Half Full or Half Empty

Half Full or Half Empty

Is your glass half empty of half full? It depends on how thirsty you are and much gratitude you possess which correlates to how happy you’ll be today.

March celebrates a leap in our clocks, the first day of Spring, and the one day we can all be Irish. The month of March also celebrates awareness for cerebral palsy. Awareness is the key component for any service or empathy project. Take one hour out of your extremely busy schedule to talk to someone with CP. If you cannot find someone with CP, talk to anyone with a disability. It matters.

If you’ve ever read any of my books or many of my blog posts, you know about my former student, Julie. She continues to finish the race of becoming a teacher and an educator with the barriers of CP. This month and every month, I take off one of my many hats to salute the greatness in her adventure to be a “difference maker.”

Here’s a link to her most recent blog post:

https://teacherjulie33.blogspot.com/2017/03/stronger.html?showComment=1488456619821#c5172491321413396859

Meandering Path to Education

Meandering Path to Education

This is my story (It should be read out loud.)

I often wonder what it would have been like

If I chose a different path, although I did

Choose another path

From a scrawny kid in a project home

Where no barrier of race broke me down

As I watched my dad hitchhike to work

Doing odd jobs myself as I grew up,

Lawn mower operator, pizza operative,

Bank teller, dairy worker, factory work, I did

To a basketball court, off the street,

High school was blurry, and big, and sometimes not fun,

Please never tell me I cannot do something,

I will come back and haunt you, I did

To the University of San Francisco

And a Fisherman’s Wharf magician

I often wondered if I stopped there.

Perform magic

Chained, handcuffed, nailed in a box

And thrown in a river, on purpose,

Then to the boardwalk I went: magician, entrepreneur or entre-manure

Stepped in it, I did

That’s where my path started toward a classroom.

Substitute teaching, ah, 2 more miracles and I’m a saint

and someone saw me

Connected.

Back to School.

That was my expression of inspiration,

As my first grade teacher said:

Your vocation will find you, vocation, vocation

Where are we going?

That’s not vacation but your vocation, Find your voice, so I did.

When I walked in the classroom,

The only time I was disappointed was by choice

Inspire them, and they will learn!

Teacher, Coach, role model, parent, psychologist, comedian, hall monitor, cafeteria worker, proctor, crossing guard, colleague, trainer, listener, inspire-er of dreams,

In my class we could turn mole hills to mountains, rain drops to rivers, dreams to reality,

So I did!

Now a real husband and parent

Be a doctor of learning, always yearning My wife asked. “Why not a principal?”

I told myself honorable, principle centered, le to principal al.

Not that I could be the best but I knew I could be different and I am.

Take people higher than they thought they could go: students, staffulty, parents, community

I thought

When you hit a wall climb over it, I did

Quit being attacked and go on the offensive.

Stop apologizing for making a difference,

Be passionate about it or don’t do it.

The one real job you can like going to,

And if you don’t, blame yourself

And Make A Difference,

Make A Difference, Make A Difference, Make A Difference,

 I did, 

NJ Youth Leadership

NJ Youth Leadership- Coming to a school near you!

Dear You: You are amazing!!

This is such an easy thing that makes a big difference. Make up your own compliments. I did. It's a culture reinforcer. Hang them all over your building. Your biggest barrier will be keeping the compliments stocked up. Enjoy!!

Leadership Exchange

We had an amazing group of students at our school the other day for a Leadership Exchange. I’ll call it “Lead the Leaders.” We’ve done this many times before but every time we do it, I feel compelled to write about our experiences so more people can be aware of this powerful event.

We invited a group of students from a school in another county to our school (about thirty). The other school was a lot different than ours in terms of ethnic makeup.  This benefited both schools because we were able to share more about ourselves. We mixed in thirty of our students from our Renaissance Street Team. Our Street Team is as close to a student council as you can get. The students prepare different types of team building events and ice-breakers.

When the students arrived at our school, we played loud music playing in our auditorium. We literally roll out a red carpet as they come in. The rest of the students line up on each side of the carpet to high five them as they walk down the carpet. We start with a dance i.e. the a conga line then the Cha Cha Slide.

I made some introductions then we went into an icebreaker facilitated by one of our eighth grade students. A short video and some quick leadership theory headed us into our next activity: Name One Great Thing About Your School. We posted these great things on the wall.

We write down goals for the day on something conspicuous. This year, we used rocks. I ask the students to write down leadership words during the day. Write as many as you can. The students trade team building activities and ideas all day. And of course, we eat lunch.

One of the funniest games is Mission Impossible, a truly great team building experience. The kids are on teams and have to get to the other side of the gym without touching the floor.

Then we get back together and debrief the day. This year, we awarded small trophies, lined the students on stage, and played the National Anthem. Trust me; I just gave you the shortened version.

I tell the students and adults that the real work begins when we are done. After the other school leaves, our teachers start brainstorming. I’m sure the other school starts on the bus ride home. I put together a video with the pictures and video clips from the day. Wow! This is something every organization should do. You never know when inspiration will hit you but we knew this day!

Small Favor

I came across this blog post  by a former student. If I calculated correctly, she should be in grad school. She and her sister are both phenomenal students and most importantly great people. Every time you think you are not making a difference as an educator, something like this pops up. Here is the link to the whole blog:

http://yearwithhafiz.blogspot.com/2014/03/small-favor.html?showComment=1398710452495#c8426354425356313617

Small Favor

If someone asks you to do a small favor, carry that task out as if some great king had assigned you a royal errand, and might then toss a palace your way for a job well done. 

          When I first read this Hafiz quote it reminded me of something my middle school principal Dr. Frank Rudnesky would have said. My memories of him are numerous, but some that stand out are: if he heard someone say a negative comment about someone else, he would make the offender find five positive things to say and he told us never to walk around with the attitude of "I didn't make that mess/mistake, so I won't be cleaning it up/finding a way to fix the situation" (and urged us to act out this concept by picking up stray pencils in the hallways and bringing them to his office). He told a moving story of his early years as an educator, tutoring a girl with terminal cancer, his Renaissance program brought pop songs, ice cream, and singing teachers to the stage, and he cared, deeply, wholeheartedly, and visibly about anyone in his life - his staff, his coworkers, his students.
Most of all, he lived his words, tried to be a leader every day by setting an example for others, took life's small things as meaningful moments, and he had a smile for everyone.
           "Learn now, soar for a lifetime" was the motto of Belhaven Renaissance. The cool part is, many of the students who once learned in his school are still soaring.

Posted by Arden G at 7:23 PM