Everyone has a tendency to see the world from their own unique perspective.

Democrats see it one way.

Republicans see it another.

It doesn’t make them wrong.

Actually, it makes both sides wrong and absolutely clueless, but that’s another blog (is a Moderate 3rd Party too much to ask for?)

Students see the world differently than teachers.

Young adults have different ideas and views than older ones.

It’s good to have diversity of opinions.

You see it in music.  Every generation is drawn towards a new (and usually louder) style.

Every prom since 1900, parents have been convinced the world is about to end because of the inappropriate way teenagers dance (personally, I blame Glenn Miller, Elvis, Axl Rose, and Lady GaGa).

Of course, they’ve all forgotten how disturbed their parents were when they danced (little heathens).

But these differences are good.

They’re what makes the world go round (actually it’s love).

I see the same thing with parents and coaches.

They couldn’t be more opposite in how they view things.

And by things, I mean playing time.

Coaches aren’t perfect (trust me, I was one…  in a life far far away).

But all coaches are generally trying to accomplish the same goal.  They want to win (and of course, help produce upstanding citizens who pay taxes, obey laws, and mow their lawns).

They may not play the same players we would, but they believe they’re being as fair as possible.

Seldom are they not giving someone a chance because it’s part of a sinister master plan.

Parents see things from a different angle.

Usually the same angle they first viewed during childbirth (which by the way… wasn’t the most pleasant sight for me…).

They are locked in on their own kid, sort of oblivious to everything else (and all the other people’s children).

I came up with this theory (and thousands of other ones) over the course of talking to hundreds of parents.

I’ve yet to meet the mom or dad who is upset because the coach plays their child TOO much.

After all of these conversations about how a coach is ruining everything (i.e. college scholarship), I’ve yet to hear the following even once.

My child shouldn’t be starting.  My child shouldn’t get so many__________ (shots, serves, at-bats, carries, receptions, goals, hits, spikes, chances, opportunities, etc.).

I’m still waiting for the parent who requests a coach who yells more, practices less, and pays little or no attention to their kid.

I keep thinking after all of these years, I will eventually run into someone who sees what the coach sees.

But it’s never happened and probably never will, but I guess that’s okay.

The coach shouldn’t see things the same way parents do.

After all, the parents were at the hospital the day their child was born and the coach was probably at practice.

And those are two way different jobs.

Comments: 2
Tags: Athletics, Axl Rose, childbirth, Coaches, Elvis, Glenn Miller, Lady GaGa, music, Parents

Being a school administrator isn’t easy.

From the kindergarten student who cries for no apparent reason to the odd smell emanating from the boys’ locker room, each day brings new and sometimes gross challenges (on behalf of the 1980’s, I want to say we don’t use the word “gross” often enough anymore).

Now, I’m not complaining (maybe a little about that smell…), because I realize every profession has its ups and down.

I was reading online (so you know it’s true) that only 45% of people are satisfied with their jobs.  That’s down from 61% in 1987.

I don’t know if I believe this or not.

What I do believe is 55% of people (at least) like to complain.

About their jobs.

And bosses.

And paychecks.

And lack of benefits.

And everything else in their lives.

I think this is human nature.

Me?  I like having a job.  Any job.

I prefer ones that pay well, but I’ve also enjoyed my jobs that didn’t.

I would definitely count myself in the group of 45% who are satisfied.

But I do have one complaint.

There’s not always enough time to do my job at school, my job at home, and accomplish other things.

This week I had a choice.  Help build a school in the Dominican Republic or coach the Evil Spawn’s basketball team.

Seems like an easy choice.

Build the school.  Make the world a better place.

It’s a no brainer.

Especially if you’ve seen the Evil Spawn miss a layup (she’s killing me!).

Except for the fact I always wonder if I’m spending too much time helping raise other people’s kids and not enough time on my own.

I’m guessing if you ask the evil one, she would say  a break from me would be a wonderful thing (in fact, she’s mentioned this a time or two… or 957).

But I still wonder, so I passed on the construction project (I hope I get another chance).

The building a school/basketball games is an extreme example, but I think all educators are faced with similar decisions on a daily basis.

How do you balance raising your kid and still be totally committed to helping other people raise theirs?

