Halloween Costumes

Halloween costumes are a big business in the United States. In fact, Halloween is second only to Christmas in consumer spending, which puts it ahead of Easter, Independence Day, and Cleveland Browns attire.  Did you dress up for “Trick or Treat” as a kid? Still dressing up?  What was your favorite costume? At our Halloween Bash last Friday night, we had kids dress up as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, football players, Moses, Ninja Turtles, Elvis, a M & M, scarecrows,  a headless horseman, a ketchup bottle, Pocahontas, a mustard bottle, a mailbox, and many more creative costumes.  Our youngest daughter dressed as a box of popcorn complete with popped kernels in elementary school – great memory. I took our kids trick or treating until grade 6 (the standard maximum allowable age per the Larry Vassar rules).  The wearing of costumes goes all the way back to Celtic festivals where people recited verses in exchange for food; hence “Trick or Treat?”  The trick part came along when those making their rounds created mischief if they were not welcomed at a house. Costumes are worn to avoid being recognized as your identity is hidden.  Here’s the paradox:  costumes are designed to hide who you really are while at the same time, you are wanting everyone to know who you really are. 

Kids are especially good at determining just who is behind the masks and the makeup. They are more perceptive than we sometimes give them credit for.  They can identify real identity pretty fast.  That is important to realize as a teacher.  Not to be sappy or be a “poster quoter”, but kids really don’t care how much you know unless they know how much you care.  Recently, I went to an all-day seminar featuring Dr. Robert Marzano(that Dr. Marzano) as the sole presenter. He talked for hours about the elements contained in the iObservation tool and the research behind each.  Then, he paused and said this:  “None of these strategies, methods, or measures mean anything unless the teacher works to develop a goodrelationship with his or her students.” Affirmation feels good. That’s straight from the guru, folks. Genuine, honest concern must be demonstrated,not just spoken.  Just like your desire to see the “real” student, kids want to see you as “real” as well.  Get to know your students. Find their interests and bring those in as classroom examples. Let them talk about their interests.  Listen to them.  Respond accordingly. This is money in the bank. Smile at them. Compliment them on their attire or their performance or the way they asked questions in class or the neatness of their work or whatever else you can cite.  Protect their self-esteem.  Kids just want to fit in and blasting them in front of their peers just widens the gap and sometimes you simply cannot recover.  Your classroom will become a happier place for everyone; including you.

P.S.  The great thinker who instructed teachers “Do not smile until Christmas” was probably chronically constipated.

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The Browns play on Sunday vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  I hope they leave Cleveland saying, “Arrrr, that hurt!”

Be Innovative or Die!

The state motto of New Hampshire is “Live Free or Die”.  You may  have seen this on license plates or state flags.  Ever wonder where this slogan came from?  No. Too bad, I’m going to tell you anyway.  This quote is from a toast by General John Stark, a famous soldier from the Revolutionary War.  He said this in 1809 when, due to illness, he could not attend a reunion of those who fought in the Battle of Bennington. Militiamen from New Hampshire fought in this battle; hence the New Hampshire connection. This battle took place in upstate New York just west of Bennington, Vermont.  General Stark sent this toast to the attendees:  “Live free or die. Death is not the worst of evils.”  Pretty strong words; especially if you have no certainty of what happens after your death.  As you may recall from your history lessons, the Revolutionary War pitted the great Army of King George against the “Minutemen” comprised of colonists that were not trained soldiers, but had tremendous aim and a great backwoods savvy. The colonists fought hard and boldly for the one thing that King George was not willing to let them have – their freedom.  The British army was multiple times larger, had more sophisticated weaponry, and had much financial backing. They also wore bright red coats (Lobsterbacks), which made them easy targets. Duh.  They underestimated the willpower that the Colonists had in fighting for that one thing that the King would not give them. We all know how this “David vs. Goliath” war ended. 

