It's Pep talk time...Press On!

Allen Boyd, my HS basketball coach, is one of the reasons I got into education.  He was a great model of how to treat people, how to prepare for classroom instruction and basketball games, and how to inspire persistence and perseverance through his coaching.  He loved what he did and people could see it in the way he carried himself as a teacher, coach, husband, father, and community member.  He now inspires students at SWOSU to get into the teaching field.  Rarely do you catch the man not smiling.  One of the most inspiring messages I listened to him use with one of his basketball teams was a lesson he stole from a Calvin Coolidge quote.  "Press On"!  He knew had a special group of players.  They were 3-4 at the time he taught this lesson.  They were frustrated but had played a tough schedule to start the year.  The team went on to be a State Runner-up team.  The lesson to "Press On" was a turning point in the season.  It came from a Calvin Coolidge quote.  Coach Boyd...thanks for the life lesson!

It's been one doozy of a week at SW Elementary.  I'm pretty sure our kids have gone stir crazy over the last few weeks because of the colder weather.  When it finally warmed up this week, our students were ready to let out some pent up energy.  The way they let out that energy was not always, what I would consider, appropriate for the school setting.  Sometimes I probably do a terrible job of taking some of the stress of discipline in the classroom off of my teachers shoulders, and sometimes my teachers don't let me help enough.  Finding that balance is never easy, and it never will be.  I appreciate the patience and persistence my colleagues exercise everyday.  So here's my pep talk to my teachers this week.

"Press On"!  You have taken the time to know your kids.  You care about each and every one of them.  "Press On"!  You have a plan to give each one of them opportunities to have a successful education.  Stick with your plan!  "Press On!  We talk about modeling what we want our students to see.  We have opportunities each and every day to show them patience, persistence and perseverance pays off.  Here's your chance to show them how to "Press On"!           

Reflections of My Expectations in the Mess on the Desk!

10 weeks into the new gig and I finally have created a mess on my desk.  I've taken a lot of pride in staying on top of things, but sometimes stuff just piles up.  So today I started sifting through the mess and I found the notes I made on the first week I was here at Southwest.  It was good to read them.  I won't bore you with the details of all the notes I took.  I met with each staff member on campus and jotted down notes from each.  It was their expectations of what they expected of me, ideas to move forward, and things that we needed to get accomplished.  At the end of the notes were my ideas for the first faculty meeting with our staff, and at the very end my expectations for working at Southwest Elementary were scribbled down.  It brought a smile to my face when I had a couple of minutes to reflect on the short list of expectations.  Here they are...and yes I know I write like a doctor.

   
I'm a big John Wooden fan.  His "Pyramid of Success" stands the test of time.  The first two expectations came from his pyramid.  Industriousness and Enthusiasm.  They are his "cornerstones" of the his pyramid.  I have also taught my basketball teams these cornerstones, and I plan on teaching the staff's I lead these cornerstones.  Approach your job with hard work and have fun while doing it.

My 3rd expectation was to make our staff and students feel like they are a part of a family.  Let's plan stuff together and support each other.  Understand, respect, and  celebrate the fact that we won't always agree on everything.  We love each other unconditionally anyway.

Number four expectation could probably be called 2b.  Go out of your way to be positive.  We have a choice everyday on how we tackle the opportunities and challenges in front of us.  We can do it with a smile, patience and positive outlook, or we can choose to let those opportunities and challenges weigh us down to the point where we let our frustrations boil over.  Our students at Southwest need us to choose the smiles, patience, and positive outlook.  They need hope from us.

I sent this in an email to my teachers yesterday, and I should have sent it to every faculty member at Southwest.  "As I walked thru our school today I was proud of what you guys are doing with and saying to our kids.  Thank you for treating them like your own."  I'm proud of the people I work alongside everyday.  They work hard, have fun, treat each other, and our students, as their own, and are positive, hopeful, and expect greatness from our kids.  And I don't know of a better compliment for the faculty and staff at Southwest that I can give besides this:  I am excited that one day my children will get a chance to be a part of our Southwest Family!

I'm glad I had a mess on my desk today.