Let Sandy Hook Families Rest

I was recently disturbed the other morning about the announcement that the Sandy Hook 911 tapes would be released. This comes near the one year anniversary of that horrific event. I asked myself, what is the purpose of releasing those tapes. Media outlets were hot after them and for what, another disturbing news story?  I think if a mass shooting happened at the Associated Press office building they would be fighting g to protect those tapes from release. Why, because if you have been through such a tragic event then you know and understand the horror that those children went through that day. I myself have never been in a school shooting, but I have been close enough to understand that horror. 

Shortly after the Sandy Hook shooting our school district and police department felt it was necessary to help teachers understand the experience of shots being fired in our school buildings. Police officers walked through our buildings as an active shooter might do firing off blanks indiscriminately. I did my administrative duty and positioned the officers as I thought they should go and allowed them to do their business. No sweat right?  It wasn't until I found myself standing at the end of a hallway and the shooter was walking towards me firing his shotgun. The smell was aweful. The ceiling tiles rose and fell with each shot sending dust onto the floor. My school, and if you're a teacher you know it is your second home, was no longer my school. I couldn't help but feel like one of those kids, Horrified and alone even though many were standing right next to me. My halls were not my halls anymore. The school building innocence had left and I felt helpless. I never felt that this would be part of my career endeavors, active shooters and school safety. It's not what I signed up for. I have been asked many times since Sandy Hook if I would carry a side arm if allowed to a I always reply "absolutely not."  That day has made me question my feelings on my profession, fatherhood, and manhood but I will not waiver on my core beliefs. 

My job is to fix kids, not shoot them. The solutions to gun violence in our society are numerous but I still say you can't fix this problem without fixing people. When we fail to address social ills in society, it trickles into our institutions and then problems really take off and become more complex. We can write more laws and let people carry concealed firearms but those are easy fixes. Healing people is hard and takes time but it's the most challenging things are those that are most worth doing. Somebody famous said that but I'm not sure who. We are not fixing the people of Sandy Hook by making them relive that day and if news media outlets feel it is worth the story then we have more problems that just gun violence.  We should be doing everything we can to never allow our children to hurt again. Not just by fire arm, but suicide and abuse too. I cannot express to you how much pain I help kids through each day and it is preventable. If we choose to be proactive and ensure the mental and physical well being of our kids, we won't have to react when it all comes tumbling down. 

106,000 Obamacare! Really?

The political fallout over Obamacare continues as it has been revealed that only 106,000 Americans signed up for health care coverage. This has been seen as a failure by those who opposed the presidents plan. That failure is now being exploited by republicans as they seek to win some elections as key races begin to take shape. The Tea Party is doing what they have set out to do. 

The real answer to healthcare in this country is universal healthcare but In the spirit of fair play, democrats passed the law that they could get passed and now conservatives have demonized it. The shutdown and the demands connected to it only helped sway public opinion against Obamacare and the Tea Party will continue until they venture Into other areas that should be about common sense such as healthcare.

Well it looks like they already have. In their relentless efforts to cast Obama as a socialist the Tea Party has jumped I to the education world. Wow.  I thought we were safe for the time being. Now Obama is a socialist because of the Common Core standards. 

My first experience with learning about the Common Core was in 2007, before Obama was president.  They were born out of the need to teach all of our students the same college and career readiness standards across the country.  You know, so we can compete against other countries that are not comparable in their education systems. In fairness, No Child Left Behind and the accountability movement cannot have teeth if all the states are teaching different standards.  Sure there are struggles with this issue on its own but to use it as a Tea Party issue is rediculous. 

In states were initial assessments were done after implementing the Common Core a backlash occurred. First runs of testing showed lower test scores than expected so fear set in and resistance mounted. These early failures are to be expected seems that this a new endeavor and their will be growing pains. Instead it has become a new opportunity for the Tea Party to yet again bash the Democtrats and President Obama.

So, will the American people bite again?  Can we see real issues for their merits or will we be driven to issues that don't exist?  My misleading title led you to an issue I care about so it can be done.  Like I've said before, keep your eye on the ball people. 

http://money.cnn.com/2013/11/13/news/economy/obamacare-insurance/index.html

http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-05/common-core-standards-have-tea-party-seeing-u-s-school-takeover.html

Saving Face

This week the US House of Representatives voted to cut the food stamp program by billions and the squawking about welfare abuse is in the forefront. This reminds me of a time when I was in third grade and the teacher entered our classroom and it was very noisy. She promptly made us all write sentences as a consequence. Now we were not all talking but we all got punished. I often hear this same mentality when it comes to cutting welfare. "They're all gaming the system so we should take it away" seems to be the battle cry. I know there are people who do take advantage of the system but there is a good way to address it. 

