Friday Thought : We can do hard things

Mr Moore (my district superintendent) dropped the above plaque off the other day. Then, he told me its origin story.

And its origin is April Wavra (a teacher in my school).

Several years ago, when Brad Barringer was principal, he was sharing some ideas with Mrs Wavra, and because she was listening - truly listening - she heard the above statement. Then, she made a plaque for Brad. When Mr Moore saw it, he requested she make several more. 

And now, they are dotted throughout our district, in homes, offices, and classrooms, encouraging others and reminding us all that we can do hard things. 

So often I believe that the "fruits of my labor" means something coming back to me, a reward for my work, a profit for my labor. I was recently reminded, however, that so often the fruits of our labor are rarely seen, heard, or noticed. Because they benefit others. Which is great! Because it is multiplying well beyond ourselves. 

If we are the sole beneficiary of our labors, the fruit stops with us. It is done.

If it blesses others, however, the fruits of our labor are endless and immeasurable. It grows and multiplies beyond our reach. 

Thank you, Mrs Wavra, for listening to Brad, for taking the time and energy to make something beautiful, and for blessing him. Years later, the fruits of your labor continue to grow and produce and remind us that doing hard things - doing the right thing - never goes unnoticed. It impacts, inspires, and changes people. 

And sometimes, we are fortunate enough to notice. 

Friday Thought : Get Nervous Again! Make the leap.

When I was a kid, my family (and later my friends) would take weekend getaways to Turkey Run. The hikes were beautiful and the canoe trip was so much fun. Especially when we got to the bridge. 

I don't know how high it is, but I'm confident it's high enough to discourage many from jumping. Or, at the very least, create hesitation. I know I did. Every time, I would stand at the edge, consider it for several minutes, almost jump several times, then eventually leap. It was terrifying. But it was also invigorating. 

And in many ways, that's how I feel about March.

Much like the drive to Turkey Run, at the beginning of the school year, we are excited! We're pumped to meet and teach our students, and we're very clear with them about our norms and expectations. We're also very deliberate in our conversations and holding students accountable.

Then October hits and we plan for Halloween. December brings Christmas parties, January is filled with reunions and re-establishing routines, and February is blah. By March, we expect students to know how to behave, but with the winter months dragging on and on, it seems they - and we - have forgotten how to be. 

We're low on energy. 
I know I am, anyway. Maybe you are too.

This is why I am encouraging us all to Get Nervous Again. Make the Leap!!!

If it's a hard conversation with a student or students that you've been delaying because they should know better . . .  get nervous again and leap! Dive into it.

If you are somewhat snug in your routine of teaching but have something you've wanted to do but just haven't gotten around to it because of this or that excuse . . . get nervous again and try it!

If there is a job you've wanted to pursue, a conversation you've needed to have, or an opportunity you've kept on the shelf, please, get nervous again and leap!

It's always most terrifying right before we jump, a blur as we fall, and rejuvenating once we're done. It's what we talk about for the next year, until we stand yet again on the ledge, wondering if it is worth it. 

Which it is. Every single time. 

#doGREATthings!

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Friday Thought : How to Keep Going

photo by Austin Kleon

"What would you do if you were stuck in one place, and every day was exactly the same and nothing that you did mattered?" (name that movie!!!)

Sadly, the world of education can sometimes feel this way (especially during the doldrums of winter). I know I do at times. As an educator, father, and overall person!

Luckily, a few years ago I came across a short video by Austin Kleon about How to Keep Going. If you have time, I recommend watching it. Not only is it encouraging, it is also simple and easy to follow. Plus, it works!

I really like number three, "forget the noun, do the verb." 

Lots of people want to be the noun without doing the verb. They want the job title without doing the work. Forget about being a writer . . . 'follow the impulse to write.' Because if you let go of the thing you are trying to be . . . and you focus on the actual work you need to be doing . . . it will take you someplace further and far more interesting. 

Wherever you are in the year, I encourage you to print out the 10 Reminders of How to Keep Going and employ them whenever needed or as much as possible.

I have them hanging above my office computer:

That’s what I’ve been thinking about this week.

#doGREATthings!

