Christmas Songs

The top 10 Christmas songs of all time are, according to no one in particular, in descending order:  Sleigh Ride, It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas, The Little Drummer Boy, The First Noel, A Holly Jolly Christmas, White Christmas, O Holy Night, It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, Do You Hear What I Hear?, and The Christmas Song.  What?  No Silent Night? No Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer?  How about The Twelve Days of Christmas?  Go ahead – sing a few bars of that for a minute –“ On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me a partridge in a pear tree”…Did you ever think just how expensive buying/renting all of the items mentioned  in the 12 days would be?  Didn’t think so.  I did.  The cost of the partridge, a pear tree, two turtledoves, three French hens, four calling birds, five golden rings, six geese on the nest, seven swans, eight maids milking something, nine ladies dancing (hopefully appropriately), ten lords, eleven pipers, and twelve drummers is, in today’s dollars approximately $116,000!!!!!!!  Heck, the three hens alone are just under $200!  The song really isn’t about the cost.  It’s about the lengths that one person will go to bring joy to someone else.  It’s not about the money; it’s about the effort.  It’s not about the gift, it’s about the giver. 

There are, in my view, a lot of similarities between this theme and education in general.  Think about how classroom equipment has changed over your career.  Okay, maybe that’s not fair for younger teachers.  But for those of us who started with a blackboard and a box of chalk, the evolution is astounding.  We can buy all of the nifty tools that are so commonplace today in classrooms around the country.  We can have all of the computers, smart boards, visual presenters, personal electronic devices, the latest app, and 32 different dry erase markers but none of them mean a thing if the students don’t have the teachers.  It’s not about what is given, it is about the giver – the teacher.  Kids want that outstanding personal relationship with their teachers.  They want to know that they matter to their teacher more than they want the latest craze…seriously. The human element cannot be overstated.  It takes a wonderful person to truly be an effective teacher.  A huge part of that is being the teacher that enjoys their students and the students enjoy them.  That doesn’t mean that you cannot challenge them.  What is does mean is the lengths that you go to for each of your students to bring them a great joy – your very best.  Merry Christmas.

Perceptions and Reality

Physical appearance has a lot to do with how we perceive others.  If people wear glasses, we determine that they have a problem with their vision.  If a person has rings on each finger, then they must be wealthy, have won ten championships, or are channeling Sammy Davis, Jr.  If their clothes are shabby, then he or she must be poor.  If they are a Cleveland Browns fan, then they obviously are insane (guilty as charged). If they walk with a limp, there must be an anatomical problem or they have an injury.  If they are always smiling, they must be incredibly happy or have gas.  If they have their hair colored in shades that are not on the color wheel, then they must be a whack job.  If they have body piercing in places that are outside of the norm, then they must be “one of those” kind, whatever the heck that means.  Don’t let the outward appearance fool you.  My God, did you get a good look at Einstein’s hair?  Or Stephen Hawkings inability to walk?  Or Dennis Rodman’s multiple piercing…okay, maybe not a good example.  Don’t be fooled by outward appearance.  It’s what is inside that counts. It’s not about the wrapping paper; it’s about the gift inside.

We have all had kids walk through our classroom doors that we think we have all figured out by the time they reach their seat.  The kid with the hair dyed blue and a purple streak must be a freak.  Geez Louise, couldn’t he use complementary colors at least? The kid with the holes in his jeans must be on free or reduced lunch. Never mind that stores sell this style at ridiculously high prices. Oh, and the kid dressed “to the nines” must live in a mansion and have servants, three Beamers, and a country club membership.  How do you know that any of these notions are reality?  Short answer – you don’t.  Not until you get to know them.  Do you want to know a secret?  The kids had pre-conceived notions about you too.  They heard about you before they stepped one foot in your classroom. They may have siblings that had you as their teacher. Perhaps your reputation preceded you.  They sized you up on the first day of school. They saw what you wore, how your combed your hair and made a determination about you.  They did. They thought they had you totally figured out before the end of that first class period.  Ridiculous, isn’t it.  But true.  It wasn’t until they got to know you that they saw the real you.  It wasn’t until you worked hard to develop a positive relationship with them that they saw the gift that could receive from you.  Keep on giving that gift.  This doesn’t mean that we are changing the professional dress code.  It means that the gifts need to be opened.  Being this close to Christmas, the time has come.

