Since we’ve just started the season of Advent, you’re probably starting to make your gift list…or at least know that you have to start thinking about it.

Here’s a suggestion for your gift list, as this is something you’ll want to get (or make a gift to yourself) because it will help you to determine what gifts God has bestowed upon you.  It’s a book by Rosanne Liesveld and Jo Ann Miller with Jennifer Robison titled, “Teach With Your Strengths: How Great Teachers Inspire Their Students.”  I thank Sr. Gertrude Foley, SC, for introducing this book to me over a decade ago.  It actually helped me to realize that what I thought was one of my strengths was not a strength at all, and that my top strength was something I had no idea was so prevalent in the work that I do.

Although the book is titled “Teach With Your Strengths,” the insights can be applied to other walks of life as well as to educators.  However, it’s especially liberating for teachers.  Teachers who read the book and complete the Strengths Finder exercise will be able to create powerful classroom experiences based on their talents, rather than on their preferred learning style or the teaching style of the instructor that influenced them the most.

If you’re seeking direction, it can help you determine what you can do to put the talents which God has given you to work to build His kingdom.  And isn’t that a great Christmas gift!

How does this deal with Marketing?  Even though many teachers don’t realize it, they have a strength to create something essential to a school’s marketing initiatives, and utilize this skill everyday.  The ability to create an effective lesson plan isn’t just a strength that’s necessary in the classroom.  That same skill is essential to creating an effective marketing plan for your school!

Visit this link if you’d like to check it out and order a copy for you, the teachers in your school, or someone who’s struggling with what God is calling them to do.

© Michael V. Ziemski, SchoolAdvancement, 2007-2022 (Original publication date: 20071126)