The Good The Bad The Ugly

My May Trustee Reflection. This maybe some what tongue & cheek and if taken out of context, thoughts behind the post will be lost. Web links were added to the enrich the Blog post. This is the most inspiring yet depressing yet hilarious yet horrifying yet heartwarming grad speech

"The Good The Bad The Ugly

 A simplistic, maybe naive look at what does the good the bad the ugly look like in an education setting/scenario.

Every meeting we have good news. Our students do great things, our staff do great things, our schools do great things. It is not fluff. We our proud of the achievements and accomplishments within our system. Can we always pin point the policy, procedure, pedagogy, practice or philosophy that nurtured that good news? Often not. Everything within the education system is so intertwined. Our students and our front line on the ground staff are our best good news. 10 Ways to Determine the Strengths of Our Students

The bad unfortunately sometimes happens. But is the bad bad? Engage Inspire Innovate .... Always Learning. We tell our students to learn from their mistakes, that mistakes are a learning experience not a failure. What about so called mistakes from staff, To Engage To Inspire To Innovate? Are they given the freedom and support to try the uncharted? Being at the forefront and jumping on the bandwagon before it is trending may leave one vulnerable to criticism and maybe the realization things are not working. Do they alter course and admit miscalculation or stay course in hopes the mistake goes unnoticed by others? What direction to take? All too often the status quo prevails which leads to the accusation that education reform/transformation is too slow or even not working. Is the resistance to making change from the fear of the unknown or the fear of what one must give up to achieve change? The conversations around these mistakes are maybe just as valuable as the good news. Advancement. The bad may ultimately be the best practice. Always Learning. When School Leaders Empower Teachers Better Ideas Emerge

The ugly, you never want to deal with. It is out there though. Whether it is an ARC decision, curriculum & programming offerings, staffing & staff issues or finance & budgeting, there will always be those that disagree with the decision. The decisions can be divisive and controversy. This is when we as trustees feel like we are under attack. How we approach the ugly, how we deal with the ugly and how we resolve the ugly can be a challenge and a building opportunity. The ugly allows for the bad and the good. Improving Schools: A Response to Kumbaya

In this scenario it almost appears the good is provided by our students, the bad by our staff and the ugly by us. I believe that is the way it should be. 4 Questions to Improve Your School

You can tell you are doing things right when the ugly and the bad empower the good."

Personal Life Reflection

To make connection they say let people get to know you. Here are a few brief interconnected tid bits of myself. This introvert, reserved person does not often open up. A step.

This time a year brings both joy and sorrow for myself, family, friends, acquaintances and community. The joy will always be the memories. The sorrow will always be that the memories are all we now have of the joy. (Besides the blessing a three daughters.) Yes there is still joy.

For years I lived with this though in my mind. 'I am afraid of dying alone.' Life kept me busy and I had almost come to accept the possible fate. April 28, 2001 changed that. You never know when or what life will bring you.

 

I wish I had said these words that day. " Today's the day my life begins. All my life I've been just me. Just a smart mouth kid. Today I become a man. Today I become a husband. Today I become accountable to someone other than myself. Today I become accountable to you, to our future, to all the possibilities that a marriage has to offer. Together, no matter what happens, I'll be ready. For anything... For everything. To take on life, to take on love, to take on possibility and responsibility. Today, our life together begins. And I, for one, can't wait." ( Grey's Anatomy, Season 5 episode 22 'What a Difference a Day Makes') How many re-writes did that take? Only if life could be scripted!

May 4, 2013 changed things. Now I live with this thought in my head. 'I am afraid of dying too soon.' We didn't get to say good-bye as a family. Maybe it was easier that way and maybe you made that decision for us. Were we naive, in denial or optimistic, realistic? 

We all have heard the cliches about mourning. Seen the numerous Facebook post. The truth is We all grieve differently. Grief and loss are personal. How we move forward is unique. Memories are always there. How we fill the emptiness varies. This song will always touch me. Let Her Go But can I? The grieving process has no rules (maybe stages). Sorrow has no timeframe. Pain has no boundaries. Mourning hurts. Sometimes the regrets and the self doubting run rampant. Faith can be shaken. They say don't live in the past, live in the present, live for the future. 

I used to live by this philosophy. "Your children maybe are your life but they don't run your life." These days I have to admit that they do run my life. I am blessed, though.There is a difference between being a single parent by choice versus circumstance. I struggle. I have made mistakes. I have not always been there. What have they missed out on? I do my best. I cannot thank those around me enough. It does take a village.

The ring is still on my finger. Is it a reminder? Is it a safety mechanism? Am I ready to move on? Can I? How? It took us both awhile to find that one person. What about that second time? What baggage do I bring with me?

                                        

I leave you with this song 7 Years . It touches so many cords with me and my life. Everyone has a song that makes a connection.

I write this not for your sympathy but as a reflection on myself for myself and maybe others. A glimpse of me, that few get to see. A novel is needed to say everything. Maybe that is needed. Is closure in the making?

Decisions

If we didn't have to make decisions life would be easy. So why would someone take on the responsibility of making decisions that affect other people? 

Tough or complicated decisions can be a nightmare. The backlash over decisions can be over whelming. Transparency is essential.

Those making the decision will always be accused of 'not listening' by those who disagree with the decision. Ultimately a decision needs to be made. Is there always a possibility of a compromise, meet half way, or give and take? Is it always black and white or different shades of grey? Shall the two ever be one?

Will the rationale of  'Short term pain for long term gain' play into the decision making? Does that result in what is the best for the majority? What about the minority? Perceived constituents over the whole of the entity. 

Do you look around and see how others are doing it or do you start from scratch and develop your own? What works for others may not work for you. One size does not fit all. What is the decision based on?

We learn from our failures. Our decisions may have led to those failures. When the decision could lead to the failure of others one hopes there is enough all round trust to make that decision. 'Failure is not an option.' Is failure best made by making the decision or by not making the decision?

Decisions. Decisions. Decisions. Decide!

What We Do With Voices

Dec 11, 2010 , I wrote this statement in my blog post Your Words My Words "Someday I may write that original tweet or compose that thought provoking article. For now My Words maybe Your Words but they are Good Words." Unfortunately this still pretty much runs true. My blogging has almost disappeared.

There has been many days I said to myself "you need to blog something". Whether it came down to lack of time or lack of inspiration nothing happened. This past week I joined an exchange on Twitter between @sheilaspeaking and @dougpete about the article A Teacher. A Committee Member & A Parent Walk Into a Blog ...

The use of social media does allow people to connect all over the world. Whether they are similar minded or at opposite ends of the spectrum they now have a voice and an audience they may not have had before. You hope their voice is an informed voice. 

Education is something that almost everyone has an opinion on. So whose voice do we listen to? The quiet or the loud? The few or the many? The learner or the expert? The reformer, the innovator or the status quo? Do we move too quickly or too slowly? Do we have knee jerk reactions to adopt the 'flavour of the month' or stay with the tried and proven but outdated? 

As Trustees and our Education partners we need to hear and listen to all voices no matter where they come from. Do we or can we respond/act to them all. Unfortunately we can't. The old saying 'in trying to please everyone you please no one' comes into play. Did we learn some thing from those voices? Probably yes, no matter how minute it may have been or even subconsciously.

If you are hearing voices, listen, they maybe are your own. Input always needed and welcome. Whether you have an audience or not, blogging or social media gives you an outlet. Express yourself.