The statistics show that very little abuse of the system actually happens, or at least that is caught. We all have a built in bias that if someone is getting something for nothing that there is some game being played. This isn't always true. The gap between the rich and the poor is widening and welfare and food stamp programs help some people stay afloat and prevents children from starving. Now I do agree there needs to be some assurance that people are not using tax payer dollars on drugs, but to assume that everyone on welfare does so is unfair.  It is reasonable to cut any waste but use the saved money for larger purposes. 

Let me offer two thoughts. Here's an idea, cut some money from welfare if you want but use the dollars to investigate and prosecute welfare fraud. Here's an even bigger idea: start a war on poverty. Do we realize how many of the societal ills we argue about can be cured by eliminating poverty?  Use savings to fund programs to help end poverty. The reality is that special interests won't allow that to happen. You see the vote that was just taken was not about how evil welfare is, it's about saving face with the republican base. Republican legislators will now have something to run on the next time around. It is not realistic that welfare will be cut that much or it will pass in a democratic senate. Deals will be made and the program will continue. The tactic of dangling social programs will continue as long as legislators want to keep their unproductive jobs. I've said it before, keep your eye on the ball people. 

http://m.cbsnews.com/storysynopsis.rbml?pageType=politics&url=http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57603776/house-votes-to-cut-$4-billion-a-year-from-food-stamps/&catid=57603776

http://spritzophrenia.wordpress.com/2011/01/04/how-bad-is-welfare-fraud-in-the-usa/

Waiting For A Documentary

This is the start of my 7th year in administration. I spent five years in the classroom before I switched to the "dark side" and I feel I have lost the right to define myself as a teacher. I have accepted this but I will always accept the task of defending this noble profession. If you are one of the many that take on the life of being a teacher, God bless you. If you are a teacher because you needed a job or there wasn't that much math to take for that major, go find something else to do because we don't need you. 

That's not why I am writing today. Davis Guggenheim is the filmmaker that brought us the documentary, Waiting For Superman. I have always been very critical of this film. It plays the blame game with our public schools without considering outside factors that frame the actual problems in education. He slammed the teachers unions, slammed school districts ways of dealing with poor teachers even when those protocols were dictated by state law. Putting your child in a charter school seems to be the only answer. This was the solution given without reporting the fact that charter schools fail at about the same rate at public schools. I saw the film as largely irresponsible and a disservice to hard working teachers. 

CBS recently aired his latest work entitled "Teach".  This seemed to be a better effort to empower people to rally around teachers and the work they do.  Film makers followed four young teachers and chronicled their ups and downs in the struggle to help all of their students succeed. They put a real face on the effort teachers make and the time, frustration, and tears that go into being a real teacher. They even had celebrities show up and give shout outs to their favorite teachers. 

Despite this improved effort Guggenheim still is missing the mark. Teaching and learning is a complex science that requires an artist to pull off. What the film fails to address is the well documented phenomenon of the state requiring more of us but giving us less to do it with. It fails to address the institution of the American family that sends us our clientele. An institution that has changed and in some ways eroded since the last generation. The truth is there is no single point of entry to fix education in America. So the answer at the state and federal level is to regulate. Add more expectations and more rules. 

This tactic only skirts responsibility for those who help this problem continue. Telling you who to blame for a problem is how you win elections. Our kids and our country should not be dependent on politics but we allow it to happen. Maybe that should be the next film for Guggenheim. Make a film about where real decisions are made for schools. A place were a few are ruining the most noble task that local communities take on. 

If you would like to see more on the efforts of Davis Guggenheim and the Gates Foundation, visit www.takepart.org. 

Pill vs. Pot

Recently the state of Illinois has thrown its hat into the medical marihuana ring. Not only that, CNN medical correspondent and doctor, Sanjay Gupta, announced he was wrong about the benefits of medical weed. This has sparked new debate over the issue and I'm sure the potheads will find a way out of their parent's basements to rally around the cause. 