Maybe I shouldn’t worry about this.  Maybe I should focus on what I can control.  Like that smell.  It’s a combination of feet, old yogurt, and cat food.  It’s really quite disturbing.

Comments: 8
Tags: 1980's, job satisfcation, school adminitrators

If you are employed by a school you probably have some challenges.

The goofy kids.

Test scores.

Finances.

More goofy kids.

Parents.

Parents of goofy kids.

Goofy parents of goofy kids (although personally, I’ve never had any of these).

Since there have been schools, there have been administrators.  Which means there have been challenges for administrators at school.

It’s part of the job (Note to new principals:  not everyone is going to love you… sorry you had to hear it here first).

And the truth is, without problems, most of us would be without jobs.

This is why I consider the challenges at school to be job security (most days, I have a LOT of security).

But as I grow older (and I seem to every day), I’m starting to see changes for school administrators.

Yes, I’m turning into that person who pines for the good old days of 2006.

The biggest 3 changes I’ve seen since I started in this profession are:  mandated testing, finances, and decaying of good will towards teachers.

None of these are good.

The worst one is probably how our country feels about teachers (it’s sad really).

But even with these tough hills to climb, there is something I see as possibly an even bigger pain in the caboose (I think I just dated myself with my reference to train cars that no longer exist).

It’s Facebook.

I hate Facebook.

And I know less about Facebook than I do about trains. 

And I don’t really hate Facebook because we’ve never officially met.

I’m sure Facebook has good qualities.  Just like the goofy kids (they do grow out of it… eventually).

The challenge I see for school administrators isn’t with students and Facebook.  It’s with rumors and Facebook.

People like excitement.

People like rumors.

And people really like exciting rumors.

Facebook makes it easy.

When I first started working in schools, if people didn’t like you or a decision you made they had to express themselves in person.

In your office.

Or on the phone.

Maybe an angry letter in the newspaper (again… the good old days).

Now they can do it on the interweb using Facebook.

And the worst part, it doesn’t have to be true. 

People can say anything.  Or worse, they can type anything.

The more exciting and untrue, the more interesting  for others.

This isn’t good.  Especially when people are typing at 2:30 in the morning (never good…never ever good).

In fact, it’s bad for school administrators.

It makes a difficult job almost impossible.

Maybe I will see the day where people type nice things on Facebook in the middle of the night.

But I’m not holding my breath.

Because the goofy kids of today will probably be the Facebookers of tomorrow.

Comments: 6
Tags: Facebook, goofy kids, mandated testing, school administrators

My internal blogging clock has been a little off the last couple of months.

Normally, something clicks in my head (normally a voice… oddly in a Scottish accent) every 3 or 4 days that tells me it’s time to write (?) another blog.

But lately, I’ve been a little busy.

Writing a movie?

No.

Writing the great American novel?

Definitely not because this would require some sort of understanding of the English language.

Training for the running (i.e. walking) of a half-marathon.

Yes.  But that’s not why I’ve been busy.

Surprisingly, it doesn’t take long to jog 12 steps then bend over and gasp for what feels like my final breath.

I’m busier than usual because I’ve taken a new job.

I will be leaving my present school district after 16 years.  Or as I like to think of it, 37% of my life (if you want to know how truly OLD I am… do the math).

When I started teaching, I was an idiot.  Now that I’m leaving, I’m a little less of an idiot (although going from teacher/coach to principal and then superintendent may very well qualify me as an idiot of almost Biblical proportions).

Why am I leaving?

Good question.

I’m leaving, before they chase me out.  This is a much underrated key to success in the workforce.

Leave before they tell you to leave.

Leave before they start circling your half-dead body like a buzzard.

But that’s a different blog.

I’m really leaving because I have someplace else to go (duh).

Where am I going?

Wait for it… wait… wait…

I’m going…

…to the Evil Spawn’s school district.

Yes, the Spawn and I are combining forces (that’s a lot of sarcasm in one place).

She thinks it’s a good idea.  I’m not so sure.

I don’t worry about me, but I can envision how it could be a challenge for her.

She will either love having her father wander in and out of every aspect of her life, or hate it.

But what better time to launch this grand experiment than moments before she hits her awkward teenage years.

Timing is everything!

What could possibly go wrong?

Now I will have the best of both worlds.  Watching her slam the bedroom door at home and watching her slam the locker door at school.

I’m a lucky man.

