Be Whats Right About Life

I recently found myself really discouraged about all that is wrong in my world. As a school administrator I have a lot of hot topics on my plate on a daily basis. Bullying just might be the hottest these days. It seems as if everyone is a victim, or a bully, and many hours are devoted by me just to prove that kids are equally mean to each other. Response to Intervention is another good one. How do you help students learn when the reason that they fail is that they just won’t do their homework or that they just don’t have much of a home to go to. I could go on and on but my reality is that people who work in my profession are undergoing huge changes that impact their daily lives and I didn’t even mention the fact that the Illinois General Assembly is trying to take our retirement away.

I decided to follow my own advice. I often tell my students to be what is right about a classroom and not what’s wrong with it. The fact is that I have a lot to be encouraged about. I have a wonderful family that makes coming home from my difficulties worth it. They bring me back to earth and remind me why I bust my tail. I have great friends that remind me of where I came and in the same way remind me of where I am going. I guess my point is that I want to be what’s right about my life and not what’s wrong with it. The next time I feel discouraged about things that are out of my control, I’m just going to focus on those things that keep me in control.

Red Foreman is My Hero

I have written about this before, but what is going on with the American male? Most of the time I feel like Red Foreman from That 70’s Show when I’m out in public. Its like every one of these boys are like Eric and I just don’t get it. It would just be easier sometimes to call them dumbasses and move along.

Last night I went to see Taylor Swift with my wife and daughter. I was one of maybe 200 males in the 14,000 that were there. Right in front of us were two high school aged boys absolutely pumped about Taylor Swift. Are you kidding me? They were saying things like, “that song was sick” and “she rules.” It was if you took two metal dorks out of the Metallica concert, plugged them into the Taylor Swift concert and they didn’t know it. That’s how bad it was. At one point one kid, who was about 6’5” I should mention, jumped on his friend’s shoulders to get higher and cheer louder. I thanked God for the amusement and we drove home.

We stopped for gas and as I was in line there was a Katy Perry song on the radio. In the candy bar isle stood a young man that I would say was about 21 or so. He was singing, without reservation, the song that was playing. I again just wanted to call him a dumbass and leave. Then, he gets into a debate with the cashier about which Katy Perry songs were good and bad. Why God Why?!

As I drove home I just accepted the fact that I’m getting old and becoming Red Foreman is a very likely future for me. They just don’t make men like they used to and I will just have live with it and hope my daughter doesn’t bring home a dumbass some day.

Thank God We Got to the Bottom of That

ESPN is reporting that the NFL lockout is coming to an end. Thank God we got to the bottom of that. Its really difficult for me to watch millionaires battle billionaires for billions of dollars and have any concern. Now I'm all for fair labor contracts and all of that but I think something else was in play for the last 131 days.

The NFL is doing exactly what they have been doing successfully for years, extending their season. They generally succeed in making their season longer than the 16 games they are given. This summer was no exception and football was on our minds the entire time. Despite a ton of great sports we have had this summer, we have been directed to football at the top of every sportscast. I feel we have used to help keep the rich rich yet again.

Another sports story I think none of us should care about is the firing of Tiger Woods' caddy/coach. Is it not apparent that as soon as Tiger is out of the picture for a minute and golfers actually start to play golf again that he surfaces?

My request is this, give attention to the athletes that are actually playing! My only concern is those poor ESPN guys. What will fill time on Sports Center now? Maybe sports.

I Want to be a Jedi When I Grow Up

Recently my daughter celebrated her 7th birthday. I told her that when I was seven I had watched my first Star Wars movie and of course the "you're a dork" look came over her face. It is common knowledge that I am a huge Star Wars nerd and I could probably take just about anyone in a trivia contest. I thought of this because I can remember that once I saw Star Wars, an entire world of imagination was opened up to me. I began to have big thoughts and began to think about my own abilities and possibilities.

Last week I was at a workshop and a story was shared about a young girl who had aspirations of becoming an anime artist. She shared this with myself and other educators during a meeting concerning her educational plan. When announcing that she wanted to be an artist like the one she had been reading about in a book sitting next to her, the members of the group dropped their shoulders and began to tell her that maybe their was a good art program at John A. Logan where she could get her start or maybe she could make a good living in graphic design. I quickly jumped on my laptop and Googled the artist in the book. He had dropped out of high school his junior year and evidently is one of the premiere anime artists in the field.

There is no doubt this young lady has considerable talent. One of her chalk drawings is hanging in my office. I began to wonder if we are failing her. We very often try to steer students in a path that we feel is acceptable. I was struck by this and felt pretty bad that this young lady had to be told that what she had a talent for was unrealistic and that maybe she could do something else.

Now when I was seven I was convinced I wanted to be a Jedi when I grew up. I know this is not possible but I can say that big dreams were never discouraged. Is the American dream being compromised in my story? Are we telling kids that this dream doesn't exist by pushing them into "acceptable" post high school plans? I am realistic enough to know that not everyone can do everything and I will never undervalue being educated, but we should never ignore true talent. We never have in sports but I guess art is different.

