Fresh Air

After two days of rain and limited time outside, I need some fresh air. I cannot imagine living my life without time outside. I need to get outside and breath in the fresh air. Can somebody stop the rain?
Just venting, thanks.

Relax

Stress. We all deal with it. I think it is really about the threshold that people have for what life throws at them. Different things lead people to get overwhelmed in their life but I would venture that it is of their own making. Kids, jobs, and relationships are challenging parts of our life and yet quite often, we put ourselves in that position as a parent, employee, and spouse in the first place. Life is of our own making and we are to make the most of it. At least that is what I think.

Working with your hands

I spent a couple of hours yesterday with my son spreading bark mulch. Actually, he managed the back of the truck while I wheeled wheelbarrow fulls of mulch around the yard and spread it in our flower beds. Cool for him and therapy for me.

When you do a job that is mostly interpersonal and somewhat sedentary, the opportunity to work with your hands and get dirty is refreshing. I can't say I do enough of it. Mind you, shoveling snow fits into this category but I had more than enough of that this year and I need therapy after this winter.

With a weekend of yard work ahead, I should be in a good mental state. My physical state may be a different situation.

Watching Your Child Perform

A wonderful 9 year old pitcher took the mound on Monday. Dressed in his "Rockies" uniform he confidently warmed up and was ready to pitch his one inning of relief in a hotly contested match up against the Cardinals. Starting with a strikeout, he quickly fell behind the next hitter and when he walked him, the nerves showed through. Another walk and some frustration brought his coach (and father) to the mound. "Remember you leg kick and slow yourself down" were the words of wisdom from Dad. The inning continued with a couple of infield hits and a couple of runs given up and the 9 year old was deflated. "No worries" said his coach, "This was your first time pitching against live hitting. You did well." Oh the pressure of being perfect! This 9 year old had to be perfect for himself and everyone watching.
It is hard and wonderful to be a parent watching your children perform whether it be on the field, stage or wherever. You want to take the difficulty out the situation and make it go well for them, but you can't. The effort put into the performance makes it worthwhile. The challenge for parents is to not live vicariously through their child's experiences and allow them to struggle through these performances.
The next time on the mound that 9 year old struck out three and walked one without the dad/coach there. No living vicariously on this occasion. There might be a lesson in that too.

End of an Era

We went 4-0 in our last AAU tournament. Quite a nice weekend to watch my daughter's team (which I coached) win against some pretty good teams. They did so in convincing fashion but it was bittersweet.
Why you ask? It is the last time I will coach her on a team in basketball.
When she was in first grade I started coaching her team. To see her gradually learn the game and enjoy it was quite special. She grew as a player and as a person not to mention in her height. She made good friends, could look at her game with some pride and was part of teams that in the end had fun.
When she started playing at the middle school level, it was the first team she played on that I did not coach. It was hard not to coach from the stands, but I did anyway (Move your feet! Hands up on defense! Don't reach!) It was great to see her apply her skills to a team that I didn't have direct contact with.
We continued to play an abbreviated AAU schedule and extend her basketball season with her friends. We didn't always do well against these all star teams but the girls never got down and they saw how good it could be and how good they could be. I loved it!
Now we are done and she is into softball full steam; basketball camp this summer and onto high school in the fall. High school, ouch. I will miss working on the skills of basketball in a practice session with her but there is still the driveway and the gym possibly.
I know I will pine away for the days of coaching her. I will miss the early days of teaching how to dribble and shoot a basketball. I know I will pine away for the day I could beat her in one on one, whenever she does beat me. Not too far away....

Myrtle on my mind

We are about to make our annual pilgrimage to Myrtle Beach for April vacation. I am very fortunate to have a family that indulges my need for golf and actually plays with me. Friends, family, beach, pool and of course golf are the agenda for April vacation.

We drive the 15 1/2 hour trip to South Carolina. We usually stay overnight on the way down after a day of tracking licence plates from hopefully all 50 states, punch buggies, and water towers (that is my sons interest). It is quite a trip.

Weather for the next 10 days
Today
Apr 14

Scattered T-Storms

71°
54°

Wed
Apr 15

Partly Cloudy

66°
45°

10%

Thu
Apr 16

Partly Cloudy

65°
45°

0%

Fri
Apr 17


Mostly Sunny

67°
49°


Sat
Apr 18


Mostly Sunny

69°
55°

Sun
Apr 19

Partly Cloudy

72°
58°

Mon
Apr 20


Scattered T-Storms

70°
52°

Tue
Apr 21

Sunny

69°
51°

Wed
Apr 22


Mostly Sunny

69°
55°

Thu
Apr 23


Partly Cloudy

70°
54°

Information Overload

To say that the last few weeks have been stressful might be the understatement of the millenium. I have had so much going on that I don't know which end is up.