I will not say that cannabis is bad for people. Cancer patients, multiple sclerosis, and HIV/AIDS patients can no doubt benefit from its use to ease the side effects from their treatment. But why are we advocating smokable weed when it comes to a medical issue. People who smoke weed take in more tar and carbon monoxide than cigarette smokers do. We have entire movements trying to ruin big tobacco and there are people promoting smokable marihuana for "health" reasons?  Doesn't make sense to me. 

Their is a pill for everything these days and there is a pill for this. It's called Marinol and it is a much safer way to give these folks what they need. Granted it does take a little longer for the effect to set in but it does the job. 

Now I'm happy to say that I'm a moderate liberal and I'm usually for doing what makes us happy. In this case I think we are headed down a slippery slope to recreational weed. So I say to lawmakers, have the guts and make the move. Don't hide behind the sentiment that you are helping patients when you don't even pay your bills to doctors and pharmacists. The "medical" tag on marijuana doesn't fly when there is a pill that does the same thing. 

http://www.drugs.com/mtm/marinol.html

Baseball Cards

You can learn a lot about a player from his baseball cards.  Baseball cards fueled my passion for the game.  I collected and traded like it was an addiction.  I did the most damage I could do with a paperboy’s earnings and to this day I have a great collection to show for it.  My most sought after player was my favorite player, Mark David McGuire.

Growing up in So Ill it is hard to find an Oakland A’s game on TV.  Baseball cards were a way to keep up with the only team I made an effort to follow.  I can’t pinpoint when I became an Oakland fan but I was dedicated.  I collected every card of every player on the team but I would trade anything away for a Mark McGuire card.  That grew into an effort to try to swing like him, to throw like him and if I could have grown facial hair, I would.  I idolized him and by the time I got to high school and took my freshman health class, I knew he was on the juice. It’s a shame that it was obvious to a 14 year old that had only minimal exposure to a health textbook.

My wildest dreams came true when not only Tony LaRussa came to the Lou but so did my first baseball idol.  I knew he was a product of alleged cheating but I got the chance to find some of my childhood in the games I saw him play at Busch.  I was giddy and hoping for a homerun every time he came to the plate and he delivered.  When he was identified as a cheater, it didn’t break my heart.  That kind of thing was never on the back of his baseball cards.  I had slowly accepted his choices over time and I never turned on him.  I had amassed a great deal of love for him and was loyal.  I stand firm that using steroids and PED’s are cheating and does not belong in professional sports.  My boyhood hero cheated and I have made peace with that.

What’s left is a box of great baseball cards.  I have rookie cards of nearly every player associated with drug use.  Aside from my McGuire cards, Sosa cards, Clemens cards and so on I have memories of how I felt about those players when I followed them.  I remember how excited I was about the game because baseball cards brought me close to them.  I kept these cards because one day I know I will pass on the stories to my kids and hopefully they will be turned on to the game as I was.  I will have to tell about how this era of the game was full of cheaters and those looking for shortcuts but I will also have the pleasure of showing them some other cards from the era.  I have cards for Cal Ripken, Tony Gwynn, Wade Boggs and many others who played clean.  I am a Cardinals fan and I know how we feel about Albert Pujols, but I know when he hits his 500^th homerun he will have done it clean.

The hard reality is that some of our heroes aren’t really heroes, they are just regular people who make bad choices.  Natural talent wasn’t enough for my hero.  The thirst for big numbers and success will made him experiment with the rules and the people around him.  His story is one worth telling but not because he was a fallen player but he has to live with his choices.  He put up hall of fame numbers but will be excluded until the writers feel he has suffered enough.  He has to live with the long term effects of a short term decision and that’s a life lesson worth teaching.   

The First Jury - Response to the Zimmerman Trial

The truth is if you have a monster defense team, you walk.  Just ask OJ 10 years ago.  If Zimmerman would have had a standard legal team with the same set of case facts, he would be in prison already.  That is 21st century justice and we know that is true.  What is also 21st century that did not exist when legal frameworks were constructed was the internet.  This case go so much coverage before one witness came to the stand that a jury was selected very early.  

