No Room to Complain

Sometimes I get to feeling down. The blues. I complain about my life not being all that it should be. Not enough money. Too much debt. Can't go to the exotic places every year that some get to enjoy. Job pressures. Relationship problems. Any of this sound familiar?

So, today I take a step back. I've been trying to read bible scripture more consistently. It calms me. Teaches me, and keeps me grounded. I also listen to Christian talk radio, and tune into televangelist on occassion. That's when it hit me hardest. Watching a televangelist. He was talking about his own trials, problems, and putting on "a mask." But it wasn't his words that caught my attention. It was the set.

The set. It was very elaborate, impressive, remarkable. Obviously expensive to build. "What if that money was put to a better use?" I thought. Not that reaching out with Christ's message isn't a good cause, but what do I sitting at home have to complain about? I have a beautiful home. Heat. More food than I need. Nice clothes. Safety. Creature comforts. There are others, with probably a stronger faith than I, who have far less. Doesn't seem right that I complain. God has taken care of me beyond most people's imagination. I've got it good, and I have Him to thank for that.

Viewing that set made me reflect not only on my blessed conditions, but also on how I use my own resources. Rather than always looking to my own benefit, maybe I've been so blessed by God so that I can use it to bless others? 

One of those "ah ha" moments that we all know are true but never really want to admit to. There are many people that truly have needs praying to God thanking Him and waiting for His blessing. Am I to be the answer to their needs? Is God wanting me to be His hands? Yes. Eye opening. Bet that televangelist never thought he would wake someone up that way.

Quit complaining. Most of us are blessed beyond what we deserve, me included. Time to use that for what I now believe God intended it, and be thankful.

Fond Memories of Inspiration

I spent a portion of my childhood living in West Branch Iowa.  I have a few fond memories of that place in particular I have memories of teachers who inspired me to do things that, looking back now, maybe I didn't follow through on.

Mrs. Hughes was a teacher of mine who, early on, noticed my interest in science Especially Earth Sciences and fossils. I remember one time in paricular stopping by her house. She invited me inside, and knowing that I like science she gave me a large rock that had hundreds of fossils in it. She also gave me examples of animal specimens in jars, and books to read that would continue to kindle my fire.

Why she took such an interest in this and me? I don't know but I appreciated then, and I still appreciate it today.

She lived part of her life in Alaska during the Great Earthquake that Anchorage what subject to in the 60's.  I always enjoyed listening to her tell stories of her kids playing baseball in the summer until the wee hours of the morning because it was still light, and also showing pictures and sharing stories about the earthquake itself. Seeing the devastation in pictures just fascinated me.

She was an interesting lady and wonderful teacher. Amazing how simple acts of kindness and taking an interest in a child can make such a difference in molding them as adults. That should be a lesson to all of us.

Things Turn Out.....

It never ceases to amaze me how things in life turn out......

No matter how carefully life is planned, something still goes wrong.  The saying "The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry" is an adaptation of a line from Robert Burns' poem "To a Mouse." In the poem, Burns describes how a mouse's home is destroyed by a farmer's plow even though the mouse thinks he has discovered an invulnerable site.

How often are we like the mouse?  For most of us, life goes on pretty uneventful most of the time. True, we all face challenges like illness, a death in the family, financial stress, but let's face it, for those of us living in the U.S. we have it pretty darn fortunate compared to the rest of the world.  So, the majority of us go along pretty satisfied, content, and secure in that the plans that we have lain are invulnerable.  What most of us forget is that in life, there is no such thing as "invulnerable."

The so called perfect marriage can become "not so perfect" before you know it with just a few missteps, or that bullet proof job can be shot down with a change in the economy, down-sizing, corporate buy out. Physical health, mental health, friendships, relationships, are all vulnerable. Usually, this vulnerability comes from forces outside of our control, and sometimes we unknowingly become our own worst enemy.

It's how we deal with these vulnerable moments that is key to how life truly turns out. How we react is really the only thing that we have control over.  Too often people run around like Chicken Little, professing that, indeed the sky IS falling.  Truth of the matter is that life events have a permanent effect, but the actual act is temporary.  The problem lies in that the permanent effect is what causes our best laid plans to go awry and that scares us. The vision of our marriage, job, health, relationships turns out to be, well, not what we planned, not what we expected, and certainly not what we wanted.

I'm not one to quote song lyrics, but in the Beatles "Within You, Without You," George Harrison sings that "Life goes on within you and without you."  It's a statement that has made a lot of sense to me and I have used it quite often.  It is a statement of how insignificant, yet significant, life really is.  It may not go according to the plans you have laid, but, life will turn out, it may just not turned out according to the best laid plan of mice and men.

