To be honest, I wasn't sure I wanted to post a "Last Friday Weather Report" and thought about calling the May 21st post good. I determined that many of you had stopped taking my advice and suggestions a few weeks ago, but I just kept on giving it. :-) So in addition to continuing to give you suggestions and advice, I want to use my last post to thank you for all you've done the past couple weeks and, or course, five years. With that, here are some parting suggestions, thoughts and appreciation. I hope you can read it and apply it to your work and life in some fashion as you move forward this summer and into the next school.
Thank you. I'll begin with simply stating, "Thank you." It was just under five years ago that I moved to Red Oak with Jen, Charlie, William and our new baby boy, Lewis. You all welcomed us with open arms and didn't (openly!) question my age or experience like many may have. During the five years, you were patient with my adult-ADHD tendencies, were accepting of changes we tried on the fly, open to and willing to try new ideas, and worked together as a team - not as independent contractors we often find in education - to solve many problems. We enjoyed many successes, consoled each other in losses, worked harder together when we didn't reach our goals and celebrated when we did. The hard working family members of Washington Intermediate and the friends of Washington (district staff, parents, students, community members) are the main reason I've enjoyed success...I just thank you for allowing me to be along for the ride.
Don't ever be satisfied with being good. In Good to Great, Jim Collins wrote:
GOOD IS THE ENEMY OF GREAT. And that is one of the key reasons why we have so little that becomes great. We don't have great schools, principally because we have good schools. We don't have great government, principally because we have good government. Few people attain great lives, in large part because it is just so easy to settle for a good life. The vast majority of organizations never become great, precisely because the vast majority become quite good-and that is the main problem.As I look at what we have done and accomplished, I can confidently state you are good at many of the things you do - individually, as a team, building or district. Much of the conversation you had with your colleagues the last few weeks included what needs to be done to get to that next level - whether from good to great in how we teach and approach math or how to just get better at teaching literacy. Just like we want the bar set high for our students, set the bar at "Great" for yourselves in all you do. Then determine the path to get there.
It all starts with each individual teacher, para, secretary, custodian, cook, principal being passionate about being an educator (we are all educators!) and getting better at what they do each day. Lost the passion? Find a job that makes you passionate again. Not interested in getting better? Find something else to do with your life so you're not keeping kids from getting better. From another one of my favorite books I've shared with you already, The Energy Bus, Jon Gordon states the goal isn't to be better than anyone else but rather be better that you were yesterday. If you've lost the passion to get better each and every day or you are not pursing your dream, the bus (i.e. the team, building and district) cannot move forward - you're one of those "energy vampires" who cannot be a part of a successful journey. Want to continue in education? Find the passion. Begin dreaming and pursue the dream. Jim Collins states it better than I when he talks about passion and dreams:
Dreams make you click, juice you, turn you on, excite the living daylights out of you. You cannot wait to get out of bed to continue pursuing your dream. The kind of dream I'm talking about gives meaning to your life. It is the ultimate motivator.Choose Joy - At the beginning of the school year, I talked about my friend, Sara, who has taught me as more from how she lives her life than anything I've learned in school or from nearly everyone else combined. Even with the ills of life stacked against her, she has made the conscience effort to...
...choose joy. This post entry may be more for me, but just like laughter is needed in education, joy is needed by every single child who walks into the building, your classroom, the gym, onto the playground this coming fall. You hold the key - you have the power - to create a classroom full of joy, full of laughter and full of learning. No one else has this power. I've seen time and time again one person in the building 'choose joy' and the contagiousness of this choice is evident throughout the day and building.
Keep a HABDF - I mentioned this one back in January 2009 but I feel it is worth repeating as you have all been a big part of increasing my HABDF from a thin folder in my desk drawer to scrambling to look for a leftover box from Amy's room big enough to pack it up and take it with me. Your kind words, jokes, songs, students' work and notes and pictures from the past five years will get me through many tough days I'll face in the future.
As always, I close with reminding you,
Enjoy your summer.
Keep in touch.
Best wishes.
Keep in touch.
Best wishes.
DB
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