From time to time...

Lately, I've been doing much thinking about teaching: why I do it, what it does for me as a person, how to do it better, and when (or if) to share what I think about.

This blog began in 2012, and I've posted irregularly during that time. I think that when I have poted, it's been about topics that I strongly believe in. The focus here is about self-improvement; and striving to "be better" than yesterday.

What is missing in this blog, although there are several posts about my teaching thoughts, is a true focus on who I am through what I do. I've occasionally felt as though I was of two minds: the teacher mind and the personal development mind. So, at the new year, I started a new blog presence that I believe will allow me to marry who I am and what I do in a better way. It is this page that will see more attention from me in the forseeable future: http://myteachingwhyblog.wordpress.com. 

I invite you to join me there. If you like what you read, I would appreciate your subcrition, share, and/or "Like."

Onward!

Time to Set Sail from Someday Isle

For those of us interested in self improvement...

How many blogs do you read on becoming better at whatever you do?

How many leadership and motivational books have you read? Podcasts listened to?

Would you say that you do these things because you aspire to excellence in your personal and work life? (And, if you currently aren't doing these things, give them a try, maybe get hooked, and remember my challenge here!)

When is enough enough? At what point do you stop ASPIRING and start APPLYING with the goal of ACHIEVING?

When is it time to leave “Someday Isle” (as Jim Rohn puts it)?

All of the reading you do (yes, even this blog) is meant to prime your pump of creativity, give you passion for doing good, encourage you to lead like a servant, fire your desire to inspire, and be the change you wish to see in the world. So, my question: when are you going to get moving?

I must admit, I fall into this trap, too. Sure, things I read and hear may sink in through osmosis and pop out in my thinking or my conversations once in awhile, but really synthesizing and applying takes work, and sometimes, I just don’t wanna do it.

The other day, I finished reading The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy. It’s a great book, and I recommend it. The premise: little changes over time will compound into a BIG difference for you. Hardy challenges his readers with action steps at the end of each chapter. He point-blank asked his readers to apply his ideas! Of all the nerve!

Well, I am applying some of his ideas. There is a lot there and it will take some time, but I think I actually am going to like this. I’m achieving small things, and the sum total effect feels great.

So what about you? At what point do you know enough to cross over from aspiration to achievement? Why not jump in and swim away from “Someday Isle?” The water’s fine!

Stick With Your Goals: Baby Steps

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

-- Chinese philosopher, Laozi (604-531 BC)

“If you want to feel better, take just one aspirin at a time; not the whole bottle.”

-- My mom.

I recommend a few books on creating and maintaining life changing habits: The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg and The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy. In their own way, each book discusses how creation of life changing habits (positive or negative) is either intentional or unintentional. The easy road means coasting into mindless habit that will not push us toward our goals and dreams. The hard road is paved with intention, most times resulting in forward progress.

The challenge is to set ourselves up for success by reducing our goals to their smallest common denominators. Little, seemingly insignificant -- yet intentional -- choices will compound over time to move us closer to our goals.

Admittedly, with the exception of some addictions, if it's easy to start something, it's also easy to stop. Late January is strewn with broken resolutions.

What we have to do is take baby steps. Make the hurdle so low that you can step over it without much effort. Let's say your goal is to journal each day. Rather than planning to writing paragraph upon paragraph expounding on your day, decide to write one sentence to summarize your day. Put your notebook and pen at your bedside ready to go, and all you have to do as you sit down on the edge of bed to get ready to swing your legs up and lay down, is reach over and write a few words. Start with that and see where it goes. After all, doing that much is better than doing nothing at all toward your goal. You have effectively lowered the bar to its lowest rung, and given yourself a chance to create a habit that will move you toward your goal.

Many years ago, Zig Ziglar, this generation's granddaddy of motivational speaking and writing, proudly spoke about how he lost (and kept off) 37 pounds in ten months as part of his his goal to be healthier. How did he do it? He set a goal weight, set a goal date, and did the math. If he could just lose 1.9 OUNCES on average per day, he would make his goal! 37 pounds is a LOT of weight. Less than two ounces? Not so much. He broke his goal down, took it one day at a time, and made little choices to get himself there.

I'm a pretty tall fella: 6'4". I once weighed nearly 250 pounds, which was too much for my frame. My knees hurt and back hurt after standing all day in the classroom. Spurred-on by a "biggest loser" challenge for faculty at my high school about 10 years ago, I decided to shed some of that baggage by cutting soda from my diet. My life style as a high school band director is fairly hectic, so this seemed like a manageable first step. I replaced the habit of soda with the habit of water, and an amazing thing happened: every time I chose water, I remembered of my goal. The more I remembered my goal, the more little choices I made that could help me along the way: no late night snack today, no second helping of Thanksgiving mashed potatoes, just half a candy bar rather than the whole thing, etc. Six months later, I had dropped to 212 pounds!

These two examples highlight weight-loss, but making small, seemingly insignificant steps toward any goal will work for you!

