Used Paint

Have you ever bought anything that was used? Previously owned?  Gently worn?  As a nation, people sell many items for the purpose of making money. Hopefully, that is not a revelation for you.  Craigslist recently put out data of the top ten items that is sold through its site.  In descending order:  (1) Cars – an average profit of $100-$500, (2) Appliances – an average profit of $75-$150, (3) Motorcycles – heavily seasonal profit margins, (4) Bicycles – popularity is on the rise, (5) Furniture – solid wood pieces have a high demand, (6) Electronics – Bose products sell best as do other high-end electronics, (7) Computers – people tend to sell these rather than repair them, so there are good buys out there if you know your way around a mother board, (8) Yard Equipment – see computers, (9) Power Tools – usually sold in groupings, so the savings is solid, and (10) Cell Phones – people constantly upgrade so there is a good supply.  One thing that I have never seen for sale is used paint.  Think about that for a minute.  I mean there are millions of gallons of paint sold daily, but there is never a “End Cap” at Home Depot where there is a half-price sale on used paint. There is a reason for that.   Once the paint is applied to a surface, that’s it. Paint will not be resold.  It may be painted over or scraped off, but it just will never be re-sold.  That’s why you have to be careful not only where you apply the paint, but the message it sends.

Think of your daily interactions with students as painting a picture and you are the one applying the paint. You are the artist.  Once that paint is on, that’s it.  How is the paint applied?  With a broad brush?  Is it possible to paint over it?  What kind if picture are you leaving for those you teach?  You cannot sell used paint.  Earlier this week, I provided you with a blank canvas and some water colors to paint a promise for your students that you will live by during this school year. A promise to your students. An example to set. Think about the promises that you have made over your lifetime. Did you keep all of them?  I  have advised many times to make very few promises, but to make sure that you keep them all.  That is one way to build credibility…or to lose it.  So, I hope you really thought out that promise to your students.  I hope that you have that framed promise hanging in your classroom.  I hope that you have pointed this out to your students today.  In a special way, you are selling used paint with a promise that you intend to keep.  Average profit = priceless.

This Shirt

Mary Chapin Carpenter wrote and performed an excellent song entitled, “This Shirt.”  It is a song about the travels of her favorite shirt throughout monumental times in her life. Over time, this flannel shirt becomes old and ragged and is a good candidate for the scrap heap, but there is just too much sentimental value attached to it. “So old I should replace it, but I’m not about to try.”  Maybe you have an article of clothing that you hold dear to your heart.  A dress that you made for your high school Prom.  A jacket that was your Dad’s favorite.  The outfit that your first child wore coming home from the hospital.  Your wedding dress.  A jersey that you wore in the championship game.  I still have my #2 Little League jersey that I wore in several games leading up to the World Series in Williamsport and a shirt that has a tag reading ”Made with Love by Mary” in 1977.  Whatever the reason you hang on to those pieces of clothing, I would encourage you to keep holding on to them.  Sentimental value on a personal level is all well and good.

Sentimental value on a professional level can be good or bad.   This may not seem like a timely message, but as you begin to look toward the next school year (and you know that you are), this is good food for reflective thought.  In terms of instructional activities, everyone has their favorites.  Think of those activities that you do in your classroom year after year.  Not just the big ticket items, but those smaller activities as well. Do you keep using them for sentimental value like an old shirt or should it be discarded?  Here’s the litmus test in determining if an activity has more than sentimental value.  Step 1 = you have to ask yourself just what the purpose of the activity is.  Is it related to the daily goal?  Is it related to the long-term goals?  Is it just a time filler?  Is it something that is just “busy work?  Step 2 = be honest with yourself.  Is the purpose real or just imagined?  Is the activity something that is a high-yield strategy?  Is it essential for the further understanding of your students?  Step 3 = if the answers to the previous steps are  not in the affirmative, then toss it in the circular file of activities not worth your time nor your students’ time.  Sentimental value doesn’t mean a thing in this regard.

Time Capsules

One thing I neglected to do when our school was built was to collect some artifacts and bury a time capsule.  Shoulda.  Woulda.  Coulda.   Recently, I saw an episode of M*A*S*H, where the members of the unit buried a time capsule with items that would tell those who opened it perhaps one hundred years later something about their installment in 1953.  Among those items buried was a broken fan belt from a helicopter representing a pilot’s courage, boxing gloves representing an alternate way for countries to settle their differences instead of using live ammunition, a fishing lure representing soldiers who never made it home, a bottle of cognac that would only improve with age and should be savored and a teddy bear.  That latter represented “All the soldiers who came here as boys, but left as men.”  This 255^th episode of M*A*S*H* was aired in 1983 and is touching.