The Browns play against the San Francisco 49er’s this weekend on the shores of Lake Erie.  This game is the unofficial “Draft Bowl” since both teams are in the cellar…way down in the cellar…

New Wiper Blades

When snow is forecast and my vehicle will be outside, I always leave the windshield wipers up.  Family tradition. This prevents the wiper blades from being destroyed when you scrape the snow and ice from your windshield.  Windshield wipers are important.  Without them, our necks would be in considerable pain from hanging our heads out of the window to see the road. Side note:  why do dogs hate it when you blow in their face, but the first thing they do in the car is to stick their head out the window?   Windshields get dirty fast.  A neighbor once told that in the summer, he never washed his car as he let a good rainstorm wash it away.  Not true.  You see, raindrops are hygroscopic, they are essentially bonded not only because of the elements contained in them, but by the dirt in the center of a raindrop.  Don’t believe me?  Check out your windshield after a summer rain.  Your windshield will be littered with dirt specks and spots – all courtesy of those raindrops. Dirty windshields are also caused by the winter elements, road salt, bug parts, and special  gifts from our feathered friends that fly above.  Anyway, it is vital that your keep your wiper blades fresh so that they do not simply smear dirt, salt, bug parts, and  bird droppings across your windshield and obscuring your view.  Just a safety tip from your non-mechanic professional.

In classrooms, students sometimes see the white board as one messy windshield. Teaching and learning isn’t always clean.  Sometimes it is downright messy.  The concepts you are presenting are blurry at best to some students.  The skills that you are trying to teach are as clear as mud to others.  Think of your teaching methods are a set of wiper blades. Maybe it is time to change them.  The concept is to make things clear for the students.  We can only do so if we are certain that our methodology is getting the job done.  So, check your wiper blades.  That would be in the form of informal assessments and formative assessments.  You have to actually use this data for self-inspection of YOUR teaching methods.   But the book says that it is time to move on.  The book isn’t being assessed; the kids are.  Moving on just muddies up the windshield even more. If your students are not getting it, if progress just isn’t being made, then the onus is on us to make it more clear.  You simply cannot move on if the educational windshield is dirty.   Only upon a good self-inspection we will be able to determine if what we are doing is working. Are the kids clearly getting it?  If not, it’s time to check your wiper blades.

The Browns host the Cincinnati Bengals on the shores of Lake Erie in Round II of “The Battle of Ohio”.  The last round was as pretty as my 7^th grade school picture. U-G-L-Y, we don’t have an alibi. 

Are You Serving Turkey? - Thanksgiving

On Thursday, millions of people will sit down to a large dinner of sweet potatoes, turkey, assorted vegetables, turkey, cranberries, turkey, dressing, turkey, rolls, turkey, pumpkin pie,  and more turkey.  How did the consumption of turkey get to be such a staple of Thanksgiving dinners?  I don’t know. I do know that the Swanson Company invented TV dinners in 1953 because they had such a surplus of turkey meat, that to avoid financial ruin, they put the turkey in aluminum pans, added some taters and a veggie and viola – the first TV dinners.   Turkey contains an amino acid called tryptophan. Tryptophan is a natural sedative and many believe this is what causes you to be sleepy after eating that meal on Thanksgiving.  What is more likely the cause of sleepiness is not just the tryptophan, but the enormity of the meal itself.  With a full belly of multiple food items consisting of fats and carbohydrates, blood rushes to your core and away from your extremities, thus making you listless.  And that, boys and girls, is why Uncle Joe falls asleep on the couch while watching the NFL game. 

