handwritten on February 18, 2019
For a lot of kids, there seems to be this culture today of trying to "be the best." I just had this conversation with a favorite high schooler of mine. We met up for coffee and she broke down in tears explaining how drained she was of the competitive culture that is high school. And as I began to ask her reveal more of what might be causing her lack of whimsy thereof, she mentioned a few important factors. Comparisons with her friends. Constant discussion of grades. Beside individuals who do not see "friends" but rather "competitors." I asked her, "With all of these great things you have accomplished and high marks, five different activities and volunteer experiences, have you found...
handwritten on February 17, 2019
Through the years, I have always heard friends and people close to me discuss "exploration of interesting places." In our society, we have this mindset that in order to experience a different culture or a different place we must buy an expensive plane ticket, go on a mission, find an Island no one has ever heard of before and then take pictures (filtered and unfiltered) and discuss our experiences. However, many of these trips are not for anyone but ourselves. Going on a trip does not automatically make you a cultural expert. And ironically, the treasure we are seeking, the treasure of understanding and cultural empathy (in reality) lies at home, in our cities and communities.
There is an...
handwritten on February 16, 2019
I think so many of us take for granted the power of warmth. As a kid, during the winter, my dad was always in charge of the fireplace. And you knew it was always going to be a special night because when the fire was in the fireplace, everyone wanted to gather in a single room "by the fire." Actually, one of my earliest memories in elementary school was packing up to head to Buffalo, NY for the holidays and coming into the house where there was already a giant, blazing fire in the fireplace. My grandparents had a fireplace such that it was right on he ground. You could literally sit right next to it and feel like you were on fire. We rotated through the night so that everyone got a chance to...
handwritten on February 15, 2019
I think lately I have been very drawn to this idea of a simple smile changing the world. I've been enjoying looking at the pure joy in others, the humor and the laughter that spreads so quickly when the vibe is positive, when people are happy, when people turn up the corners of their mouth into a smile. Really, I think if there is any such magic in the world, this is it. People are always trying to find that "magic incredient." No research is needed to find happiness. Smile. Create your own energy. There's the research. It works.
Something our staff at our school does very well is share joy. For the most part, we have a lot of humorous individuals. We have a lot of individuals who can...
handwritten on February 14, 2019
Today was a true day of love as we celebrated Valentine's Day. I've never seen my students more excited in my life. I also began to ponder a few of life's questions. I often think about how powerful my classroom would become if my students had the opportunity to interact more with our older youth of society. Imagine if we had the students interact with high schoolers during a Science or Social Studies project or even a nursing home. Imagine how motivated they would be to see what it is like "on the other side." We preach the peer teaching peer model and yet we do not necessarily utilize it to the best of our ability. I think sometimes our school system is flawed in that all grade...