So then I come to the NELMS Annual Conference to connect with colleagues and get educated on all that is middle level education and the information is overwhelming. I have had a chance to go to new and exiting session with a plethura of information and I have nowhere to store it. How do I make sense of all this?

There are times when you have to slow down and make some sense of the world around you and put everything in its place. I don't mean shut it down but rather make sense of it all. Technology and all its components is just one area I have a small handle on and with emerging tools and applications, I wonder if I have any handle at all.

I am making a list of things to learn and get some control over and when I do, watch out.

What kind of child?

So is it the child supposed to be when they grow up? My answer is the well rounded child. A child who is able to a little bit of everything; play sports, be successful in the classroom and be a good citizen.

That is the mission of the middle school. We are designed to keep all things in mind in all we do from the classroom to the hallways to the ball field. When in life is it enough to be just successful at one thing? By the time we are done with school, what does the world expect from us? We need to be able to be good at many things.

How do we prepare kids for this? We just do.

Golf

To say I like to play golf is like saying that my teenage daughter likes the Jonas Borthers. "Like" doesn't quite encapsulate the level to which we are infatuated with the two pursuits.

So bad is my infatuation that I look for the 15-30 minutes to chip and putt before I have to pick up a child of mine. So bad is it that I would know all the commentators on the golf channel. So bad is it that I played golf this past Saturday on a rain soaked fairway in 40 degree weather.

I love my family and NH. I enjoy my work and my own learning but golf is my personal quest for perfection. I can infuse all my competitive urges into this singular pursuit for a given amount of time and no one will think less of me. It isn't really supported to be competitive in the workplace, certainly not my workplace.

Don't misunderstand me, I do not spend endless hours on the golf course, contrary to what my wife might say. I find time throughout a busy week to keep the game in tune. When there is a large amount of free time, maybe in the summer, I do manage to fill a great deal of it with golf. It isn't solitary, I will play with anyone. I do prefer my family and friends but if you need a game, give me a call.

Looking forward to the warmer smells of summer and the late night round after dinner. But even now, you may find me playing if the snow isn't flying.

Self Analysis

I have found there are people who in life don't look at what they are doing, how they are treating others, and certainly are not letting people work in their own manner. It is true that sometimes people need a gentle "nudge" to improve or grow but then they are doing it truly because they were "nudged."

I find that we need to instill in our youth the ability to analyze themselves and their work or behavior. The ability to sensor themselves at the right time or to say the right thing at the right time can be as important a skill as learning your multiplication tables. Social development and the desire to succeed in the right way are two very important skills that schools can teach through modeling and certain lessons. It could be all they take from school.

Don't you wish some of the people we work with or are our neighbors had learned these things when they were younger?

Are we the same...

Are we the same as the kids we teach at the middle level? Limited attention spans, messy, and sometimes disorganized? I know I am. Shouldn't we empathize with their plight of adolescence as a result of our own challenges? Just a thought

Vacation: Rest or Excitement?

Can you have a vacation that is both restful and exciting? I don't know if it is possible.

When you don't go away for vacation and fill it with excitement, there is a good chance you will be rested but you will suffer from potential boredom.

When you go away and fill the week with excitement, you run the risk of needing a vacation from your vacation.

I have two solutions. The first is to extend the vacation to two weeks. Just when you are starting to relax, the week is over and a second week would allow you to really do both (have fun and relax).

The second choice is to have a snow day and to work on your blog. I am stuck with the second.

Boston is not fair

We are heading to Boston on Tuesday. Three of us for fun and another to take the Bar Exam. The kids and I are planning to go to the Museum of Fine Arts, the Science Museum and the Aquarium. My wife is answering 200 multiple choice questions over an eight hour period. On the second day she will get to answer essay questions for another 8 hours while we hit the Union Oyster House for some chowder.

It is not fair.

She has spent hours preparing for this and granted, the exam will bring closure for this chapter of our lives. Meanwhile, the kids and I will be seeing the seals and sea lions. Definitely not fair.

