Responding Positively to the Moment

Update for Nov 9-13

Labeled for reuse -- https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3209/3057284879_d211bd3af6_b.jpg

It was in the moment just before a big meeting that someone asked me, "Are you ok?".

"Yeah, I'm fine!" I replied.  "Are you sure? You don't look okay, " she replied back.

"Yep.  I just needed to clear my mind."

I was trying to get my mind right just before our meeting.  We were coming together to talk about our next steps for our Re-Imagine Elementary Education project, so I wanted to be fully tuned into what we were going to be doing.

I had a far away look for many reasons - I was unpacking the things I knew I would need to attend to that night (emails, phone calls, etc); I was trying to think of the things I wanted to say during the meeting; and I was tired. Very tired.  My wife tells me all the time, "You always say you're tired," but on this day I was just drained.

My colleague told me that principals can get this way around November.  She suggested that October is when teachers are starting to feel the pressure of the year and principals feel the need to keep the energy up and going for everyone.  November is when principals are starting to come down.

True or not true - That described me in that moment, so I believed it. And I realized I needed to work harder on that thing called balance.

This rest of the week I spent my time keeping my eyes open for some positivity - Articles, videos, whatever crossed my path that would pick me up.  I didn't actively seek them, I just kept my mind open. I needed things to lift me back up.

Social media helped me hit the jackpot!  Check out some of the great articles and videos I ran across since Thursday below. Each one lifted me up and helped me get my mind right.  The challenges we all face at school and in life won't go away and we can't change that. We can only change how we respond to those moments.


Video - "Life Is Meant To Be Epic" -- https://youtu.be/-nIsOMGgCdo

This 3 minute video talks about how many of us are always longing for that next phase in life because we are seeking comfort.  John Spencer suggests that the discomfort of life is what life's all about -- Life's meant to be EPIC!  

Article - "Not Waiting for Tomorrow" -- http://georgecouros.ca/blog/archives/5747
This is a great post by my education hero, George Couros.  My favorite line from the post is this quote:

"We need to make the positive so loud that the negative becomes almost impossible to hear."

Article - "I'll Never Resign" -- http://venspired.com/ill-never-resign/

There was a post going around about a teacher who resigned because of the state of education, more or less.  I loved this response to that post from Krissy Venosdale about lifting up the positive in order to make a difference.  

I know that we are in some turbulent times in education and that some of us didn't sign up for this when we got into this profession. But here we are. We have to decide how we are going to respond. I hope you will join me in lifting up the positive in order to make meaningful change.

In other news...

Ask a steering committee representative to share about the great work we engaged in from our ½ day meeting on Thursday. Some highlights to hear about:

--Parent Survey

--North Carolina Trip

--Designing a lesson in 7 minutes

--The building of houses and neighborhoods

--Project Time line 

Upcoming Dates

Nov 10 – 1^st Grade Data Team Day; Picture Make-up Day

Nov 11 – BIT Meeting, 8am; 2^nd Grade Data Team Day; Special Ed Team Meeting, 12:30; IAT Team Meeting, 3:30, Board Meeting, DCR, 7pm

Nov 12 - -3^rd Grade Data Team Day; “Making Math Personalized” w/ Donna Farland-Smith (DCR Media Center, 3:40); HEF Dinner

Nov 17 – Team Connection Time w/ Herb, if needed

Nov 18 – 4^th Grade Data Team Day

Nov 19 - -5^th Grade Data Team Day

Nov 20 – End of 1^st Grading Period

Nov 25-27 – No School, Thanksgiving Holiday