2018 One Word

Influence is my #oneword for 2018. Influence is the capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behavior of someone or something, or the effect itself. What a positive impact you can have by influencing others around you!

I am a huge Jon Gordon fan and have read several of his books. Here are a few of his quotes that inspired my #oneword decision. “Great leaders lead thru influence not control.” "Everyone has the capacity to influence others so everyone has the ability to lead." "If you can influence even one person around you, you are a leader."  

My position, as a high school principal, is a position of leadership. This is an area I must continue to grow and learn. I cannot allow myself to become complacent. I must continue to challenge myself every day to get better. This is the type of influence I desire to have on my staff and school. I must continue to lead by example, distribute positive energy, and encourage. This is a journey that is ongoing and lasts a lifetime. Norman Vincent Peale said, "Ask the God who made you to keep remaking you."

I encourage you to choose #oneword for 2018. Choose a word that centers on your character, assists you with developing goals, and creates a vision for your future as well as the future of those around you.

Without Walls

     A new school year is upon us and I am super excited to be leading my Alma Mater!  I have served as the Asst. Principal of Harrison High School for the past six years and now have been blessed with the opportunity to lead from the Principal position.  This year will be the initial year of change at HHS. For the first time in several decades we welcome freshmen to the high school campus.  Over the past eighteen months construction has taken place to accommodate the new grade level consisting of 200+ students.  
     As I speak of construction, adults are excellent wall builders.  We are able to mask and/or hide our emotions preventing any outsider from knowing our true feelings.  However, students for the most part, do not have this ability.  They often wear their emotions on their sleeves.  Students show up to school every morning wearing their emotions on their faces.  They simply have not developed the skill set or ability to hide behind walls.  Most will tell what is bothering them if only asked.  True, it might take some prying but generally they will open up if someone (educator) will take the time to listen. 
     As educators we must take time to ask and listen to these students.  Yes, our job is to educate but how do you educate a child who is worried about an issue at home, confrontation with another student, or perhaps hunger.  As adults we tend to hide behind our walls instead of tearing them down.  Perhaps if we were more childlike we would provide ourselves to those in which we serve in a greater capacity. I saw Manuel Scott speak this past week and he spoke about "seeing things through a different lens", "being accepting to others regardless of issues", and most importantly "even on your worst day you can be someones best help."  We as educators must be the exception, we must be the salt!
     In Matthew 18:3-4, Jesus tells us that child likeness is a prerequisite for drawing near to God. “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."
     As educators we must see the students fear, confusion, curiosity, and genuineness and attempt to become more like them.  We must see the student through their eyes and not through ours standing behind our walls.  As we begin to tear down our walls we will be left vulnerable but approachable for students.  This in turn will hopefully build up the rapport between the student and teacher leading to better understanding and learning. 

Learners are Plentiful, Teachers Few

I recently heard Dr. Sonny Tucker, the Executive Director of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention preach a sermon over Matthew 9: 35-38.  He focused on a persons "heart" as he preached his message.   We must love and show compassion for others no matter the difference of opinion and/or lifestyle.  This made me really reflect on education and our teachers.

The verses discuss how the harvest is plentiful, just like our students.  The students are plentiful that enter our school buildings every day to learn.  Several of these students carry burdens, hardship, guilt, grief, shame, sorrow, and fear.  Yes, our job is to educate these individuals but we as educators need to be willing to show them compassion so learning can take place.  These students come from all walks of life.  Some might be similar to us while others might be total opposites but we still must love them and treat them from the heart.

Jesus went to teach but when he saw the crowds he had compassion for them, they were helpless like sheep without a shepherd.  The laborers were few, just like the declining number of teachers.  Be a teacher that not only teaches but has compassion for students.  Be a mentor to these learners so they can learn right from wrong, good from evil, and love from hate.  Treat them with love and compassion from the heart so they will become willing to learn and grow.

Thank you Rob Davis for having Dr. Tucker be a guest speaker at First Baptist Church of Harrison, AR.  He inspired me to apply the word to my profession!

Life Lessons "Wins and Losses"

I am writing this blog tonight after returning home from watching the Lady Goblins Soccer Team win the 5A Arkansas Soccer State Championship!   This has been an emotional high for me as the Asst. Principal of Harrison High School but mostly because my daughter is one of the Lady Goblins.

As I scanned social media, reading all of the posts shared by players and parents about the Lady Goblins victory, I read one that really struck home.  One of the Goblin football coaches Chris Keylon whose daughter also plays for the Lady Goblins Soccer Team posted on facebook about the event.  He mentioned how being named State Champion was something so few athletes will accomplish in their lifetime.  This made me reflect on winning and losing.

You see sometimes you win and sometimes you lose.  They both matter, but in life what matters is what you do with your wins and what you do with your losses.  When you win will you stay hungry and humble or will you become complacent because of your victory?

"Success breeds success," says Mia Hamm but it can also breed complacency if you forget the effort, sacrifice, and determination it took to win.  You cannot allow this to happen, instead you must channel these emotions into a quest for excellence.

Everyone will suffer losses from time to time, that's life.  Jon Gordon says "the key is to make the loss stand for something, LOSS (Learning Opportunity, Stay Strong)."  If you lose you need to learn from mistakes made and reflect on how you can improve.

Yes, I'm writing this blog because of the phenomenal soccer game I watched earlier today that ended in a victory for the Lady Goblins but this philosophy applies to life.

School is winding down, graduations are taking place, and futures are uncertain, so students and especially seniors take note of your wins and losses.  You will experience many wins and losses in your future, but life is about more than winning and losing.  It's primarily about the lessons learned, your actions and attitudes, your character reflected, the strength you build, and the person you become.