She will have sleepless nights and worry between the two parts of the exam. We will be swimming in the pool and Fanueil Hall. Surely, this can't be fair.

What are the three of us to do? Stay in and read? Don't see that happening...

Boston is not fair.

Rock Band

I have a very generous sister in law that give the family wonderful gifts. The problem is she gives the wrong person the great gift.

Case in point, the latest wonderful gift has been Rock Band she gave to my kids for Christmas. Rock Band is the game that allows you to belong to a band and play music at different levels of challenge. Whether it is the guitar, the drums or vocals, you get to rock and be part of a band.

The problem is that Natalie and Ethan's parents enjoy the gift more than they do. Much of the music is from our era. It also is a bit of an escape from studying or dealing with issues.

We all have a need to escape from our world now and then. Thank you Auntie Libby of thinking of the "big kids." Next time you hear "Don't Fear the Reaper" or "Train Kept a Rollin'" you can see me on guitar.

Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio?

I have grown up in an era of baseball where money ruled and free agency didn't allow for the tradition of baseball to thrive. You could rent out your services to the highest bidder and lend your services to one playoff run. The next year you could be somewhere else.
In other cases, owners making millions of dollars and paying little for players while fans watch an inferior product on the field. What is it David Letterman said, "Today is opening day and the Pittsburgh Pirates have been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs."
But now, we are in an era of steroids, denial, lying and cowardice. Players are juicing to make it to the big leagues, compete at a high level, and even eclipse records. Anything to be the best! This fact is nothing new, anything to be the best.
Human nature and competitiveness make sports so high pressured and make athletes do immoral things. Money and fame bring out the worst in some. I pine for a simpler day if there ever was one.
Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio?

Lincoln Again

"The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time"
-Abraham Lincoln

I wonder if when he came up with these quotes or speeches he thought "Oh, that is a good one." He has so much attributed to him that I wonder if he did give himself credit for some of them.

The amazing thing about Lincoln is that he was truly self taught, self-driven and self-sustained. He didn't get anything from anyone. People looked at him in his youth as someone who would never amount to much. As he grew in age and political stature, people thought he gave a nice homespun speech compared to the big machine politics of the cities and the Northeast. Finally as the Election of 1860 came about, they finally looked to him as a moral guide for a generation. A generation that needed a moral guide. This was a guide who built his own future based on his moral principles and hard work.

It was said he spoke with conviction. He spoke with certainty. He spoke with intelligence. I bet he did know when to give himself credit

Week of Lincoln

We are celebrating the 200th birthday of Abraham Lincoln all week at Rye Junior High School and particluarly on Febraruy 12th. There are a number of activities that are highlighting the man, his perserverence and his Presidency. A pretty amazing story from humble beginings, he is a testament to how someone with an incredible intellect and work ethic could rise to such a stature. My first Lincoln quote is:

The books and your capacity for understanding them, are just the same in all places... Always bear in mind your own resolution to scuceed is more important that any other thing. - Abraham Lincoln

Tough Call

One of the most important decisions a Superintendent has to make is to call off school on a snowy day. This morning as we woke up to very little snow knowing we weren't going to school. Parents were looking at the weather and said the school should have been in session. As I sit know looking at 7 inches of snow and what would have been dismissal time, it would have been tough to get kids home in this weather.
There are a lot of reasons why I don't want to be a Superintendent but his is one aspect of the job that appeal even less than others. I don't envy Superintendents at 4:00 in the morning having to make an educated guess about the weather, New England weather. I don't look forward to my third shoveling stint, but there is no guesswork to that!

Being Off Schedule

I created a nightmare for myself this morning. I fell behind schedule. Now I am all out of sorts.
It is quite interesting how I have become such a creature of habit. Each day the routine is similar, everything should be within a couple of minutes to stay comfortable with the schedule. I wish it wasn't so.
I wish I could just do whatever the day needed. Wake up later sometimes, wake up earlier on other (yea right). The free spirit gene skipped a generation.
I just wish that I could get over the mood that being off schedule gets me into. I would love to learn a new trick or two.

One to One NOW!

With the prospect of economic slowdown, the good news is that prices of everything are going down. This is the time to get our One to One laptop initiative off the ground. The need is clear and the skills our staff possess are more than enough to move our instruction forward. We have been through the discussions and presentations and it is time to trust the future. Our students lag behind each day they are not able to put the technology in play in their work. Enough with the wait, let's get going.