Monday Mush -- Katy Perry Style

Here is something that I bet you will find surprising.  Today’s “mush” is going to be inspired by Katy Perry …yeah seriously.

I think often times this generation gets labeled as having no values, being overly selfish or having music that that doesn’t make sense.  However, there is some “Top 40” music that I thinks proves there is hope for even this generation.  There is music that truly could inspire, and that I will submit this as something we could even learn from ourselves. 

Here are the Lyrics to Katy Perry’s “Unconditional”

Oh no, did I get too close?
Oh, did I almost see what's really on the inside?
All your insecurities
All the dirty laundry
Never made me blink one time

Unconditional, unconditionally
I will love you unconditionally
There is no fear now
Let go and just be free
I will love you unconditionally

Come just as you are to me
Don't need apologies
Know that you are worthy
I'll take your bad days with your good
Walk through the storm I would
I do it all because I love you, I love you

Acceptance is the key to be
To be truly free
Will you do the same for me?

So, that speaks volumes to me.  Can we be that for each other?  Can we be vulnerable in a way that makes us stronger?  Can you share something with a team or friend that you know will love you know matter what. 

I hope that no matter what, you have people in your lives that you can lean on no matter what you are going through.  That no matter what you have done, they will help you get up and try to do it better the next time….friends that you don’t have to “fake it” with because they know the “real you” and still like you. 

I also hope that at school, we can be that for each other.  We may not ever know what people are dealing with, so I want us to always give people the benefit of the doubt.  But, I want us to look for more grace and acceptance in our co-workers and students.  Students need to be emotionally safe and know they are loved no matter what.  You guys do a great job of doing that, and I applaud you for it.  I want our school to be a place where students can “come as they are,” and that we love them and make their journey better for knowing us. 

I would dare say that my music taste is eclectic as it gets.  I think it keeps you well rounded to experience it all.  I know Eminem and Macklemore, Garth Brooks, Harry Connick and Buble, and Handel and Beethoven.  I wouldn’t change the radio on any of it.  I think there is poetry in music that no matter the artist, it can be learned from.  It is a story, thought, idea, or gift that someone is wanting to share.  I hope we can nurture that in our students too.  An avenue that they can share through.  It doesn’t have to music or poetry, but hopefully kids feel that we do care and want to listen to them.  That way they don’t have to only make “friends with the voices in their heads.”  (Free Jeans passes to the first 3 people that email me the artist(s) and name of the quoted (well paraphrased) song.

Happy Monday!

Monday Mush

 

I actually had to do a double-take on this picture…It caught me off guard, but I LOVE it!  So fitting for what we all have to do at times.  Friday’s flush was about challenges being the gateway to change.  This seems to dovetail with that thought.

No one else fully gets our struggles, problems, or situations.  Sometimes, we are the only ones that can pick ourselves us to keep moving forward.  It is tough to leave our baggage at the door some days and come to work, but we are called to do that.  We are called to be the best we can be every day.

I want us to be a team.  I want us to see the needs in others around us, and take the time to help each other.  I want us to be selfless with each other, so we can grow in that support of each other.  But, there are times, when we do need to be able to muster up the gumption to get through the day.  We need to look in the mirror and do some positive self-talk, so we can be the “Cinderella” to these kids.

I also want us this week to focus on the kids that are trying at such a young age to do it on their own.  We have so many kids that bring baggage to school too.  We need to find a way to show them that we are first and foremost here for them.  We do genuinely care for them and like them.  We want them to become better students, citizens, and future employees.  We need to teach them ways to be dedicated and driven in their own lives.  We need to give them responsibility, but with appropriate love and support. 

We are making a positive change on this campus everyday.  Please don’t get discourage as time wears at you.  Look for the gains that you have already made…look at the relationships you have built, and look for ways to continue forward. 

We are better together, and I know we are stronger every day.  I hope if you are going through something that you are carrying yourself through, that you find help, if you need it.  Thank you for being determined and driven to make a difference, no matter the cost.

Happy Monday!

Friday Flush

Take a moment and read that again….maybe one more time….Ok, now think about if you agree with it, or does it kinda make you mad? 

I have to be honest, it does both for me.  I agree with it, but I also don’t always like it.  I get tired of change sometimes, and I feel like I just want to be just be “good enough.”

 

But, I have nothing done anything BETTER in my life without CHANGING something first.   So, I have to reconcile that change in life is needed and necessary.  So, I need to embrace change.  I need to change because our kids need something better every day.   We need to do something more because that is our mission.  Our mission isn’t to be “good enough.”  Our mission is to be the best.  It is a BIG task, but it is one that I ask all of you to make.  I don’t apologize for that…because I feel that our kids need the best.  I don’t want less for them.

Ok, so now we have accepted change…great…but the “hits just keep coming”….change only comes with some sort of challenge.  I really hate that part.  But, how many challenges in your life have made you stronger?  I can think of soooo many in my life. 

So, I want to encourage you to look at challenges, struggles, and hardships in a different light.  Look at what you can learn from….how can it help you grow…how can you become stronger for what you have gone through.

