Give It Away

My wife is the best person that I know.  She stole my heart in 1976 and I have no intention of asking for it back. I am totally smitten – there it is, up front.  She introduced me to the classic Christmas film, “It’s a Wonderful Life” over three decades ago and it has been our family tradition to watch it together every Christmas Eve. It is a basic parable that sets up a confrontation between good and evil with one hero and one villain.  The story is really about doing what is right and avoiding what is wrong (you may have heard that a few times out of my mouth).  George Bailey, played by Jimmy Stewart, is a man who has given up many of his own dreams for the sake of others throughout his entire life.  When he reaches a seemingly hopeless point, he decides to take his own life.  That is, until his guardian angel, Clarence, rescues him by showing George what the lives of others would be like if he was never born.  The multitude of people that he positively affected is related to him in very vivid ways.  In his “shabby little office” hangs a sign that reads, “All that you can take with you is that which you have given away.” That is the moral of the story– how kindness to others reflects back to the giver in ways beyond their scope.  I will watch it again this December 24^th with that same beautiful girl that I have the privilege of being married to.  She makes mine a wonderful life.  She also makes the lives of patients, friends, and total strangers better through her time, talents, and treasures.  Like George Bailey, she is constantly giving of herself for the sake of others. 

Teaching is often about giving away.  You give of yourself in time and talents.   You give away your knowledge to students by sharing it with them.  Like a candle, we are not to hide it under a bushel so that its light will not be seen.  Teaching is about pouring yourself out then remembering to get filled again.  Teaching is often walking out the door at the end of the day exhausted and then getting refreshed to do it all over the next day.  Teaching is about seeing the potential in someone else and helping them reach it.  Teaching is being diagnostic and prescriptive to the needs to kids.  Teaching is about wearing many different hats; whether as teacher, counselor, parent, grandparent, motivator, or coach.  Wherever you fit in this continuum called education, you are called to continually give of yourself. You have a chance to make an incredible mark in the lives of a whole bunch of kids.  Make the most of every opportunity.  Leave a legacy of making a difference.  Give it away – that is what you will take with you.

Coaching/Teaching

Teaching is not too dissimilar from coaching.  I believe they go hand in hand.  I was fortunate enough to have done both concurrently  during my 21 years before I was called to move to administration. It was an honor to coach some great young men and young ladies who were state champions, state finalists, an NFL player, and many more who improved a great deal from where they started.  I enjoy being referred to as “Coach”; there is something special about title.  Great coaches know their team’s strengths and weaknesses. Great coaches understand what a winning team looks like and have a vision of how to get there.  Great coaches adjust their strategy to the needs of the team.  They build the entire team up because they know that making each athlete stronger only helps the team.  Great coaches set priorities as well as goals and find ways to measure their progress toward them.  Great coaches teach about attitude and lead by example while finding ways to inspire their team. Great coaches want to always get better and stay in touch with the latest information on their sport.  They make the most of every opportunity.

Great teachers know what the winning looks like – they understand the desired outcomes, they have the vision.  Great teachers adjust their strategies based on data and what the individual needs of their students.  Great teachers work hard to reach all of their kids.  Great teachers set goals and help their students set goals and then measure progress along the way toward them.  Great teachers lead by example by expecting great things from themselves and that mindset is absorbed by their students.  Great teachers inspire their students through their actions and by finding out what makes their kids tick. Great teachers are always looking to get better and keep up on current models and best practices.  They make the most of every opportunity.   

Pilgrims

We all know the “feel good”” side of Thanksgiving – turkey, yams, pumpkin pie, football, turkey again, one of the Uncles with a Pilgrim hat on.  We hear about Squanto and how he educated the Pilgrims on planting properly.  We hear about the “Big Kumbaya” when the Indians and Pilgrims sat down and ate turkey from Strack’s while watching the Lions battle the Cowboys on CBS sports…  Here’s something that perhaps you did not know:  The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. They came here sick and hungry after sailing form 66 days on a ship nothing like Carnival Cruise Lines. The Mayflower carried 102 pilgrims to the New World in search of freedom over chiily waters searching for a land that would provide them with food and a government that would ensure their freedoms.  They reached our shores on November 11, 1620.  47% of them died before Christmas Day.  The harsh conditions of the 66 day journey took its toll on their bodies.  Lack of adequate drinking water, lack of sanitation, spoiled food supplies, and different types of disease lead to death for almost half of the travelers within the first few weeks of arrival.  They had no crops to harvest and had little skill in the wild.  An argument could be made that they were the most impoverished Americans in history, yet they set aside a day of thanksgiving.  That is the real meaning of the holiday.  It took an act of congress and President Lincoln making a proclamation in 1863 that the last Thursday in November would be a national day of thanksgiving on an annual basis. 

We get to teach.  We get to be a Principal.  We get to work with kids.  We get to do those things; we don’t ”have to” do those things.  Sometimes those 900+ kids can get under your skin.  Give thanks.  Sometimes they try your patience.  Give thanks.  Sometimes you may wonder of you are ever going to get through.  Give thanks.  Sometimes they may just frustrate you.  Give thanks.  The reason we get to do (not have to do) what we do is because of the kids.  Take them out of the equation and we are all in another line of work.  We get the privilege of the chance to make a difference in the lives of kids at least 180 days per year.  Privilege?  Yep, that’s what I wrote.  There are thousands of others who are waiting their chance to get to do what we do.  Don’t take it lightly.  Give thanks for the opportunities before you.   

