Wear Sunscreen

https://youtu.be/sTJ7AzBIJoI

Depending on when you graduated, and when/if you began buying NOW Cd's, you may recall a speech that was set to background music called, "Wear Sunscreen" written by a guy named Baz Luhrmann. This track was released the year after I graduated high school, and at the time, I can recall my youthful mind appreciating the advise. Sitting where I am now, 20 years later, I can appreciate the words even more than I did then. As the speech goes, "trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked." The one line that I could not completely comprehend back then was not to worry about the future. In the speech it is written, "don't worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. As of this year, 20 years later, this strikes me as particularly insightful, although still difficult not to worry.

I am, by my very nature, a careful person. I make every attempt to stay informed about as much as I can. I have become very effective at curating information of all types that have the potential to help me understand situations that arise around me. So, when situations occur that leave me totally blindsided, I lose sleep. One such professional situation arose not so long ago which had the potential to impact me and my family. I am happy to report that it was not grave, I was not going to be without employment, but it cast a wide veil of uncertainty. I am happy to say that this uncertainty has been dispelled and all is well.

My son, who is quite the household DJ, loves to go diving into our iTunes library and play what ever looks good to him at the time. One such afternoon, he played this song, and instantly it took me back to the wonderful years when my mind and shoulders did not yet have to bear the full weight of life. I was also intrigued how the words of the speech in the song held a different meaning to me now. How fondly we recall what was hopefully a lighthearted youth. Hopefully we can say that I would never trade anything for what I have now despite the struggles and difficulties we have faced and may yet still face. There are some things we can control, and some we can not. I heard once that worrying makes you suffer twice. I would like to try to avoid that. If you have figured it out, please let me know the secret!

The Stockdale Paradox

As an educator, I have often wondered how many other of my colleagues hold a similar view of the state of education. How many maintain a mindset that we have the power and duty to fulfill the charge to pass along our shared experiences and human knowledge from one generation to the next? Currently, I am half way through a book by Jim Collins, Good to Great. Collins wrote, leaders of companies who were instrumental in facilitating a transition in the corporations they worked in, from being good companies to being great companies, did so knowing and understanding the brutal realities and truths of their current situation. They did so, however, with a faith that they would prevail in the end. This is known as the Stockdale Paradox. This paradox is named for a Navy Admiral who was captured and subsequently tortured in a POW camp in Vietnam. He later gave an interview and described how he and the other men in the camp had to face the reality of their situation, but with an unwavering faith that they would inevitably prevail. Startlingly, I read his answer to the question, "who did not make it?" To which he replied, "the optimists".


I have long considered myself an optimist in many things, because I embrace hope and the positive affirmation that I can make a difference in the life of someone now or in the future. I live my life by the creed given to me by my faith: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

Maybe the difference is that an optimist may not try and actively change his circumstance, but waits for it to change on its own. Whereas a realist with the Stockdale Paradox in mind will actively work toward improving himself and anything in the situation he can. In which case, I am the latter and not the former.

Common sense online.

About 3 years ago, I became affiliated with the organization known as Common Sense Media. Impressed by their commitment to provide resources and spread awareness of digital citizenship to parents, teachers, and students, I took advantage of the opportunity to partner with them to be a certified educator through their program. Later on a second tier of increased involvement presented itself and I was invited to participate as an ambassador who actively disseminates information to all stakeholders for the benefit of students to sustain positive digital citizenship.

I am proud that Hays CISD embraces the call to action and is taking steps to better ensure that students stay safe online in school and at home. The internet can be a perilous destination, but with the help of tools, resources, and educational activities, we can combat the hazards that plague those who are caught unaware. Hays CISD has earned the distinction as a certified Common Sense Media Digital Citizenship District. This means that Hays has provided its students and parents with information, and resources through lessons in classrooms, parent information events through community gatherings and a number of other engagements both face to face and digitally. I am truly grateful for the opportunity to be an agent of change where I know that my efforts and the efforts of those who are of the same mind can help to protect our students now and in the future by equipping them with the knowledge to foster positive digital citizenship and maintain a good digital footprint.

Feeling like a car salesman

There are some days I feel like a car salesman, only I am "selling" the idea of using tech in a lesson to teachers. I offer to tell all about the new innovations included, the upgrades that have been made, the ways in which the teacher will save time, forms of creation and collaboration that can be sustained by students, and access to content that would not be possible with out the use of technology. In my case, and in contrast to a car salesman, I would not be in this position if I did not believe in the product and the real and genuine value that my product can bring to its adopter.

There is a local car dealership who's slogan is, "Whatever you need, anything we can do... we'll stand by you. I thought, that is great, because the last thing that a buyer wants is to sign on the line and then you are out the door on your own. I believe dealerships are trying to offer the sense of a relationship with their customers. I want to convey the same message to my teachers as well. That I will be here to support them as they take their first steps into trying something new. I am committed to supporting success beginning, middle, and end.

Also, similar to a car salesman, their job is made easier or more difficult to varying degrees based on the reputation of the manufacturer. If the car is know as being reliable and dependable, then quality is a commodity that sells itself. When the success of the tools you work with is predicated on the strength and reliability of the support system that undergirds them, there is only so much you can do in preparation for successful use. So many variables are out of your hands. In my world, the tools I work with are provided through a network. The program software design itself could have flaws.

I hope that people know when I make a suggestion, it comes from a genuine desire to help both teachers and student attain higher levels of academic success, personal growth, and preparation for the future. I also hope that people know I don't work on commission.