Tag: life

Blame the idea

At the beginning of a school year (as a veteran educator) there is so much that I own as the adult leader in a classroom environment

I own my responsibility to provide quality information to the people in the room

I own the mistakes in my own analysis

I own the outcomes of failed experiments (knowing that there is as much to be learned in things that don’t work as there is in things that do…perhaps even more)!

These are OPPORTUNITIES to release perfection and lean on the moment. The safety of getting things “right” the first time is often a trap of false security that creates toxic culture and thinking.

This time of year is also the beginning of the end of outdoor sports. I love to watch tennis and CG is emerging as one of the greatest in the game right now. She understands that “losses make wins more special”! Applying sage notions about life to her tennis game–her job and daily flow. This interview and its key messages about coaching are not obvious by this headline and thumbnail.

As educators, we perhaps have bought into the idea that we can “fix” what is broken:

In schools

In students

In communities

We can’t.

The Truth About Reading and The Right to Read loom large in my thinking about what is happening right now. Who am I? What am I supposed to be doing when so many people are struggling?

Everything that CG said in that interview is making me think about what we must do as teachers–be coaches that remind students that they did not come to us empty or with-out.

“We can guide them, challenge them, hold up mirrors to help them see what they cannot see by themselves…”

We betray the community when we stop believing they can (and we can) be solutions to problems.

We have an important relationship with our work and the people in our workspaces. We can’t fix them (nor should we try). We have to trust that approaching the work with honesty and integrity will be sufficient.

So what ideas am I blaming?

Distrust

Dishonesty

Disingenuity

Dysfunction

Discord

So how am I responding?

Love Letter to my Sonshine (and Myself) on Breaking Up

Life is full of lyrics that tell us how to live and to love.

When Seasons Change learning to celebrate fallen leaves is about appreciating that they are making room for new ones.

Growth is the expectation.

Understanding that Breaking Up Is Hard To Do helps you to know that every generation has its chance to see young love, old love, immature crushes or mature risk-taking relationships all have their sacrifices. You can go into it eyes slivered in admiration and aspiration or wide open with promise and potential, there is always the chance that the players have not been totally honest with your heart or your hopes…it is ok. Keep do, do, wahhing…

I think about how quickly break ups can devolve into unhealthy obsessions, inescapable from misery and darkness–preoccupation with something that doesn’t want you, can’t see you, and definitely does not know you–whether you or it–it warns you that “Every Breath You Take” it is watching. The part it doesn’t say is that it admires you, it misses you, it needs you but pride gets in the way. You (and it) made mistakes. You (and it) missed cues. If you ignore them any more, it will haunt you and maybe harm you deeply…right now, the wounds are superficial.

Fatally toxic is not like the temporary Poison that comes with the lure of a beautiful moment. Remember what sparkles on the outside may be concealing something dangerous. Protect yourself…flow like water…it will flush away some of the mess.

YOU are Irreplaceable.

YOU are the prize.

From chocolate to cherries, your life will be sweeter, healthier, fuller when you let it go…if it was for you, it will come back BUT what lies ahead is an opportunity to take what you have learned and be even better than before.

Get on that plane and shine with a clear head my son…I am doing the same. Pack light. Carry-ons are always better than checked bags. Take that freedom and Keep On Walkin.