More than your Role, and the Power of Yet

Last week we had an assembly to introduce our teachers and staff to the new students and reintroduce them to our returning students.  The teachers all got into a line at the front of the cafeteria and I expected a quick recitation of “I am Mrs./Mr. SoandSo and I teach this and that.”, but instead we heard stories about what the teachers liked, where they have visited, interesting facts and proud moments.  Yes, they shared their names and teaching areas, but more importantly, they shared a little bit about who they are, not just their name and position.  I was thrilled that they did more than just introduce themselves, they connected with the students.

This past summer I had the pleasure of hearing Brian LaDuca (@B_LA_D) speak and among many other things that he talked about I was struck by the idea of not being defined, and limited, by what we do and approaching our life with our purpose, not our profession.  So started my talk a little differently:

“I’m Mr. Showers, and I want to be so much more than a principal.  My hope is that this year you will find out all the many things you can be if you choose to explore your interests.”

Speaking with the students, we talked about my summer learning to be a researcher, animal behaviorist, and landscaper as I fought a losing battle with my dog and her desire to dig down to the molten core of the earth.  I shared that I found out that there are many reasons for dogs to dig, but one of the major ones is boredom.  So I built a sandbox with my rudimentary carpentry skills, filled it with toys, and sat back as…the dog dug holes in both the sandbox AND the yard.  I explained that although it was technically a failure, I learned that my dog loves her sandbox and that I can at least square up a few boards to build something.  It wasn't a defeat, it was learning, so, back to the drawing board. The newest strategy is trying to grow grass over the layer of chicken wire laid down as a barrier to the dogs excavating skills.  We shall see...

We finished with the idea of the power of Yet, and of being bigger than your current role.  I have not solved my hole problem…Yet.  I am not the best carpenter or landscaper, yet. None of the students in the room have not mastered the 6^th grade content, or learned how to play their instrument, or draw or play soccer… yet. All they have to make their life being as rich and as big as they want it to be is to try, and know that failure is not the end; it is just the beginning of yet.

Show Me the Possibilities and a Flexible Mindset, and I Shall Learn About the World.

  “Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world” –Archimedes

 “Our power to maximize our potential is based on two important things: (1) the length of our lever-how much potential power and possibility we believe we have, and (2) the position of position of our fulcrum- the mindset with which we generate the power to change.” Shawn Achor, The Happiness Advantage.

Over the summer, one of the smartest people I know looked at me and said something like “I guess I am just stupid.” My mom had shown up with an iPhone a friend had given her when her ancient flip phone just couldn’t handle basic functions like texting anymore and she was convinced that a hunk of plastic and circuitry was beyond her considerable intellect. We were working on getting the phone set up and from my perspective, she was doing great, particularly for someone who was born 30 years before the first call was ever placed on a mobile phone!

It was a new frontier, and the load we needed to lift seemed to dwarf the lever we had available. In addition, with no frame of reference, we did not know where to place our fulcrum. We took a break from the phone and over the next few days, we used google maps to navigate, Spotify to play music, the apple store to download backgammon, and Facetimed a family friend.
As we had small successes, Mom’s mindset started to change, she asked to use her phone to look things up, navigated around town, and began to figure out the questions she needed to ask to understand the phone. As she found success, her lever grew; and as she realized all of the things the phone could do, she found the firm ground to place her fulcrum. I recently had a phone call with my mom and among other things, she shared that she had used her phone to find a geocache, and that she was thinking about upgrading when the new iPhone comes out so that she can have more battery life and functionality.

In the end, she just had to decide that this was something she COULD do, something she WANTED to do and then make a CHOICE to learn. Over the coming months, your child is going to struggle. It might be socially or academically, it might be long division, or a five-paragraph essay. It could be that math has always been hard or that they feel they are not good writers. As a team, we have to encourage them to believe that they have the power to learn, the potential to succeed and then help them approach the problem with a positive mindset. This does not mean it will not be hard, for us or for the student, but it will be possible. Together we cannot only help our students succeed; we can help them move the world!

Welcome to the Journey!

  http://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/s/1oy5a1

“Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter.” –Izaak Walton

Getting into the car to drive somewhere is a mundane task that we do every day.  We commute, run errands, and just want to get to our destination.  However, pack the same car with people you connect with and the mundane becomes special, filled with opportunity and possibilities.  Simply having the presence of friends and family turns a mundane activity into something epic, where the process of getting there is to be enjoyed as much as the destination.  With that in mind, I want to welcome you to another spectacular year where we are all about the journey and all growth, excitement, learning and teaching that happens on the way to the destination.

So let us get this road trip started!  I am not promising a certain schedule for these posts, but my goal is to keep communication open even if I am just sharing with a few friends.  Please comment, here or directly to me, and let me know what you, my road trip companions, need or want to know!  The format will be simple, I will write a bit, then I will give some bullet points for the TL,DR (that is “Too Long, Didn’t Read” for us non digital natives) folks, and then send out the post in hopes of a response from you. 

In the next few weeks your student will meet new friends, get to know not only their own teachers, but also many other staff, and find that they are on an adventure, not a forced march to the end of the year. 

• Throughout this year, we want to have two-way communication so you know what is happening in the school, why it is happening and the best way we can each support your child as they walk this path of discovery.

• Contact teachers, staff and administrators early with issues and questions, before you reach a frustration level, we want solutions just as much as you do!

• Is something missing from what the school is providing or know of a great opportunity?  Just make a call or drop an email and let us know so that we can look into it.

 Please reach out to your child’s teacher and share with them:

• The important details about how to guide your child this year. What do they like and how do they learn. 

• Share with them the best way to communicate with you, including when you would like them to communicate in regards to behavioral or academic issues.  Typically teachers work with the student first, and call only when a pattern arises, but if you want more, just ask!

Remember, in any road trip, you have the opportunity to cling to the mundane and count down the days to the end, or find the special people and moments along the way and make the journey seem shorter.

We are looking forward to a year that will be filled with the experiences that will leave us thinking that our time together was far too short and yet all that we hoped for in a journey.

@Mr_showers1