Are You Dialed In?

To be “dialed in” – what does that mean?  “Dialed in” is slang and means to be very proficient at a given activity.  Perhaps you are dialed in at playing the piano, dialed in as a tremendous cook, dialed in as a financial whiz, dialed in as a skilled nurse…oh, wait, I was describing some skills of my wife.  In drilling for oil, workers determine that a pump is “Dialed in” when the gauges recognize an optimal setting.  That’s where you get your “Gushers”and someone like Jed Clampett makes a bunch of money.  You can be “Dialed In” to a radio station…blasting it…singing like no one is watching and imagining yourself on stage in front of thousands…then the static comes because the frequency isn’t just right.  People can be “Dialed In” to whatever floats their boat from a hobby to studying to solving the problems of the world.  “Dialed In” is an adjective = exhibiting total concentration on AND mastery of the task at hand.  Side note – if adverbs modify verbs, shouldn’t adjectives modify “jectives”?  Just thinking.  “Dialed In” is to be tuned in, to be aware of what is going on, to be perfectly tuned, to optimize the opportunity and to be well-coordinated.

For two months, you have listened to daily announcements from your “93.5 Dialed In Team”.  You have seen numerous signs around the building with “Are You Dialed In?” prominently displayed.  You have heard all of the banter. We have set a school goal. Your have set team goals. The kids, with your help, have set individual goals.  Now is the time!  You have exposed kids to the frequency of skill sets and topics to be tested.  We are trying to provide the optimal environment for them in which to test.  We have encouraged the kids. We have talked with the kids. We have made videos.  We have made deals (I have a long list of kids at lunch who will be smashing my pretty face with pies when we reach our goals).  You have taught the kids.  You have challenged them. You have retaught. You have remediated them. You have enriched them.  Now is the time!  Is it time for EVERYONE TO BE DIALED IN!  We all have to be of one accord and I’m not referencing a Honda.  Our promotion has to be the same. We have worked far too hard to see anything go by the wayside because we were not dialed in.  Here we go – encourage, encourage, encourage!  Be dialed in and assure that your students are.  Let’s hit a gusher!

Winning Synonyms

“Winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing” is a quote from Vince Lombardi…or Henry Sanders, depending on who you ask.  Both were successful football coaches at different levels.  Just for poops and giggles, I looked up some synonyms for “winning”. Here’s what I found = victorious, successful, ahead, champion, conquering, triumph, leading, first, top, unbeaten, unvanquished, top-scoring, prevailing, conquering, carry the day, sweep the board, take the prize, achieve mastery, ascending, knockout, checkmate, grand slam, rake over the coals, outplaying, outdoing, dominating, outdueling, routing, subduing, surmounting, trouncing, bettering, and umgadakickbooty (okay, I made that last one up).  Everyone likes to win.  Those who say differently are either lying or have thrown in the towel.  There are thousands of quotes about winning; mostly from the world of sports.  However, not all are sports related. For example, Walt Disney said, “The difference in winning and losing is most often not quitting.” He didn’t run some “Mickey Mouse” operation.  “The extra energy required to take another shot is the secret to winning” was coined by author and motivational speaker,  Dennis Waitley.  I would like to concentrate on just one of the above synonyms for winning – Triumph.

While we were listening to our Pastor preach on the topic of “Mercy” in April of 2013, our youngest daughter took my notebook and wrote something profound in it.  “Triumph = trying plus a little ump!”  Smart girl...just like her Momma.  She’s right – winning doesn’t come to sluggards.  Winning doesn’t routinely exist for those who never break a sweat.  Winning doesn’t come for those who do the bare minimum.  It has been said that the difference of one degree Fahrenheit from 211 degrees to 212 degrees can move a locomotive with the energy produced.  Winning doesn’t come to those not willing to put forth the effort. Plain and simple.  If you, as a teacher, want your kids to win (i.e. Succeed, grow, learn, achieve, reaching goals), you will have to do the “little things” that make the big differences that you may hear me preach about on a routine basis. Everyone does the “Big” things.  Successful people know that it’s the “Little Things” that make the big difference.  So, when you think about wanting to win, remember two things it will take = TRYING and a LITTLE UMP!”