Here’s a suggested plan for attacking your goals with BABY steps:

1.     Review all of the goals you’ve set in the past, but did not accomplish.
2.     Identify ONE goal from that list that you’d still like to accomplish
3.     Boil it down to small, seemingly insignificant tasks
4.     Take action a little bit each day.
5.     Pick another small task related toward your goal.
6.     Get it done
7.     Repeat 5 and 6 as many times as necessary.
8.     Before too long, you're habitually moving toward your goal!

Six Thoughts on Becoming a More Effective Teacher

Every so often I am asked by former high school students pursuing college degrees in education about my thoughts on being an effective teacher. While I do not consider myself the authority on the subject by any means, I do believe strongly in these six thoughts.

Invest in Yourself

“The first and best victory is to conquer self.” – Plato

“Work harder on yourself than you do on your job.” – Jim Rohn

The most important factor in determining whether a child learns in your classroom is YOU. Amid papers to correct, lessons to plan, emails to answer, calls to make, meetings to attend, and any number of other details which to tend, you must remember that it is your long-term growth and happiness that must be the priority.

The give and take of your personal and professional life is like making deposits and withdrawals at a bank: the “Bank of You.” Reading books, articles, and blogs that inspire, motivate and inform are deposits into your bank. Exercise and eating well are deposits. Creating strong relationships with peers are deposits. Attending conferences and seminars are deposits.

The benefit to a teacher from any of these deposits is interest paid. Interest comes in many forms: improved mental and physical health, increased student performance, easier relationship building with students, parents and administrators, invitations to mentoring and/or leadership roles within the profession, and many more.

There is give and take in any profession, however, and teaching is no different. All of the inevitable distractions, the rough days, the time away from family, and the stress of the job make withdrawals from the Bank of You. Your goal is to have enough saved up in the Bank to buffer against these difficulties. If you don't, you'll soon be living on borrowed time.

Observe Great Teaching and Have Great Teachers Observe You

It seems human nature to adapt and conform to our surroundings. On the golf course, I always play better when I'm in a group with great golfers. Whenever I attend professional golf events I am struck with the urge to get back to my home course and play. I am inspired by watching great performances. When I observe great teaching first-hand, the same thing occurs. I am rejuvenated and excited to get back to my own classroom!

We are easily influenced by our circle of friends and colleagues: whoever we spend time with tend to shape who we are. Within your school are many outstanding teachers, and it's easy to figure out who. Spend time with them. Watch them work. Ask them questions. Allow them to come into your classroom and don't be afraid of what they might have to say. Be inspired, and your students will benefit.

Seek Opportunities to Serve

Sometimes when the going gets tough, we build a “comfort cocoon” around ourselves. Our thinking turns to “I” and “me” rather than “we” and “us.” We wallow in pity parties of our own design and feel alone. Before that happens, volunteer for school committees or become an activity sponsor. Find ways to take the initiative in your environment and help make it better. In doing so, you invest in opportunities that put “we” and “us” front and center in your mind and create meaningful relationships that will help you through the tough times. If you want to be a great teacher, motivator, communicator, and/or leader, you can't do it alone. You will get everything you want in your life and career if you give others what they want.

Strive for Balance in Your Classroom

“Teaching is about the intersection between relationships, curiosity and content.” 

– Dr. Kwame Brown

Content is king in education. The almighty test controls much of what goes on in the classroom. However, I firmly believe that our primary job as teachers is to build people, and it must be done within the context of our curriculum. This is the joining of the “what” (curriculum) to the “how” (process and example) to get to the “why” (inspiring young minds.)

Very few teachers that went to college to receive a degree education simply wish to program young minds with facts and figures. Any computer can do that these days. Our role is to maintain our focus on why we are called to teach and why our presence matters to students.

Take Time for Reflection

There is tangible benefit to writing in a journal. When you put your thoughts on paper, they become more concrete. You may even see them more objectively. When you browse back in your notes, you can see how your thinking has changed, evolved. Journaling is another way to make a deposit into the Bank of You. There are myriad articles about journaling's benefit, and many techniques to get it done. I encourage you to do your research.

Sitting down and visiting with a trusted friend and/or colleague can be a valuable reflection exercise, too. I look forward to opportunities to talk to friends in my profession. Nearly all the time, I come away from those chats with a fresh perspective, reminded that my concerns and my frustrations, as well as my hopes and victories are a part of a larger, shared experience.

The “Annie Principle:”

“When I'm stuck with a day that's gray and lonely, I just stick out my chin and grin and say: 

'The sun will come out tomorrow...'”

Teaching is tough. Not every day will go as planned. But the good news is that for the foreseeable future, the sun will indeed rise tomorrow, and another opportunity to be better awaits you. When all else fails, and regardless of the circumstances that may have made today difficult, there are young people in your sphere of influence that want precisely what you have to offer.

Stop Should-ing on Me

Margot Thompson is a blogger that I follow on Twitter. She and I share the same thoughts on the word "SHOULD." Here's the beginning of her blog post from late October. The link to the full post is below the excerpt. Enjoy!