When you reflect, you may think of something personally or something professionally…or maybe both.  It is true in all circumstances.  Challenges make us better.  We high expectations for our students to challenge them.  We want to have them change by being challenged…as a teacher, we want to become better by challenging ourselves and each other.   We get stronger by trying new things, accepting areas where we need to grow, and encouraging one another.

Thanks for not being too scared to change…thanks for being challenged….happy Friday!

Monday Must --Post Thanksgiving!

Ok, hopefully everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving break…you may have pants that are a size or two bigger, but good food equals a good holiday in my humble opinion.

Today’s quote is more of a thought.  It is continuing the gratitude from last week onto this week to give us focus.

Complete this sentence:

“Working here is something I enjoy because I know that __________ is there and he/she always does _____________.” 

Who fills in the blanks?  What do they do that makes coming to work a tad bit better?  Have you told them?  If not, try to find a time this week to tell them, email them, or write them, so they can benefit from your gratitude.  Let them know that you appreciate them and what specifically you rely on them for. 

We all have stakeholders in our lives on every level…some professionally speaking and some personally.  Take a moment to look back on who stood in your corner when you thought no one else would, forgave you when you didn’t deserve it, covered your duty because you were late, shared their lunch with you because you forgot yours, listened when you had a bad day, or a host of other possibilities.  We need these people in our lives. 

When you look back on your life, you probably think of events…births…..deaths…weddings….birthdays….holidays….but in every one of those events there was a relationship.  There was a stakeholder in your life that made that event special.  I want you to find a way to tell them “thanks for being in my life” or “My life is better because of you.”  (Yes, I know that line sounds a bit cheesy like it should be delivered by Matthew McConaughey without his shirt on in some chick flick).  But, I think you know how it is intended.

You are also person that is putting stakes in the ground for someone else.  You are there for others in ways I would never be able to imagine, and you are a stakeholder in their life.  I hope this week, you look for small ways to start to build relationships in a way that makes you a stakeholder for others even more than you currently are now. 

Thank you for all you do!  Thank you for being an awesome team…I appreciate you more than you know! 

Happy Monday!

Fake Friday Flush

 

You gotta love have a Mush and a Flush back to back….that means it is a really short week! 

I think this quote is perfect for our Thanksgiving break as we head into a gift giving season.  There is nothing more powerful that feeling gratitude from someone. 

I hope that your list of what you are thankful is growing every year.  I hope this year it is the longest ever.  I hope that you have so much to be thankful for that you can’t even think of it all.  But, more so, I hope you share gratitude with others.  I hope you are able to express why you are thankful for them.

I hope this break is a break full of family and friends and rest.  I hope it is full of great deals and happy shopping too.  But, more so, I hope that of the expression of gratitude. 

Enjoy your break…you deserve it…Happy “Fake Friday!”

Monday Mush -- Choices

I completely love this photo.  I think it embodies what we try to do here at Huggins every day.  We choose to be positive even if we don’t want to. 

It is cliché by now, but It does remind me of our Cinderella analogy.  We you go to Disney, I am sure that Cinderella hasn’t always had a good morning of a good day prior.  I bet her boyfriend was a jerk, she was stuck in traffic, her parents split up, her rent is overdue, or something like that.  But, she has to choose to smile instead of letting that affect her day…she has to choose to be in the moment for the kids.  Her life isn’t perfect…but she makes a choice to bless others anyway.

I tell people a lot that in a car the rear view mirror is important, but it is MUCH smaller than the windshield.  What is in front of you is MUCH more important than what is behind.  The road ahead should be your focus.  If you spent all your time looking backward, it is a dangerous thing.  You lose sight of the possibilities, and you view life in too small a box.  There is a big windshield in front of you….

I hope this week is a perfect week for you…I truly do…but reality tells me it probably won’t be.  I haven’t had one yet either.  But, we can all choose to be positive…choose to put our baggage down and do our job the best that we can.  I am glad that you are hear…I appreciate all you do!  I hope this week is fun and exciting…thanks for choosing to work here! 

Happy Monday!

Friday Flush

http://youtu.be/SFnMTHhKdkw (7:48)

Here is a video from another TEDTalk.  I got the link from Ms. McKey, the principal at Meyer Elementary.  I had the privilege to hear her speak in person a few years ago, and she is even more amazing in person.

Her sentiments ring so true in what we do.  Kids need relationships…they can’t learn without a person to connect with.  I also love her ability to spin any situation into a positive.  It builds self-esteem and gets them moving in the right direction.  It is built on a lesson of looking how much more a kid can do, not just what they can’t or aren’t doing.  That mindset shift is paramount in education.  It is why we do what we do.

We believe in kids because they don’t believe in themselves.  We invest in kids because we don’t know who else is.  We nurture relationships because that is how we capture their hearts.  We need to love the whole kid….and tell them that.  I once heard it said that we can’t have “tough love” without the love.  Make sure your kids know that they matter to you.  Find ways to show them and tell them.

 

Over the weekend, look for ways that you can flip a negative outcome into a positive learning experience for kids.  Look for ways to empower them to want to get better and take charge of their own learning. 

Thank you for doing what you do…thank you for being the great actors and actresses in the classroom that makes a difference!

Happy Friday!