This jury, not one that acquitted Zimmerman, was asked for money.  A legal defense team fund was created for Zimmerman and right out of the gate it raised money.  Ask Clarence Earl Gideon if he would have been a fan of the internet when he was changing the system the old fashioned way. People who knew nothing about the case, except what was reported in the media and other "reliable" news sources could donate money towards the defense of a man they did not know.  By the end of May they were asking for more money saying, "they’ve raised $26,000 in donations in the last two months and over $300,000 so far, but it’s just not enough."  They went on to tell the public that they needed at least $120,000 to properly defend him or $75,000 to give him a fighting chance.  After that plea another $77,000 was raised from large donors.  Visit the web link below to the see how the money has been rolling in.  Better yet, read the comments that were published with the donations.  i would love to see a full list of these "large donors" and see what interests are being promoted.

If we go back to the assumption that money = victory, then the first jury decided this case for George Zimmerman.  The second jury simply did the formalities.  What does this mean for trial law going forward in this country?  I used to believe in the concept of a court of public opinion but now we have juries of public opinion.  I'm not saying it is fair or not but I know how I will play the game God forbid that I am in his situation.  But that wouldn't happen.  I do not believe in concealed carry and I definitely would not be following suspicious people at night.  I do what all good sissies do, look out my window and talk to the police on the phone from afar. 

http://www.hlntv.com/article/2013/05/29/george-zimmerman-defense-needs-more-money

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57587877-504083/george-zimmerman-trial-defense-fund-up-$77k-in-one-week-for-man-accused-of-murdering-trayvon-martin/

http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/gangsters_outlaws/cops_others/clarence_gideon/index.html

http://www.gzdefensefund.com/donate/

Who's Your Captain Miller?

A couple of weeks ago I lost one of my Captain Millers. My 8th grade English teacher, Mr. Forbes passed away as he was enjoying his retirement. To know what a Captain Miller is, you must be familiar with my favorite movie "Saving Private Ryan".

Tom Hanks played Captain Miller in the 1997 film that helped me put real perspective on my life. I have even done a couple of speaking engagements on the parallels between my life and the film and how I have dealt with being an at-risk kid growing up. The message to the kids and teachers that I've spoke to is to be somebody's Captain Miller. 

To capture his full essence watch the clip linked below. A quick summary of his character is this, he is a leader. A leader who can lead by example and put himself out in front of his men to get them where they need to be. He is smart but stays focused. His men saw him as a mystery because he didn't try to make friends with his men he simply put them where they needed to be to accomplish the mission. In then in the end, because the situation demanded it, he showed his humanity to his men to bring them closer.

As I have stated in an earlier post, for poor kids people are currency. I have been lucky enough to have several people willing to be my wealth over the years and thus my Captain Millers. Mr. Forbes was a Captain Miller because I always felt welcomed and valued in his room. He taught me and connected with me. He is one of the few teachers I made a real connection with. I don't think he knew I had become an educator but I'm sure he would have been a bit shocked to learn that. But really that's what you do for your Captain Millers. At the end of the film his last words to Private Ryan were, "earn this."  That's what you have to do for them every day. True Captain Millers don't want a thank you, they just want to know that the sacrifices they were making along the way made a difference.  

Who are your Captain Millers?  Have you earned their sacrifice today?

http://youtu.be/FF6C8MYdzQk

 

The Real Paula Dean Issue

I really need to get away from Facebook. In the last couple of weeks I get to see who supports Paula Dean and those who are utterly offended by her and it is getting sickening to listen to.  The real issue here is money. She stands to lose money and so do the people around her.  Her defense seems to be centered around whether or not she used the word nigger and whether or not it is wrong to do so.  Yes, I am a white man that just typed the word nigger as opposed to using the term "N Word".  I can tell you it is wrong to use these terms. Lets not forget a long list of disparaging words that are projected at any one of any color, race, sexual orientation, or ascribed status. 

These words are easy to use and that's why this debate is completely misguided. If you blindly call me a cracker, it is solely on the basis of skin color. I have more respect for someone who calls me a cracker based on their experiencing the content of my character. Yes the words of MLK are important here. He wanted his children to be judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin. Lets go back to Paula Dean. Does anyone realize that this revelation came out in a court deposition. She is being sued for discrimination. Do we forget that?  People want us to excuse her for using the word 27 years ago but are they also asking us to excuse her from allegedly being discriminatory towards people of color?

I think I can overlook stupid people using stupid words and the fact that these stupid people fail to find value in their fellow man. It happens everyday sadly because we allow it. I will not raise my kids to be this simple minded. I cannot overlook the fact that in 2013 we are still talking about race and racism. That's the real issue folks. All people must realize that using words that simply label people is weak. It's time to finally judge people by the content by the content of their character. 

