Showing posts with label connections. Show all posts
Sunday, October 2, 2016
How Long Will It Matter?
It has been about a year or so since one of my former students reached out to me in a private message on Facebook. Now working at a neighboring school with a friend of mine, she'd seen my name pop up and wondered if that could be the Miss Natzke who worked at Friendswood High School all of those years ago. She was fourteen when we first met, a freshman in high school, and I'd just turned twenty five, a third-year teacher and brand-new coach, fresh out of coaching clinic trying to make a go of it on the volleyball court.
It made my heart happy to hear from her. I remembered her well, not so much because I stepped into her story but because her mom stepped into mine. I credit her mom with helping me reconnect spiritually during a time in my life when I wasn't being spiritually fed. As I reflect, it was bold, out-of-the-box thinking to invite your daughter's young teacher and coach to church.
Then, a month or so ago, an inquiry: Would I have some time on September 30th for a visit? Without hesitation, I said, "Absolutely!" I thought it'd be super fun to see her again, to show her around her old stomping ground as she'd attended Westwood during her formative years, and to meet the amazing adult, teacher, mom that she has become.
Then, a month or so ago, an inquiry: Would I have some time on September 30th for a visit? Without hesitation, I said, "Absolutely!" I thought it'd be super fun to see her again, to show her around her old stomping ground as she'd attended Westwood during her formative years, and to meet the amazing adult, teacher, mom that she has become.
What a treasured gift it was to see her again;
does it sound weird to say I wanted to keep her?
It has been thirty years.
Let that soak in.
Thirty years.
In a way, it feels just like yesterday.
But truly, it was a lifetime ago.
Here's the coolest part.
She doesn't remember me for the awesome handouts she completed in Spanish class. She doesn't necessarily remember the engaging games we played as we conjugated verbs and acquired vocabulary. She doesn't even remember our win-loss record on the court {though I do remember her hustle as a setter!}.
She shared that what she remembers is that
"you had a dynamic, caring personality with a love of life."
And she told me that it was refreshing to be in my presence.
That is music to my soul ...
and it makes me want to care more.
To connect more.
To love more.
To reach out more.
It makes me hope that I've created those caring connections
more often than not.
Because I know that not all of my students
have these joyful memories of our interactions.
It makes me cognizant of what really matters.
And it makes me want to ripple that out
as far and wide as I possibly can.
Until I can't anymore.
So today, a wish for a Happy October, and a challenge:
What will you do today, this week, this month
that really matters?
How will you know it really matters?
And for how long will it really matter?
Oh, and do a former teacher or mentor a favor;
reconnect with them, to let them know
that who they are
and what they did for you
really matters.
Thank you, Kelly, for finding joy in the journey
and bringing it back to share it with me all those years later.
Your visit really mattered to me.
Saturday, April 23, 2016
A Berry Different Perspective
It's that time again, dewberry season.
I used to think that staying home to whip up a homemade pie crust and wait for the call that they boys had found the motherlode and were headed home was the ultimate labor of love.
For 25 years, that's what I thought.
Until today.
Today, I decided to go along with John and Joshua,
to pick dewberries.
I had no idea that the actual picking might trump
the pie-making process in the labor of love category!
the pie-making process in the labor of love category!
I didn't put two and two together when John gently suggested that I find some old jeans to wear instead of the shorts I had on.
I didn't think much of it when he put on his rubber boots.
I didn't click when he put the walking sticks in the back of the van.
Empathy is funny that way;
you don't always know what to expect
until you walk in someone else's boots for a bit.
When we got to the field, it all started to make sense.
The stick, he told me, was to keep away critters ...
{Wait, what?}
but I also found it very useful to move the bramble out of my way so that I could get to those treasures without getting hurt because sometimes they hide deep inside the thorny vines that they call home and it's super tricky to get to them.
I couldn't help but think how this kind of parallels life.
It can be tough to stay the course and get to the treasure.
