Friday Flush -- Are you Crazy???

I have also heard another quote this week about being crazy….”I want to continue being crazy; living my life the way I dream it, and not the way the other people want it to be.”  -- Paulo Coelho

I figure if you get two crazy quotes in one week, that is sign that it must be a part of the Mush/Flush cycle.

I mean how many times in life have you been called “crazy.”  Is it ever a positive thing?  I know for me being called “crazy” doesn’t happen too often.  I am kinda boring and not a risk taker…see previous Mush about always ordering the same things at restaurants!  So, when I am called “crazy” it is usually negative.

But, I can specifically think of friends and associates that are genuinely “crazy” in a wonderful way.  They take risks and they walk a walk because it is right, not because others are doing it.  We chose a profession to make a difference, not be one of a crowd.  So, there is a certain degree of crazy needed to do that.

I once said in a faculty meeting that we should approach our jobs like they are making a movie about us.  Unfortunately, that movie might be boring, if we don’t find a way to do something grand.  If we look at great educators that they make movies about, well, they are  crazy.  They don’t care what their neighbor is doing next door, they don’t care what the students are “supposed” to be like, they don’t care where the kids came from, and they sure don’t care about being “normal.” 

They step out of their skin to make a difference.  Every day I see teachers do things in classrooms that they wouldn’t “normally do.”  They talk in voices, make up songs, dance around, stand on desk, or a variety of other things.  It is more important to you to get their attention than be “normal.”  It is more important to inspire than be “normal.”

Think of your favorite teacher/coach movie.  There are a bunch.  Think of the character.  What made them inspirational?  What made them “crazy?”  Can you take any part of that and apply it?  You are made from the same materials that they are/were.  Our only difference is choice….what do we choose to do?  We can choose to be just “good enough” or we can choose to be “crazy great.” 

Thanks for being on this crazy ride with me…you guys are great.  Find someone this weekend to brag about your students with, and brag about how some of the great things that you have done.

Happy Friday!