If the Founding Fathers Rose From Their Graves Part II

Well thanks to a morning of watching CNN at work I have been inspired to do a sequel. If the founding fathers had risen from the grave yesterday they would have seen the constitution at work just as they had designed it to. Now I think they would have had a little stronger stance on homosexuals than we do. After all they did convict witches of doing much less than trying to marry the same sex. But just as I wrote in the last post, our world is different. Our society has evolved in a way that they never imagined.


The supreme court ruled yesterday that same sex, legally married couples shall have the same federal rights and privileges provided to couples of the opposite sex. This stems from a two legally married women from New York. One spouse passed away and left her assets to her wife. The federal government taxed that inheritance to the tune of $363,000 just as if they we not married. These women were together for years and Edith Windsor, the plaintiff, said in her press conference that she could have married a man for a week and not paid any taxes on what he had left her. Now I paraphrased that a bit but you get the picture.

When you read the words, “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” that means something to anyone that has learned only a small amount of American history. My college history professors note that happiness was synonymous with property or land as it was written by the founders. Using the word happiness is far more reaching than what it was intended for. I think they knew what they were talking about. What about the Pre-amble that says:

 "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide   for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

All the words that I underlined apply here. Our founders were Liberals by nature because of the challenges that existed and the times required it. In a country who’s constitution was written to provide constructive change, our people should be more tolerant. The treatment of anyone in this country that is a minority is staggering. We are Americans because we believe in the ideals outlined above, yet we abuse our right of free speech to disparage others. I refuse to treat people differently because they want the same happiness that I enjoy every day. And to anyone that uses religion as a justification to bash gay people, read your Bible. You can get into Heaven folks, but that is determined by YOUR behavior, not the behavior of others.

Here is my bottom line: live your life to its fullest potential, seek out happiness and fulfillment without hurting others. That was the vision of America that our founding fathers sought and its an easy way to live. I feel good when people are happy. Happy people make a happy society. I am happy that our Supreme Court got it right and now millions of people who once felt disenfranchised will now be happy.

http://www.usconstitution.net/xconst_preamble.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/27/us/politics/supreme-court-gay-marriage.html?_r=0

Don't Buy Me A Grill

According to the ads, all the retailers know what us dads want for Father’s Day. We want grills and tools. The truth is I don’t really want anything. I just want my kids to keep a promise.


Recently I have had the cute yet awkward moment with my kids when they tell me that they want to be just like me. My response to both was “don’t be like me, be better than me.” This is an awkward conversation because I immediately recalled all the mistakes I had made in my life and toes I had stepped on and I surely hope they have an easier path to happiness than I had. It’s cute because they do not have a clue how far ahead of me they actually are when I was their age. When they need a pair of shoes, we go get a pair of shoes. I had to save up paper route tips for a while.

I grew up fatherless, with my grandmother dirt poor living off of food stamps and Reagan cheese (you know, government cheese). I made the joke to my daughter that we were so po that we couldn’t afford the O and the R. She still doesn’t get it and I’m glad. What she also doesn’t get, but she will, is that I am now richer than will ever be because I am her father. You see, people from generational poverty find their wealth in people and not material things. Middle class values are great to pass on but for people have experienced the social mobility that I have, it’s hard to be a parent but it is truly rewarding to raise my new middle class kids. In a way I have hit the lottery twice and it pays out daily. It is now my responsibility to help them keep the promise.

The promise is, be better than me. I do what I do with what I have, but it is my job to see that my kids realize their potential and take advantage of every opportunity. My daughter played school in my building every day when she came over this year and I always joked that she was going to law school instead. The truth is it is flattering and I know I have made some type of an impact on my kids. That is the goal of any parent. Don’t buy me a grill, just keep the promise each day.

Thank You Teachers!

Its that time of year again to say thanks to our teachers.  I personally want to thank any teacher I have worked with in the last 12 years.  Making the decision to teach was the second best thing to happen to me in my life.  With all that the profession has put up with recently I have often asked what would influence a person's decision to choose teaching as a career?

I can't answer that for every person I can only answer that for myself and hope others feel the same way.  I began working with kids when I had just graduated high school and began working at Emery Brother's Skating Rink.  I learned quickly how to get kids to follow rules and how to get them to follow me.  I really enjoyed it but not because I loved to skate, but because the kids made it fun.  When I took my Job at Mt. Vernon Township High School I was in pure Heaven.  I was teaching my favorite thing to think about and I was given the opportunity to grow individuals.  I remember getting my first paycheck.  I looked at it and remembered that I would actually be getting paid to do this.  I completely forgot that I was going to get paid.  Don't tell anyone but I would do it for free.  It is that rewarding.

