At times throughout my career as an educator I have seen excellence exhibited. If you have lived in Broken Arrow you obviously have heard of The Pride of Broken Arrow. That is what excellence looks like.
What does it take to attain excellence?
1. Be Creative
2. Be Ambitious
3. Write Down What You Want To Achieve
4. Don't Worry About What Other People Say
5. Possess A Positive Mind
So I want you to think about yourself and your family. Are you setting the tone in your household for your kids to achieve excellence.
Are you setting the atmosphere at home that encourages the 5 traits above? I know many of you are...but maybe some of you are saying...well my wife isn't, or my husband isn't or maybe one of your children isn't.
Are we as educators setting the atmosphere that encourages the 5 traits? I hope so! I know at times we as educators fall into accepting mediocrity and averageness...if that is a word. We sometimes complain about class size, resources, parents who don't care, parents who care to much...I call them helicopters...kids who don't care, classes are too small, and it's not my job!!!
These are things that I have said as an educator. I want you and the teachers who serve you to step up and focus on the 5 traits. Don't let the barriers listed above get in the way of your excellence, your kids excellence, and your families excellence.
As many of you know I love to have a good time. Usually that good time is filled with laughter. I love to have fun!!!
This past Friday our school had a Staff Lock-In. I never laughed so hard in my life. I laughed so hard my head hurt. What was it that made me laugh? Watching other teachers letting their hair down and just being themselves.
Two of my teachers planned an evening full of activities that involved food, magic tricks, embarrassing potato games, music, scavenger hunts, and American Idol Like competition.
I was reading recently in the Tulsa World about Laughter Therapy. A cancer patient was getting together with other cancer patients and they were telling jokes and just laughing. Doesn't sound like something people with cancer would be doing. However, it has been documented that laughter can stimulate cells in fighting cancer.
It says in the Bible: A merry heart does good like a medicine — Proverbs 17:22.
All of us need to spend time laughing. Laughing with friends, laughing at the TV, laughing at a funny story, and something I do a lot is laughing at myself.
My school is one that looks very laid back and relaxed. Students have a lot of freedom to move around. They do not march around like soldiers. I want school to be a place where kids can learn as much as possible...but also a place that is safe and fun.
Some part of the school day for most kids is very hard. It may be reading, math, social studies, science or one of the arts. Kids daily are involved in doing something that they aren't good at doing. Our school, and in my opinion all schools should be fun! When you drop your kids off at the door each morning...they should be excited about walking in the doors.
In a nutshell all of us need to laugh more. Have fun with those around you, and learn to laugh at yourself!
If you would have told me a month ago that I would start running and believe it or not thinking about running a marathon...I would have told you that you were crazy!
But guess what? I am on my way to accomplishing that goal. I know what you are saying...Are You Crazy??? Yes I am crazy!!
I hate to run! Sweaty, legs ache, heart jumps out of your throat, and just all around pain...Sound like fun? Well, I am here to tell you I am having fun! Sic!
I have been running for about 3 weeks and I am up to a 2 mile run 3 days a week and then a longer run on the weekend. In the beginning it was unbearable..
I can remember that first one mile run..I thought I was going to die! Heart pounding, pain, pain, and more pain! So what did I do...next day I ran again..guess what? Less pain..I continued to run and the pain is getting less and less and the distance is getting further and further.
Why do I share this story? Because I know you or your kids have seen tasks in your life that seem unreachable. I see it every day at school. School believe it or not is not easy for kids. Your child has something educationally that they are not the best at and they need stretching.
That is what teachers are in the business of stretching students to accomplish things that they never thought they could accomplish...Maybe it is the ability to read. Maybe it is the ability to write their name. Maybe it is to read a chapter book. Maybe it is to feel good about themselves.
Whatever it is kids have things that they need to accomplish. It will take hard work. But the thing we have to remember as teachers and parents that it is a process. One that happens everyday and one that we are there to help them attain their goal. Help them work through the pain.
I want to encourage you if you are a teacher or a parent to continue to push your kids. Help them reach those goals that seem unattainable. Help them stretch and maybe it will encourage you to stretch!!
Almost every morning I sit out in the front hallway of the school watching students and parents come into the building. I guess the reason I do this is because of my mother.
She used to drive us to Eastgate shopping center at Admiral and Sheridan to shop and to people watch. Some amazingly scary people and interactions.
What is interesting to see sitting in the front hall is how students start their day. Some come in the door half asleep and their hair looks like it was combed by their pillow. Others come into school nice and neat and ready for the day.
I have a few kids that come into school every morning and they are so active....that is a nice way of saying they are WILD.
I wonder how each of these students mentioned above days have started.
Did they get themselves up and ready for school or did momma? What time did they go to bed last night? Did they eat breakfast? Did they get a hug and a kiss before they walked out the door? Did there parents speak to them with kind words?
