Ducks

I like ducks better than geese.  The reason being that ducks, in my experience, are much more docile.  Don’t believe me?  Try approaching a mother and father goose when they are herding their young goslings.  I made that mistake and ended up declaring the goose the winner in about three seconds. Ducks, on the other hand, are calm, cool, and collected.  There are a gazillion breeds of ducks including the Wild Mallard (the party duck), the Bourbon Duck (waddles a little too much), the Danish Duck (favors breakfast pastries), the Dutch Duck (wears wooden shoes), and the Havanna Duck (huge Castro supporter).  Behind our house is a pond where a Mallard liked to hang out this past summer.  I enjoyed watching him glide so effortlessly across the water. I mean he was as smooth as a baby’s butt. No visible strain. No worry lines. Not a care in the world.  However, underneath the water, his little webbed feet were pumping furiously to move him along.  You would never know this from the looks of him on the surface.  He never showed the strain or the effort. He was calm and cool above the surface.

How about you?    How do you look above the water line?  Are you calm, cool, and collected?  Are you consistent on a day to day basis in your approach?  Are you on an even keel and just appear to be gliding across the water?  If not, you are not alone!  Many people lose their “above the water” cool appearance every once in a while.  If it is more than once in a while, then perhaps it is time to choose another profession.  The important thing is to get back to providing the example that you wanted to set all along.  That doesn’t mean that you will not be paddling as hard as ever under the water. The furious paddling never stops….if you are doing it right.  You give an informal or formative assessment, analyze the data, and then paddle furiously to make the adjustments in lessons so that your students can reach their destination.  Some days are better than others.  Some downright stink.  My advice –keep paddling or get out of the water.

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The Browns play this Sunday against the Houston Texans on the shores of Lake Erie.  We need to win to stay in first place!  Yikes, I never wrote that before!