Gmail

When was the last time you actually wrote a letter?  On paper. Using a pen. Addressing an envelope.  Stamping. Dropping it in a mailbox.  Yeah, me too.  Email has just about put the United States Postal Service out of business.  They have changed their push to package delivery service as they compete against giants like Fed Ex and UPS.  Rumor is that the latter two are merging under the new name, “Fed Up”.  Anyway, I came across a quote from Paul Buchheit, creator and lead developer of Gmail, an incredibly popular email service used by millions. His philosophy has always been to extend his employees, to stretch his company, and to think outside of the box. This is what he said about naysayers;  “If someone says: ‘That’s impossible!”, you should understand it as:  “According to my very limited experience and narrow understanding of reality, that’s very unlikely.”  Excellent.  Too often, the answer to a vision is “Why”.  That is the glass half-full view leadership style.  The more appropriate response to a vision should be “Why not?”. Never let logistics get in the way of a worthwhile vision. That is why successful companies flourish.

How about us as educators?  Be honest with yourself.  Have you ever had preconceived notions about a student that there was no way in God’s green acres that this kid will amount to anything?  Did you ever think that what is envisioned is impossible to do?  Did you ever squash someone’s dream just because it was painted outside of the lines?  Did you ever look at a kid’s incoming state test score and think that he had a snowball’s chance in Hades of making the cut so why even bother?  While test scores impact many things beyond our control, that’s not what this is really about.  It’s about making adifference in the lives of others. Don’t let numbers get in the way of that. Let’s look at kids and see the positives that they bring  rather than a majority focus of the negatives.  Let’s move away from limited experiences of our own and embrace things that come our way as a way to grow ourselves.  Let’s widen our range of understanding by really digging deep to explore what makes that kid tick and how I can reach him or her.  The only thing that is limited is the time we have with these kids.  Let’s make a difference while we have them.  The overarching vision is to make a difference - never let logistics get in the way of that vision. In the meantime, write someone a letter – it’s the new weird.

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The Browns play their final home game on Sunday vs the Cincinnati Bengals in round two of the “Battle of Ohio”.  If we hope to make the playoffs, this is an absolute “must” win.  It has been 10 years since a game in January had personal meaning.