In today’s education, our motto could very well be "Be innovative or Die”.  It’s more than just competing against the technology devices that kids have in their hands and this “Microwave Society” that wants it not just now, but prior to now.  Businesses need to compete in the global market, not just the local market. Schools fit this category. We are responding with personalized learning for all students; not just those on an individualized education plan. If you cannot compete, then company death ensues. Look at Kodak, Monkey Wards, and countless Mom and Pop retail stores as examples of this business interment.  We have to be able to make things relevant for kids in ways that perhaps were not relevant five years ago; may be even five days ago. As Bob Dylan crooned, “The Times They are ‘a Changing”.  Being innovative doesn’t just happen – we have to work at it.  Have a vision – see it through and never let logistics get in the way.  Start to wonder “What if…”  Continue with “How do I make this work.”  Get outside of the box.  Then take dead aim at the goal.  If not, enjoy that bright red coat which makes you an easy target.

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The Browns play this Sunday on the shores of Lake Erie against the Oakland Raaaaiders.  We need this “W” as the is the annual “Big Jack Tailgate”…plus we lost to the worst team in the NFL last week…geez, what does that say about us?

What Kind of Sailor are You?

“The sea was angry that day.”  This is a line from Ernest Hemingway’s classic, The Old Man and the Sea. It is also a quote of George Costanza from an episode of Seinfeld.  The severity of sea storms have two things that contribute to its severity – the force of the wind and the state of the water.  A smooth sea never made a skillful mariner.  There are ways that skillful sailors navigate through raging seas.  Interesting enough, one of those strategies is to move to deeper water.  This is because nearer to shore there are stronger currents, shoals, and other underwater water obstructions that make sailing treacherous.  Skillful sailors also chart their course of travel and know where the tough spots are.  A third strategy for mariners in difficult weather is toshorten their sails as this helps to balance the vessel.  A balanced boat will not have excessive windward (upwind) or leeward (downwind) in high winds.  Lastly, skillful mariners prepare the crew to combat whatever comes their way and do not ignore the need to practice safety precautions and tough seas.  If only Gilligan and the Skipper would have done some of these things, perhaps they wouldn’t have become shipwrecked with a “Professor” who could build a two-wave radio out of a coconut shell, but couldn’t fix a hole in the boat. Don’t get that reference?  Ask your parents…or grandparents.

Teaching can sometimes be akin to sailing through raging seas.  This comes in many forms from increased demands on what to teach, increased accountability, changing academic standards,  student absences, less than ideal classroom temperatures, school funding, school grades,  lack of parental involvement and so forth. Guess what?  You cannot control any of these!  It is important that you focus on what you can control.  As we sail through the school year, it is vital to focus on increasing critical thinking by taking your students to deeper waters of understanding – analysis, synthesis, and evaluation on the SS Bloom’s.  Move away from the shore!  We chart our course by intently surveying the ISTEP blueprints provided the state.  Ignoring those blueprints will not lessen the waves; it will only make them stronger.  Also, shorten your sails by decreasing the interval between formative and informal assessments so that your instruction will be informed.  Ignoring the data from these assessments will not cause the winds to cease; it will only make them stronger.  Thirdly, balance your sails by differentiating your instruction and by giving assessments in multiple forms.  Failure to do this will not result in a smooth sea,; it will cause a student shipwreck.  Finally, prepare for teaching by using what you are being taught during professional development opportunities.  Ignoring these strategies will not make you a more skillful classroom mariner; you may end up spending an eternity with Mr. and Mrs. Howell. 

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The Browns travel to Jacksonville, Florida on Sunday to take on the Jaguars.  Okay, this is a game that, on paper, we should win.  Then again, paper never actually won a game.

Armed Guards

Did you notice where armed guards are placed?  Armed guards are assigned to the President (ask the Secret Service has that has been working lately).  Armed guards are assigned to Brinks’ trucks. Armed guards are posted at many banks.  Armed guards cruise the mall.  Armed guards are posted in some schools.  Armed guards are posted at jewelry stores.  Armed guards are posted at hundreds of concert venues.  Ironically, armed guards are often posted at gun shops.  Armed guards are posted at wedding reception banquet halls.  Armed guards are posted at museums.  Armed guards are posted at The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (breath-taking, by the way). Armed guards are posted around Ft. Knox. Now, notice where they are not posted.  Armed guards are not posted at manure piles nor at garbage dumps.  Why is that?  Simple, because there is nothing valuable to protect…unless you like to hoard natural fertilizer and well, I’m not going there.

