I’ll get it out right away. I had to repeat the 4th grade. During my first year of 4th grade, I distinctly remember feeling like I was not the sharpest pencil in the box. I struggled to get “satisfactory” on my report card. I also disliked reading and my penmanship was so bad my father …
Enough already
My dad was a reading teacher. Before the war. Before the reading war, that is. As a child, I recall him coming home from school, or later when he was chair of a college education department, and complaining about debates he would have with colleagues about how to best teach reading. I distinctly recall him …
Listen and Learn
A few years ago I was interviewing someone for a leadership position. As we neared the end of the interview, I asked, “Describe what you will do in your first six months on the job.” The response took me back because of its simplicity and brilliance. “Listen and learn” was his response. As I said, …
Isn't it ironic?
Most of you have heard the 1990’s song “Ironic,” by Alanis Morissette. It’s on my playlist. There’s something catchy about the lyrics, and the melody is relaxing. What’s ironic, however, is that none of the scenarios about which Morissette sings are actually examples of irony. They’re just sad or unfortunate events. I should note that …
Priorities
In my current position, I spend a lot of my time learning about new initiatives, frameworks, and methods so that I can lead, serve or help connect other school personnel to resources that enable them to do the same. Recently, while “unpacking” some of these, I was asked what my “recipe” for school leadership was. …
Unintended consequences
There’s a photo of our 2-year old Goldendoodle, Leland, hanging in my office. (https://tinyurl.com/re8cds8) She’s standing in Lake Michigan holding a rock in her mouth. There’s a swoosh of water encircling her head, because she had just emerged from retrieving the rock I had thrown. I’ll admit it was amusing to watch. Most dogs don’t …
in-trin-sic, adj.
I remember the exact day that I learned the word “intrinsic.” I was in the 6th grade, and my teacher, Mr. Coords presented us with the week’s vocabulary list. Mr. Coords started every week with new vocabulary words that came straight from the Reader's Digest’s “Word Power” list. Even today, there are certain words that …
Did you fall today?
I have learned a lot of lessons through ski jumping. One lesson I learned a few years ago was that taking risks was critical for improvement in the sport. I must have been very risky at the beginning, because I would often come home from practice with a new set of bruises or scrapes. Of …
