Stink...Stank...Stunk...or Did It?

Remember this time last year?  We were anxiously awaiting break and the beginning of 2020.  We were optimistic and hopeful.

Then March came.  March 13th.  Full moon.  Friday the 13th.  Things changed.

And then the year got a little foggy.  A little muddled.  Our emotions were all over the place.

I have seen many people related this year to that famous line from the Grinch...

But did it?  There were a lot of really good things to come out of this year.  I would bet every person could list five things that were positive moments on this year for them.  Five.  Do it.  Write them down.  While it is hard to look past all the stink, there are some flowers out there.  Don't forget that.

We will never forget 2020.  While we thought it was because of the number, it has become for reasons bigger than that.  Keep working on making positive memories.  Keep encouraging your students, your colleagues, and yourself.  

Let's hope that 2021 doesn't have us saying:

Hope, Joy, and Love

I feel like I have lost my cheerleader voice.  The voice that shouts encouragement to others, keeps the team running, and is full of motivational sayings and posters is just not there right now.  It has been replaced with a tired, unsure voice.  A voice that has shouted and shouted but is now hoarse.  A voice that doesn't know what lies ahead and doesn't have any answers for anything beyond the next minute.  I have begun to feel a little like Eeyore.  It is SO easy to get down...and stay down...and try to bring others down.  Why is it so hard to lift ourselves up?

I had seen someone post a quote from Chris Voss the other day.  He is a former hostage negotiator and business consultant originally from Iowa.  He said:

"...you have something in the middle of your brain called the amygdala. Many people [think of it as] my caveman brain. The amygdala is wired to be 75 percent negative. So your survival mode is wired to always overreact negatively to everything you’re faced with until you learn the difference between survival and success. We’re not wired for success as human beings, we’re wired to survive ..."

Survival mode?  Used to be something we joked about, but it is real and we are all living in the middle of it.  But it doesn't have to be like that.  We don't have to stay negative.  It may be easy to choose this "caveman" way or we can choose success.  Success for me right now is happiness.  It is bigger than just trying to survive.  It is about finding happiness and looking at situations and pausing.  I can complain...I can get down and out...or I can look for happiness.

There is another change to what we have to do?  Ok...how can this be good for me?

Students are not performing as I hoped?  Ok, now what should I do to help them get it?

They said WHAT?  Should I jump into the pond of pessimism or should I stay on the shore?

Christmas is a season of hope, joy, and love and boy do we need all three right now...in abundance.  If we think only about surviving and begin to see negative in everything (even those things that are set forth with positive intentions), we are going to miss out on a lot of great things.  We may miss an opportunity for big change.  We may miss an opportunity for a connection with a student.  We may miss the opportunity to see hope, joy and love in action.

May you be embraced by hope, joy and love right now.  And may you take the time to spread a little of it too.

We Need Each Other

I am always looking for quotes and thinking about the application to your life.  You are probably sick of me giving you quotes and showing how a movie or person can be relatable to your life.  I know that there are not enough quotes or movies in the world to make everything right.  But this is my way of getting through all this.  This is an outlet for me to perhaps share my thinking to make a difference in the life of someone else.

There is a saying about when things get tough, we truly see what people are made of.  I am not sure if that is the exact quote or who said it, but I know have I heard something like it before.  Some people handle hard times really well.  Some people don't handle hard times at all. There are some people who could be standing in the middle of a fire and still smile.  There are others who leave at the sign of the first spark.  We all handle stress and hard times differently.

The one thing that makes me sad is when I see people handle hard times by showing the worse in themselves.  We can get negative...mean...we begin to accuse...assume...shame...blame.  I get it.  It is hard to be nice when we are frustrated, scared, and faced with uncertainty. It is hard to be cheery and positive when it feels like everything is falling apart. 

It is proven that empathy, compassion, and kindness to our fellow humans in the time of greatest need is key to both parties surviving through the toughest times. We must remember there is always a person on the other side and just as it may have happened to them, it could just as quickly happen to you. Often the fear of what others may say about you is harder to overcome than the actual event.  We can try to control many factors, but things may still happen to us.  That doesn't make us a bad person.  It just makes us a person that something happened to.

