Remember in August...

Remember in August when we talked about being inspired?

Are you still feeling the same way?  We are reaching the end of the semester and more than a little of that shine has worn off.  We, like our students, feel overwhelmed on days.  We, like our students, feel tired on days.  We, like our students, are anxious for break.  But in this building it is the "we" that needs to rise up and keep the fire burning.  Not just for our own sanity, but for our students as well.  Find something that inspires and recharges you.  It may be music.  It may be physical activity, It may be coloring (have you tried some of those adult coloring books?  They are pretty awesome.).  It may be reading inspirational or funny quotes or blogs of other educators.  Find something.  Share it.  Get inspired and recharge.  Share that too.  Share your zest with your colleagues and share it with our students.

Bonus video:   This Nike commercial came out right after the start of the school  year.  Kyle Maynard was featured in the X Ambassadors video:

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving break is here!  If you are like me, you have a list a mile long you would like to accomplish over the next five days.

The day of over eating and indulgence is here!  You have planned to eat and drink everything in sight.

You may be spending your time with family and that can create a whole list of issues.

You may be plotting your Black Friday adventure.

Or maybe you are planning on doing NOTHING during break.

Whatever Thanksgiving holds for you, remember to be thankful and grateful.  There is a lot of yuck out there right now.  Be the good for someone and take the time to thank those who are the good for you.

Here is a link to a nice reading about what to be thankful for as a teacher.  We are entrusted with helping shape the future!  There are many people who have helped us become the teachers we are.  Think about everyone that has a part in your decision to be in education.

http://www.teachhub.com/what-I-am-thankful-for

Have a great break!

Happy Friday Afternoon!

It has been a long week...and what we are seeing every night on the news doesn't help.

Let's all dance!  Let's all dance like no one is watching.  It makes everyone smile.

This lady took the advice of Kid President and ran with it. In fact, she stole the show.

Chin up!  Smile!  You are doing great things!

http://www.scarymommy.com/behold-your-new-hero/

The Day After Tomorrow

I think everyone's sleep patterns are in a tailspin.

In the past two weeks these events have occurred which has resulted in late nights:

Halloween
Game 7 of the World Series (that went into extra innings after a rain delay)
Daylight Savings Time
Presidential Election

For our family, I'll add "harvest" to that list which makes for some very late nights.  

So our sleep patterns have been disrupted.  We are a little bit more tired in the mornings and are waiting for the time when we can "catch up" on sleep.  We are a bit more on edge and need a bit more coffee in the morning to keep us going.  We (as are our students) are buzzing with excitement to share with friends and colleagues our thoughts and views on what happened the night before.

The country, in fact the whole world, is buzzing with the results of the election.  I must admit:  I stayed up until after 1 flipping between Fox, CNN, ABC, and CBS to hear what they were saying and to see if a winner would be declared.  I had to wait until this morning to hear "official" results. 

And boy is it crazy.

Crazy in the fact that pollsters got it wrong.  Crazy in the fact that people are just plain MEAN on social media.  Crazy in the fact that it was so close.  Crazy in the fact that there are still states, including our neighbor Minnesota, that do not have official results yet.

Unfortunately those late nights and craziness trickle down to our kiddos.  As teachers we will hear A LOT from them today.  Here is what to remember and to let them know.  We live in the United States of America.  It is a great country.  We have to come together, accept things we may or may not like, and work towards (to quote Mr. Jandahl) being "good".  And we can do that.  We have to put differences aside and work towards a common good.   It is what we ask them to do here at school.  You are not going to agree with everything, but you must move forward.  You must respect the process.  You must work with everyone here:  teachers, classmates, and friends.

I am attaching words from Jon Gordon today.  Not bad a reminder as we move forward.

https://twitter.com/JonGordon11?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Goodbye Someday

So this one is for Mr. Harming...

The Cubs did it!  The Cubs won the World Series!  It was a year later than "Back to the Future II" predicted, but they won the Series!

The last time the Cubs won a World Series was 1908.  108 years ago.  What was going on the last time the Cubs won a World Series?  Check out the Twitter feed of Neil DeGrasse Tyson.  He is an astrophysicist and a pretty funny guy.

http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/neil-degrasse-tyson-cubs-world-series-tweets-399756511.html

A lot has happened in those 108 years.  I am sure many times fans wanted to give up on the Cubs.  They wanted to throw in the towel on them.  They asked themselves, "Why do I put myself through this EVERY year?"  (If you are having trouble imagining this, you are not a Vikings fan.  I suspect they say the same thing every year...and they have never won a Super Bowl.)

But those fans...those dedicated folks, donned their Cubs shirts every year, asked Harry Caray to put a good word in with God, and hoped for the best.  Sometimes things got ugly, but each game, they still tuned in and cheered hard, hoping that today would be the day they would see a win.  And they would win.  And they would loose.  But those fans stuck by their Cubs.

Isn't being in education like that?   We have some days we just want to give up.  We want to throw the towel in.  We ask ourselves, "What am I doing?  Does it make a difference?  How crazy am I?"  We get mad.  We cry.  We get down.

But we wake up each morning, get our coffee in hand and come to school.  We say a little prayer each day and we hope for the best.  We have a good day.  The kids got it!  They all turned their work in!  They laughed at my super corny joke!  We leave the building feeling great about what we did for the day.  But we may have a bad day.  They didn't get it.  They didn't turn their work in.  They rolled their eyes at my super corny joke.  We leave the building feeling defeated.  But like those fans, we stick by our kids.  We get up the next morning and think, "Today is the day!".

What if those fans had given up?  Isn't that something that keeps a teams going?  Knowing you have people in your corner...knowing that there is someone, somewhere cheering you on?  I think for our kiddos, we may be the one thing keeping them going.  We are cheering them on, celebrating the highs and working through the lows with them.  

Don't give up.  If they didn't get it today...they will...someday.  And maybe...just maybe...like the Cubs, we can say good-bye to someday.  And we too can wave the "W".