I wonder as an educator about this everyday. Because how a students day starts before they get to school, will be a great indicator on how they will approach the day.
If you are a parent and you are reading this blog, answer the questions above. And if you think that the questions are valid...have your friends ponder the questions.
And if you are a teacher reading this blog..today...make sure you look at how you treat your students throughout the day. Maybe you are the only one who will give a hug and a smile and to care!!
I recently was cruising the internet and was asked to check out a link of a talent contest in Great Britain. Boy was I surprised. I am sure you have seen this video, but if you haven't I have linked it to this blog. Click on the Looking Deeper Title to check it out!!
It is of a woman Susan Boyle who is not the prettiest lady or the youngest lady in the world..my opinion only. She walks onto the stage and all three of the judges you can see in there eyes the opinion that this must be a joke. However, when she opens her mouth and begins to sing..they are overwhelmed.
Why do we so often, judge a book by its cover? We do it all the time! Whether it is a stranger whom you have never met or someone you know who is in your opinion kinda different we all judge a book by its cover.
We need to start Looking Deeper! Beyond the outer shell of a person, whether it be an adult or child. If we take the time to pause and wait before we judge, often times we will see something amazingly beautiful..that is right...I said beautiful.
As a principal I can tell you that I have met some pretty interesting students, parents and teachers. And to tell you the truth..at times I have judged them by their cover...boy have I been wrong about a lot of people. I have come to realize that I need to pause and wait and look for the beauty in everyone.
As a principal I have the great pleasure of watching some young teachers become outstanding teachers. At Indian Springs in the 3 short years that I have been privileged to be the principal I have been able to see some outstanding young teachers rise up!
What makes a great teacher great?
1. Confidence...confident in the subject matter and also confident in themselves as an individual.
2. Caring...great teachers care. Not only throughout the school day, after the school day and before the school day.
3. Seeking...seeking those things that are outside of themselves. Great teachers usually don't think they are great..and they look to other teachers to elevate themselves above the rest. Not for themselves but for others.
4. Learner...Great teachers are constantly learning. Whether it is reading current literature or listening...just listening!
5. Love of children...believe it or not...some kids are hard to love. But great teachers really love. You may not sense it by the way they discipline or redirect..but they love by taking the time to watch and to act.
So these new teachers who are very, very green...how do they become great...they possess these characteristics and they have a lot of great mentors at Indian Springs.
I am sitting here at home with my granddaughter trying to get her to bed.
I turned the TV to some relaxing music to help her sleep. Sometime this helps. I know it helps with me! Life is very busy...Wake Up..Go To Work...Drive Home..Eat...Go to Practice or practices...Come Home...Bathe and Go To Bed.
Over and Over and Over..that doesn't account for all the other interruptions and activities that crop up through the week.
Have you ever thought about how your pace effects your kids? I don't think I did when my kids were younger...We were on this GO GO GO Pace. Kids need down time. So do parents..
Guess What?? It doesn't stop when they get to school. From the moment they hit the door, til the moment they come home they are on the go..
Take time in the coming weeks to slow down..enjoy your family...stay at home....enjoy each other..RELAX.
The life you have with your young children will go by faster than you think....Enjoy!!!!
Most of us from time to time get in a slump. A slump is a time in your life where your potential and your past accomplishments are kinda in neutral. It's not that you don't have the gift or the potential anymore, you are just in a funk!
Kids get in funks! Over the many years in education, I have seen many children in slumps. They are capable of so much more, but they just can't seem to get it together.
What do we do as teachers and administrators?
We give positive strokes. We tell them they can do it! You are so capable of doing the work or whatever! We reduce the work to see if maybe they are overloaded. We buddy them up with a positive partner. We put them in timeout to do their work away from their classmates. We call the parents. We blame the student! We blame the parents! We blame ourselves or our methods. We pray!
Good teachers which we have at Indian Springs jump through lots of hoops when your child is in a slump.
What do you do as parents?
You give positive strokes. You tell them they can do it! You are so capable of doing the work or whatever! You put them in timeout to do their work away from their fun stuff. You call the teacher. You blame your child! You blame the teacher! You blame yourselves or your methods. You pray!
In his book, "Breaking the Slump", by Jimmy Roberts. Mr. Roberts interviews several great athletes. One particular athlete, you might of heard of him, Arnold Palmer shares his story of how to get out of a slump:
Between January 1960 and May 1963, Palmer won 25 of the 80 events he entered, including 56 top 10s. He missed a total of two cuts.
In May 1963, something went wrong.
"I got tired, fatigued," he said.
Palmer went home to Latrobe, Pa., drove a bulldozer for a couple of weeks working on the golf course at Latrobe Country Club.
"I needed to do something different, so I just dug dirt," he said.
After five weeks away from the PGA Tour, his longest since turning pro, Palmer won three of his next six events and lost in a playoff in the U.S. Open.
