We are admonished by President Truman, “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.” Heat in this context is the hot breath of criticism and the red-faced anger of disagreement inflicted upon those whose decisions are vulnerable … Continue reading
Be Truman-like When Engaging Criticism
Morale: A Wavering Variable That Can Be Improved
Early in my working career, a venerable mentor told me, “If you think there is a problem, there is a problem until you either resolve it or decide, with new information, that it is not a problem. Your job now … Continue reading
School Choice Is Complicated And Intentional
One should not accept a blatantly generalized statement as Gospel, especially any statement ladened with politico-economic overtones. Parsing a person’s motives and self-interests is an important tool for screening generalizations for truth and untruth, transferability and usability. School choice is … Continue reading
If You Are Lost in the Lesson, Call a Time Out, Kiddo. It’s Okay
“Time out! Stop, take a breather, and let’s take a moment to talk about this.” In many games there are signals a player can make that says “Time out!” Athletes use their hands to make a letter “T” to stop … Continue reading
Give Books, A Gift Full of Rewards
I give books to my grandchildren as Christmas and birthday gifts. At other times of the year, I may gift them with clothing or sports equipment or something that just makes Gramps feel good to give. But, at Christmas and … Continue reading
“I Like My Teacher” Is A Measurement For School Success
Ask a primary school-age child about school and what do you expect to hear? Unlike their older siblings, these bright-eyed cherubs love to talk about school and they talk and talk and talk. Their most common response falls into two … Continue reading
Tell Me What You Learned Today. I’m Listening.
I watched my granddaughters skip up the walkway to their elementary school and wondered. What will they learn today? How well will they learn today what is important for them to know? How will they handle their learning frustrations? How … Continue reading
Self-Interest Drives School Choice
School choice is self-interest and self-interest is what it is, self before all else. One can parse out all the other motives and characteristics that underlie school choice and the one common denominator is “I want to choose who my … Continue reading
Stop Coddling the Hare; Tend to the Tortoise
Aesop spun a fable about a race between the tortoise and the hare. The tortoise won! However, that was just a fable and not likely in real life where tortoises are what they are – slow and late to the … Continue reading
Professional Pay for Teachers in Five Years Not Twenty-one
“How long will it take me to reach the top annual salary in my profession?”, the newly hired teacher asked. Her first-year salary was just above the national average for starting teachers. “Twenty-one years,” the district’s Human Relations officer told … Continue reading