Again...I know this is hard time.  I know you are good people.  I know that you are exhausted.  I know that you are working hard.  I know that you are overwhelmed with everything in your professional life...your personal life...with the world.  I know.  I know.  I know it is hard to see anything positive right now.  But please don't turn on your fellow humans.  I saw a quote on a card that was uncredited.  It said, "If we can't see eye to eye, let's try heart to heart."  We may not agree on all things, but we do need to agree that we all have feelings and more than ever, we need each other.

Fencing

I wish I could sum up in a few words how we are all feeling at this time.  It is hard to come up with words, but it is also hard because everyone is feeling something different.  Some people show their feelings, some people bottle them up.  Some people show their feelings in ways that may be similar to us, some people don't.  Some people have good coping mechanisms in place, some people have turned to not so good means to cope.  What is important in this time is to understand we are all going through this "thing" together.

One of my coping mechanisms is television.  I become pretty dedicated to what I watch and while I some times watch things that are mindless ("The Real Housewives" franchise fall under this heading), I do watch some pretty emotional shows.  One of those shows is "This is Us".  Ugh.  I think I cry at some point during every episode.  It is that good.

For those of you who don't watch, the series focuses on a family of three siblings.  This family has experienced heartache and great triumphs.  You hit the first heart break in episode one...it is so good!  Last week was the premiere and the episode drew onto everything happening in our world...COVID, racial tensions, protests...plus all the tensions that the family is experiencing with what is going on with their own lives.  The focus for everyone was on what was going on in the world and the impact within their family.

Randall, one of the brothers, has a good wife named Beth.  She always knows what to say.  As Randall was struggling as a father, a son, a brother, and an African American man in the world today, Beth presented him with a great analogy.

Beth related the bad things, the sorrows, the sadness in life as fence posts.  They are these permanent markers in our lives that we remember.  We all remember all those things in our lives.  Where we were...the date...the year...our feelings at that exact moment.  Then Beth reminded Randall to look at what is in between those fence posts...all the things you hang on your fence posts.  Those are the good things in your life.

Right now, we seem to only see the fence post.  This moment in time is grounded in our memory.  But look back and look forward.  There are good things that have happened between your last fence post and this one.  There are good things that have happened since this fence post has been placed in the ground.  There is good out there still!

If you have ever helped with fencing, you know putting the post in the ground takes the most work.  It is where you see the sweat and tears.  What you hang on those posts takes not as much effort.  But it is what you hang on the posts that does all the magic.  It is what keeps the cattle in.  It is what keeps us as humans going!  

Think about what you have between your fence posts.  There are good things out there.  Keep hanging good things between your posts.

I Want My MTV

For some people the outlet they need to relieve stress is television.  For some it is watching sports on television, for others it may be mindless reality shows.  The television came into homes and dramatically changed the land.

Think about those early days of TV.  Shows were limited.  Soap operas were 15 minutes long.  Walter Cronkite gave the country their news.  TV was black and white. TV and life was simple.

Then there was a change...more stations...color...and more stations. Bunny ears got replaced with receivers to gather more channels.   How about a thing called cable?  A channel that you paid for that showed only movies?  HBO was ground breaking.  More and more things were coming at us through the television. 

Television then became big business.  Companies offering television packages with hundreds of channels.  Dishes on roofs.  Remote controls.  Channels that appealed to everyone's interests.

Just when we thought things couldn't get any bigger...Netflix.  Netflix changed the way we watched television.  We can sit and watch a whole series in a day.  No waiting for the next episode (unless you are watching "The Great British Bake Off".  They only release an episode a week there...but it is so worth it).  And commercials?  What are those?

Netflix then set the stage for a barrage of other streaming networks.  You could now get television any where.  On your phone, on your tablet, and your television.  You can watch in your home, in your car, in the wild.  You can choose streaming networks that align right to your interests.  Due to the pandemic, we have now entered the era of us watching just released movies in our homes.  The CEOs of companies are looking at the world and adapting their services to meet the wants and needs of their customers.

We are in that same position.  We are asked to change and adapt to the wants and the needs of our customers.  There are times when we hear about something new.  We are not sure if we want to switch and jump on board to the latest things.  We may not understand how this new thing works or what it will offer us or our students.  We may listen to what other feel about the new service.  We may wait for a deal before we start the new service.  It may take something BIG for us to jump on board with the service.  

Find that service that works for you.  There may be new things that you don't understand...that you question.  Don't be afraid to ask for help.  Don't be afraid to give it a try.

