our students no matter what their ability level may be. This is possibly an outgrowth of my Consistency strength, but still a strength that I must develop more in order to become a better teacher. Application of Section II Although I was not surprised that I have these five strengths, I was surprised that they were the top five. I probably would not have picked Consistency or Developer as top strengths. As I said in my review of section I of Now, Discover Your Strengths, the knowledge of these strengths can help me as a teacher and in determining the direction ofSection II Review 4 my action research project. These strengths will help more in the determining of the action research though, because, in my opinion, these five areas of strength are areas that most teachers possess. Without these qualities being a teacher would be overly burdensome and this is possibly why so many people leave the teaching profession after only a few years. If I can find a way to incorporate these strengths into my action research I will be able to find not only a topic that will interest me, but also one that will that will possible given my assets.Section II Review 5 References Buckingham, Marcus & Clifton, Donald O. (2001). Now, Discover Your Strengths. New York: The Free