Although we do not have armed guards at our school there is a great deal to protect on the inside of our building.  When I was student teaching in 1979 at an inner-city school in Indianapolis, there was a squad of armed police officers in our building.  Oddly enough, that did not make me feel more safe, but it did increase the size of my pupils (not a synonym for students in this case). While the obvious message here is that we are the protectors of our students in a physical sense, we are also their protectors in another way. We are “armed” in different ways that protect the education of our kids. Generally speaking, parents want two things from their child’s school – safety for their children and a good education.  We have safeguards in place for the former from emergency lanyards to visitors badges to emergency protocols to locked doors to “Wet Floor” signs.  What about the latter of these two desires?  Are we guarding the provision of a good education?  Are we doing everything we can to provide for the unique needs of each student?  Are we going the extra mile?  Are we staying free of providing excuses?  Are we using the data that comes in to plan future remedial or enrichment lessons?  Arewe partnering with their parents to help in the common goal of their child being successful?  Are we doing what is right and avoiding what is wrong? Are we providing useful feedback to the kids?  Are we providing a safe place for them to land?  We have to be guardians of the valuable 930+ students in our care. We are not the landfill.  We have to be armed as if we are protecting Ft. Knox. Actually, we are protecting something far more valuable.

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Here we go…round II…Browns vs The Pukesburgh Squealers…I mean, Pittsburgh Steelers…this time on the shores of Lake Erie.  Losing would cause Mary to hide all of the sharp knives…not a good mix with Plavix…

D-Day

D-Day happened over 70 years ago on June 6, 1944. D-Day is a military term that essentially means the day in which an operation or attack is set to be initiated. As you may recall from your history lessons, D-Day was one of the bloodiest battles of World War II. If you have ever watched, Saving Private Ryan, then you caught a Hollywood version of this battle.  Our troops landed on Normandy Beach, the western shore of Germany’s hold on Europe.  The plan was to liberate France and eventually the Jews that were imprisoned by Satan incarnate. There was a plan and that plan had a purpose. The leader of the 3^rd Battalion, 506^th Infantry Regiment, 101^st Airborne Division was Lt. Col. Robert Wolverton.  Before they stormed the beach, Wolverton led his men in prayer.  This was a mission that needed to be completed. They understood that without this surge, it would only be a matter of time before the battle was on our land. Each step of the battle was planned toward the purpose.  However, those plans often needed to be changed based on what was happening.  He told his men that they would talk about this mission when they returned to the states. He never had that conversation. Wolverton died shortly after landing.  In Wolverton’s prayer to his troops, he said this, “We have done our best for what we believed was right.”  I hope to be remembered that way.

“D-Day” essentially happens for us every single day in the field of education. Why?  Because each day is an opportunity. Each day is the day where teachers should be initiating an operation.  Operation?  That’s what I wrote. While we may consider our summative assessments and, of course, the ISTEP to be our “D-Day, the reality is that each day should the day when an attack is initiated.  Every lesson should be purposeful and educational. Every lesson plan should be well constructed and educational. Every activity should have a purpose tied to a goal.  If not, throw that activity out!  Each assessmentmust be aligned with desired outcomes.  Each day of instruction must be aligned to assessments.  Each day is an opportunity. That’s all it is – an opportunity. What you do with it can reap huge benefits or can bring disaster.  Properly planned operations and execution thereof from a teacher will produce student achievement and student growth. However, know that even the best laid plans often need to be changed based on what is happening  Lack of proper planning and execution will bring things “low and to the left.” Each day is another opportunity to do your best for what you believe is right.  Make the most of every opportunity.

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The Browns play on Sunday against the Titans from the great state of Tennessee.  Here’s hoping that they are in a “Volunteering” mood with their goal line.