I'm often asked what the most difficult part of being a principal is.  I have my standard, politically correct answer but I actually have a real answer.  My real answer is customer service.  Schools are expected to keep their customers happy.  There has been a shift in the last 15 years or so that when someone is angry, we should appease them or we are running a bad school and cheating their kids.  My friends, I can tell you that schools are the last place to satisfy customers.  I'm not saying that I am rude to people or anything like that.  I'm saying that the institution of school is in part there to help grow our communities that reflect our values.  In doing this we have to hold a group to a standard that is fair and benefits all.  Too often we are asked to take care of individuals and the rights of the many should be overlooked.  This is what is hard about being a principal, the dying value of community.

Community is not just a good television show.  It is and should be a way of life.  I catch a lot of criticism for expecting my students to act as a unit.  It is imperative that we do.  They will grow up and contribute to our society and we need this "old fashioned" value to be taught.  Why is it wrong to expect people to help each other, and not just when someone has suffered a tragedy but just because it is the right thing to do?  We should be celebrating this idea in our schools but for some it is a slight on people's children.  Why do I stay in education?  Because we need people to stand up for the right values.  Because I am needed by my kids I will take the slams, the criticism, and abuse because if I cave who will do what we have been doing?

Teachers, you are in the right place and doing the right thing.  Who could do it better than those who believe in real values and passing them on to our students?  Keep your head up and press on.  Fight the good fight. 

I Did Learn Something at SIUC

As I mentioned in an earlier post I check my news feeds daily. I will admit that some days I am busy enough to do a headline scan and on other days I actually get a chance to read. Never the less, I am noticing a trend in the news that I actually learned about in college. I took a really interesting class at Southern called Politics of Journalism. It could have been a great class but the instructor was not very engaging but I did pick up a few things. One of those things: thematic vs. episodic news coverage.

Episodic coverage is the covering of news events that seem to be unrelated and provide little back story and rarely get followed up. Thematic coverage is a little different. Thematic news coverage tends to follow similar events like it is part of a tv show. Ultimately, these events prompt policy makers to act based on public perception of what ever problem is being thematically coved.

The thematic coverage of the past few months have obviously been guns and kids since the Sandy Hook tragedy. Any story that can be ran is either about guns, kids, or both at the same time. I see tons of mainstream news coverage of kids behaving violently. I have posted some of these articles on my Facebook wall because it has really struck me. Any story about juvenile crime is fair game these days. I get a little frustrated because I am in the kid business and I hate to see them portrayed in a negative light. We school types are doing the best we can.

Can this be helpful or hurtful? I am going to be non-committal and say both. Continued coverage of teen troubles will make the conservative types frightened and wonder, "What is wrong with kids these days?" and ask "Where are these kids parents?" The more liberal types will begin to question the system and devise ways to change institutions to create the desired outcome. The fact is both of these things need to happen. We too often are asked to pick side rather than bring what we have to the table. There is simply too much at stake to play politics or point fingers. Thanks to the news coverage, new conversations are happening. They may be uncomfortable but they need to be held.

I have often said if we want to fix our societal ills we must fix our families. Don't let the news discourage you, let it inspire you. In my post, Lead With the Positive I dreamed about a day that I would look at the news and see positive stories to start my day. Now my new dream, to see positive thematic coverage.

The Good Old Boy System is Alive and Well

I have to operate in a profession that in some places is very much subject to the good old boy system. You know what I'm talking about. The system in which a few can get together, make a few phone calls, and make a desired outcome happen for the benefit of those few. That manifests in different forms such as hiring practices, facilities decisions, who plays or not and so on. Now you would like to think that this shouldn't happen schools systems because we should be working for the kids and not for ourselves but to the contrary, it is alive and well in schools. This seems to be the easiest route of influence for those who seek personal gains for their families.

I realize that this is largely based on perception. If you are ending up on the short end of the stick all the time it is easy to chalk one up to the good old boy system. I made my own way. I put myself through school, earned my first position in education through merit and the rest is history for me. I am always complaining about the good old boy system because I have never been a part of it. In fact I have days where I feel that I have helped the helpless beat this system and some days I feel that I was a part of it. It is frustrating for guys like me. I have struggled over the past six years with preserving my core values and not "playing the game."

