Friday Flush

Thank you for your hard work this week…how did a week of encouragement go?  Did you find some people to “lift up” that needed it?  I sure hope so.

I love this quote…great perspective for us for sure!  Often times we spend our life being weighed down by our past.  Oftentimes we let it define us…and not in positive ways.  We see mistakes that we have made or problems that have happened, and we assume that the future will be the same.  We don’t expect that we can be different than our past.

I have said many times that when you drive a car, there is a windshield and a rearview mirror in front of you.  Both are really important.  You truly benefit from having a rear view mirror….however, the windshield is MUCH more important.  It is much larger, and it is much more a necessity when driving a car.  If I had to choose one to drive without, it would be the rearview everytime.  I think life can be the same way….we have things behind us…it is important to know they are there….we learn from there…but it is MUCH more important what is ahead of us. 

If you need to let go some heavy burden of the past, now is a great time…Don’t let you tomorrow be ruined by the pain of yesterday.

Thanks for all you do---hope your weekend is great!

Monday Mush

I must be in a commitment or trial kind of mood lately….Friday I gave everyone the mission/challenge to find a block of time and only be positive and not complain….then analyze that block of time against everything else. 

Now after that, I am asking for a 5 day commitment of being encouraging.  So starting today, can you find one (or more) ways each day to encourage someone else that you wouldn’t have typically down.  So by Friday, you have made it through 5 days of being encouraging.  

I love this commitment…like being positive, it is a choice…it is something we have to “make” ourselves do.   But, wow it is powerful.  I need much more of this message myself…I need to encourage others.  To do that means several things….one, I have a relationship that matters with someone….two, you noticed them doing something….three, you took time to tell them.

Those 3 things are HUGE….having true relationships with people gives you freedom to be yourself and take risks and mess up.  True Friends forgive the easiest….   It you notice something good, then you were watching for something good…or at least you are expecting something good from them.   And lastly, you took time for someone else.  I don’t have much time in my days it seems, and  I would venture you are thinking “man, that is weird, I am bored over here.”  I have never asked someone how they are and they answered, “Man, I am good, but just have way too much time on my hands.”   So, if we step out of our “norm” and give up some of our finite time, that speaks volumes. 

So, I hope you can join me in finding a way to encourage others for 5 days in a row….then maybe we will see the power and want that to continue…

Happy Friday!

Friday Flush -- Positivity Test

I love the message in this quote.  I think it speaks so highly of the power of being a positive person.  It is truly a gift that I think people have to some degree, but I also know it is more of a choice that people choose to make.  They choose to find the positive and focus on the positive, and that controls the attraction of more positives to you. 

Have you ever met someone that complains about not having friends….or they say that all social situations are stacked against them….or they say that others must just be lucky because of certain situations….BUT the whole time you are thinking “ummm you don’t have friends because you are mean” or “if you didn’t complain all the time maybe situations would be better for you by finding solutions.”   They don’t see their negative energy actually is repelling people away from them.   The don’t see how negativity really does have power.

Have you ever just gotten a funny feeling when you walk in the room?  Or stand on an elevator and just know the couple is in the middle of a fight?  Or you can just tell someone had something very good happen to them that morning?  There is an energy that we carry….there is an aura.  There is no doubt that positivity attracts….it brings people in because people love it…they want to be around it and they want to learn it. 

We want to be that here for our team mates, our kids, and our parents, but more important we just should want that all the time.  We want people buying milk next to us in line to get a sense that we are having a really good day and it rub off on them…We want our families to be glad we are home from work because of the positive energy we bring….We want to be the top of the invite list, not the person after others declined, because we are sooo positive.

This weekend let’s try it….Choose a block of time….2 hours, 4 hours, 8 hours….hours you are awake…..and don’t let yourself by negative or complain.   Then analyze it….did it affect you in a positive way?  Did if affect others?    Did you see how it is a choice?  You choose the time to do it….and if it worked, then why can’t you choose it all the time.

People that are successful and/or happy aren’t lucky…they are persistent and most of the time positive.  They are optimistic of a solution, and they affect others in a positive way.