What would you put in your personal time capsule?  What do you want others to know about you as a teacher, counselor, paraprofessional, clerical staffer, custodian, speech pathologist, school psychologist, lunch lady or administrator 100 years from now?  What would you like for generations in the future to know about what you did?  Serioously, think this one through.  What would you put in that capsule for people to open in 100 years?  Would it be your favorite novel that you taught?  Would it be a piece of sports equipment?  Would it be a musical instrument?  Would it be a diorama that represented an important historical event?  Would it be a copy of the food pyramid?  Would it be a lab tray?  Would it be the latest technological device?  Seriously, give that some thought and let me know. As we study history now about others, in a hundred years someone will be studying about us.  What will they learn?  Maybe it’s not too late to bury that time capsule.

Who are You?

The first seven astronauts selected for the American space program were Alan Shepard, Gus Grissom, John Glenn, Scott Carpenter, Wally Schirra, Gordon Cooper, and Deke Slayton.  All of them were household names when I was a kid.  They were our heroes and someone we aspired to be.  Being an astronaut was about the coolest thing going in the 60’s.  We drank Tang and ate Space Food Sticks at our lunch tables.  We were mesmerized at a space launch and prayed hard that these men would be returned to Earth safely.  Perhaps you recognize a few of the names.  To be selected, each of these men went through a grueling process.  There was a battery of intelligence tests, physical exertion tests, gravity tests, medical examinations, and mental stability tests.  These tests, of course, were used to separate the great from the elite.  Another part of the process was for each applicant to complete the following sentence, “I am …” in 50 different ways.  After the obvious “I am a man”, “I am a pilot”, etc., the candidates quickly discovered just how deep and penetrating that task was.  Incredibly thought-provoking.   Can you get to fifty?  Give this a try – how far can you get?

Here’s the obvious one – you are a teacher!  A noble profession that needs even more noble rookies to take the reins from us when we call it a day.  I thought about other descriptors of teachers.  Here you go.  Tell me if all of these aren’t right on the money – motivator, inspiration, mentor, big brother/sister, counselor, communicator, relationship builder, tutor, educator, supplier, instructor, leader, colleague, psychoanalyst, guru, coach, trainer, faculty member, disciplinarian, lecturer, lesson maker, assessor, data analyst, judge, mechanic, computer whiz, scheduler,  advocate, scholar, adviser, supervisor, and facilitator.  The list is not exhaustive.  What is the greatest compliment that someone could give you about your career in education?  I hope it would be something like this:  “Thank you.  You have made a difference in my life.”  It doesn’t get much better than that.  Thank you for what you do.  Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!

Victory Laps and ISTEP

There is something special about watching a American runner taking a victory lap after winning the Olympic gold.  Our flag draped over their shoulders, beaming with a sense of accomplishment, the crowd cheering, spectators extending their hands in congratulations, fists pumped to the sky, a single finger raised, the anticipation of our national anthem being played…it’s just special.  Most cannot fathom the level of dedication it took for these athletes to reach this goal.  In this, realize that all of these Olympic champions had this in common – they could not take that victory lap before they crossed the finish line.  There were tens of thousands of hours spent training.  They all worked on improving their endurance, speed, strength, correct form, and power. They developed a racing strategy under the tutelage of a great coach. All of them set short and long-term goals.  None of them neglected the “emotional” side of preparation as to when to employ their strong mindsets, when to get “psyched up” and when to shut it down.  Their victory was the result of purposeful, intentional, and prescriptive training, both physically and mentally.  The gold medal that was draped around their necks was made possible by dedication toward the achievement of the goals.

