We often discuss character skills and their importance for success. When research shows us that the most successful companies have positive dialogue it makes you think about our every day exchanges. As this is a great time to reflect upon the last year, I thought I would pass on some questions from positive psychologist Jane McDonnigal.
Who are the people (or person) that makes you smile?
Who are the people that you can be yourself around?
Who are the people that are easy for you to talk with?
If you could pick any one person to be your mentor or coach who would that be?
Who is the person who energizes you?
Feel free to comment on the questions, questions that you would add?
Monday, December 29, 2014
Saturday, December 27, 2014
The importance of three good things
I was reminded the last day of break about the importance of three good things. During the last day I received a wonderful letter from a parent which was a perfect Christmas gift. A little later during the day I was stopped in the halls by a student so that they could read me a gratitude letter. The power of this letter was amazing as I honestly thought I would burst out in tears (I know I should just cry), Those two things combined were enough to make my year yet my day. Then during the day we had great discussions on how to make both my class and our school a better place for students to learn.
So why did I walk out of the school depressed? I became focused on students who did not do well on the unit test. Thinking about ways that I should have made sure they understood certain questions, beating myself up for not doing a better job, and focusing on the negative of my own performance.
As I entered my car, I started thinking about three good things that had happen to me at school. All of the good things brought a smile to my face and re-energized me to tackle the problems of school in a more positive light. I started reflecting on the scores in a more positive way, developed a better plan to prepare students for the midterm, and remembered that there is still plenty of time to make improvements for both me and my students.
So why did I walk out of the school depressed? I became focused on students who did not do well on the unit test. Thinking about ways that I should have made sure they understood certain questions, beating myself up for not doing a better job, and focusing on the negative of my own performance.
As I entered my car, I started thinking about three good things that had happen to me at school. All of the good things brought a smile to my face and re-energized me to tackle the problems of school in a more positive light. I started reflecting on the scores in a more positive way, developed a better plan to prepare students for the midterm, and remembered that there is still plenty of time to make improvements for both me and my students.
Friday, December 26, 2014
John A Speaks
This is a letter that John wrote to the Columbia University newsletter. I just thought I would share his thoughts.
Not even my Columbia University ID would save me from 6 bullets. With the recent non indictments of the police officers that killed Mike Brown and Eric Garner, it became shockingly apparent to me how meaningless black lives are becoming in America; however, I hesitate to use the word “becoming” because it implies that this is a new problem that our society is facing when in fact, the problem is much more deeply ingrained than we would like to acknowledge. As I took to the streets to protest in the name of what I felt was injustice, I had the scariest realization while shouting in the name of those that were killed. Even if I record a possible altercation with the police, it wouldn’t matter.
Now, the fact that someones life being taken away on camera isn’t probable cause for a grand jury to indict the person who killed him falls into two major problems that have yet to be addressed. On one hand there is the problem of white privilege, and on the other hand what can best be described as police power/privilege and the subsequent abuse of it. Both of these problems are social constructs that we have in place that benefit one portion of society at the expense of another and both contribute to the lack of empathy for black lives, but both do so in different ways.
“Eric Garner is just an isolated event.” “It’s not about race, it’s about brutish thugs.” “We don’t have all the facts” These are just a few of the comments made by people who have white privilege and they’re problematic in the way that they discredit the narratives of black people who are trying to speak to a larger problem in society. Yes, by their very nature Eric Garner/Mike Brown’s cases were isolated events, but they both speak to a larger dynamic about how race plays into the criminalization of minorities. Yes, it was about race and your refusal to acknowledge that as well as your racist tendency to profile someone as a thug are exactly what contribute to the subsequent prejudice that society has maintained. Lastly, we may not ever know exactly what happened in the case of Mike Brown, but can the same case be made for Tamir Rice or Eric Garner, both of whom had their deaths recorded for the world to see? When people say I don’t see race, this isn't some utopian novel. This isn't the giver. White privilege might allow people to ignore the fact that black men were killed in cold blood, but as a black male in today’s society, I can’t ignore the fact that one day I might be racially profiled and possibly shot for doing nothing more than walking through a convenience store.
In America, there is nothing more simple than getting an indictment. In fact, “New York State Chief Judge Sol Wachtler famously remarked that a prosecutor could persuade a grand jury to “indict a ham sandwich,” and the stats behind that hyperbole are even more ludicrous. “According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. attorneys prosecuted 162,000 federal cases in 2010, the most recent year for which we have data. Grand juries declined to return an indictment in 11 of them.”(Newsweek 1) However, within the last 10 years there have been 81 non-indictments, 80 of which have dealt with a police officer being accused. Now the first statistic by itself might be cause for alarm, but coupled with the second, it becomes apparent that there are deeper underlying advantages given to our officers in blue. The simple fact of the matter is things like police brutality are reinforced by the notion that cops have greater than a ninety five percent chance of getting off, while still being on paid leave. This in turn, allows those cops with ingrained racial bias to commit terrible crimes in the name of justice.