And don't be ashamed to binge watch.  

(I got onto the "Schitt's Creek" bandwagon WAY late.  It is a funny show about a rich family that loses everything and moves to the small town the son owns called Schitt's Creek.  The following clip is a good representation of how we feel navigating this year.  There is language we don't get and those around us may not have the answers either.)

What The World Needs Now...

What a weird time we are in.  It is very hard to be a human right now. I mean it is hard even when you aren’t in school, in the middle of COVID, while juggling numerous hats, during a presidential election, and while you are on social media.  But all of these things have made it harder...harder than it has ever been.

It is harder to be positive.

It is harder to be optimistic.

It is harder to be joyful.

It is harder to be nice.

I have mentioned the word grace in many letters and videos I have sent to parents and the community.  What is grace? It is courtesy.  It is goodwill. It is an understanding that we are ALL in a difficult time. We are all struggling.  We are all doubting. It is during times like this that lines get drawn in the sand.  Friends can be lost.  Respect can be lost.  We loose sight of the good in people.  We make assumption based on what we see. We stop talking to people. We let negativity take hold. 

Boy...it is hard to get out of that spot.  It is a struggle to find the light some days.

Here is what I believe through all this darkness.  

I believe that people are good. 

I believe that we all need to be loved and need to love others.

I believe in all of you.

I believe you all are good.

I believe you are doing great things.

You are not alone.

Keep spreading the love.  It is what we need.

If you need help finding the light, please reach out.  

 

You Rock!

What have I learned this week?

Having a team that steps up when needed is great.

Having a team who are willing to set foot outside their comfort zone is great.

Having a team who cares about the well being of their fellow staff members is great.

Having a team who even when they are down still focus on the well being of their students is great.

I am part of a great team.

My team is awesome.  

My team rocks!

Happy First Week!

How was the first week?  I always find it amazing how tired I can be during this first week especially when I am going to bed earlier.  The "rock star" night living has come to an end.

Rock stars usually present a venue with a contract detailing their wants and needs in order to perform.  These wants may be simple things like what is being served at craft services or they can be big things like a hot tub in their dressing room.  Venues work hard to make these things possible in order to book an act and to keep the artist happy.

Teaching isn't like that.  You do put in wishes for materials , supplies, and time.  Sometimes those wishes are granted.  Sometimes we have to tell you to wait.  Sometimes we tell you that you won't have six assistants fetching your materials, but rather it is all on you.  And you still play.  You don't fly away in your private jet because you didn't get the exact water you asked for.

I appreciate that you have stepped up.  You have been creative and thought outside the box.  I appreciate that you have stretched your learning in order to be there for your students.  That is what makes educators the best rock stars.  We understand that there are times we don't get what we want, but we still play on.  We find ways to make it happen.  We find ways to put on a great show for our kids.

Thank you again for all you do!  You ROCK!

Rock On!

We often hear that teachers are rock stars.  

What does that mean?  There really isn't a lot of fame, fortune, and admiration that comes with this job.  People don't stand in line to get into our classrooms.  People don't buy t-shirts with our pictures on them.  People don't memorize the words of our lessons or buy recordings of our New Deal lecture to play at any time to help change their mood.  By those definitions, we are not rock stars.  

But...

What if we are?  What if we are the leaders of developing a world tour?  A world tour of experiences for our students in different subjects and different locations?  What if we are those people hitting the stage, bringing inspiration to students?  What if it is our words that they memorize in order to provide themselves with courage and hope?  What if we can be a hero for a student?  

We have the opportunity each year to develop a "world tour" for our students.  We can set a stage for learning, relationships, and engagement.  We can provide opportunities for our students to grow, push themselves, and find success.  Not only should we be doing that for our students, but we need to find ways to push ourselves and challenge ourselves as well.  While this job may not bring fortune and fame, we do have the great privilege of providing our students with opportunities to explore, and more importantly, CHANGE the world.  

To start our world tour, we must be willing to work with other teachers, look at our teaching, and be willing to change.  We may have to learn some new steps and new chords in order to provide our students with a rocking learning environment.  We may have to steal from other teachers to make beautiful music all while appreciate all the music being made with in our building and classroom.  