What are you serving in your classroom?  Is it a “Yawn Fest” where the staples are heavy doses of boring lectures with a side of non-relevant examples?  Look at your students during your next class.  Is there a blank stare on their faces?  Do they have all of the energy of a garden slug? If so, you may be serving too many “turkeys” in your lessons.  Are you “spicing” your lessons with enthusiasm?  Are you stimulating your students to explore? Are you sparking their curiosity?  Are you leaving them thirsty for more?  Are you engaging them every day? One of the best ways to get students excited about learning is for their teacher to be excited about learning theirself. Are you creating a ripple effect on enthusiasm?  Are the kids running to get to your class because they don’t want to miss anything? The lifeless should not be teachers. Are you bringing life to our classroom? Are you teaching with passion? Are you rubbing off on your students in a good way? Have you been accused of drinking too much coffee? Are you full of vigor and vitality? These are all signs of a teacher that is not serving heavy doses of educational turkey.  Does your classroom resemble the family room after Thanksgiving dinner or is it a high-energy place?  The serving of  turkey-laden lessons is banned from our classrooms.

The Browns play on Monday night against the unloved Ratbirds of Baltimore.  Can you believe it – the Browns on Monday night?! 

Noodlers

I listened intently as my brother-in-law, gave a Memorial Day speech to hundreds in Griffith, Indiana about ten years ago.  He spoke of service and valor as only someone who served six tours of duty could relate. He spoke of sacrifice and his duty to serve “So that others may live” as the driving force and the motto of the C-CAT (Critical Care Air Transport) teams.  He also spoke of the fact that he had never been to a foreign country prior to Iraq and Afghanistan…”except for my time in Mississippi.”  That broke everyone up.  Mississippi, a word that kids never have to look up, sometimes gets a bad rap about being a place of backwoods thinking, coon dogs, and Brett Favre doing Wrangler commercials.  Along these lines, there are those in Mississippi that call themselves “Noodlers.”  Noodlers are a type of fishermen who do not use rods and reels, cane poles, or even bait. The technique that Noodlers use goes like this – they stick their hands in muddy water in the hope that a large catfish latches onto their arm (bait must really be expensive there).  However, that same arm can also be the “bait” for snapping turtles, water mocassins, or other assorted predators.  The catch of the catfish is the goal, but often they must get rid of other things that get in the way.

In teaching, sometimes we have to be Noodlers.  We have to put ourselves out there and see what we can catch.  The goal is to “catch” students making progress toward the long-term and daily goals. That is the “muddy water” that we trudge through.  We work hard toward those goals. We post them. We talk about them. We show the kids the connections between the two.  However, there are things that get in the way of the prized catch.  These will not be real snappers or snakes, but these will nonetheless get in the way of your pursuit. Our predators take the form of assorted physical issues of our students who suffer from them. Maybe that predator is your own physical ailment.  Predators to  Noodlers-Teachers may present themselves in the form of student apathy. Keep in mind that it is our job to inspire students.  So, those kids who just don’t care – they are yours to inspire. They are under your umbrella. Remember that message? The list of predators is far-reaching. Some you have a direct influence on; others not so much.  My advice is to keep putting yourself out there and sticking your hands in that muddy water.  You will catch what you are seeking.  Keep noodling!

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By the grace of God, the Browns have a “bye” week and will not play this weekend.  Sunday is already looking better for me!

Horseshoes and Rudders

Horses are large animals.  Gee, thanks Captain Obvious.  Stay with me – there’s a point.  The height of horses is measured in units called hands. A hand equals 4”. Horses generally range in height from 14-18 hands and weigh between 1500-2200 pounds.  The largest horse was “Mammoth”, who stood 21.2 hands and weighed 3,300 pounds.  A piece of equipment necessary for most horses in the horseshoe.  The horseshoe is essential as it prevents  excessive hoof wear and hoof splits, improved traction, and manipulation of the horse’s gait.  Cruise ships are large vessels. Again, thanks for the clue. The largest cruise ship today is 360 meters long  (almost four football fields!) Its breadth is 47 meters and weighs 225,300 tons.  Basically, this is a town that sails. A piece of equipment necessary for the cruise ships and other sailing vessels is the rudder.   The rudder steers the ship.  The size of the rudder varies per the size of the ship that it steers, but one thing is constant – the rudder is always considerably smaller than the ship that it guides.  Both the horseshoe and the rudder are essential to the success of the larger object that they support.  Both the horseshoe and rudder, though seemingly small in size, make the big things go. 

