Are you alive?

We have reached the midpoint of the nine weeks.  How would you say the year is going?

I know the exhaustion of the first weeks of the year is overwhelming.  The adjustment period of getting back into the groove of wearing real shoes and real pants is hard.  There are some days during those first weeks (and those last weeks), that we feel like we are barely hanging on.  

But we made it through.  We are alive.

But are we?

Are you bringing life into your classroom?  Are you getting to know your students?  Are you building relationships?  Are you trying new things?  Are you excited about what you are doing?  Are you excited about what your students are doing?  

Are you alive?

Are you really, truly alive?

Are you making each day count?

Are you smiling each day?

On the worst day, are you thankful for all you have?

Are you taking each day as the chance to do something remarkable?

Are you alive?

Be alive.  Be alive in your classroom.  Be alive with your family.  Be alive for your well being.  Make each day count.

Keeping Rooting For Your Team

Everyone has a favorite team, don't they?  Even if you are not a sports nuts, there is a team you would say is "your team".

Some people pick their team based on where they live.

Some people pick their team based on who they live with.

Some people pick their team based on where they went to school.

And some people throw you for a loop and likes a team no one else likes.

Many sports fans are loyal.  They are fans for life.  No matter how many times their team looses, they root and root for them.  The season is horrible and they get to the point saying they aren't cheering for the team anymore.  But then the new season approaches and they dig out the shirt, put up the flag, and become the team's number one fan again.  They do so because you never know what a new season will hold for your team.  You don't give up because this year could be "the year".  

(Remember the Cubs?  https://theblackboardofeps.blogspot.com/2016/11/goodbye-someday.html)

I was one of those fans.  The Minnesota Twins...who have broke my heart many times and I always go back...traded my favorite player Brian Dozier this summer.  The news came out while we were back to school shopping.  I was bitter.  I was mad.  I was sad.  I went up to random people in Target who were looking at Twins shirts and told them not to buy them.  I looked like a crazy person.  I get that sports teams trade people's favorite players ALL time, but it finally happened to me.  My player was leaving the Twins.  I hurt.  And that hurt did not go away.  My daughter in the following weeks would ask me if I was still mad at the Twins.  And I was.  I didn't watch a game. I have not worn a Twins shirt since July 31st.  I didn't read their tweets.  I skipped over their Instagram stories.   For the first time, I didn't know (or care) if they had won and loss.

But last night something changed.  I was somewhere where I couldn't escape televisions showing the Twins game.  I watched for like five minutes.  I had no idea who some of these new kids were.  I was still hurt.  And then I realized...I have to get over this.  I have to move on.  I cannot carry the yuck I feel for a team that I really do root for.  By carrying that yuck, I may miss out on some really cool moments for the team.  I am missing seeing rookies grow and develop into big league players.  I am missing out on seeing who will be the leader in the clubhouse for the Twins.  I am missing out on baseball.

When someone hurt us, we must get over it.  When we carry yuck, we miss out on a lot!  We miss out on a kiddo taking the lead in the class.  We miss out on seeing them grow.  We miss out on congratulating our peers for successes in their classrooms.  We miss out on some great conversations that can brighten our day.  We are missing out on one of the things that brings us together:  people.  And it is so good to be around people.  What about those kids and people who we followed before the hurt?  Don't they still deserve us to keep cheering them on? (I am sorry Eddie Rosario...I still like you!)  Don't give up on these kids!  Don't give up on each other!

Will you always have a little sting?  Probably.  But don't let that sting become the thing that separates you from seeing and being a part of great things.

I think I took a step in the right direction with the Twins. October baseball, which is some of the best baseball, is coming.  I also have a really comfy and warm Twins sweatshirt I want to wear.  And if I would have not watched last night, I would have missed the replay of this moment from Tuesday night's game:

https://www.kare11.com/article/news/chubby-twins-catcher-gets-love-for-awesome-dash-home/89-593818178

Keep rooting for your team.  

Working For a Living

In our society, we often attach labels, good and bad, to the decisions people make.  This can be from where someone lives, what they drive, how the do their hair.  The list goes on.

We often attached this label to the jobs people have.

Blue collar.  White collar.

Hard work.  Cushy work.

Work beneath me.

At an early age, every job is cool!  There is no kindergarten student embarrassed to say where their parent works or what they do.  Children often want to follow the path their parents have taken in the field of employment at this point.  They are proud of what their parents do.

Then something happens.  All of a sudden certain jobs are not "cool" or looked upon as "meaningless".  Is it tied to money?  Is this why children start attaching those labels?  Do they see what certain jobs can provide financially?  Do they see exactly what each job entails?  Do they hear society talking about these jobs in a negative or positive light?  What happens?

It doesn't end in elementary school.  When students are making the decision on what to do after high school judgement is cast.  Some times by peers, other times by society.  There is still a perception that going to a two year technical institute is "less than".  Students who choose not to go to a post secondary route and enter the job force right away are often looked down upon.  Why is that?  We need people to enter these jobs right away.

There was a school did a great thing.  There are always big ceremonies for high school athletes signing contracts to play sports at colleges.  They did it for students heading right to jobs:

https://www.mnn.com/money/green-workplace/stories/signing-day-recognizes-high-school-seniors-starting-jobs-not-college

I have thought about this topic again as it was in the news about a former television actor and the career path he has chosen since he stepped away from the camera.

Geoffery Owens was on "The Cosby Show".  He played Elvin, a son-in-law, from 1985 until 1992.  Since that time, he has done some acting.  It is not those jobs that have put him back in the news.

Someone posted pictures on-line of Owens working at Trader Joe's as a checker.

And no...this was not for a role. It is his job.

The comments that have come from this fall into the idea that this is a "bad job".  There were comments how this was "a fall from grace".  People stated it was sad he was bagging groceries.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/04/entertainment/geoffrey-owens-interview/index.html

Makes me wonder:  how does that make people who work that job feel?  People who love their job at Trader Joe's.  People who face each day with more enthusiasm and zeal than someone working a job where they make six figures.  

White collar or blue collar.  All jobs should give a person a sense of satisfaction.  All jobs are necessary for this country to keep moving.  All jobs are important.  We need people to drive the bus, bag the groceries, milk the cows...just as much as we need people to heal the sick, design the house, teach to the next generation.

We need to remember this when talking to our students.  Whether they chose to go to a four year college, two year college, or right to the work force, what they are doing matters.  As a state, we have stepped away from saying making students "college ready".  It is our goal to make students "career ready".

Enjoy what you do...no matter what that job is.