Marshmallows

I hate marshmallows.  I was the kid at the campfires wondering if there was another choice.  In the 60’s, a whole bunch of kids at Mildred Merkley Elementary School brought this stuff called Marshmallow Fluff in place of the “J” in their “PBJ’s.”  Disgusting.  I would rather eat a bowling ball.  Why bring up marshmallows?  I just read the findings of a study conducted with four-year olds.  The kids were left in a room with a single marshmallow and the instructions that if they waited until the experimenter returned, they could have two marshmallows instead of one.  Are you kidding me?  Most of the kids ate the marshmallow!  A very, very small percentage waited until the researcher returned to claim their increased reward.  Shocker?  Not really…after all, it is a “microwave society”…but I digress. The outcomes of this study are significant because the kids were followed into adulthood.  The kids who ate the marshmallow right away were less likely to find success in their careers, their finances, and in personal relationships. The reverse was true for those who delayed their gratification for a larger reward.

Teachers must learn not to eat the first marshmallow.  Do not abdicate your role as the classroom leader by allowing personalities that feed on instant gratification to interfere with instructional practices.  As I have been teaching in Lunch & Learns”, students will rise to the level what level of questions that anticipate their teacher asking.  Challenge your students and create a rigorous education – one that assures future gratification in student growth.  It is easy to back down when you are seemingly out of energy, when it is easier to just give in, when that marshmallow looks really good and what does it matter anyway if we have some “free time”.  To promote self-control skills for your students requires that we do the same through our choices as the leaders of our classrooms.  Be purposeful.  Be intentional.  Be driven by what lies ahead.  Be driven by working toward some huge goals.  Don’t choose the first marshmallow now when you can many more later.

Veterans

Today, we honor military Veterans around our country.  There will be parades, dedications, flags will be flying, and tears will be shed.  At our school, we have several Veterans joining us in our Main Gym during 8^th period.  There will be Moms and Dads, Grandmas and Grandpas, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles and some Veterans who live in the area.  President Reagan said years ago that “Some wonder their entire life if they have made a difference…Marines don’t have that problem.”  They, along with millions of servicemen and servicewomen throughout our nation’s history have provided the very freedoms we enjoy through their courage, dedication, sacrifice, and a selfless call to duty. 

Americans have chosen to serve for many reasons.  In the Revolutionary War, it was to create a nation.  In World War II, it was to save humanity from the destructive plots of a madman and to respond to “A day that will live in infamy.” We fought a Civil War to save our own country from division that would not allow us to stand as one country. Korea and Vietnam were largely fought to prevent the oppression of tyrannical governments and the spread of communism.  The patriotism of hundreds of thousands was stirred on that terrible September day in 2001.  Men and women filled the recruiting stations to pledge themselves to the cause.  Whatever the reasons, an unthinkable number of American men and women have lost a large part of their lives; with hundreds of thousands giving the ultimate sacrifice – their very life in defending us.  We live in the greatest country in the world.  We get to enjoy freedoms that many countries cannot even dream of.  Our Constitution has been defended admirably for well over 200 years by people like the Veterans who will visit us today.  We owe them so much.  Today is an opportunity to show them our appreciation.  The program begins at the start of 8^th period and will last approximately 30 minutes. There will be real heroes among us today.

Getting Through the Lions

Lions hunt near water. This is not because they need something to wash down a fine kill or because they just bought a great set of waders. They do this because they know that their prey have to eventually come to the water. The trick for the prey is to get past the lions to get a drink. They may do this by taking the long way around, by traveling in packs, or outsmarting the lions.    Sometimes they just have to go through the lion to get that drink.  That lion can wreak havoc on the plans of many animals. 

We have to get kids ready to go through the lion.  Sure, we can pass it off, find a way around the real issues, maybe wish that the lion wasn’t there…or, you can load up and go through the lion.  What does that mean to us?  Recently, the Workforce Development of Indiana identified the top skills that businesses are looking for in graduates they wish to hire.  Three of these are a direct result of what you do: Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking, and Writing. All of these can be looked at as a ‘Lion” to get through.  Amazingly, that is the same stuff that I have been preaching about since we opened our doors.  When kids get here, we can see who took a route of avoidance, who runs with the pack, and those who compensate to mask skill gaps.  It doesn’t matter.  We have to meet them where they are and make them better – make them grow.  We have to get them to the water when so many things may be getting in the way that is ready to devour them.  We did sign up for that.  There are a lot of kids with a lot of baggage that they are not ready to handle; nor should they have to at this age.  You may be the only adult that shows them kindness and patience and takes the time to make it all work.  They need to get to the water and we need to get them there -  whether that is around the lion or right through it.

Wayne Gretsky

Wayne Gretsky is the greatest hockey player in NHL history.  In fact, his nickname is “The Great One.”  Gretsky is the leading career point-scorer with 894 goals and 1963 assists.  He is the only player to score over 200 points in a season and he did that four different times!  What made this guy so good?  Why did he stand out above the rest?  Why did he manage to put it in the net or be the guy who assisted on putting the puck in the net so many times?  His philosophy was simple:  “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it is.”  That is what made him “The Great One.” He understood that what lead up to the goal was just as important as reaching the goal because you can never reach the goal if you have no plan to get there.   He also said that “You miss 100% of the shots you do not take.”  Hmmm…

It should be that way in what we do.  We should have a what and where we want kids to be (desired outcomes).  Then we should devise ways to measure if they arrived (assessments).  Then we should plan to get to each benchmark through best-practice and high yield teaching.  Note the order of these three things.  If you were in “Lunch & Learn” two weeks ago, this should be coming back to you.  Proper alignment of these three is essential.  Without this, your kids will not grow.  If we know where we want the kids to be, that is the direction that we should go, check progress along the way, and take some great shots at teaching them on the way to the end.  Gretsky put the puck in the net a lot of times – you can as well through proper alignment and teaching to where you want the kids to be. 

By the way, I went to a boxing match last Saturday and a hockey game broke out…