Author: 4ckn8

When the sun sets this evening another spring break comes to a close for me.  It’s been a great week, but I am ready to resume my normal work routine – and fortunately, stepping away for a while positively adjusted my attitude and outlook. As mentioned in my last post, I spent the week gardening.  Little did I realize how much time it would take to clean out my Lorapetulums (Fringe Flowers)....

Navigating human behavior, specifically in the context of a relationship, can be tricky. Luckily, trends and road markers can help us along the way if we look at what we know. Be it in our relationships with students, friends or family members, conflict is inevitable, and for me, at least knowing this helps me better prepare and accept it in a healthy way. It’s spring break for us which means...

It’s a hard time of the year for educators. As we move ever closer to spring break and deep into testing prep season, students are tired. Teachers are tired. Energy and effort lags. And when student struggles present themselves, educators are in a unique position to either empower or enable students, depending of course, on the choices we make. Follow me as I work my way to the point of this...

Avoidance – Unfortunately, it is a coping strategy I use from time to time – for survival.  Take, for example, my garage.  We have about fifteen years of clutter that has built up in there since we moved into this house.  I twitch when I walk through the garage because the shear amount of stuff overwhelms me. Purging, cleaning, and organizing will be a spring break task for sure – but until...

It is that time of year again – those weeks leading up to spring break when students are uninhibited, excited, stir-crazy and in need of change. Behavioral challenges pop up more frequently and we all seem to have a more difficult time holding things together.   This was the case with one of my students this week. He was dead set on convincing me he was “bad” – as evidenced by both...

I usually fly on Southwest or American – so when I found myself on Delta the other day, I realized I was in the very last boarding group.  About ten of us waited for what felt like an eternity.  I turned to an elderly lady next to me to assure her, “eventually it will be our turn.”  She smiled. We exchanged about a sentence or two and finally got on the plane. Fast forward two hours...

It was bound to happen, sooner or later. This week I presented at a conference, and as is often the case, I offered a short keynote and four breakout sessions. The day went well. The content flowed, participants looked happy, and everything went off without a hitch – or at least so I thought. After the final session a participant approached me. “I really enjoyed this session on games for...

It’s hard to deliver sad news – which is why a mother phoned me this week.  Their family pet of many years was nearing the end of his life and mom wanted some advice on how to tell their young children.  My suggestion was the same as when I talk to parents about discussing a divorce, accident, sickness or other unfortunate event with kids.  “Most importantly,” I said. “Remember the game,...

Every have “one of those days” that felt like “one of those weeks”?  Although several days have passed, I still have a sick feeling in my stomach.  Challenging student, colleague, and parent situations added up to a horrific nine-hour period.  I’m not nearly as frustrated with others as I am with myself.  Somehow, my verbal filter either wasn’t working well, or I simply left it at home.  I...

I openly admit it. I did this to myself. I had a great two-week break and was ready for a busy January. I wasn’t, however, aware of the back-to-back scheduling of my contract work – until three days ago. I looked at my calendar which informed me I would be in Nebraska on Saturday and Virginia on Monday – at which point I looked at my plane tickets and realized I was scheduled to arrive home at...