Love Songs

A recent poll named the top “Love Songs” of all time.  Here’s the deal -  you have to either sing or dance to one of these songs on Saturday.  Saturday?  Yes, fellas – Saturday is Valentine’s Day so consider yourself warned. DO NOT BLOW IT!  Back to the songs- here you go: I Can’t Stop Loving You by Ray Charles, Best of My Love by The Emotions, I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston, How Deep is Your Love? by the Bee Gees, and Endless Love by Lionel Richie and Diana Ross.  In my opinion, this poll missed a few. How about When A Man Loves A Woman by Percy Sledge or Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton?  How about Your Song by Elton John or Three Times A Lady by The Commodores? What about You are So Beautiful by Joe Cocker or Colour My World by Chicago?  The latter was the first slow dance that my wife and I danced to when we were 17 and 18 and would not hesitate to do so today and will definitely do so on Saturday…when she gets home from birthing babies all day.  So, go ahead – surprise your spouse or significant other with a song.  They’ll never forget it and neither will you.

What are the top five “Love Songs” about your teaching career?  What are those moments that you hold special?  You know, the ones you go back to when you need that boost. The days when you think you are not making a difference at all.  Those days when you feel like the bug and not the windshield.  These are different things to different people.  Maybe it’s the kid that you finally connected with.  Maybe it’s the card that you received from a parent, or better yet, from a student that stated how grateful they were to have you in their life.  Maybe it’s that day when every single one of your students scored at the mastery level on a summative assessment.  Maybe it’s the kid that modeled the same positive behavior that you modeled for him. Maybe it is that kid who finally got out of the wheelchair and took his or her first steps.  Maybe it’s the former student who called you up to tell you that you made a difference in their life and while you were tough on them at the time, they finally get what you were trying to do.  Think on these things. Cherish the good more than looking at the not so good.  Hold dear to those lasting impressions that will help you through those days when plans A, B, C, and D just aren’t paying off. Remember that you are making memories for someone every single day including yourself.  Happy Valentine’s Day!

Hitting the Snooze Button

What is your personal record for the number of times you have hit the snooze button on your alarm?  I mean, in a row.  1,2,12…?  My alarm is set for 3:01 a.m. and I rarely make it to the alarm.  Honestly, I think I have hit the snooze button 3 times in the last 35 years.  But, let’s face it, anyone who says that they jump out of bed with enthusiasm to start the day is lying like a rug.  Of course, we all know that hitting that snooze button too many times can create problems for you and others.  If you are a parent of non-self-sufficient children, then others may be counting on you to prepare them for their day regardless of the preparation needed to start your day.  Don’t lose heart young parent – it does get better. Perhaps you only have to get yourself ready to go, but you still have to deal with getting to school on time while factoring in road construction, traffic, weather problems and a host of other issues. The point is, we just can’t afford to keep hitting the snooze button. From time to time, I have had to deal with students who can’t seem to get to school on time.  My suggestion is pretty much the no-brainer – put your alarm clock on the other side of the room so that you have to get out of bed to shut it off.  Viola- you are up.  Excuse makers will say that this does not work…those are the same folks who make excuses about other things as well.  As the saying goes, if you snooze, you lose.

As teachers, we cannot afford to keep hitting the snooze button.  We don’t have the luxury of extra time to get everything completed as our time parameters are set.  We get 180, seven plus hour days to teach all of the standards. It’s really less than that since the state test is given twice – less than 75% of the way through the year and then again about 5 weeks prior to school ending.  Definitely not a end of course assessment.  We have to be good pacers in our lessons.  We have to have an excellent game plan by setting the essential understandings and the long-term goals. We need to establish meaningful daily goals tied to the long-term goals.  We simply do not have time to hot the snooze button of a “free day” or the like.  Our foot has to be on the gas pedal much of the time.  When we see a student in need of remediation, we need to remediate that student without a great deal of hesitation. The same goes for a student who needs to be challenged more deeply with extensions or enrichments.  We cannot hesitate to provide. We cannot put if off. “I’ll do it later” really becomes “never” because the clock is ticking. Take your hand away from the snooze button.