No, we don’t live in a post racial society. Yes, we have made racial progress in America, but that doesn’t stop certain talk show hosts and other prominent figures from using racial slurs against our half-black president. It also doesn’t stop our attorney general from being racially profiled, and almost arrested near his own home. It doesn’t stop a young twelve year old boy from being shot without thought, for having a toy gun (which would’ve been legal to carry had it been real).The sooner America acknowledges as a whole that there are systematic problems of privilege and oppression deeply ingrained in our justice system and society, then the sooner we can start to have a conversation to make some type of cohesive solution that benefits all people equally.
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
education
Today in one of my classes we were engaged in a very spirited debate about education in the United States. It started with people discussing that they noticed that people from foreign countries know more about American History than we do. I told them about a story of an exchange student who was very nervous about taking American History since they were not from this country. They took notes during the review for the first test, and studied that night. The day of the test the exchange student was very surprised that the test was the same as the review. She scored 104% which amazed many of her American counterparts. They asked her, "how did you do so well" Her response was "how did you not do well"
This led us to a discussion about do we take school seriously in the United States? We had students who were very glad that they had a diverse well rounded education. That they had opportunity for sports, clubs etc. Others pointed out that you had these same opportunities exist in some of the stronger educational countries but they occurred outside of school hours.
Where we have a pep rally for our sports teams in the United States, in South Korea, all the lower classman stand outside the school and applaud the seniors as they walk in to school to take the equivalent of our SAT's. They build school pride around academics
We then discussed why teachers are not respected as much in the United States as they are in foreign countries. Which also led to a discussion of how different cultures view authority. It was the type of discussion that could have went on the entire period so I would like to see if we can get that same type of discussion going in the blog.
What are your thoughts about education in the United States?
This led us to a discussion about do we take school seriously in the United States? We had students who were very glad that they had a diverse well rounded education. That they had opportunity for sports, clubs etc. Others pointed out that you had these same opportunities exist in some of the stronger educational countries but they occurred outside of school hours.
Where we have a pep rally for our sports teams in the United States, in South Korea, all the lower classman stand outside the school and applaud the seniors as they walk in to school to take the equivalent of our SAT's. They build school pride around academics
We then discussed why teachers are not respected as much in the United States as they are in foreign countries. Which also led to a discussion of how different cultures view authority. It was the type of discussion that could have went on the entire period so I would like to see if we can get that same type of discussion going in the blog.
What are your thoughts about education in the United States?
failure
In the last blog there was a comment about how we will all fail and we should not be embarrassed about it. One of the things that we need to change is the word failure. It is not that we will all fail, it is that we all will meet obstacles along the way. Some of these obstacles will be difficult to overcome but they all present a chance for you to learn and grow.
One of the hardest things to do is be gritty all the time. When you are in high school you have developed those friends that when you feel like quitting they will not allow it. They are the ones who are sympathetic to your problems but in the end they push you forward and make sure that you do not quit. What is neat about technology is that even though you might go to different schools you can still lean on these old friends to help you keep pushing forward when you feel like quitting.
One of the things that I have started doing when I set goals is to think of all the obstacles that might prevent me from hitting my goals. Then I think of ways around these obstacles so when they appear I am prepared for them. Do I sometimes still lose to the obstacles, of course. I just remind myself I am human and will do a better job the next day.
One of the hardest things to do is be gritty all the time. When you are in high school you have developed those friends that when you feel like quitting they will not allow it. They are the ones who are sympathetic to your problems but in the end they push you forward and make sure that you do not quit. What is neat about technology is that even though you might go to different schools you can still lean on these old friends to help you keep pushing forward when you feel like quitting.
One of the things that I have started doing when I set goals is to think of all the obstacles that might prevent me from hitting my goals. Then I think of ways around these obstacles so when they appear I am prepared for them. Do I sometimes still lose to the obstacles, of course. I just remind myself I am human and will do a better job the next day.
Monday, December 15, 2014
College advice from Dr. Duckworth
Angela Duckworth, the worlds leading expert on grit, gives this advice to incoming freshman. It is easier to be an A student at an Ivy League college than a b- student. She discusses when you are a b- student at a school, you have a weak foundation, so when you go to the next level of classes it is now harder for you to perform. The A student however, has a strong foundation of knowledge which allows them to perform well as they increase the level class. So it really pays to master the material freshman year so that you have that strong foundation to work off.
Dr. Duckworth than goes on to speak about racing your strengths but working on your weaknesses. That if you hate math you should not become a math major. Once you have picked your major however you should work on specific weaknesses so that they now can become a strength. She discusses how you need to be really specific, not I am going to get better in economics. You need to say I am going to master the monopoly graph. When you pick these specific points it allows you to really focus on your skill.