I hope she feels the same when this is all over.

As an added bonus, I will be two minutes from Buddy’s house (which used to be called “my house”).

Lunch with Buddy.

That will be nice.

And it may be the only peace and quiet I get.

The good news is she’s growing up fast and I get a front row seat.  The bad news is she’s growing up fast and I get a front row seat.

Comments: 17
Tags: Buddy the Dog, Evil Spawn/Daughter, new job

The following are Hockey Canada Public Service Announcements.

They should be required viewing by parents.

And it wouldn’t hurt coaches to watch.

Because nothing brings out the “Idiot Gene” like athletics (or any extracurricular).

It’s amazing how silly these comments seem coming out of kid’s mouths.

Enjoy.

Comments: 6
Tags: Hockey Canada PSA

The sound you hear are sighs of relief (or crying in some cases).

School employees are in full exhale mode.

The semester is winding down (or crashing… whatever…).

The holiday/winter/Christmas break is here.

Students, teachers, and parents are happy and relieved (although parents won’t be quite so happy after their kids are home for a couple of weeks… and by parents I mean me).

I’m fascinated how school employees go through an emotional ringer as they face the start or end of something.

The beginning of school brings added stress, but so does the end of a semester.

Do people who work in the regular world face these same issues?

Or are they exempt because they never get an end or a beginning?

They have the start of their career and retirement.  That’s the list.

We have beginnings and endings several times a year.

As school employees, we are lucky.

Weekends off.  Holidays.  Summer breaks.

Even though these all bring a certain amount of stress, we need to remember we have a good life.

A really good life.

And as I repeatedly tell myself, working at school beats a real job.

Even with the stress.

Comments: 4
Tags: semester, summer break, Teachers

Question:  In your school or community, how many students made the Honor Roll?

Answer:  Most of them (no, I’m not a psychic… but I did play one on TV).

If you don’t believe me (and thank you for calling me a liar), the next time it’s in your local paper count the number of students listed.

Then compare it to the number enrolled.

You will discover what many educators already know.  The majority of students do VERY well.

At least with their grades.

We are raising a generation of students who believe success is the only option.

The Honor Roll is way different from students doing well on mandated testing. 

Or the ACT or SAT.

Turns out when Honor Roll students take these tests, some do great… some do “not as” great (which is okay, or at least it should be okay).

What is it about our society that we’ve come to believe every student must be successful?

I always thought you learned more from failure than from success.  More from losing than winning (and I speak as someone who has lost a lot).

Why aren’t C’s okay?

When did average become disappointing?

Did the Honor Roll expand around the same time we started giving out participation trophies?

Does every kid have to be recognized as being good at everything?

Shouldn’t the majority of students in any class be average?

Shouldn’t half get C’s and above and the other half C’s and below?

Isn’t that okay?

I wonder if we are doing more harm than good when we promote false expectations in students (and parents… not that there are any parents with unrealistic expectations… I’m just throwing it out there).

When report cards go home, shouldn’t parents be more concerned about how much their child has learned rather than what grade they’ve received?

Wouldn’t C’s be great if the student was 100 times smarter at the end of school  year?

As opposed to receiving all A’s and B’s and only being 10 times smarter?

Comments: 13
Tags: ACT, Honor Roll, Parents, psychics, SAT, Students

I have gone through different stages in my life.

From long-hair to shaved (again, way cooler than bald).  From student to superintendent (I haven’t been out of school since 1972).  From poor to making money and still being poor (why do bills arrive in direct proportion to the amount of money you earn?).

Politically, I’ve gone from being a Democrat to Republican to Independent to Disenchanted to Just Confused and Hurt.

I’ve also been through stages regarding the amount of importance I place on athletics.

When I was a kid, there was nothing more important.

My world revolved around anything and everything that involved a bat, ball, club, basket, goal, or a game.

I knew every player (and their stats… and sadly, birthday) in every league.  Including hockey and indoor soccer (Go St. Louis Steamers!!!).

Then I grew up (sort of) and became a coach.  I still took sports seriously, but I began to see it wasn’t the only thing that mattered.

Losing does that to you.

After giving up coaching (I think it was my decision), I became a school administrator (also, my decision… I think).

At this point in my life I began to see athletics were just one of the many things that drove me crazy and made my phone ring (landline… old school).