Coming into this year, I am not sure what to expect.  I do know if we hit the road with a full trailer of equipment, an ability to work with other members of the band, and a great playlist, we will find success.  Don't forget to keep your public updated on the exciting things happening on your tour, as well as the great new music they can expect.

Rock on!

The End....

Today is May 22nd.  It is the official end of the year for staff.

Today is also the 143rd day of the year.  It is Mister Rogers Day.

I have talked before about Fred and his impact on me and countless others.  This day is important as 143 Day represents his most important message to children:  I LOVE YOU.

"It takes one letter to say I and four letters to say love and three letters to say you.  One hundred and forty three."-Fred Rogers

Fred and his team thought outside the box for years.  How do we reach children?  Television.  A children's show.  How to do help our kids?  Let's have that message be one of kindness and trust.  These were groundbreaking things!  Simple things...but ground breaking.

What would Fred say about this year?  I think he would say "Good job."  He would praise us for our thinking, our kindness, and our perseverance during this time.  He would call us "inventors" or "innovators".  He would tell us we were great problem solvers.  He would tell us we were brave during a very scary time.  He would tell us that he was proud of us and that he loved us.

So we are here at the end of a scary time.  We did it.  We faced a battle no others educators before us had.  We have come through on the other side tired, but better.  Older, but wiser.  The important thing is that we made it through together.  It wasn't perfect.  It wasn't always pretty.  But we did it together and we did it for our kids.

Have a great summer!  To those of you who are leaving our halls...thank you for all you have done.  You have left an imprint on the hearts and minds of so many.  For those of you returning next year...thank you for all you have done.  I look forward to seeing where the next year takes us and how this experience will make our classrooms a better place.

I thank you for being you.  I thank you for all you do.  It is you I like. 

This last quote ties this up perfectly.  

"Often, when you think you're at the end of something, you're at the beginning of something else."-Fred Rogers

If I Could Turn Back Time

It is the end of April.  For you new teachers, please refer back to previous end of April blogs.  This a weird time of year when you are a teacher.  Everyone gets crazy.  It just feels different.  But this is not like any other April we have experienced.  

Who would have thought?  Who would have thought that some of us would wrap up our first year of teaching or our last year of teaching in this situation?  What would have we done differently if we had known?  If we could go back in time, could we have prepped better for this?  Would we have been recording lessons all along?  Would we had been using Google Classroom from day one?  I don't think ANYTHING could have prepared us for this.  We learned fast and we adapted fast.  We did what we had to do.  We should be proud of that.

I know that it is a time of lows right now.  Many of us are struggling with the effort we are seeing…the lack of completion…the excuses.  It hurts more because we cannot reach out easily to these kids as they are able to hid from us behind the computer or they don’t answer their phones.  They don’t log onto Zoom.  We sit and ask, “What haven’t I done?  What more can I do?”  We beat ourselves up.  As educators, we are always thinking about if we could turn back time, what we would have done differently.  My heart hurts for you feeling this.  It is easy to focus on the negative.  But find those positives.  Remember those.  Think about the things we have learned, not only about ourselves, but our students and their families.  Think about all the new things you have tried.  Think about all the ways you have grown as a teacher.  There is good in all of this.  We can't turn back time.  We can keep moving forward and learn from this.

(This is normally where I would insert Cher's "If I Could Turn Back Time", but the video is a little racy...)

Here is a funny about if we could go back in time, what we would tell ourselves to prep for this situation.  (DISCLAIMER:  Not all of Julie Nolke's videos are appropriate.  Please be aware...but this one is not inappropriate.)

What is Important?

I looked at the calendar and realized that on Monday it was one month since students have been in our school.  I can't decide if it has gone really fast or really slow.  I think most of us can say we know that today is a day that ends with "y".

I don't think it would be wrong to say this situation has caused us professionally and personally to look at what matters.  I found a quote this morning by Glennon Doyle that talk about the word crisis.  The Greek root of the word crisis actually means "to sift, separate, discern".  What does that mean?  To sift means to shake out excess and leave what is important.   A crisis shakes things up.  We are then asked to look at what are the important parts. What do we need to give our students?  We need to give them contact...we have to reach out to them in this time.  Connections and relationships are key.  We have seen what academically is key for our students to meet standards and gain knowledge.  We have seen that life skills are important (cleaning, cooking, etc).  We have seen that play is powerful.  As Glennon Doyle stated, "We need to hold on to what matters and let the rest fall away."

