Donut Holes

Do you enjoy donuts? Or is it “doughnut”?  Anyway, what kind do you choose?    Ring, square, or some other shape?  Cream or jelly filled?  Sprinkles or plain?  Chain store or “Mom and Pop” store?  Glazed?  Bismarck (a blast from the past)?  Chocolate on chocolate with chocolate inside?  Crullers or Fritters?  Cake or yeast?  Long Johns (not what you wear in the winter)?  Boston Crème?  Are there other “crèmes” from different cities?  Powdered or frosted?  Bear Claws?  Maple ?  The list goes on and on.  If you have not sampled the Apple Cider donuts from County Line Orchard, you may want to make the trip.  Now I realize that most of these…okay, all of these are not good for various body organs including the ticker, but they are hard to pass up.  Did you ever think about your eyesight when munching down a donut?  Probably not.  Neither did I until my brother-in-law reminded me to always “Keep your eye on the donut and not on the hole.”  We were not eating donuts at the time, and his advice was not centered on eating, but rather on looking at the positives in life.  Good advice. 

Keep your eye on the donut and not on the hole.  What does that mean to us in education?  It’s pretty simple – look for the positives and quit staring at the negatives.  Let’s think about the kids you teach.  Are all of them spot on 100% of the time?  No way. If they are, let’s just name anoint them Messiah now and get on with it.  There will be skill gaps (holes) in the learning of your kids.  Some will be able to do things that you marvel at.  That’s great; now take them to an even higher level.  What about the kids in your classes that rarely; if ever, knock it out of the park?  What do we concentrate on with these guys?  We can identify the gaps from assessments such as Acuity and Star and those are fine.  Those gaps need to be identified.  However, look at all the things that student can do and accentuate that.  Pricking that success will give them confidence and with confidence comes willingness to tackle more difficult skills; perhaps the very ones they struggle with.  Don’t the majority of us do things that way?  Very few people are highly skilled in multiple areas.  I did write “highly”.  We tend to rely on and compensate for weaknesses by using our strong skill sets.  Not until we build our confidence does our confidence increase.  That is profound.  Think about that. Remember to keep your eye on the donut and not on the hole.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Browns play on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs. I am going to miss the game as we travel back from Missouri…hope the Tivo works.