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Friday Thought : My wife is brilliant. Galileo is an Idiot

Two seemingly contradictory truths can both be true . . . at the same time. Here's how:

Recently, I applied for, interviewed, was offered, and accepted a new position as North Middle School Principal! And I am so incredibly excited.

I am also deeply sad.

Knowing so, my wife sent me a text that, I believe, throws Galileo’s simple theory out the window. She wrote, "I'm sorry there is a lot of sour with the sweet." And that is exactly right. Although I am excited for this new position, by no means am I excited to leave my current one.

I love my school. The students, the community, and the teachers. We have worked hard together, grown immensely, and have truly done some GREAT things!

Yet, I am ready and eager to join this new school, work through the challenges, and celebrate the victories.

:: See . . . two seemingly contradictory truths existing at the same time ::

And I cannot explain how and why that is true. But it is.

And that is more than okay, it’s perfect. Because it is fully human! And what a conundrum we are.

That’s what I’ve been thinking about this week.

#doGREATthings!

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Friday Thought : Why what doesn’t matter is really what matters most

I love this comic strip because it is a constant reminder to me, as a parent and as an educator of small children, that just because the passage of time has enlightened or dulled me to things that truly hold value, when it comes to caring for a child's heart, it doesn't matter what I think.

If it is valuable to them, it is valuable to me.

I want my kiddos to feel valued. I want them to feel loved. So I work hard for them, I hold them accountable to what is good and right and true and try my best to teach them about life. I buy them the clothes they need, the food they eat, and make sure our house is warm and safe.

Which is good.

Sometimes, however, what they really need from me is to sit on the couch and talk about things that don't matter, that don't carry much value.

Sometimes what they need is for me to investigate and be awed by their simple creations that, in the scheme of life, mean very little and carry no value.

Sometimes what they want is for me to understand that just because I'm old and bald and they’re not doesn't mean their hurts and pains, passions and celebrations - their stuffed tigers - don't matter. Because they do. If only because it matters to them.

Because If I care about their little hearts and minds, I care about the things they consider valuable.

And the same applies to adults.

No matter our age, we want to know we are thought of, cared for, and supported. We want to know that we are known!

Like when Ross from Friends bought Phoebe her first ever bike.

Phoebe doesn’t care about the bike, necessarily, because if she really wanted one she could have purchased one (at this point in her life, anyway). What she really cares about and why it is the best present ever is because of the heart behind the purchasing of the bike. Ross cares for Phoebe so he hears her story, takes it to heart, and does something about it!

He cared about what she considered valuable not because it was, but because she is. And that, at the end of the day, is what really matters.

Recently, where this has been most convicting is that if I don’t care about the things that matter to people, if I don’t handle information about them that is deep and personal and of value in a way that cares for them and protects them, I can lose my relationships with them. If I abuse my position by NOT acting upon what I know, I lose my right to be a voice and be an influence in their life.

When I know something is of value I have a responsibility to handle it with care. If I don’t, it is easily perceived and interpreted as not caring for the person.

No matter how big or small, if it’s a value to them, it should be of value to me.

That is what has been on my mind lately.

Happy Friday!!!

#DOGREATTHINGS!!!

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Friday Thought : "What's best for the student?" Pictures and Stories.

A few days ago, when discussing options to a difficult situation, my boss asked, me, “What’s best for the student?”

With that simple question, she eliminated so much confusion and consternation, as well as all excuses. No longer were my feelings or wants part of the discussion, nor anyone else’s, just the needs of the student. And within a short while, we had a solution to our problem.

There are many motivators in life that inspire or encourage us in our decision making. The most common being rooted in selfish ambition and vain conceit - whatever makes life easiest, whatever makes us look or feel better, makes us popular or liked, and whatever allows for personal advancement. And the problem with these foundational motivators is not only that they produce comfort rather than growth, its that they are decisions that willingly sacrifice the needs and growth of others.

And we are all guilty of it. At least I know I am. Which is why I truly appreciate a boss who grounds me back to why we are here and do what we do: to love and support kids.

Its also why the above picture is so important because it is a powerful reminder to me, to us - educators, leaders, parents, adults - that we are here in our positions for the purpose of helping, guiding, and training those who need helping, guiding, and training.