During this time, keep sifting.  Keep finding where the important things are and let the other stuff fall through.  Do it in your classroom and do it in your personal life.  

Keep your chin up!  You are doing great things!

This Week In Song

This week summed up in song:

Monday:

Into the Unknown

Tuesday:

Taking Care of Business

Wednesday:

For our JH and HS teachers:

On-line 

For those making copies:

I'm In a Hurry

Thursday:

I'm Still Standing

Friday:

Staying Alive

Remember moving forward:

Nothing's Going to Stop Us Now

There Are No Words...

We are stressed.  We are worried.  We are unsure.  We are scrambling.  We are being pushed outside our comfort zones.  We have entered unknown territory.

And that has all been in the last seven days.

I am going to share with you some words that I have shared with a few teachers on staff:

What should this look like?  Should it all be digital?  Should all be paper?  Should I record lessons?  Should I do a Google Classroom?  I don’t know. There is no blue print for this. We are being asked to do a 180 on all our planning in a matter of days. People who do virtual learning have MONTHS to set it up. We are being asked to cut the human part out. So my answer is this....whatever you do...as long as it is meaningful and not just BUSY work, to help our students get content during this time IS THE RIGHT THING.  

I don't know what this looks like.  I don't know if we are doing it right.  I don't know if we will meet the needs of each kid.  I don't know if they will even do the work.  All I know is that we are helpers and we are here to step up and do our part to protect people all while still educating our students.

I saw someone write that maybe after all of this people will think of us more than "just" teachers.  We are so much more than that.

I value you and all you are doing during this hard time.  

Mrs. Schaefer shared this video with me.  It is so right on.

It is Okay to Not Be Okay

When we are struggling, we often hear the following:  "It's going to be okay."

Really?

The moment the words are said to us, we accept them.  We often shake our head yes and accept the acknowledgement from the person saying the statement.  But those words don't make it okay.  It is not okay when we are dealing with grief.  It is not okay when you are dealing with feeling like everything around you is falling apart.  It is not okay when someone is nasty to you.  It is not okay when you feel like you are failing.  No one should ever have to feel those things. 

And you know what?  That is okay.  It is okay for things to not be okay.  It is okay to feel.  It is okay to be hurt.  It is okay to question yourself.  It is okay to feel ALL those things.  You don't need to justify that to ANYONE.

We tell people it is going to be okay because we are trying to be empathetic.  We are trying to be supportive.  Often, we tell people it is going to be okay because we don't know what to say...or what to do.

Instead of saying it is going to be okay, help that person.  Help them.  Let them know that they are not alone.  Reach out your hand.  Be a trusted person to them.  Let them vent to you.  Let them cry to you.  

Let them know that you love them and care about them.

Thank you to all here.  You are an amazing supportive system.  We are all lucky to work with people who care about us, support us, and want nothing but the best for us.  We are blessed.

Self Reflection

Is it just me or does a short week seem to feel longer than a regular week?

After a long January, we are quickly reaching the final nine weeks of school.  When you stop and think about that, it is unreal.  Where did the time go?  What have we accomplished?  How will I get everything else still in?

I always find self reflection to be a great thing.  Looking at where I have been...where I have to go...and what I need to do in order to get there.  I may have to take a class to get there.  I may have order some materials.  I may do some readjustment.  I need to develop a plan in order to meet my goal and get the results I desire.

We are lucky that we have the time to reflect.  We can journal, talk it out with friends, but we are given the opportunity to take the time to make thoughtful adjustments to what we doing.  When it comes to the classroom, we often are put on the spot and asked make adjustments quickly based on student response.  It is during those times we hope that our gut helps make the right adjustments.

Imagine if you are a coach of a high profile team.  Half time comes and a microphone is shoved in your face and you are bombard with questions about how you think you are performing, what you need to do differently, and how you will accomplish the ultimate goal of winning.  You don't have time to think of an eloquent answer.  You have to come up with answer and come up with it quick.  Your thoughts are not on sounding good for the camera, but what you want to tell your team and the adjustments you must make in order to win the game.

The following video has been shared this week of what would happen if teachers had to do those half time interviews...self reflection on the fly.