For most of my life, I've felt a huge pressure to be something or someone that in my heart, I really wasn't. Urged in certain directions by those I loved and respected, I just presumed they were correct, and it was me that simply couldn’t feel comfortable walking the “right” path. So often we tell ourselves what we should do or who we should be based on what others believe. I should be a straight “A” student. I should go to university. I really should socialize more. I should be married to a “successful” man. I should have children by now. I should make more money. What a load of shoulds.

via margotthompson.typepad.com

Success Through Failure

You miss 100% of the shots you don't take. -- Wayne Gretzky

NBA star Kobe Bryant holds many, many records. He's the youngest player to score 24,000 points (31 years, 76 days) and the youngest player to score every thousand point increment above that through 32,000 points (36 years, 87 days); records previously held by the likes of Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He is tied with Michael Jordan and two others for the most "All-Defensive Team" honors won in a career (9). He has been on 11 All-NBA First Teams (tied with Karl Malone), and is a 16 time NBA All Star. By most all statistical measures, he is a great basketball player.

There's one more stat that he added to his resume recently: most missed shots in a career. Kobe Bryant as of November 11, 2014 had missed 13,418 shot attempts. That's a lot. Michael Jordan missed about 9000. (But then again, Kobe has played 4 more seasons and 200 more games than Michael in the NBA.)

Kobe Bryant is taking risks without fear of failure. He is continually trying. He is continually working to get that ball in the hoop. It hasn't fallen through the metal ring over 13,000 times, but in the process of trying, he has become great and maintained greatness in his NBA career.


For me, the story is a bit less dramatic and certainly not a national sports headline grabber. This was my first year on a road bike: lycra shorts-and-all, seriously pedaling around central Iowa. My goal for the year is to ride 1500 miles, and I'm currently at 1409. I know there's a few weeks left in the year, but it's Iowa... it's pretty cold this time of year, and it gets dark awfully early. My life as a teacher and busy dad may not allow me enough tome to spend the 7-8 hours I need in the saddle to reach my goal.

Am I a failure if I don't reach my goal? I don't think so. While I'd like to think I'll find a way to pedal 91 more miles, here are some of the benefits I've already reaped through my efforts this year:

1. I biked 1409 miles!
2. I met dozens of wonderfully interesting people.
3. I have an expanded wardrobe of stretchy, breathable fabric.
4. I was with my children for their first 25 mile-long rides.
5. I biked across the state of Minnesota to raise money for MS research.
6. I raised over $2000 for MS
7. I saw parts of my state that I've never seen.
8. I lost weight and gained muscle (temporarily...)
9. I have a new appreciation for fitness and will pass that on to my children.
10. I gained excitement for the future, a more positive mindset, and have a renewed appreciation for goal-setting.

Not a bad list. 

On my reading list this summer was "Failing Forward" by John Maxwell. It's a great, easy read, and I recommend it highly. The book is a treasure trove of quotes pertaining to using failure as a stepping stone to success. My top five from the book:

• Embrace adversity and make failure a regular part of your life. If you're not failing, you're probably not really moving forward.
• The less you venture out, the greater your risk of failure. Ironically the more you risk failure — and actually fail — the greater your chances of success.
• If you are succeeding in everything you do, then you're probably not pushing yourself hard enough. And that means you're not taking enough risks. You risk because you have something of value you want to achieve.
• The next time you find yourself envying what successful people have achieved, recognize that they have probably gone through many negative experiences that you cannot see on the surface.
• The more you do, the more you fail. The more you fail, the more you learn. The more you learn, the better you get.

Now, will I reach my 1500 mile goal? I plan on it!

Accident or Design

It occurs to me that our days tend to unfold in one of two ways: by accident or by design.

This struck me after looking back on a recent summer weekday and realizing I had done nothing but float around the house like a half-filled helium balloon: doing a chore here, playing with the kids there, checking email every 20 minutes, thinking about work with no particular purpose in mind, reading a little.

Wow. In the grand scheme of things, I thought, I have done nothing to add value to my life today, and it was by accident. I wasn't intentional. I just existed.

Don't get me wrong, this kind of living has its place. Occasionally, and on purpose. Making a choice to "decompress" or "disconnect" can be a good mental break. But when there exists no purpose to what we do, we have no purpose.

I like to make lists. Lists keep me honest and directed. My usual routine is to make a list in the morning for my day. However, in an effort to quell the recent malaise that has beset me, the teacher in summertime, I recently began writing out to-do lists for the next day as I sit enjoying Netflix in the evening. This little shift has set up my tomorrows much more successfully. I wake up with intention (today it was to start at 5:30 AM with a 30 mile bike ride), and move on to other goals (like writing this post). No floating unless I designed part of my day that way.

Ultimately, we have control over ourselves. That's it. Small steps like setting a few little goals and intentionally designing tomorrow to move ourselves closer to those goals will lead to bigger and bigger things. Avoid accidents with better design.