One Word

Transform is my OneWord for 2016.  Jon Gordon said, “Past success does not determine future success, you have to consistently improve if you want to consistently win.”  The only way to improve is to transform and become better.  I don’t mean change necessarily, change means to become different.  If you were successful in the past you don’t want to change what made you successful but you will need to consistently improve or transform to maintain excellence.  

Notice I didn’t say transform to maintain success, I used the term excellence?  Success is a term used when you compare yourself to others around you or in similar environments.  Excellence means performing to the best of your ability.  Can you see the difference?  You can be successful and still not perform to the best of your ability, so I think it’s important to clarify the difference.   

My goal is to transform, consistently improve, strive to the best I can be, and hopefully by doing so will help others transform to be the best they can be.  I want to assist students with their transformation through education to become lifelong learners and reach excellence by performing at the best of their ability.  The exciting thing is that every student's path to excellence is different so the transformation process for each student will be different. After all as Tom Deighan says, “Education transforms generations, and we are blessed to serve all in need, no matter their background or station or ability.”

I encourage you to choose OneWord for 2016.  Choose a word that centers on your character, assists you with developing goals, and creates a vision for your future as well as the future of those around you.

Kids are like ATM's!

     Kids are like ATM's.  If we don't make deposits, it is hard to make a withdrawal.  These words are at the bottom of my signature on every email I send.  I made them part of my signature line because I believe in the message they deliver.  

     I believe in the power of affirmation and I believe every student will perform better when they are praised. I realize sometimes this can be hard but when deposits are made early in the school year, withdrawals will be easier.  Hence, the similarity of the ATM machine, it's hard to withdrawal money if you haven't ever made a deposit.  

     This is something we strive to accomplish at HHS.  We want to make deposits in students by celebrating successes early and often.  A pat on the back, job well done, I knew you could do it, the positive phone call home, or perhaps Student of the Week to name a few.  

     I learned this lesson early in my career when I phoned a parent about their child making an A on a test I had given.  I remember the reaction from the parent as they answered the phone: "What has my son done now?"  This parent had only received negative phone calls "withdrawals" from teachers at school, never a positive phone call "deposit".  I told the mother that her son had just made an A on a test and I wanted to brag on him.  I was proud of his accomplishment and I thought the parent should know.  Needless to say the mother started crying on the phone because someone had taken the time to make a deposit in her son not just withdrawals.  

     Making deposits through encouragement, sincerity, and kindness can have a positive effect on students. This can lead to a positive school climate that can spread to others throughout the school.  Students will always remember how they were treated more than what they learned in class.  Think about it, when you reflect on a favorite teacher, they were not your favorite for what subject they taught but how they taught you.  How they made you feel or treated you is why they are burned into your memory as a favorite teacher. Jon Gordon said, "The best educators stand out by showing their students that they care about them." 

    So, I encourage educators to start the school year off by focusing on the kids and making deposits in your students early and often. Then if you must make a withdrawal the student will be more compliant because they know you care about them.  I hope you have a great school year and the ATM machine stays full.  J

Leaving Your Legacy

     How do you want to be remembered when you're gone?  What will people remember most about you? What legacy will you leave behind?  These are much thought provoking questions to ask yourself and require a great deal of reflection. This was recently a topic of discussion among myself and other school administrators.  A very eye opening topic that really caused me to reflect upon myself as a Christian, husband, father, and school administrator.
     How people remember you will most definitely be determined upon how you treated them, taught them, cared for them, and/or loved them.  Now, I know that from our eyes we always treat others with compassion, dignity, and respect but how do those around you feel they were treated?  Their perception of how they were treated will assist in cultivating the legacy you desire to leave behind. Tavis Smiley said, "The choices we make about the lives we live determine the kinds of legacies we leave."  This simple statement really puts everything in perspective concerning the choices and decisions we make in our lives. 
     We all desire to be remembered for our contributions made to society and to the world.  For some, this is the accelerant to become successful, accomplish more, and contribute greatly to society.  For others, our words, actions, attitudes, and deeds will sculpt the legacy we leave behind.  Our spouses, children, grandchildren, extended family members, friends, neighbors, and coworkers will be the individuals who acquire our legacy and will have the choice to share and/or follow it.  Hopefully, the legacy you leave will be filled with inspiring stories, reflective thoughts, and significant experiences that will carve an unending path with no limits or boundaries for those who chose to follow.
     The most important thing you can leave behind when you die is your legacy and as John Wooden says, "The greatest legacy you leave is your life, your principles, and the lives your touch."  Our world is comprised of material items and all of these items can be bought, spent, tarnished, and destroyed. However, your legacy can be eternal to those that carry your teachings within their hearts, souls, and minds.  Shannon Alder said, "Carve your name on hearts, not tombstones.  A legacy is etched into the minds of others and the stories they share about you."  A legacy shall be ongoing or a gift that can be continually shared or handed down to others.
     Live your life preparing your legacy to be handed down to those around you.  Prepare yourself for the choices you will face so you will make the right decision when the time comes.  Your choices will affect the quality of your life and will most certainly affect your legacy and how you will be remembered.  Ray Bradbury sums it up by saying, "It doesn't matter what you do, so long as you change something from the way it was before you touched it into something that's like you after you take your hands away.  The difference between the man who just cuts the lawn and a real gardener is in the real touching.  The lawn-cutter might just as well not have been there at all, the gardener will be there a lifetime."  So, be a gardener and cultivate a legacy of love, purpose, and encouragement don't just mow the lawn!