We are here to help others.

Pictures of our kiddos hanging on the wall can help remind and reground us. So too can unexpected visits.

Inspired by the above picture and conversations with my boss, I have recently been inviting high school students to come back to our elementary and share a few of their favorite stories. “Whatever you remember,” I tell them, “be it funny, sad, or seemingly insignificant, just share a few of your favorite memories from elementary.”

One student shared about the time he and his friend (the son of one of my students) got in trouble for drawing the male anatomy in the snow during recess.

Another student shared about the time she was struggling and a teacher knelt down to her level, affirmed and encouraged her, then hugged her. Tears flooded her eyes as she expressed how important that moment was for her, then and now.

Others simply shared how teachers made them feel. How they loved their classes not because of the content but because of them, the teacher.

Like pictures on a wall, hearing the stories of our recently departed students has been a tangible reminder that in the midst of data discussions, state testing requirements, and exhausting weeks of hard conversations, there are students in our classrooms who need to be loved and supported. There are students who are showing up with heavy hearts, distracted minds, and empty bellies. There are students who are coming to our school who, that very day, will encounter a moment that will stick with them for the rest of their lives.

And that, more than anything else, should be enough to inspire us into hard conversations and purposeful solutions.

To paraphrase Andy Jacks in Discipline Win, Our legacy is defined by how we support our students. They are the reason why we are here and the WHY to our decisions, and it is therefore they who should be plastered on our walls and the forefront of our minds. Not ourselves.

“What’s best for the student?” my boss asked me. Recently, the answer has been to remind myself and my staff that at the heart of everything we say and do, it is our students who will suffer the consequences or reap the benefits of our decision making.

And that, for me at least, has been a much needed grounding and what has been on my mind lately.

Happy Friday!!!

#DOGREATTHINGS!!!

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Friday Thought : What Conor McGregor can teach us about teaching, about learning.

This week’s student assembly was on the topic of being brave rather than being fearless. We don't grow or learn anything about ourselves when we're fearless because there isn't a challenge. We do, or at least we can, however, grow immensely when we're brave. 

Recently, I've been reading and researching a lot on Connor McGregor, and my most recent readings have been pretty challenging - convicting even - and I thought they might challenge, encourage, and/or convict you as well.

Conor claims to be fearless but I think he is. I think he’s terrified of losing, of failing. But instead of finding excuses or giving up, he embraces that fear and uses it to drive him to greatness. He uses it to help him prepare for battle. His weapons of war, then, are his mindset, his work ethic, and his approach to his craft.

His mindset is simple: don't let fear of failure dictate your life. Embrace it, use it, and learn from it.

"People of courage and action can take wrong steps and make mistakes - sometimes serious ones. But in a lifetime they accomplish far more than the timid, negative individual . . ."

His work ethic is born from the belief that we are given nothing, that we deserve nothing, yet  anything is possible if we work - and work hard - for it.

"Our preparation is more important than our opportunities. Our preparation makes our opportunities." Therefore, "we should focus less on the benefits of the action and more on the momentum created by performing it regularly."

His approach to refining and growing his craft is not haphazard or mindless. It is extremely intentional, and as I read through it this morning, I thought of education (for obvious reasons), but also relationships, personal goals, and daily living. 

Purposeful Practice, McGregor believes, "is a process that makes refinements through repetition . . . and looks something like this:

Identify a weakness in your domain or expertise.

Form a clear mental picture of what it would look and feel like to gain the skill that would fill in that weakness.

Break the new skill down into its most basic components.

Find or design activities that target those components.

Perform those activities with intense focus.

Use various forms of feedback to refine and repeat steps 2 - 5 until each component can be reliably performed.

Carefully integrate each component until they feel natural and will not be forgotten.

- Conor McGregor: Singleness of Purpose

Teaching - living - is much the same. There is the day in and day out battles of not merely showing up, but of putting in the work with intense focus. There is the constant threat of defeat, the fear of losing, the reality of losing, and the daunting and forever task of beating back mediocrity and achieving greatness. And, like a seasoned MMA fighter, victory comes down to a choice. It comes down to a process. It comes down to a mindset.

Are you ready to rumble?