RECIPE FOR A GREAT TEAM by Chris Chua

Ingredients
At least 2 persons (regardless of race, language or religion)
A lot of tolerance
A lot of respect for others
A willingness to let others lead.
A seed of trust
Some amount of prejudice
A big heart
A willingness to contribute
Some amount of selfishness
Mouthfuls of praises
A positive attitude
A lot of pleases and thank yous
An axis of fairness
A lot of consensus.
A willingness to learn
A desire to cooperate
A lot of encouragement

Goal: To work seamlessly as a great team!

Steps

1. Form a team of at least 2 members (regardless of sex, race, religion or language)
2. Throw away all the prejudice.
3. Plant the seed of trust by putting in the willingness to learn and contribute, and the desire to cooperate.
4. Add in a lot of tolerance and respect for others.
5. Water it with a lot of pleases and thank yous everyday.
6. Take all the selfishness and crush it with a big heart.
7. Allow the crushed selfishness to be blown away by the wind.
8. Seek for consensus in decision and not just what majority decides.
9. Each time work is accomplished add in many mouthfuls of praises.
10. Each time failure occurs, do not be disheartened. Pour in lots of encouragement to sweeten the feelings.
11. Maintain a regular rotation of duties around your axis of fairness. Everyone in the team must have a chance to do things.
12. Let the willingness to let others lead remind you that you do not always have to be in charge, others must have the opportunity too.

This is my recipe for a great team. It takes a team (not an individual) to prepare such a delicious dish. And I am glad to be a part of many such teams in Blangah Rise Primary School. Thank you.

P/S I came across this recipe that I had created a few years ago to contribute to the class newsletter started by my pupils then. It was my subtle way of telling my pupils what it meant to work as a team. It was also my way of introducing the text type, procedural text, to pupils.