I encourage you to self reflect each day.  Either write it out or talk it out.  Figure out what you must do in order to meet your goals and find success in your classroom.

https://twitter.com/SportsNation/status/1230217141774929925

I Need More Than a Funny Meme

January is a long month.  I think the sickness that has been widespread has made it feel even longer.  

January is a tough month.  It is hard not to get down on yourself.  It is hard to feel positive each day.  The newness of 2020 has worn off.  It is hard to not feel defeated.

I try to present to you uplifting messages of encouragement.  The "go get 'em" and the "you've got it" messages that I know we all need to hear.  But you know what?  Sometimes...just sometimes...those messages don't work.  You feel beaten. You feel down.  You feel hurt.  Education is funny like that.  It is a field where you are placed with the task of encouraging and growing our tomorrow (which is one of the most important jobs out there) but you are often questioned, accused, and feel unsupported.  This in turn leads to those who are encouragers of growth and kindness to feel stuck...and well unkind.  All the funny memes in the world can't help that.

Last week I attended a two day workshop on crisis in school.  Our presenter talked about how when you are stressed, when you have experienced trauma, and when you are down, your body changes chemically.  You have different hormones taking flight in your body and part of moving on is getting rid of those hormones.  He stated the best methods of getting rid of those hormones is to sweat it out, pee it out, or cry it out.  While we are not experiencing BIG trauma, we may have gotten a bad phone call or email, we may have self doubt going on, we may feel stressed.  We need to get those hormones out.  Drink lots of water (pee it out).  Exercise (sweat it out).  Find your person and open up (cry it out).  Find what works for you to find your center and open the door on a new day.  I had a day this week where self doubt and a bad phone sent me for a tail spin.  I did cry it out.  I did sweat it out.  But I also found my center by subbing in a classroom for a morning.  It helped me find my why again.  It made me know that I can do this.  It made me feel connected.  It made me feel appreciated.  I needed that more than any pep talk or funny meme.

When things are getting tough, find the thing for you to "get it out".  Find the things that will bring you back to your why.  And know that you got this.

Throw It Away

There is nothing I like more than the challenge of de-cluttering.  I have been called the Throw Away Queen.  I have no problem going into a situation, rolling up my sleeves, sorting through items and filling up garbage bags.  While it is fun to look back at items, I find myself letting things go and taking them to the curb.  Perhaps it was the fact that as a child we moved ever three to four years and the military only paid for so much stuff to be moved.  Maybe it is due to the fact that as a teacher here I moved classrooms five times.  I just can't hang on to stuff.  The less the better for me.

Now let's talk about hanging on to other "stuff".  You know...the "stuff" you cannot see, but rather the "stuff" that you feel inside.  You can't really physically put those things into a garbage bag and send it to the curb.  Emotional baggage and emotional hurt are things we experience as teachers and things that many of our students deal with daily.  How do you put that "stuff" in the trash?  It can be just as overwhelming as physical "stuff".  It can clutter your mind and your heart.  It can bring with it self doubt, lack of confidence, fear, and low self esteem.  As teachers, we may work through these feelings after a parent meeting...after giving a test...after hearing a rumor.  Our students may work through these things after a bad night at home...after not studying for a test...after hearing a rumor. Not everyone can "shake it off".  (Great song Taylor...great idea...but not always the easiest thing to do...maybe it is if your outlet is to write a song putting the "stuff" on blast and making millions off of it...)

It is important for us all (teachers and students) to invest time in activities and people who help us peel away layers of this "stuff" and beginning tossing it to the side.  Read.  Walk.  Laugh. Go out with friends. Color.  Exercise.  Watch movies.  Laugh some more.  Forgive.  Play a game.  Take a bath.  Forgive.  Laugh.  Find the thing YOU like...invest time in it to help put that "stuff" to the curb.  

It isn't easy.  I held onto some "stuff" for a few years now.  It caused me anxiety in situations where people may be.  It caused me fear that something would be said to me or about me.  I have worked to get over that "stuff" and move forward.  It is much easier said than done, but I feel less burden knowing that I have put that in a Hefty bag and off my heart.

The new year is the perfect time to de-clutter.  When de-cluttering your closet, don't forget to work on de-cluttering those other parts...and helping our students do the same.  Be that person they can laugh and share with.  Think about how much clearer they and you will be able to look at the world.

I hope 2020 has been good for you.