Teaching Thoughts for Week 18

 Teaching Thoughts Week 18

 

I hope this finds you well and adjusting to 2021, which given the events of last week, might just give 2020 a run for its money. I don't know anyone who is thrilled about that possibility.

 

But there is hope on the horizon as the governor has given us the green light to begin high school athletics again and now restaurants and move theaters are able to open up again (well, to at least 50% capacity). It's a start. That's about all I'm asking for right now.

 

Inside this week's Teaching Thoughts, you'll find . . . 

 

Images - Check out Bob Dylan's take on happiness. I like it. It reminds me of one of my favorite quotes via a TED Talk by Adam Kreek: "It doesn't have to be fun to be fun." Only this would be "You don't have to be 'happy' to be happy."

 

The World is a Fine Place . . . My aunt Bonnie got vaccinated for COVID. The joy on her face and seeing her give a big thumbs up is priceless. She is an amazing woman and an inspiration to all.

 

Book of the Week - John Maxwell Sometimes you Win; Sometimes you Learn. How can't you love a book with that title. In it, Maxwell shared ten principles about how to take failure or a loss and to grow and learn from it. This is something that is a lost art in our modern world. 

 

Teaching Thoughts - Check out teaching though #75, "Rules vs. Norms." Why do some programs or companies or schools or teams accomplish amazing things? It's not about adhering to rules. In fact, rules often get in the way of a great culture. What you really need are norms. You know the stuff that people say when they talk about "People like US do things like THIS." When you have people buy in to that, well, you don't even need rules. Rules keep people in check. Norms are what people really are. An example - I don't recycle because it's just a rule in our household. I recycle because I want to lessen our carbon footprint so that my kids have a decent world to grow up in. I do it because I want to be part of the solution, not part of the problem. The more people you get to buy in to the 'norm,' the greater the change or ruckus.

 

Podcast of the Week - Good old Jennifer Gonzalez at her amazing Cult of Pedagogy podcast. This time she is talking with a teacher in the UK that has fired her students up with a campaign unit. This is something I'm going to steal and use in my upcoming Social Media/Blogging class next year.

 

Thoughts from Twitter - Check out the Tweet from CoachB_BCU. It is all about thinking about coaching (and coaching is, after all, teaching) as a ministry. Can you say that you bring a sense of ministry to what you do in the classroom? I love that idea.

 

I hope you have a great week 18. Now that Christmas vacation is in the rearview, we are in for the long haul now. Easter and spring break are a long way off. Lean in to that dip!

 

Link to Teaching Thoughts Week 18.

 

The image in the background for this week's Teaching Thoughts is one I snapped early last week in the LHS weight room. Or, as I like to call it, The House That Mumm Built! Lead, follow, or get the heck out of the way!