Christmas vacation is here. Well, technically it starts after school on Wednesday but close enough. This is the most needed winter break I’ve ever had in 23 years of teaching.
Last weekend as we were scrolling through the channels, we came across the movie Wonder. Cash and Kenzie immediately perked up said, “We have to watch it!” They both read the book in Mrs. Hegge’s fourth grade class and, in fact, Kenzie is re-reading it in Mrs. Berg’s sixth grade English class.
If you have never heard of it (either the book or the movie), it’s the story of Auggie, a boy who is born with facial deformities, who after being homeschooled by his mother, is going to enter a private school.
I won’t spoil anything else – both Kristie and I watched it with lumps in our throats and tears in our eyes while Kenzie was stone cold, explaining how things were different from the book, and Cash kept reminding us that the book is even better – but it’s worth your time to watch. Well worth your time. And in this time of division, hatred, disinformation, and general bullying, just go on Facebook to see what I mean, Wonder has a vital message for us all.
I’ll leave you with my favorite quote from it: “The best way to measure how much you've grown isn't by inches or the number of laps you can now run around the track, or even your grade point average-- though those things are important, to be sure. It's what you've done with your time, how you've chosen to spend your days, and whom you've touched this year. That, to me, is the greatest measure of success.”
So how much have you grown this year? Better yet, how have you helped others grow this year?
Inside this week’s Teaching Thoughts, you’ll find ---
Images – “If it scares you, it might be a good thing to try.” This is actually one thing I am thankful for regarding distance learning, it has forced us all to do things that scares us. How will we carry this forward once this the pandemic is over?
· What is one thing you’ve tried that has scared you but that you don’t want to give up once school is back to ‘normal’? I’d love to hear your ideas.
Book of the week – Of course, I had to go with Wonder. It’s a quick read and will do your heart some good.
Teaching Thoughts – Check out the video in #68. I’ve shared it before, but it’s perfect for this time of year.
Podcast of the Week – Tim Kight and Urban Meyer discuss leadership on the Focus 3 Podcast. This time they talk about one of the best tests of culture, checking “under the hood” of your team, classroom, staff, department, or school. This is my favorite comment from Kight, for it applies to so many of our so called "leaders" today: I can teach any sixth grader to find red on spreadsheet and get mad. It's not leadership. It's accounting with a bad attitude.
As a leader, you are the cause. What are you going to change about how you lead so that you get a different effect?
Video of the Week - The vaccine is here and healthcare workers are the first to get it. Hopefully, educators aren’t far behind. I want to teach a classroom full of students again.
Article of Interest – Speaking of Facebook, this is a very important read. And one that gains more truth by the day: “Facebook is a Doomsday Machine.”
Bonus Content of the Week – This one is for Mrs. Hahn and all my other Star Wars geeks out there: check out who makes a guest appearance at the end of the final episode of The Mandalorian. This is what the final trilogy should have been like!
Happy holidays and have a Merry Christmas. Mercifully, 2020 is almost at an end. Now that is something worth celebrating!
Link to Teaching Thoughts for Week 15.
PS – the background for this week’s newsletter are some of my favorite Christmas sets from Lemax’s Christmas village collection.
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