How Do You Suck?

 

Do you suck out all the marrow of Life?

 

(Click here to see the entire Thoreau quote).

 

 

 

 

                   Or do you suck all the energy from a room?

 

 

 

 

To Where It Is Headed

I love this quote (and artwork by Hugh MacLeod).  It is such a challenge, though.  It is a challenge, to me, because  the puck--Education--is always changing, adapting, evolving, moving.  Or at least it should be and needs to be.  Now more than ever we need to be forward moving with laser vision and not grounded in the past.  Another challenge this presents is that it requires caring, thoughtful leadership to inspire/motivate everyone to be headed in that direction and it beckons collaboration and teamwork from everyone.  (Here is a very good post by Lyn Hilt called The Care Effect).

Can we honestly say we are adapting and evolving with focused purpose and passion?  Can we say we are moving in a direction that is driven by what is best for young people and based on good pedagogy?  Are we changing with the times and using all the best of what's available?

We can see where the puck is heading, but often can only make a hypothesis as to the trajectory and pace. Think about it—we are preparing kids for a future which we have no idea what it will be like.  Usually we prepare them for our past. We need to stop teaching and living and leading like that.

Let’s make an effort to go where the puck is headed, and not where it is now.  What are your thoughts?

School Counseling Linky Party

 

I am a bit late to this, but here I am nonetheless.  Marissa Rex has an ever resourceful counseling blog, Elementary School Counseling.  Only go there when you have plenty of time as there is alot of stuff you'll want to use in your own work with young people.

She is hosting a Linky Party, where anyone gets to reflect on their own blog from the past year. It is a fun way to reflect on 2012 and gear up for 2013.


 





My best feature is Set Your Intentions.  Simply stated, it is quotes which inspire me.  I put them out there to share with you with hopes that they provide motivation for you. Here is my very first one- Watering Your Dreams.




For me, this post encapsulates so much of what I value-- a growth mindset, the process of change, and getting comfortable with being uncomfortable-- Learning is a Leap of Faith.  The girl in this video is awesome!


 

Most of what I write evolves over a lengthy period of time.  This post, however, was written in a matter of minutes-- Advocate.  Erin Mason from SCOPE tweeted a question and it turned into this post.


 

You want a kid lit book to work on just about anything? This is the place to find it-- Books That Heal Kids
               


She is connected to the things that matter most-- The Principal's Posts



I wish I wrote like him-- Mountains Out of Molehills

If you are stuck in a rut and need your thinking stretched, this is a place to go--Blogging Through the Fourth Dimension.

If Education is your passion and you think there is such a thing as compassionate leadership then make a habit of checking this blog regularly-- Life of an Educator.

 

Fail Harder

Are you prepared for things to not work?

Fail Harder.

Are you willing to put yourself out there?

Take the chance to Fail Harder.

Wieden + Kennedy is an advertising agency that used 100,000 push-pin tacks to create an art installation in their offices. Check out this short video of it being made:  Fail Harder.

Pablo Picasso knew something about failing harder when he stated, I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.


Carol Dweck knows it, too, and said,
Failure is important to understand because success involves repeated setbacks. If you don't know how to welcome failure, grapple with it and ultimately overcome it, you're not going to develop your potential to the fullest.

Students need to integrate a mistake or setback as not failure. Rather, just a step closer to realizing the attainment of a task, goal, or dream.  We all need to look through a different lens so as to not perceive a setback or mistake as a failure.

Advocate

Here is a recent Tweet from my Twitter friend Dr. Mason:

  Dr. Erin Mason @ecmmason

Most go into #schoolcounseling bc you already see self as advocate. What's one thing u want to advocate for when ur in the field? #CSL521



I have more to write then what the 140-characters Twitter allows.  So, here comes a blog post.  Usually I ponder and percolate with these things. Not with this.  It was kind of there just waiting to be expressed. So, thanks, Dr. Mason.

I segmented this metamorposis into three stages of my own personal development:  1). Reason for entering grad school, 2). Freshly minted mindset of a Graduate, and 3). What I believe at this precise moment.

Reason for entering graduate school
I was disenchanted with what I was doing, coupled with feeling compelled by the desire to have the same impact on kids which I experienced while growing up.  I was fortunate to have many adults willing to take me under their wing, kick me in the rear as was sometimes necessary, and encourage me during my formative years.  They included a coach, a few teachers, and church leaders.

Upon graduation 
It was genuine, but rather vague: Help prepare young people for a future in which they may experience success. That's it.  Not much to go on, I know, but that's it.

Today, this is where I believe my advocacy resides
Intrinsic Motivation - I'd love for kids to do stuff because they want to do it and because it is in their highest interest.
Understanding - I want young people to know about how things --desires, emotions, beliefs-- work, the cause and effect of their thoughts/actions, and what makes their 'self' tick.
Process of Change - Awareness of how changing happens naturally, not forcefully or that which is placed upon you.
Passion - Discover it.  Unleash it.  Wake up each morning to share all that you have to offer.

This is how I want to advocate and will do so for each person who I find myself in their midst to the best of my ability.  Each young person arrives with a unique life story, baggage they carry with them, limited/extensive background knowledge and experiences. Perhaps, what I strive for is to remove the obstacles from their path so as to clear the way for them to grow unencumbered.

Or, maybe, this captures what I am looking for when I now think of advocacy---as Shakespeare so elegantly penned, My heart is ever at your service.

Thanks, Dr. Mason, for nudging me to reflect.  Now it is your turn to comment, #CSL521.  I'd love to hear from you.  Please share your Counselor Mindset at this point in your career!

Set Your Intentions #4

“Each second we live is a new and unique moment of the universe, a moment that will never be again.  And what do we teach our children? We teach them that two and two make four, and that Paris is the capital of France. When will we also teach them what they are? We should say to each of them: Do you know what you are? You are a marvel. You are unique. In all the years that have passed, there has never been another child like you. Your legs, your arms, your clever fingers, the way you move. You may become a Shakespeare, a Michelangelo, a Beethoven. You have the capacity for anything. Yes, you are a marvel. And when you grow up, can you then harm another who is, like you, a marvel? You must work, we must all work, to make the world worthy of its children.”

                                 ~ Pablo Picasso

More Books To Inspire

This next bundle of books in my Books to Inspire link are about Acceptance.

My personal pick is Acceptance:  Embracing Life's Experience by Wallace J. Kahn.  Acceptance is something I contiually try to better hone.  I think, for me at least, it is a life's work.  I've referenced Dr. Kahn in some of my blog posts.  Simply stated, if there was a Mount Rushmore for those who have left an imprint on me, he would be there.  Check out this book.

Willow is my KidLit pick.  It is written by Denise Brennan-Nelson and Rosemarie Brennan.  It's got a geat site for enrichment activities.  Click here to check it out.

My Professional selection for this bundle is Lost at School:  Why Our Kids with Behavioral Challenges Are Falling Through the Cracks and How We Can Help Them by Ross W. Greene.  Quite a few folks from my PLN have read this and have given it rave reviews.  I have only just started reading, but it is certainly leading me to a significant paradigm shift.

 Be sure to visit the Books To Inspire link over to the left to discover more about these selections.

Life is Simple

We visited my Dad yesterday.  After saying hellos and settling in, he asked me which way we came.  (We could have taken the Turnpike, the expressway, or the back roads).  Before I could respond, my daughter answered, "Through the front door, Grandpa".

Of course.  The front door.  What other way is there to come?  It is so obvious.

Here's my point.  Life is simple.  Sometimes we overthink a situation and complicate things more than need be.

With regards to education, what is your Front Door story?