Thank You General Logan

Many students think I'm joking when I tell them that our very own John A. Logan came up with the idea for Memorial Day. When they hear the words John A. Logan, they usually think of a large high school without bells or lockers. (I am a proud alumni by the way) But its true. General John A. Logan first declared Memorial Day on May 5, 1868 in his General Order No. 11. (www.usmemorialday.org/order11.html) If you visit the link you will read and understand the purpose for such a holiday and it really begins to humble you.

My favorite movie of all time, and there will be no other, is Saving Private Ryan. The images truly make me appreciate the high price of freedom and also brings me back down to Earth. The part of the movie that always makes me choke up is the end of the movie when a aged Private Ryan asks his wife to tell him he had led a good life. He lived knowing that he had to earn the quality of life afforded him by soldiers he never knew. Lots people tell me that the premise of the movie is not realistic. Sending a squad of men to find a single soldier is a waste of resources and only makes for a good movie. That may be right but the real premise of the movie can be lost. Watch the clip and tell me that it doesnt center you. (www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhU6JWWZKbM)

Had there not been a holiday we would have one less opportunity to reflect on the sacrifice of others and be thankful for our way of life. Put flowers out this Memorial Day and fly your flag proudly. Better yet, fly it everyday.

Making a Change, I think...

Recently I made a major change in my life. I am leaving a school that I have been principal at for the last four years to come to a new school in my home town. the differences between these two buildings are many. I am leaving a high school to come to a junior high and I might add that the last time I was in a junior high was when I was in junior high. My new school has twice as many students and staff, its an older building, and I will find myself trying to beef up technology use in my new school. In a lot of ways I will be taking on a challenge with this new position.


I had the opportunity to visit my new building and hang out with the outgoing principal. As I walked around I found myself doing the same things that I do everyday in Elkville. I was looking to see where the custodian was. I was using my foot to rub out shoe marks on the floor. I found myself holding back from telling students to get to class. In short, I don't think I'm making that much of a change at all.


People who work in schools, regardless of where they end up have very special qualities. They love riding the daily roller coaster that kids can take them on. They realize that their job is more than a job, it is a way of life and it eventually defines them. I have been very proud to be a part of this profession and though I hope to retire as a Redbird, I will continue to be a public servant where ever I go.


On a side note: It has been tough saying goodbye to my staff and students at Elverado. A first year teacher that I hired came to me and shook my hand. He thanked me for giving him his start and told me that he appreciated it. My reply, I just try to put aces in their places. I have always looked to hire those that I see potential in, not because of who they know. That's how I got my start and I will always remember how it feels to be recognized for what I can do.

Read to Your Kids!

It's time for another round of teacher observations at EHS. This week I had a couple of interesting experiences in two different classrooms.

In a parenting class, made up of mostly sophomores, they were discussing how to redirect children that may be fighting over a toy. The teacher suggested that they might offer to read a story to the children to get them to calm down. The reaction of the room was disappointing. 90% of the students immediately turned their noses up and expressed their disgust for reading. My job is simply to observe and not to participate. It was hard to hold back. I wanted to tell them that reading to kids at an early age will make them better students in school. This is not only proven by research but by my own experience as a parent.

I thought about this further in a sociology class the next day. The topic was nature versus nurture and all I could think about was the parenting class. My daughter has been read to since she was only weeks old thanks in very large part to my wife. She is already becoming a stronger student than I ever was. I began to think about how glad I was that many of her traits are of the nurture variety. She is surpassing me in so many ways because we were willing to take just a little bit of time to read to her.

Isn't this the goal of parenting? Giving our kids a better shot at life than we had should be paramount. As an educator and a fellow citizen of planet Earth I ask, please read to your kids.

Taxes and Justice

In conversations and Facebook comments I see a recurring disturbing concept, job killing tax hikes. As we all know Illinois recently raised the income tax to help cover our growing debt. With the increase we are still better off than some states. I Googled it so we know it to be fact. (joking) I would like to offer an alternative to this, job saving tax hikes.



In our area we know that we are dependent on state payments to make many of our economic engines go. Did you know that in Illinois last year we laid off 17,000 teachers? I doubt we will loose that many more because the income tax or corporate tax went up. I'm no economist but we may get some jobs back now. Maybe a whole slew of public sector employees will be put back to work. That's not all. Many of our businesses depend on state payments to survive. I think we Southern Illinoisans should realize that we are paying a cost to help save our own economy. I would like to suggest to all that we demand accountability from our legislators for our money. After all, they got us into this mess.



Another tax expense I am happy to help pay is the life sentence of Raymond Martin. I wrote not too long ago about a former teacher getting only probation for selling drugs. I was disappointed but I feel a little more confident in our justice system now. I would like to point out that on TV 3 news last night, only one person in Gallatin County was willing to speak on camera about the conviction. It seems that sadly they are still concerned for their safety in a county that desperately needs time to heal and improve.