Thirdly, from one of her associates, the warning that most students will struggle their first year in college. It might be academically, socially or both. That we tend to look around and think that everyone else has made this easy adjustment. The truth is that some people are just better at hiding it than others, and that some of the people you think have adjusted well are going through tough times.
Realize that the admissions examined your application and you are definitely academically qualified. The social part sometimes takes a little longer. We tend to remember the end of high school where you had many friends some that went back to elementary school. So give yourself some time and both the academics and the friends will work out.
Dr. Duckworth than goes on to speak about racing your strengths but working on your weaknesses. That if you hate math you should not become a math major. Once you have picked your major however you should work on specific weaknesses so that they now can become a strength. She discusses how you need to be really specific, not I am going to get better in economics. You need to say I am going to master the monopoly graph. When you pick these specific points it allows you to really focus on your skill.
Thirdly, from one of her associates, the warning that most students will struggle their first year in college. It might be academically, socially or both. That we tend to look around and think that everyone else has made this easy adjustment. The truth is that some people are just better at hiding it than others, and that some of the people you think have adjusted well are going through tough times.
Realize that the admissions examined your application and you are definitely academically qualified. The social part sometimes takes a little longer. We tend to remember the end of high school where you had many friends some that went back to elementary school. So give yourself some time and both the academics and the friends will work out.
Saturday, December 13, 2014
Dinner with the Superintendent
One of my professional development goals this year was to conduct three dinners that with my fellow teachers to discuss educational issues. In trying to get good guests to spur the discussion, I sent an e-mail to the Superintendent of my school district. I was amazed within hours he replied back that one of his staff members would be in touch with me to set up the dinner. Wow, I was impressed that he would take the time to sit down with us.
On Dec. 9th a group of us met with the Superintendent to discuss issues that were important to all of us. We started the discussion with each teacher picking one thing that they would do if they were in charge of education. When a teacher hesitated, becoming scared that they might offend our Superintendent, his quote was "bring it on". There was no holding back just a truthful back and forth about what makes education work. He did not want to duck questions but really wanted to hear our feedback.
When I asked him about some of the mandates that are being made on teachers his reply was " I do not care about hanging student work I care about what the student are working on" He made me realize that his only goal or edict was to make kids better each and everyday. It was just a pleasure to watch him engage with my fellow teachers who you could tell were inspired in the same manner that I was.
At 7:00 I told him that he needed to leave for his next appointment, he looked at his watch, told me to remind him in another 10 minutes. It was great to see how much he enjoyed the discussion sharing with us his vision for the next five years and the next ten years. At 7:10 he told me that he had five more minutes to give us.
At the end one of our teachers asked him would he take a group picture. When she snapped the picture a couple of teachers offered to take one so that she could be in it. She told us that it did not matter. He left the room in a hurry because we all knew he was late. However, one minute later he appeared with a waiter to make sure that we could get everyone in the picture. He was late but he realized that it was important to get us all in the picture. In a field which can not offer people money incentives he made a teachers night.
While I am sure that I will disagree with some of his decisions, it really lifted my spirits to realize that he understands the problems that our school system faces. We still as a system need to execute our game plan better, but his inspiration gives us a chance to be successful.
On Dec. 9th a group of us met with the Superintendent to discuss issues that were important to all of us. We started the discussion with each teacher picking one thing that they would do if they were in charge of education. When a teacher hesitated, becoming scared that they might offend our Superintendent, his quote was "bring it on". There was no holding back just a truthful back and forth about what makes education work. He did not want to duck questions but really wanted to hear our feedback.
When I asked him about some of the mandates that are being made on teachers his reply was " I do not care about hanging student work I care about what the student are working on" He made me realize that his only goal or edict was to make kids better each and everyday. It was just a pleasure to watch him engage with my fellow teachers who you could tell were inspired in the same manner that I was.
At 7:00 I told him that he needed to leave for his next appointment, he looked at his watch, told me to remind him in another 10 minutes. It was great to see how much he enjoyed the discussion sharing with us his vision for the next five years and the next ten years. At 7:10 he told me that he had five more minutes to give us.
At the end one of our teachers asked him would he take a group picture. When she snapped the picture a couple of teachers offered to take one so that she could be in it. She told us that it did not matter. He left the room in a hurry because we all knew he was late. However, one minute later he appeared with a waiter to make sure that we could get everyone in the picture. He was late but he realized that it was important to get us all in the picture. In a field which can not offer people money incentives he made a teachers night.
While I am sure that I will disagree with some of his decisions, it really lifted my spirits to realize that he understands the problems that our school system faces. We still as a system need to execute our game plan better, but his inspiration gives us a chance to be successful.
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