Join me on the “positivity test” this weekend…email me your thoughts or a team mate….

Happy Friday!

Monday Mush

“I prefer the errors of enthusiasm to the indifference of wisdom.”― Anatole France

This is a great quote.  I know at first blush it doesn’t make perfect sense, but there is an element of it that I truly love.

Successful educators are risk takers…they aren’t just super smart people.  I know you are also super smart, but we do the great things that we do because of passion….because of enthusiasm. 

I love when teachers make mistakes based on calculated risks that are due to enthusiasm.  It is a great thing to make these “errors of enthusiasm” because it means you care enough to try something new….to step out of your comfort zone…to create more student engagements based on your passion.

I love watching the growth of our students…that is due to your passion and enthusiasm.  Yes, you are wise, smart, and knowledgeable….but more importantly you try things…you have freedom to be creative to be you in the classroom.  Please don’t ever lose that passion….

Thank you for being enthusiastic…thank you for being dynamic…thank you for caring for your kids!

Happy Monday!

Doing What Others Cant -- Monday Mush

Love this quote….it shows the determination behind our goals. 

I love that if we work harder on the front end…we get to reap rewards that others don’t.  This is good for our kids…our kids get to reach further because of the work that we put in early.

This is a great motivation this week….look at your goals for your students.  How do you get there? 

If you want to be great….it takes great effort.  I see that from you guys everyday!

I am excited it is November…we pushed through October which is one of our toughest months.  I am excited for the rest of the semester.

This week think how this quote can benefit you and your students…share that with your team….share that with your family.

Thank you for all you do!

Happy Monday!

Friday Flush -- 64 Watermelons

Ok, I probably am showing that I am quite juvenile, but I did laugh out loud (literally) at this quote. 

I think reading this comes at a good time as we finished up our first nine weeks assessments, and we realized once again that kids and problem solving don’t always mix.  But, after the humor of it went away, I realized there are some “teaching takeaways” that can come from it. 

Number 1, often times educators create a world that really only makes sense in a classroom or school.  We create procedures on how to read a passage, we use “tricks of the trade” in math, or we create procedures for dealing with others that don’t work in life.  

So I thought it worth mentioning that we should all reflect on our practices to make sure we are meaningfully connecting the student’s learning to their lives and experiences.  We also want to meaningfully create tools for students to truly use in life.  We want to foster a love of reading, foster a true understanding of math concepts, and foster interactions that are genuine to society. 

Number 2 ties in strongly with number 1, but it still stands alone, in my opinion.  We need to look for and create ways for students to truly picture the solution in their heads.  The difference between a high-achieving student and a low-achieving student is often the ability to visualize the problem (especially in math and science).  For example, all kids can watch Looney Tunes and know when Wyle E. Coyote drops the rope, the Acme anvil will fall.  They get that the heavy object will fall, and the rope/pulley help it be not so heavy.  The visual is given to them.  The high achiever can now automatically picture that pulley when reading a science word problem, or they can draw it out.  The low achieving student still only understands it when they see it. 

Seeing something shown is priceless, but we have to find a way to connect the picture given to the kid to a way that draws their own picture when they read words on a page.  Help you kids visualize.  Have them stop and draw what they are thinking.  Make kids talk through how they are solving problems….

Teaching is tough…but it is also amazing.  We get to talk at the end of the year and say “I helped do that” when our kids are far beyond where they thought they could go.

So this weekend think about how to make school be “more real” to the kids, and help them find a way to visualize concepts more easily.

I thank you for all you do! 

Happy Friday!  Let’s go get some Watermelons…. 

Monday Mush -- video montage

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCs8cj7-fr4 (5:10)

This is a tad longer than my usual videos….it is also slightly different, but It has some amazing quotes.  Quotes that I think could me a life mantra or a week’s mantra. 

My hope it that from this video you find one quote or thought that gives you inspiration in some part of your life….I hope that you are able to use that to inspire others, reach your goals, and realize that greatness isn’t just for some people. 

I think you are a great team….I think you do great things…I look forward to a great week!

Happy Monday!