Time has granted me a small bit of wisdom however and I have made peace with this maddening phenomenon. I just need to break even. Sometimes I win and sometimes I loose but the good old boy system can work for you. I don't mean join in, I mean play the game to break even. As long as I win a few and loose a few. I complained to a friend no too long ago about how one organization I have to work with has been overrun by the system and my hope for it was lost. At one time he was a candidate for the director of this organization and I told him that I sure wish would have gotten it so he could make the right impact for the group. He then said that would have put me in the good old boy system. He is right. Wanting my buddies in the right places is exactly what I am complaining about. Idon't want to be a part of the system but I do want what's best for kids. This comes through careful compromise with the system which in turn requires a great amount of patience. If the system wins too many battles, then kids are losing. If I win too many battles, I am part of the system and the kids are losing. The most impact full change for kids seems to be breaking even with the system. Honest compromise helps me be true to my values and helps me advocate for my students.

Man Up!

You may have seen this news story and picture in the Southern Illinoisan.  I found myself very tickled by it for two reasons.  First I'm not sure I would have reported this to the police.  To be honest I have had many threats made against me by angry parents and I have never once felt that anything would come to fruition.  My initial reaction was confusion as to why the administrator felt threatened.  The article states, Brown threatened to “kick her (the administrator's) teeth down her throat and make her suffocate on them,” when the administrator is “old and no longer a principal,” according to the information.  There is no immediate danger to this person and I'm sure she didn't feel the urge to schedule an ass whoopin in her calendar for a post retirement date.  But hey, to each is own and I can't say how one should feel.  I was told once in a voice mail that I was going to get my throat slit.  It became a great joke around the office when that person apologized the next day.

Here may be the reason that it was reported since no immediate threat existed.  Simply put, payback.  I have parents do this very thing all the time.  They get mad at the school for something that may or may not have happened so instead making a simple phone call, they take to the airwaves thinking that it is private and hoping to gain support from their peers.  This is the most frustrating thing that can happen to a school administrator.  We come to work representing all of our students, teachers and families and we do it with pride.  When we get bashed, it does sting a little.  The fact that a parent will go on Facebook, discuss facts that have not been substantiated and place blame, is tremendously disrespectful to the school as a whole.  Man up!  If you have a concern, call.  I love all my students but they are going to cover their butts when they can so you likely do not have the whole story.  Be fair.  I spend more time with some of my kids than their parents do.  I'm not complaining but I may be in a good position to tell you how they behave.  By the way, is she laughing or crying?

http://thesouthern.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/prosecutor-woman-used-facebook-to-threaten-school-principal/article_8ba292f6-ab86-11e2-bc21-0019bb2963f4.html

Leading With The Positive

Each day I wake upland do the same thing, I check the news.  I check my CNN and AP apps and I check my ESPN app as well as watch the airing of Sports Center that's on when I get up.  I have come to the conclusion that the news coverage I get exposed to follows the following pattern:

• There will always be war and violence in the Middle East and Asia. 
• Individuals that are white and pretty usually get all the kidnapping coverage. (Many people get abducted but these are the ones we get to hear about.)
• Lower level idiots in most types of institutions always bring down higher level idiots. 
• Football at all levels gets coverage in their off seasons
• And yes, Republicans will never like any president unless that president is a republican. 

I was able to start my morning today with a break from the norm.  Sports Center led their broadcast this morning with a great story about a seven year old cancer patient that was allowed to play in a Nebraska spring football game. Not only did he play, they set up a 69 yard touchdown run for him.  I'm not going to lie, this is a get choked up moment. I then thought back to the effort that ESPN made to announce that they would skip NCAA basketball highlights to show this story first.  Wow, how refreshing is this?  What if the news started each broadcast with something positive.  I went through my day feeling motivated and morally centered. 

What if, I mean sriously, what if the news led with a positive story.  This would without a doubt rock traditional wisdom when it comes to the broadcasting business. Lets skip the story about the murder that happened last night and focus on people that work hard to prevent bad things from happening. Lets skip the story about political gridlock and run a story about the coach that doesn't abuse their players but builds them into great people. Is this too much to ask?  Try it for a week and tell me that a  small revolution wouldn't occur that helped people feel positive and confident in their fellow man and community. Maybe it would be hard to sell advertising. Or maybe people would just might start believing in us as a nation that leads with the positive.

