Teaching Thoughts Week 17

Happy 2020! Well, almost. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas (and for those in education, I hope you had a great Christmas break).

Before I highlight what is in this week’s teaching thoughts, I will off this for your consideration – What if we, as teachers, reflected and focused on improving our craft the way coaches do? I thought of this in November when Coach Mumm and I were heading to a Fighting Hawks game. Coach Mumm called up Carl Fruechte, head coach of the Caledonia Warriors, to congratulate them on their win in the state semifinals. As the two coaches talked, I was amazed at all of the knowledge, passion, and expertise that was shared. 

As the continued to talk, I couldn’t help but think, What if teachers talked like this more often (or if they ever even talked like this)? Coach Mumm and Fruechte talked about coaching philosophies, offensive play calls, and defensive line technique. They talked about the upcoming opponent and what Caledonia would have to do to extend their win streak to 66 games. Again, I thought what if I called up a fellow English teacher in Brainerd and talked to him about his philosophy on Composition and what he was struggling with when it came to teaching King Lear and what was the best lesson he had that week?

I don’t know if this is just something unique to the profession of coaching or if it can even be extended into teaching. But I do know the impact would be incredible.

Bonus -  Here is a great story on Coach Fruechte and his remarkable program down in southeastern MN.

On to the teaching thoughts for week 17 

The World is a Fine Place – don’t miss the story of Keanon Lowe and his heroism. You’ll never forget it.

Book Review – I owe a College Comp student of mine, Brigham Drevlow, for this recommendation: Dale Carnegie’s iconic How to Win Friends & Influence People. It’s an excellent read and one I’d been meaning to get around for far too long.

Podcast of the Week – This is one of the best podcast I’ve listened to in a long, long time. Again it’s the Entreleadership podcast focusing on Benjamin Zander. It’s called The Art of Possibility. And you’ll never forget it. Here are two quick takeaways that I had. 

First, Zander talks about how his father, a Jew, had lost everything in the holocaust. Yet, when he was able to finally flee to England, he found himself rounded up and placed in an internment camp for refugees from Germany. They were placed on the Isle of Man and surrounded with barbed wire fences. They had nothing. Despite already losing everything in the holocaust, Zander’s father decided that there were just too many smart people in the internment camp with nothing to do. So he started what amounted to a university. They had no books or paper, but he scheduled dozens of talks and lectures every single day. That is amazing! I live an absolutely amazing life. I have a great family and work that matters – and I know nothing of the misery Zander’s father had to endure – so what is my excuse for not doing something amazing? I don’t have one. 

Second, Zander reflects on the power of possibility and how it all depends on our perspectives regarding it. To illustrate this point, he talked about how he was about to take the stage for a rehearsal (he is the conductor of the Boston Philharomic) when he looked at a colleague and said, “I hope it’s a good rehearsal.” His colleague replied, “Well, that’s entirely up to you.” And he realized that it was. This hit home for me because I too often have the former attitude when it comes to class. But what if I looked at it with the latter perspective instead? Certainly, it isn’t all under my control, BUT what if I brought the energy, passion, and charisma that it was? 

Thoughts from Twitter – I have two that I have to highlight here. The first is from Tim Elmore and it simply says: “Jobs are about making a living. Work is about leaving a legacy.” I don’t want to just make a living. What will your legacy be? The second is from Brad Johnson and states: “Students work harder for teachers they like and respect. Guess what. Teachers work harder for admin they like and respect too.” Amen.

Tech tool of the week – this one is an older tool but I was reminded of its power when we had to sit through a less-than engaging professional development session a few weeks ago: Prezi. There is no excuse for a boring presentation. Ever. Also check out the bonus content, which is a look at Guy Kawasaki’s 10/20/30 rule to help you avoid presentations that suck.

Finally, Where are they Now? I touch base with a husband and wife teacher duo from the class of 2013: Isaac Skalsky and Ashley (Borchardt) Skalsky. We are so blessed to have two young teachers as amazing as Isaac and Skalsky are. I would love to have them as my teachers!

I hope you have a great start to the 2020 year. Scratch that. Let me remind you that your start to the 2020 year has to be great. Why? It’s simple: our work matters. Every. Day.