The Impact of a Teacher

A few months ago, I attended the funeral of a dear friend of 23 years. Dave and I taught and coached together for a number of years.  At the funeral were some of our former students. Now, I normally dislike the "open mic time" that has become vogue at funerals as of late. Allowing anyone to stand up and say a few words about the deceased.  But, on this particular day, a couple of those former students (now grown men with families of their own) each took a turn saying more than a few words completely off the cuff.

The speakers talked about the impact that this man had on their lives. That impact was deeper than some of the long forgotten daily curricular lessons.  They wanted to talk about the person, the passion he had for working with his students, the life lessons he was able to pass on, sometimes in the classroom and sometimes on the field.  They didn't talk about what he taught them, as much as how he taught them.  Never allowing them to give less than HE expected of them which was often more that they had expected of themselves.  At the time, they didn't always like or appreciate it.  Now, they understood.

One of those former students told of this man teaching his students to be proud of who they were, where they were from, and what they represent.  He took that advice to heart and being a Native American chose to go work at the Meskwaki Settlement near Tama.  He works with Native American youth and helped start the Meskwaki Settlement School football program.  He talked about now passing those same life lessons he learned on to the youth he now works with.  Every time he teaches or coaches a child he uses the techniques, analogies and lessons that Dave had taught him.  Not only impacting one generation, but generations to come. It was these statements that really started me thinking about the true impact of a teacher.

We are given a rare gift when we get to teach children.  We have often heard that, as teachers, we raise up the doctors, lawyers, CEO's, nurses, mechanics, who go on to become productive leaders in their communities.  What we often don't realize is that when we touch a life of a child we can be touching generations to come.  We often teach like we were taught (the good and the bad). If this is true, then this next generation will teach as we taught them (also the good and the bad).  This is powerful stuff. It is also a tremendous responsibility.

Our students may or may not remember specific skills or lessons we teach daily, but they will remember HOW we teach them. They will be impacted by the person teaching them, the passion they teach with, and how that person made them feel everyday.  Each moment during a day in school is a gift.  A rare opportunity to make a difference, have an impact.  It's a big responsibility, but as a couple former students reminded me as we said goodbye to a friend and a mentor, its worth it.

The Oscars, Humor, and Bullying/Harassment

I love a good joke, and I have been known to participate in good natured kidding.  As I was watching the Oscars last night and following the #Oscars twitter feed, something became alarmingly obvious to me.  We just don't get this whole bullying and harassment issue!

I invite you to get on YouTube and/or find #Oscar on twitter, review some of the humor from last night and come to your own conclusions.  We try to teach our young people that making fun at other's expense is not appropriate.  It is a form of bullying.  We also try to teach our children that bullying comes from an imbalance of power and using your position or influence with others to bully/harass another is not tolerated.  So, how does this refer to the Oscars and why should we care?

Much of the humor during the Oscars broadcast was directed at someone, made fun of someone.  Now, since most of the targets were adults in show business, they probably expected it.  Some of them were obviously in on the joke or "skit".  My concern is the impression that it has on people who are easily influenced by media and entertainment, such as our children.

Many kids stayed up to watch all or part of the Oscars.  For many, its a fun event. But we, as a society can't keep giving entertainment media (i.e. Hollywood) a pass on this issue.  In my experience, children often times do what the adults allow.  They also mimic the "cool" things that we adults do, like drink, smoke, and make jokes at other people's expense.

If Seth McFarland makes fun of Ben Affleck in front his peers, and in front of say 1 billion viewers, (and Ben seems to kind of chuckle along) it comes off as cool and okay to do.  "See, Ben's laughing too, it must be okay!" How, many times are kids made fun of in front of peers or in front of a crowd (imbalance of power) and they have little recourse but to try to laugh it off? "See, Sally's laughing she must be okay with it!"  One of the skills we try to teach kids in dealing with bullies is to act like it's not bothering you, interesting.....could it be that some of the adults being poked fun at during the Oscars were using this same strategy?

Some of the jokes, (or attempt at jokes) where simply sexist, racist, or in general poor taste.  Very pointed.  Now, I know that this is just my opinion.  I also know that this is my blog and you can stop reading anytime you like.  Making some of the sexist comments and jokes that were made last night could be grounds for sexual harassment if done in the work place or in school. Simple as that.  As far as the racist comments or jokes, I consider that one of the lowest forms of humor.  My initial reaction is, "Aren't we past this as a society by now?"  We all know that in this day and age this kind of humor isn't appropriate in any setting!