"I think the most important thing is that people get anxious," he said. "They think the faster they hit balls and the more they go out and hit balls, the sooner they're going to get it back. And that's just the opposite. Slow down your personality. Walk slower. Slow down everything you do."
What I get from this short story is that when we get in slumps we get anxious, we lack confidence, we try to do things harder and faster.
What we need to do is to slow down everything in our life.
What does that mean for a student?
1. Step Back
2. Get away from whatever it is....Take a Timeout
3. Have them talk to their friends. Often times teachers can say things til they are blue in the face, trying to get a child to understand or get motivated. Hey parents, do that to. Often when they hear the same message from their peers, somehow, it is heard. Don't ask me why, but it is the truth.
4. Be Postitive and try to empathize with them. If you are like me you have had a time or times in your life when you have lacked confidence and have been in a slump.
5. Do something different. Don't continue to do something if it's not working. Step back and take a different approach.
6. Love your child. School is important, but your child is more important.
7. Work on developing your relationship with your child and put school work away. Sometimes that says a lot to a child.
And lastly be there for them when they are going through the slump and assure them that you will be with them on the other side.
Habits? I was with a group of older people this weekend and we were talking about habits, both good and bad! Are you aware of your bad habits. I know I'm not..just kidding. I kinda know what my bad habits are and those I am unsure of I have plenty of people around me to point them out to me.
What bad habits do your kids have? Are you aware of them? How do you help your kids break their bad habits?
Well one way that I tried to break bad habits of my children was nag them to death when they were showing these bad habits. It didn't work. They just got annoyed with me and continued their habit.
Or maybe you did this...made excuses for the bad habit saying something like, "He is just like his father", or "that is just the way she is".
Maybe you just ignore the bad habit all together. It's not that big a deal in our family you might say.
Each of the above methods to ridding people of their bad habits is not very effective. So what is the way to break your bad habits or your child's bad habits?
Here is how I broke one of my bad habits. I got a friend to help me in a positive way be very aware of when I was doing this bad habit.
My bad habit was saying the word, "uh" every time I ended a sentence. I was bad! I bet in a 5 minute conversation I would say it probably 30+ times. I was not aware of the magnitude of the problem. However, those who listened to me on a daily basis were very aware.
A good friend of mine made me aware of the magnitude and said they would be willing to work with me on stopping this habit. She would count how many times I would say the word, "uh" in our next conversation.
Just knowing that somebody was watching and listening made me very conscious of my habit. I went from say 30+ times saying the word to less than 10 the first time. Wow what a reduction.
To this day I will never forget the friend who stepped up and was willing to help me improve myself. I speak alot every day and I am always aware of what comes out of my mouth...believe it or not...In regards to, "uh". In regards to other things I have no idea what is going to come out of my mouth.
I have lots of bad habits I am sure. Please help me or those you love by helping them through their bad habits in a positive way. Habits are Hard to Break!!
Many of you know that I am an OU graduate...Boomer Sooner!! I loved my time spent in Norman. I was on the 5 year plan!! I also graduated from Broken Arrow High School....Go Tigers!!!
The reason I bring these two things up is what I have noticed lately about people, both adults and children..We desire to be a part of a group and to let others know we are part of a group.
Next time you are out just be aware of how people group themselves:
Group of Girls Group of Boys Group wearing Orange Group wearing Red Group of outgoing people Group of introverted people (this group is usually small) People who want to be alone..
I could go on and on as to how people group themselves or how they want to be identified. People for the most part want to be wanted! All the groups your child will desire to be identified is important and those groups will evolve and change as the grow older.
Probably the group that all kids want to be a part of is FAMILY. They want to be accepted by mom, dad, sister, brother, grandma, and grandpa! So how can they feel apart.
1. Make time for them. 2. Listen to them. 3. Allow them to be themselves. 4. Kids want to be treated as individuals. 5. Kids want to hear three words...I Love You!
Make your family and your kids the group you focus all of your time on!
A group of people that I come in contact with usually on a daily basis is school volunteers. These are usually moms who volunteer their time to serve the children and teachers of our school. They love to serve others, not for attention, but for the love of people.
I attended this morning the PTA Luncheon this morning and was challenged by a project that Country Lane Elementary has started called Watchdog. Great Job Mrs. Katterhenry!!!!
What Watchdog is, is a program that connects dads to school on a daily basis. Dad's help out on the playground, in the classroom, in the cafeteria and wherever else they are needed. That is cool. Dad's at school every day that would be awesome.
Soooo what I am going to be doing in the few months we have left of school is to brainstorm with teachers and parents to see about encouraging and involving dads in our school on a daily basis!
Our kids need to see dads connected to the school. I would like to know what you think. Email me at lsmith1@baschools.org or comment in the comment section of this blog...
