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

The Most Wonderful Time of Every Other Year

Election time is almost like Christmas time for me. Yes, I am somewhat of a political dork. This election cycle has honestly been very typical as far as elections go but I have some thoughts for those that only get going about politics when the commercials get fired up and the signs start going out.

The most important things to know during election time is what is said and done between elections. I was shocked/disappointed with a television ad I saw last night from Gary Forby. In it, he alleges that his opponent racked up huge deficit spending while he was a school board president. Now you can probably pin down some examples of less than smart spending choices, but you could do that in any school district. It is funny that a state legislator who has done little to help school funding woes can slam someone for a financial situation that is out of every schools's hands. This is a misleading ad in my opinion and the Forby campaign should be put on notice that voters are smarter than they give them credit for. One last related rant on education; over the last few years the education lobby has pumped plenty of money into campaigns and we get nothing in return. I guess there is no money to be made from us so its easy to make us targets when it is convenient.

I’ve heard some of my friends say that they don’t even want to vote because they feel they are voting for the lesser of two evils. One even said that neither candidate knows how it feels to be them. I am going to disagree. One presidential candidate is nothing like 99% of Southern Illinoisans. How many of us has been millionaires and are extending a political career begun by our fathers? Money and legacy does not make a good candidate for a critical time in our history. I am giving my vote to the person who I can appreciate BEFORE he ever ran for office. If you rely on a campaign to help you choose you are misled from the start. Do some homework instead of watching commercials and you will be way better off.

Let me help get you started:

http://www.biography.com/people/barack-obama-12782369



 http://www.biography.com/people/mitt-romney-241055

In Defense of the 8 Year Old Softball Player

My immediate disclaimer for this entry is that it is not about my daughter. Its about kids and making sure they learn how to compete and play.

I was involved in a scenario that broke my heart as a coach, educator, parent, and community member. It appeared that the coaches from the other team had fixed the tournament championship game to ensure their victory. Rules were not followed or they were changed during the pre-game meeting to make it happen. Just as in my post entitled Wrong Direction, these adults manufactured “self esteem” for their kids. I will be clear and say that their girls played very well offensively and we didn’t make enough plays to win, but this gentle adjusting of the rules gave them enough cushion to get by. Hats off to our coach for following the rules all season long and pushing our kids to make them better.

That’s what it is all about people. A common comment I heard yelled by their parents during the game was. “its about the kids!” but I’m not convinced it was. What out there was really is about the kids? How much out there is about parents placing their kids in certain positions to win? I would say too many organizations do the latter.

In an effort to defend the 8 year old softball player, I would like to invite to take a look at an organization that is about girls and female athletes. Visit http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/en/sitecore/content/home/support-us/keep-her-in-the-game/how-can-you-help-keep-her-in-the-game.aspx

It is very important that we build our girls into respectable young women. Sports can help us get there but we have to do it the right way. I will challenge all adults, not just parents, to step up and make sure our kids have a fair and safe place to develop. Shame on any adult that chooses convenience over character and principle.

Brazilian Fill-up

I actually enjoyed putting gas in my truck yesterday. Until now there was nowhere to get E-85 in West Frankfort but a new station has opened up and provides that opportunity. It felt good to think that I might be helping the environment or a farmer. Here’s what would feel even better. What if I could start a movement? What if began a campaign to end our dependency on foreign oil and possibly on oil in general? What if we kick started our economy with a new industry and new jobs? Could this movement become a reality?

Brazil has been doing this. They have a mandatory 20-25% ethanol blend rate and have traditionally exported way more ethanol that it imports. How refreshing this is? Government support of an industry that generates $48 billion annually, supports 1.2 millions jobs, and then makes financial commitments to boosting the ability of farmers to grow sugar-cane (this is what they make ethanol with). Brazil is the world’s second largest producer of ethanol behind the United States, yet we are not driven by ethanol. With all the corn our fertile land will give us, ethanol has always been an afterthought for us.

Instead we are only dreaming of an ethanol revolution due in part to a huge oil and gas lobby in our government. Leading the way is Exxon Mobil but the more interesting figure is that recent campaign spending from oil companies was significantly lower during the George Bush years. The oil friendly president carried out the plan making this domination of oil companies possible. Spending increased dramatically when Obama was elected, a more liberal president who might have his own ideas.

I think if we want to fulfill our dream of a Brazilian style fill up, we need to start voting with our dollars. That’s what oil companies do. Start buying E-85 and help drive this market. We could create our own revolution that will impact the quality of life for our kids and their kids. Maybe I’m a dreamer.
　
http://www.txchnologist.com/2012/sweet-gas-is-brazilian-sugar-cane-ethanol-ready-for-the-world

http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/indusclient.php?id=E01

New Crusade?

Years ago I had a student dispute me during a sociology class. I don’t mind being challenged but she told me that Catholicism was not Christianity. I was a social studies teacher and I knew my history. I knew that the Catholic church was actually the first Christian institution. I explained this to her and she was horrified. She told me that her parents taught her differently and she was not backing off that belief. I let it go. It was not surprising to me that an adult would attempt to pass on their beliefs to their kids, but it is frustrating when they are just wrong. What does this family have to gain by manipulating history and misinforming their children? Here is another good question, what do people have to gain by shouting at the top of their lungs that homosexuality is immoral and gay marriage should be illegal?

I’ve thought about this on many levels. In politics, candidates make their beliefs known to earn your vote and sometimes take a policy stance on that issue. Religious institutions see this and latch on to a candidate. This works for both the candidate and the institution. When they can tell you what the problem is and then who is to blame for it, they are trying to win an election or keep loyal followers. It’s an advertising campaign, not a morality campaign.

On an individual level it is easy to attack homosexuals and consider them a morality issue. Lets face it, it is hard to find a Christian who has not violated the Ten Commandments in some shape or form so gay people are an easy target. I’ve heard some interesting commentary about how gays are a threat to a civilized world and perhaps God has begun the rapture. Now take a side, you’re either for gay marriage or against it. Supporting it means you stand against good Christian values and being against it means you are doing God’s will.

Its 2012 so lets get real. Campaigning against groups of people in the name of religion is an old concept that has proven to be devastating. Heresy was punished by death and the early Catholic church considered protestants heretics. Maybe this is why my student’s parents taught her what they did. How many lives did the Crusaders take in the name of the church? Did you know that evidence against women accused of being a witch included charges of unladylike behavior, like yelling at their husbands in public. Ok, maybe we need to start that movement again (just kidding). I think we are beyond this type of behavior. Here is a thought, do what you need to do to get into Heaven. We often worry about telling others what they need to do. This is simply a ploy to cover our own shortcomings. I do the best I can each day to live a good life and maybe that will get me into Heaven some day. One thing is for sure, I will never tell someone else how to get there. Ultimately it is their job to get there.

Launching new crusades against groups of people is wrong. When we can address ourselves first, we can create the life we want to lead.