You may have heard me say countless times that “The little things make the big difference.”  I cannot overstate how important doing the seemingly little things is.  I used to tell my runners, jumpers, throwers and hurdlers that while every team does the “big things” in training, the champions do the “little things” in addition.  What does that look like for a teacher and schools?  First of all, realize that most schools do all of the big things – they provide a safe environment, they provide a curriculum that parallels the state academic standards, and they serve food at lunch.  We do all of those things as well.  Doing just those three big things will never get you above average.  We should have no interest in being average because average is being the best of the worst and the worst of the best.  It’s the little things that successful schools and teachers do that set them apart.  Greeting your students at the door would seemingly be a “little thing”, but it translates into developing a better relationship with your students, which gives them a reason to want to be at school, which leads to increased academic exposure, which results in improved achievement and growth.  This isn’t rocket science; it’s common sense.  Another seeming “little thing” is making sure that your lessons are relevant to your students.  Relevance leads to grasping the concept, which leads to application of the skill, which leads to taking similar tasks and being able to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate them, which results in improved achievement and growth.  Other “little things” are using RtI Period and Resource Period for interventions and enrichment; not as a study hall!  A final example ( I have a gazillion more examples) is the “little thing” taking the time to call (not just email) parents to partner with them in the child’s development.  That of course, leads to improved extended relationships and yes, improved achievement and growth.  Don’t’ have the time or want to take the time to do the little things?  Not interested in being a horseshoe or rudder?  I just hope you are satisfied with your students staying in the corral or docked at port.  Make a difference – do what some just don’t do.  A piece of equipment necessary for successful students is a teacher who does the little things.


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The Browns, or what is left of the team, play against our arch-rival, the dreaded “Pukesburgh” Steelers this on Sunday in enemy territory.  A win would make the season.  Absolutely zero love loss here.  Side note:  The new state prison in Pennsylvania is conveniently located directly across the street from the Steelers practice field so that the players will not have far to walk to work. 

Welcome Home to our Veterans

November 11, 1918 marked the cessation of fighting during World War I.  In 1926, the United States Congress officially recognized November 11^th as a recurring anniversary of the return of our men from Europe.  Today, we know this as Veterans Day.  In part, the resolution states “…a proclamation calling upon the officials to display the flag of the United States on all government buildings on November 11 and inviting the people of the United States to observe the day in schools and churches…with appropriate ceremonies…” Veterans Day continues to be observed every November 11th and I, for one, hope this is always the case for generations to come. This observance not only preserves the historical significance of November 11th, but it helps focus on the importance of this day.  This is to be a celebration to honor America’s veterans for their love of country, their patriotism, and their willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.

We have held Veterans Day celebrations at our school for a long time.  As long as I am Principal, we will continue to do so.  Next Wednesday, we will host the Veterans of the families of our staff and students.  It is an honor to do so.  Five years ago, we celebrated over 50 Veterans by serving them lunch and showing them a staff-made video.  Our kids give them a standing ovation.  I could see the pride in the faces of the kids and adults who introduced their loved ones as Veterans.  There have also been many looks of pride from the Veterans as well.  After the celebration that day, as I was saying my good-byes to the Veterans who attended, one Marine Veteran came up to me and did not shake my hand. Instead, he threw his arms around me and was sobbing. He told me that he had served in Vietnam and his welcome back to our country was less than a joyful memory.  As he walked through the airport terminal in San Francisco, he was called names such as “Baby Killer”. He was spit on. He was jeered. He was not celebrated, thanked nor honored.  I will never forget that moment.  He told me that he had waited 38 years to be welcomed home. He wanted to say thanks for finally providing that. At that point, I joined him in shedding tears at a rapid rate.  We are not waiting any longer to give these brave men and women the welcome home that they deserve.   Next Wednesday afternoon, we will provide a reception line for these folks to walk through with their loved ones leading them out that will span our entire perimeter.  Let’s give them what some of them never received – to be welcomed home like the patriots that they are.

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The Browns play TONIGHT in the “Battle of Ohio” vs. the Cincinnati Bengals on the shores of Lake Erie.  A team with orange helmets will win this one…I am hoping it is the one without a logo.