But it's usually worth it.
And sometimes we think we have it harder than other people do.
But comparison is the thief of joy, so we're wise
to celebrate what is and not worry about what isn't.
Better yet, if we really want to know first-hand what the other person's experience is like, go berry picking with them and see the other side.
After an hour and a half,
the three of us came home with this ...
so that we could enjoy this treat this afternoon.
So today I'm grateful
to have a berry different perspective
that will make my tasty piece of pie even more delicious.
Wednesday, December 16, 2015
A Darling Daddy-Daughter Duo
Today I'm excited because I've gotten a sneak peek at Flashlight Press' upcoming book, scheduled to release on April 1, 2016 (no foolin'!), and it's a keeper.
Written by Josh Bledsoe and aptly titled Hammer and Nails, this adorable adventure begins as a disappointed Darcy discovers that her playdate plans have gone kaput. In walks her doting Dad, who seems willing to do just about anything (including don a tutu?) to turn his daughter's day around. And though his offer for a Darcy-Daddy Day is initially met with some skepticism (exactly what's on his to-do list anyway?), Darcy decides to give it a go. And is she ever glad she did!
Their playdate starts when the two connect over coffee (and chocolate milk!) and ends with a new appreciation for the everyday things that make each other tick.
Jessica Warrick's brilliant illustrations sweeten the story to endear its readers to this darling daddy-daughter duo. As for its eSPAcially clever ending? Nailed it.
Need some enrichment ideas?
*Watch this cute dad dance his chores away {here}.
*Host your own parent-child dance party.
*Check out these Dad's Book of Awesome project ideas.
*Make this Footprints Worth Following craft.
*Encourage students to plan a playdate with their caregiver(s).
Sunday, November 22, 2015
Inspiring Connections Guest Post
Today, I'm excited because my friend and kindergarten teacher Heather Krail accepted my invitation to guest post about a promising practice I recently witnessed in her classroom. Thank you, Heather, and welcome.
***************************
As teachers, we often witness �cries for help� as acting-out behaviors from our students. This post about a South African practice inspired me to try something new in my class. Without isolating the students who might be struggling and allowing everyone to get a turn, we started giving compliments to every Student of the Day during our Morning Meeting time.
Our kindergarten students stand in front of the board and I write down the compliments as the other students give them aloud. This bucket-filling practice has turned out to be beneficial to the receiver of the compliments as well as to all the givers because we get to practice giving and receiving genuine affirmations.
It has been fun to witness the excitement and joy on each child�s face as they listen to and hear their peers compliment them, respect them, and cherish them. It helps them feel, trust, and know that they matter in our class. It has also brought a stronger sense of community as it encourages my students to find and acknowledge the good in all of their peers, even those who are crying for help.
**********************************
Becky Bailey from Conscious Discipline says that often it's connection rather than attention that our struggling students are craving.
Do you have a strong community connections practice you'd like to share?
Leave it in the comments section or contact me to guest post!
Monday, July 20, 2015
Because Of Carlos
It has been forty years since he stepped into my story on my family's farm, that young man from Mexico who traveled to the frozen tundra to learn alongside of us how to farm the Wisconsin way, forty years since I signed up for Spanish as a high school freshman so that I could speak his language and help him better understand and be understood, forty years since he helped me become a global citizen who would wholeheartedly connect to and fall in love with another culture and its beautiful people. Four decades; that's a very long time.
I joke that he stole my heart; truth is I did have a little crush on him.
And though it has been forty years, I firmly believe that it's because of Carlos that I just spent four glorious days with some of the kindest, gracious, and most passionate people around.
Here's how it worked:
Carlos moved to our place right before I registered for high school; I decided to learn Spanish, because of Carlos. And even though the winter was too harsh and he returned to his home down south before I could say much more than Hola and Me llamo Barbara, it's because of Carlos that I was determined to master the language. Because of Carlos, I crossed the border as a sophomore, traveling to Mexico City, Guadalajara and Guanajuato and racing up the pyramids of Teotihuacan with a small group from my high school. Because of Carlos, I continued my studies in college and, after ten years of studying the language, I earned a minor in Spanish. And because of Carlos, I taught Spanish for ten years.
