Aaaand We're Back!

Let's get the "Captain Obvious" stuff out of the way early...things are weird, different, off lately. For everyone. Everywhere. I reside in but one very small corner of this vast world, trying to hold things down while keeping the learning going with my students at school - remotely, of course.

To be honest, there's just so much to wrap one's head around that instead of a focused writing today, it'll be more of a rambling list of thoughts...

• I work for and with a pretty incredible district. The time used to develop and expand Distance Learning capabilities was invaluable. There are so many talented, flexible, passionate and committed people all working together to try and make this work best for our students. It's quite inspiring actually.
• Students seem to be doing a great job adjusting to these first couple of days with Distance Learning. They have asked thoughtful questions (for the most part 😉) when needed, and have shown to be quite responsible and resourceful.
• It's been great to see my own kids adjust positively. They both have loved being able to pound thru their work at a high clip, connect with teachers if needed, and then move on to doing other activities, play outside, etc. 
• Observing my wife put in so much great work as a 1st grade teacher has been awesome. She's quite fantastic!
• I wonder what types of long-term changes will come from all of this...it will be very interesting to see. Just like many other industries, the type of innovative and creative, problem-solving thinking going on will undoubtedly lead to positive developments.

Until Next Time...

For obvious reasons, I have not written as much these past few days. Primarily, we haven't had class with students and there have been a few things going on around town.

I took this picture of my front white board...

Every day, I write the date for the next class day, plus whether it's an A or B day. I wrote this particular information down on Thursday, March 12. We had parent-teacher conferences and staff development on the 13th, and have not had students since. So as I sit here and type this before I leave my room, I can't help but wonder when I will next change that information. I know I could have erased it and left it blank, but I want to see just how long the gap ends up being between days spent with actual students.

There's been a lot of time, energy, thought and effort put into expanding and enhancing out Distance Learning efforts for our students these past few days. Honestly, I'm not 100% sure how things will go. I do know I'm optimistic, and I truly believe our students will rise to the occasion and make the most out of the situation. I also know that more than ever, the kids need to find balance between the school work, family time, getting movement & exercise, finding new or reinvigorating old passions, and just taking care of themselves!

I hope to continue writing and reflecting as we go through this weird journey together. Although it'll be different, I'm sure there will be just as much material to build off of as before. The rest of this week is a hiatus and planning week, followed by Spring Break next week. Then, fully leaning into Distance Learning as best we can. Until then, stay safe and healthy everyone!

Uncharted Territory

These are some pretty wild, wild times we have going on right now. Never before have I had to answer so many questions from students with different versions of "I'm not sure; I don't know; you guys know as much as I do; etc." Maybe in the weeks following 9-11, but that now feels like a bit of a different world. Certainly from a standpoint of connectivity and speed of information flow, it was much different. Back then, a student might have a question that arose from something they saw in the newspaper or on the evening/morning news. Now, the kids have a world of information at their fingertips all the time - whether they like it or not.

When I think about my own experience in trying to keep up with the onslaught of information and the current state of affairs, I can only image what these kids might be thinking from time to time. More than once already today, I have needed to take a deep breath and give a couple young people the benefit of the doubt with their behavior, poor choice in humor, and spreading of potentially misleading information because honestly, they don't know much better and are trying there best like the rest of us. It's just that it can sometimes tire a guy out!

I have especially raised awareness around our students who may already deal with anxiety and mental health struggles on a daily basis...all of this certainly can't help matters! I'm also aware that some students may have elderly relatives currently confined in locked-down nursing homes, parents that travel a lot for work, and older siblings in far-off places for college.

While I have no intel, insight, or useful knowledge different from anyone else at this point, I certainly feel as though I have a takeaway to keep at the forefront of our minds when dealing with one another (from a distance or not) -- have grace. Just a little bit of added kindness, understanding, sympathy and perhaps empathy could go a long way as we chart this unknown terrain.

Stay safe and healthy out there!

Frustration, Walls, and a Different Kind of Patience

Some days it can be hard to follow advice you would probably give your own children or students. The idea of staying positive, persevering, reflecting, learning, and staying focused on goals can seem difficult and abstract when dealing with a little dose of disappointment. You know it's the right play - the correct course of action. And deep down, you know it's true, because come on...who likes the alternative? Exactly.

So, even when you find out you're not moving on through an interview process on something you're excited about and your day is looking a bit bleak early on, you power through. The reason is really simple - there's work to be done. Students are coming through your door (or clients are calling, colleagues are in need, bosses are asking for things) and they need you mentally in the game. Even with whatever else is going on, the other people in your life need your focus, energy, commitment, etc.

And truthfully, the more I think about it, this is exactly why the advice mentioned above is given to children, students, athletes, and anyone else on a learning journey. We all go through this type of stuff all the time. So I ran into a bit of a wall with this news this morning. It's not the first wall I've hit, and it most certainly will not be the last. There's a skill, elegance, and certain power and that comes with saying "alright, what's next?" For me, what always seems to be a lift is when I look to how I can lift others - students, colleagues, family, etc.

What I also need to do is practice a different type of patience from the one I discussed yesterday. Not a patience in dealing with preteens approaching Spring Break, but patience with what's to come. Knowing, understanding, and accepting that I can control only so much, and that putting best effort and work into things is what it's all about...and then letting go and trusting things from that point.

To make things better, the universe always has it's ways of giving what might be needed. Within a short amount of time from receiving the bummer news, I had lovely words of encouragement from my lovey and talented wife; I got an email and started going back forth with a coach and mentor from high school; and my son texted us to share his news of scoring 100% on his math test. All in all, not too bad of a day... ;)

Patience

Short post today, as I think a lot about the importance (see: necessity) of patience in dealing with middle school students coming off daylight saving clock-adjusting with a full moon week thrown in with Spring Break on the horizon. Let's just say things get a little "hairy" around this time!