Watch the video

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_Jmisv1Spck

You Won't Find This on the State Tests

I wont lie to you, being a school principal is a difficult way to live. If you do everything right, their will still be people that hate your guts. Not to mention the long hours, ever-changing state requirements, school discipline really can ruin an entire day and you feel like you are constantly raising people’s kids. But when you put in the honest effort that it takes to do it right, there is a reward.

I have to say that I felt very rewarded lately. My student body has had the opportunity to learn outside of the textbook in a big way. I constantly try to teach these lessons but until they have an opportunity to carry them out, you really don’t know what their potential can be.

Lesson Learned #1 - You get out what you put in. Our girls basketball team just completed a season that they never expected to have. The formula for a 20 win season is generally different than what we used to get there. We had one player who has spent 80% of her life on basketball and 12 others who really had little playing experience. It goes without saying that your 80% girl would score 95% of your points but going from a 2-3 start to a 20-6 finish means that something else had to be happening. The other girls began to get better. They came in on weekends and worked extra. They began to improve their basketball IQ and when tournament time rolled in they began to shock some people. Now in one season they will not catch up to the time and effort Morgan Griffith (our 80% girl pictured above) has put in over her life but without it, they couldn't be successful as a team. Without it, our community would not have come to their feet as they did and show these kids tremendous support in their resulting 2^nd place finish at state. This brings me to the next lesson.

Lesson Learned #2 - When someone falls down, pick them up. The community has really stepped up in the time of someone’s need. One of the secretaries in the district lost her daughter to a car accident. Quickly we decided to change a school fundraiser to a benefit for her family. Now I can only tell the kids that this is what you do when there are people in need. When the community provides the lead and the kids get to see the lesson in real life, it is priceless. We have to be the reality that they see. Otherwise, less worthy individuals will do that for us. Two thumbs up to the West Frankfort community for supporting our kids.

There are many lessons to teach, but they aren't on the state tests. They don’t have x’s and y’s in them and they don’t have to be a certain amount of pages long. I’m committed to teaching them, are you?  Teachers are not the only teachers in their lives.

If the Founding Fathers Rose From Their Graves

Well I just couldn’t hold it in any longer. I will admit it, the Facebook posts got to me. Apparently because I am a Democrat, I hate guns and anybody who owns one. Obama wants to disarm America and make us all wear swastikas on our sleeves. Enough is enough folks. The truth is that democrats are not anti-gun, they are anti-murder. I personally have no problem with somebody owning a rifle to hunt with or owning a handgun to protect their home. I don’t think we should be able to own assault rifles because it’s cool and then use the second amendment as a shield to do so.

 

If the founding fathers rose from their graves, what would they see? I ask this question because that’s another shield that conservatives use when challenged on the gun control issue. I think overall they would be proud of the nation they had helped build but I think the lack of evolution in the Bill of Rights would leave them puzzled. With the exception of the third, all the items in the Bill of Rights has changed with the times compared to when the document was written. But has the second amendment really changed with the times?

If the founding fathers rose from their graves they would see a society that has changed when it comes to the way the freedoms they sought to protect have been carried out. The Supreme Court has helped guide us as we have changed, just as the framers has intended. The Bill of Rights seemed to be a top ten list of sorts for those days. The first protects religion and forms of speech and then the threat of safety to our nation at that time, i.e. British attack, native Americans, and slave uprisings. And so to that end they wrote:

A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

You were allowed to have guns so you could fight against any of these threats if they arose in order to keep our new nation safe. How likely is it that we will have a slave uprising in the near future? The fact is we live in different times. If the founding fathers rose they would see a new time. One that glorifies gun violence in its culture and has been increasingly turning those guns on each other. I think they would prefer to remain dead and yes, roll over in their graves.

One last thought. As a school administrator I flag many questions about whether or not schools should have armed guards at the doors or should administrators carry guns. The truth is I think we are going at it the wrong way. I was told by a police detective that of the last 30 mass shootings in this country, only seven had been in schools. As he told me the circumstances of those individuals and why they committed these crimes on innocent people, I realized we have a people problem. Sure we need to have some type of gun control measures to reduce the opportunity of troubled people to do this, but if we don’t try to fix our people it will not matter.

http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/billofrights