Flash forward twenty years; if Carlos hadn't taken that step into my story, I'm not sure I'd have even learned Spanish, much less moved to Texas to teach it. From there, who knows if I'd have studied counseling and become so interested in character education. And if not, then I likely wouldn't have given the keynote address in D.C. at last year's Forum, where members of the Secundaria Tec de Monterrey school family first met me and extended the invitation to join them as a presenter this past weekend at their Character Congress in Juarez.
Because of Carlos, I said yes to Juarez ...
where I left a huge piece of my heart yesterday.
When I was in Mexico, this ad came across my Twitter feed.
It basically says, "After they washed me, nothing was the same."
It gave me the idea to turn the dial slightly and change it from a negative experience to a positive one, from a fixed to a growth mindset.
I closed my presentation with this photo from Friday night's dance:
After the 5th Character Education Congress, nothing was the same.
I am not the same ...
I am better ... because of Juarez ...
and because of Carlos.
And whose Carlos will I be?
And whose Carlos will I be?
So today I'm wondering this:
Who in the world is your Carlos? Who has taken a significant step into your story and made it better? Do they know just how far their influence has positively rippled? Have you thanked them? And how will you repay the favor?
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Magical Mindsets
Today I'm excited about the book I read on my way to and during my first day of Character Camp: The 7 Mindsets To Live Your Ultimate Life
by empowerment experts Scott Shickler & Jeff Waller.
And WoW - it's a game changer!
The way it came to me says almost as much about the book as the content that has drawn me in. You see, I signed up to get the 7 Mindsets weekly challenges by email and was immediately intrigued by the insight and inspiration, so much so that I shared out one of the stories on Twitter. Well, one of the authors sent a private message thanking me for helping spread the word. My pleasure, I thought, we certainly can't get too much of a good thing, right? Then I got another message asking me if I'd like a copy of the book, no strings attached. Wait, what? Of course. Absolutely. No question. I love books and I love studying mindset. So I thank them profusely and send them my address. And then, get this: I get the package with a copy for me and a pay-it-forward copy. Two copies. And I noticed that this book is a 1for1 book, which means that for every book purchased, one is donated to a student through the Magic Wand Foundation. How cool is that?
These guys truly are walking the talk.
So I made this graphic using a picture I took from my airplane window en route to Character Camp earlier this week.
It is by no means meant to be a substitute for delving into their amazing content and challenging yourself to live the ultimate life, but rather to pique your curiosity about what exactly these magical mindsets are and how they can work to our benefit. First, let's listen in:
Now I need to make something really clear: I'm calling these 7 Mindsets magical but, in truth, it has nothing to do with tricks or mirrors or illusions. They're only magical in that they will transform your life, if you take them to heart and work through them with intention. On purpose. Leaving nothing to chance.
I love that the book is glittered with inspirational quotes.
Here's one that I hadn't heard before that really resonates with me:
I love that the book is glittered with inspirational quotes.
Here's one that I hadn't heard before that really resonates with me:
It's how the We Are Connected chapter begins.
Each chapter provides a Step-by-Step Approach for that Mindset In Action along with a Mindset in a Minute review. This "blueprint for an extraordinary life" is research-based and grounded in real-life examples of ordinary people doing extraordinary things once they unlocked the memes that could have kept them from being the best they could be.
So that's it. I am not giving any more of this treasure trove away. You simply must check out this book and read for yourself how changing just one thought can forever change your view of the world and how you experience it.
Then check back and let us know what you think.
Thank you, Scott and Jeff, for giving me much to digest, process, and reflect upon as I move forward with intention into every new day and opportunity.
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