In the spring, we will have a finish line for our kids to cross.  Okay, let’s face it, you will cross that same finish line with them.  Although ISTEP is not the ultimate finish line, it is important that we cross it in victory next week!  Let’s see how the Olympic preparation compares.  We had the endurance training of consecutive days of pushing kids to higher levels of understanding .  We’ve worked on speed through the time parameters set (don’t you hate them?). We have certainly worked on making the kids stronger through constantly challenging them at higher levels of understanding.  Correct form?  Simple, that is doing things correctly from sentence structure to computations.  We have helped them with the strategies involved in learning by utilizing the strategies we have used as teachers.  They have been under the tutlelage of great coaches – our staff!  We have set daily and long-term goals with each of them and have worked hard to achieve all of them.  We have ISTEP goals and we intend to reach them as well!  All the while, we have not neglected the “emotional” side by establishing positive relationships with our kids.  We have laid out the carrots for them to chase.  Our victory will be the result of purposeful, intentional, and prescriptive teaching, both in a cognitive and emotional sense.  Now, we just have to cross the finish line.  I want us to take that victory lap – we just have to cross the ISTEP finish line first.  Our success will be made possible by dedication toward the achievement of the goals.  I look forward to taking that victory lap with you.

Fishing

I enjoy fishing, but do not often get the chance to do so.  This activity sometimes requires a great deal of patience.  There have been days where the fish are really biting like in late May or early June when the bluegill come near the shoreline to spawn.  Reeling them in at that point is easy no matter which bait you use. It’s almost like you can use a bare hook. There are other days when essentially you are just drowning worms.  The fish aren’t hitting no matter which bait you try – that’s the patience part that can easily turn into frustration.  Success in actually landing fish is based on several factors such as time of season, water depth and temperature and wind direction (Fish bite best when the wind is from the west and fish bite least when the wind is from the east).  The most important factor is the bait that is used.  This can be live bait such as night crawlers, bee moth, and crickets.  Artificial bait such as flies, spinners, and spoons are also widely used.  It really depends on the type of fish that you are after.  What works for one does not necessarily work for another.  Whatever bait you use, you have to fish before you catch.  Some days this activity is called fishing; other days is actually catching.  You can’t have one without the other.

Teachers should never use the same bait day after day to capture kids.  You have to change your bait to capture kids. What works for one does not necessarily work for another.  Change up your strategies. Differentiate based upon student data.  As in fishing, sometimes you just have to change your location.  Not everything needs to be done in front of a white board.  It’s okay to get your class out of the classroom and find other areas in or out of the building.  We can take “walking fieldtrips” by utilizing the wonderful things we have around us here in the county hub.  Get your students out of their seats; find ways to present the lesson.  Not all learning is confined to a 30 x 30 space.  Cast out in the deeper water often; that is where the big gains are.  Remember to work the weedy areas because that is where the “hiders” are that want to fly under the radar.  What works best for one does not necessarily work for another. Whatever teaching bait (strategy) that you use, you have to fish (try it) before you catch (engage) your students.  Be patient, your catch will come.

Tapestry

Tapestry is a form of art where threads are woven through a loom.  The end product is used for decorations in homes and other places.  They tell a story through drawings.  Some of the most famous tapestries are The Trojan War Tapestry, The Apocalypse Tapestry, and The Devonshire Hunting Tapestries.  Make no mistake -  these are not the velvet paintings of Elvis that you see at gas stations next to the guy selling a dozen roses for $3.99.  These are works of art.  A common thread (pun intended) is that these tapestries tell a story over a period of time.  Carole King delivered her second album in 1971 called Tapestry.  This is a great album that sold over 10,000,000 copies and is ranked #36 on Rolling Stone’s top albums of all time (name the top album without looking it up for a special prize).  The title song on the album speaks to the “Tapestry” of her life and is woven with full exposure.  It is there for all to see in all of its colors and images. 

Each day in teaching,  you are creating a “Tapestry” of your career that, surprisingly, you will never see.  Although you are the subject within the tapestry, you will never see the finished product.  In fact, there may be many tapestries woven about you dependent solely on the number of people you have touched, either positively or negatively.  This tapestry can only be seen by others that have come across your path. Each day, these same people are adding to your final product as time marches on. Your tapestry is being created for you by the students you have taught, the colleagues that you have worked with, and the parents of the students that you worked with.  What will yours look like?  Will your tapestry tell a tale of an excellent teacher, a difference maker, a great colleague, and an excellent partner?  Will it depict an educator that made learning fun?  Will it be of an educator who broke difficult concepts into understandable language?  Will it be of a teacher who made great relationships with his/her students? Will it be of a teacher who challenged students academically as well as socially, morally, and ethically?   Will it be full of expressions of thanks for touching someone’s life in ways that surpass the three R’s?  Will it show the kids that you carried off the field during your career?  What will it show?  Each day, the threads are passing through the loom in the eyes of many people.  Do understand that while you will never actually see the finished product, your tapestry is being woven in the minds of those you have encountered.