30 Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody! I hope your week is full of family, fun, and just a wee bit of learning (at least on Monday and Tuesday). Like many of you or your parents, I have enjoyed watching the Facebook posts of friends this month. Many of them have undertaken the task of making one post every day stating something that the author was thankful for. I don't post on my FB daily.  So instead I'll publish my 30 Things For Which I'm Thankful list here.

I'm thankful...

1) for God's love.
2) for my health.
3) for my job.
3) for the chance to work in a job that matters.
4) for the roof over my head.
5) for my brother Steffan and his wife Sandy.
6) for my sister Heidi and her husband Jason.
7) for my sister Kari and her husband Tom.
8) for all 15 of my nieces and nephews.
9) for international adoption (the way I got 3 nieces and 4 nephews!)
10) for Diet Coke.
11) for $1 large Diet Coke at McDonald's.
12) for the fact that I drive by a McDonald's on my way to work each day.
13) for an office staff that is creative, hardworking, and joyful.
14) for our passionate and professional teachers.
15) for laughter and love.
16) for the fact that I look OK in purple.
17) for non-certified staff members who support our learning mission.
18) for a tech team that is so devoted that they are willing to work 24/7 if needed.
19) for all of the school and college teachers that I've had.
20) for all of the global educators that post on Twitter and teach me now.
21) for the leadership team at SCSD2.
22) for the organizational skills I inherited from my late mother.
23) for the sense of humor I inherited from my late father.
24) for the fact that my parents didn't bail me out when I struggled.
25) for the fact that my parents made me pay for college.
26) for the fact that my parents always read books.
27) for the closeness I have with my siblings and their families.
28) for my friends.
29) for the Louisville Cardinals.
30) for the students (current and previous) that I've had the privilege with which to work.

I hope that your Thanksgiving is filled with the things for which you are thankful! I challenge each of you to make a list. Thirty different things. Go. Write now. :)

Enjoy your holiday.

Inside SMS Classrooms

I get the chance to walk the halls of SMS and I get to observe classes, sometimes from outside the door and sometimes from inside the door. What amazes me is what I see inside SMS classrooms.

I see kids that
... do what they are told to do.
... never do what they are told to do.
... eventually do what they are told to do after they whine and moan.
... can sit for 30 minutes.
... cannot sit still for 30 seconds.
... were raised in a reading-rich environment.
... have no books at home and no interest in reading.
... love to come to school.
... can't wait to go home.
... know they are loved by God and family.
... haven't yet realized that they are loved by God and family.
... are interested in the subject.
... are not at all interested in the subject.
... care about their grades every time they turn something in.
... only care about grades the day before report cards are due.
... like to be called on to share.
... are horrified if they are called on to share.
... understand that directives from a teacher are sometimes necessary.
... view any directive as "being yelled at."
... know that a good education will open doors for them.
... haven't figured out the value of their education.

I also see professional educators that
... work hard to inspire and educate ALL of the above kids.
... devote hours to curating digital content that is accurate and relevant.
... believe "every day is a new day."
... sponsor clubs and sports and attend events to support students.
... I respect and admire.

Thank you to our teachers and instructional aides.
Our students are so lucky to be inside SMS classrooms!

Happy American Education Week.

Our Distinquished SMS Teachers

A Football Story

You can't hardly turn on the television this week without seeing coverage of a football story out of Miami. Jonathan Martin, offensive lineman for the Miami Dolphins, left the team. He apparently was fed up with a pattern of bullying and harassment from another team member, offensive lineman Richie Incognito. Reporters have accessed a number of voice recordings and texts where Incognito uses racial slurs and profanity toward Martin. The Dolphins have suspended Incognito indefinitely. Martin has not returned to the team.

This incident has put a spotlight on bullying.
Questions are swirling.
Was this bullying?
And, if so, who is responsible?
And, what should be done?



The SMS definition of bullying includes three components.
1) The person who bullies intends to cause harm/distress for the target.
2) The behavior occurs in a pattern over time.
3) The person who bullies has power over the target.

So...
A pro football player repeatedly sends rude/inappropriate messages to a rookie teammate over time. Is this bullying? What do you think and why?  What should happen next?

Discuss this in Connect this week and check out another football story in our Bullying Prevention Bundle.

But is it normal?

Last week our Connect groups were asked to open up a discussion on the topic of bullying. We watched a short clip with some images depicting bullying and bullying prevention. In a previous entry in this very blog, we also read about the problems that bullying can cause for the target, the person who bullies, and the bystanders (those that witness the bullying.) Remember that bullying has a global impact. It reaches lots of folks.

But is it normal? Our fall school climate survey shed some interesting light on this topic.

Students, teachers, and parents were asked if bullying was a normal part of growing up. Interestingly, we aligned pretty closely on the generalization that bullying is NOT normal (students 76%, parents 78%, teachers 80%).

The percents changed quite a bit when the question was phrased more personally. When asked if being a bully is normal, the overwhelming majority said no. Being a bully is NOT normal (students 94%, parents 98%, teachers 100%). Overall, our community thinks that being a bully isn't a regular, cool thing.

The community got a bit divided on the third "normal" question... is it normal to get bullied?
How do you think the numbers came out? If there was a difference, why do you think that occurred?

Talk about this during a Connect this week and find out more about how 'normal' bullying is by checking the new segment on the Bullying Prevention Bundle on our main web page.

Regardless of the national figures and local opinions... I think SMS should set it's own normal. I think it should be normal to NOT BE a bully and to NOT GET bullied. What a great normal that would be!