You know it's going to be a grind of a Monday when you're not even 15 minutes into your first class and you have to 'get real' with them about their behavior, performance, following directions, etc. Thankfully things have picked up a little from that point, but man...not great when you're still waiting for the coffee to perk ya up a bit.

In the end, you take much of what a middle school student says and does with a grain of salt because, well, they're 12. But still, all too often I find myself channeling my inner Kramer from Seinfeld and thinking to myself serenity now, serenity now...

Thankfully life inside a middle school is like MN weather --> just wait about 5-10 minutes and it will change. The kids make you smile and laugh as much as they make you shake your head in bewilderment. They show amazing signs of kindness, grace, and acceptance as much as they offer scorn and ridicule to each other. And for the most part, their openness and eagerness to learn outweighs their preteen angst and ambivalence. 

The Madness of March

Where to begin? So many parts to this phenomenon. So many variables impacting daily life. So many different elements in play. The month of March, in the world of education (let along middle schools!), is typically a crazy, unbalanced state of existence.

Notice I have avoided terms that would provide either negative or positive connotation. Perhaps the reader will look into this one way or another, but from the writer's end, the goals is to simply examine the current reality. As the oft-mocked and sometimes discarded saying goes - it is what it is.

The seasons are starting to do battle, as winter begrudgingly gives way to spring. Winter sports run through their insane gauntlets of playoffs and championships at both the high school and college level, with tryouts for spring/summer sports already beginning (or never ending...looking at you, soccer and dance). Here in MN the high school hockey tournaments definitely attract much attention. In school, kids are fighting the constant battle of taking on more responsibility and learning versus enjoying more freedom and certain "rights of passage" with growing up. Spring Break looms ahead, with the lucky ones looking forward to a getaway and much-needed distraction.

Put all of this in a social experiment blender like a middle school, and what you usually get is some interesting behavior, somewhat questionable decision making (even more so than usual), and really, really high energy levels. If only I'd been keeping a count so far of the total head shakes, laughs, eyebrow raises, confused looks, and questions like "huh?" I've demonstrated so far this month...

Oh, and it's only the 6th! 😅  Buckle up everybody

Balance

There's nothing quite like it. Balance seems almost like a universal truth. Even more, it can almost act like a universal solvent...so efficient, powerful, and useful in so many situations. Balance can seem to open up one's breathing, clear one's mind, and energize one's spirit. All too often, we can find ourselves out of balance -> physically with our backs, golf swings, running strides...mentally with too much work and not enough play/relaxation/family time...spiritually with overloads of stress and not enough unplugging and mindfulness.

Today has brought the concept of balance to the front of my mind. Not because of one absolute reason, but rather a result of may different variables. This is always a time of year when I start to see stress levels rise in the students. I'm sure it can seem crazy, with winter break only a couple of months ago and just a few months left in the school year, but it never fails that the time of year leading into spring break always seems to be a trying time for kids. They can have many stressors going on - academics, tournament season for winter sports, choir/band/orchestra performances, spring musicals, standardized and high-stakes testing (and for HS students, looming AP and college entrance tests later in spring). Throw in the tail end of flu season, excess worry around Coronavirus, and everyone waiting for winter to let go it's grasp, and it's safe to say everyone could use some re-calibration.

While it's tough to control what students will do outside of my classroom, I can help by modeling balance and encouraging them to seek balance in their own lives as much as they can. Do I really need to have them do activity "X" as homework? Probably not...we could come back to that next time. Is there a great way for this activity to be done offline, so they can maybe unplug for a little bit? Probably. If they hear me talk about mixing in downtime, getting exercise, having family time, and pursuing interests and passions outside of school could they see that for themselves? Maybe, maybe not...but it is certainly worth trying!

We as adults need to make sure we're getting the balance we need for ourselves. If we do, we are probably much better equipped to assist our students in achieving that same type of balance and peace as well. Read a good book; put on that great album you loved 5, 10, 15 years ago; go for a walk or get a hard workout in; think-meditate-ponder in quiet stillness for a few minutes; spend some time doing something fun with a loved one or friends. Recharging our batteries and finding balance can be contagious - in a good way :)

Leaning In...

Seems to be quite a bit going on in the news and around the world lately. Cue Captain Obvious...

 

But seriously, there's just a lot on everybody's plate and mind. I find that this is no different, and quite often is even more the case, when it comes to our students. Aside from all the usual preteen and teenage conundrums, there are so many other existential crises currently in play. Unofficially off the top of my head...

-election news

-coronavirus

-sea levels

-organic/gluten free/GMO/various intolerance issues with eating and diets

-navigating real life with online life, especially for young women

-the overall effect of social media and growing up

-pressure around grades and high stakes tests for the "perfect" college choices

-high competitive environments around all sports and activities

There are more, as this is not an exhaustive list at all. Add on top of all these things how disconnected students - and everyone - can all feel, and what you're left with has the potential to feel very isolating and overwhelming. 

While I have no real good ideas to combat all this (mostly because it's been rattling around my brain aimlessly), I do feel strongly about one thing. There's an inherent power behind the act of leaning in to all of these things. Leaning in to problem-solving and pragmatic thinking around problems. To leaning in to healthy ways to combat stress: exercise, meditation, mindfulness, serving others, finding a purpose. And maybe most importantly (IMHO, as the kids say via text), leaning in to relationships with others...with friends, colleagues, family, teammates, acquaintances, mentors, teachers, coaches, and anyone else who can support, sustain, and otherwise be there us. 

As the saying goes, No Man Is An Island. Even though we seem to try harder and harder in our world to create islands and worlds for ourselves, it seems paramount to bridge to others as much as we can. If you're good to go, be that bridge for another.