Sports became less fun and more of a hassle.

I began to see athletics as a bother.  I was confused as to why parents didn’t care about testing as much as they did about sports.

Now I’m starting to come full circle.

Maybe I’m growing.  With age comes wisdom (at least that’s what old people tell young people).  Or more likely, I’m just a little less stupid (I’m so old, I remember when stupid was a bad word in school).

As I head into my golden years, I’m beginning to see there’s nothing more important than athletics.  Especially to a small town.

It’s the one thing that ties people together.

Successful small-town sports are like the Olympics.  People will support them even when they don’t personally know the participants.

Or understand the game.

I don’t have a clue about curling, but I’m the #1 fan every four years when the Winter Olympics is on 27 hours a day (USA! USA! USA!)

Community members behave in much the same way.  They may not like football, but if their favorite bag boy at the grocery store is the quarterback… suddenly they have a rooting interest.

They like the feeling they get when their team is doing well.

I’m willing to bet I could go to any town in America and spot a person wearing their high school colors within 2 minutes.

This is because people love belonging to a group.  This feeling is magnified when the group (team) is successful.

Schools and sports can provide this at a local level.

And at a much cheaper price than college or professional sports.

This is why, now and forever, people will always be more passionate about their kids (or neighbors) playing a game than they will about test scores.

It’s just more fun.

I’m not saying this is right.  I’m just saying this is the way it is.

Comments: 4
Tags: Athletics, Curling, Democrat, Independent, Republican, St. Louis Steamers, Testing, Winter Olympics

A good idea for parents?

And teachers?

Comments: 1
Tags: technology petting zoo

This blog is another sure sign I’m getting old (as if the mirror and the night sweats weren’t proof enough).

I’m starting to feel sorry for the poor guy who will be in the room next to me at the nursing home (roughly 6 months from now).  For his sake I hope he’s not bedridden.

Things are changing and at the exact same time I’m slowing down.

Way down.

Even my complaining is becoming less frequent.

I’m starting to appreciate “the good old days”.  Sure, I know they were crappier than I want to admit, but they’re all I got.

My career in education is roughly half over (barring an “incident”… like it might not happen).

I have seen education change in the last 15 years.

Copiers have improved.  Typewriters have disappeared.  Male teachers no longer wear ties.  And second hand smoke is no longer engulfing the teacher’s lounge.

These are just a few examples of how schools aren’t what they used to be.

And that’s okay.

Most of the changes I’ve experienced are for the better.

Most.  Not all (if they were all for the better… I wouldn’t have a blog, now would I?).

One of the things I’ve noticed is students’ language has gotten worse.

And by worse, I mean a lot lot worse.

In particular, the F Bomb.

When I was a kid (the 1920’s seem just like yesterday), if you heard the F Word it was shocking.

It was an event.

It meant an adult was angry.  Or insane.  Or both.

Only convicted felons, gas station attendants, and drunks used this type of language.

Now it’s become commonplace.

You hear it at the movies (I’m talking about at the concession stand).

You hear it at high school games (in the bleachers by adults who should know better).

You hear it everywhere but church.

And now you are starting to hear it at school.

Fifteen years ago I might have been shocked if it came out of a high school student’s mouth.

Ten years ago a junior high student could have gotten my attention by dropping it.

Now?  Any decent (or not) first grader can use it correctly in a sentence.

Or towards a classmate.

Or teacher.

Or parent.

Or a friendly superintendent (not me, I’m not friendly).

Or even direct an F Bomb outburst towards a policeman.

And first graders aren’t just repeating it, they are USING it.

Loudly and in context.

By the time a first grader hits the playground they have heard the F Word a thousand times.  I’m pretty sure we can thank cable TV and adults with bad judgment. 

If I had to guess, I’d say most first graders don’t even know it’s a bad word.

It rolls off their tongue like Run Spot Run (I may have just dated myself with the Spot reference).

First graders seem to be getting less afraid of the consequences for their language.

I realize it’s only a word, but I think it says something about us and our society when it’s bandied about so easily and so publicly.

What really concerns me is what the future holds for these first graders.

If they don’t have limits now, what happens when they are 18?

What will they say or do to shock us then?

We may have to come up with a new word for them because they already use all of the bad ones I know.

Comments: 31
Tags: change in education, f bomb, first graders