The twitter world was all a buzz during the Oscars.  Some of it was informative, some entertaining.  Much of the twitter comment was, again, making fun at someone's expense.  Most of them were coming from regular schleps like me (not that we should get a pass either), but there were some famous, notable people making some harassing comments. Comments that, if a young person would read them, would come off as funny, cool, and okay to do (some adults might take that way as well).  No, its not okay.  Again, we have to stop giving entertainers the pass on these types of behaviors under the guise of it being "entertainment."

Check the videos and #Oscar tweets from last night.  Are these the kind of comments that we would accept as okay from our children, or are they an overt form of bullying and harassment?  You make the call!

EdCamp Come to Iowa!

The information below was forwarded to me by Dr. Scott McLeod:

EdCampIowa, Iowa’s first cross-state unconference! EdCampIowa West will be hosted by Prairie Lakes AEA at the Buena Vista University Forum in Storm Lake. EdCampIowa East will be hosted by Bettendorf High School. Both locations will run on Saturday, February 16, from 8:30am to 3:30pm.

What’s an EdCamp, you say? EdCamps are unlike any other workshop or conference that you’ve probably attended. EdCamp sessions are created by the attendees in the morning. The rest of the day is spent in conversation around the topics identified by participants.

If this sounds strange to you, it’s likely because you’re used to a different model, one in which the agenda and sessions are determined ahead of time. The challenge of traditional workshops or conferences is that you didn’t get to pick the sessions, someone else did. As such, they may or may not meet your learning needs. At an EdCamp, participants, not planners, determine the sessions so they’re much more likely to be targeted, relevant, and timely. ‘Voting with your feet’ also is strongly encouraged, so you can (and should) quickly leave one session for another if it’s not meeting your learning needs. Since all EdCamp sessions are facilitated discussions that tap into the collective wisdom of attendees rather than ‘sit and get’ presentations directed by outside experts, EdCamps always turn out to be incredible, energizing days of conversation.

How do you know if you’re right for EdCampIowa? If these types of questions resonate with you, you’re a prime candidate:

• What if we didn't have class periods?
• How can we help kids think more deeply?
• Are high school diplomas and university degrees still necessary for credentialing?
• What is getting in the way of us changing faster?
• How can preschool and elementary students use digital tools in powerful ways?
• What if we didn't ignore that most of the time students are bored?
• What might school look like if students were in charge of teaching at least 20% of the time?
• Do we really need grades?
• How can we better facilitate school-university partnerships?
• Are tablets or Chromebooks viable 1:1 devices?
• What has to go in order to make competency-based student progression work?
• In a multimedia world, what is the future of reading?
• and many, many more... (see the EdCampIowa web site!)

Register to join the excitment February 16 for an amazing day of discussion and learning. We You will leave with many great ideas, excited to take action back home! Registration is FREE, lunch will be provided, and we’ll have Internet access for any electronic device that you bring along. This is open to everyone! Students, staff, school board, parents, legislators, and community members to participate too. Everyone is welcome at an EdCamp!

More information is available at www.EdCampIowa.org. Sign up soon. They are giving us a 24-hour head start before opening it up to the rest of the state but there will only be 200 slots at the Storm Lake location...

School's Out Forever

" As the sounds of the playground fade, despair set in." ~ Miriam, from Children of Men

On our trek to the family Thanksgiving feast on Thursday, I happened upon an old, abandoned school building. As a life long educator, school buildings of any kind pique my interest, but I am particularly drawn to those buildings no longer being used for education.

Normally, in Iowa, we come across the little white one room country schools. In the 1950's, most of the country schools merged with neighboring community schools and the rural students began attending school in town. Many of the buildings became township gathering halls. Some were converted to houses or storage buildings. Many were simply no longer used. Thursday's find was unique. A former country school that was three stories made of brick and mortar construction. Over grown with trees, it was sitting in the middle off a plowed field. The building was fitting of a low grade horror movie. Its panes of glass were all broken, but the window frames and cross pieces were still intact. The cement steps leading to the entry way were covered in leaves, but were in near perfect condition.

Although dilapidated, some of the architectural beauty remained. As I took pictures and wandered around the overgrown school grounds, the sounds of school bells, and children's voices filled my head. It was easy to imagine a playground and even a ball diamond. It is times like these that I wished I could time travel, if only in my mind, back to a point where the old school was a living entity.