Unifying Principles for Family and Youth: Some Head Start
Builders
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Managers, supervisors, parents, teachers, see if these Head
Start Seven Builders for Family and Youth apply to you as well.
Principle 1. Commit to Quality and Excellence in Thought and
Action:
* Give quality service to all.
* Develop positive habits through daily practice.
* Develop and maintain a professional image.
* Provide the finest working environment possible.
Principle 2. Be Caring of Others and Be Sensitive to Their
Needs:
* Respect the individual.
* Listen and acknowledge.
*Be aware of what your actions say.
* Help others solve their own problems and realize their
maximum potential.
* Eliminate cold prickles and dirty
bricks.
* Provide warm fuzzes and golden
bricks and with sincerity.
* Change leadership style as a person's competence and
commitment grows.
Principle 3. Grow as a Total Person:
* Commit to self-development and improvement in all areas.
* Continually develop and maintain self-esteem and a
sense of achievement.
* Set meaningful goals and evaluate your progress
periodically.
* Believe in your ability to make significant
contributions and make them!
* Promote training, education, self-sufficiency, and
leadership for all children and adults.
Principle 4. Have Personal Integrity:
* Be honest with yourself and everyone around you.
* Be fair to the best of your ability.
* Say and do only those things of which you can be proud.
* Understand that mistakes will be made and learn from
them.
* Let others know in as positive a way as possible when
their performance or behavior is unacceptable, inappropriate,
unhealthy, or unproductive.
Principle 5. Love All Children (and the Child in All of Us):
* Respect and protect each child from harm of any kind.
* Direct all efforts to providing a stimulating,
exciting, fun-filled, learning environment.
Principle 6. Value Parents and the Family (Starting with Your
Own):
* Focus on building close interpersonal relationships
involving caring, respect, trust, kindness, and responsibility.
* Develop parenting skills, quality time, and bonding
with other parents.
* Give recognition for hard work, effort, and
accomplishments.
Principle 7. Strive for Agency Unification:
* Live the agency's unifying principles as well as your own.
* Promote loyalty within the agency by word and action.
* Assist in the sharing of ideas and joint implementation
through teamwork and group goal-setting.
* Establish buddy systems to facilitate success.
Well, managers, supervisors, parents, and teachers, what do you
think? I'm sure that you'll agree with me that these principles
are as appropriate in the boardroom and workroom as they are in
the classroom.
Remember: When you maximize your potential, everyone
wins. When you don't, we all lose.