A Fitting Tribute to Jackie Robinson

A blog about the things that this blog is supposed to be about may not seem like a place to find a story about professional baseball players, but this isn't really a story about baseball. In fact, it's more about leadership. All educators are in positions of leadership and effective leaders maintain an emotional intelligence, and an emotional repertoire that models dignity, grace, and composure at all times.

Mariano Rivera is universally regarded as professional baseball's best closer ever (that's the pitcher who closes out the end of most games for the winning team). In one recent ESPN radio talk show the host of the show pointed to his complete dominance at his position for the past 14 seasons. Over that time, he has never had a down period. He's never gone into a "slump" and he's never had a long-term injury. He's never been questioned in his role and he's never been demoted to sharing his role throughout this entire period. It's NOT Rivera's dominance that is a tribute to Jackie Robinson, nor that Rivera may be the last player to wear Jackie's number (42), which was retired by all of Major League Baseball.

It is Rivera's emotional intelligence that makes him the most fitting tribute to Robinson.

Robinson has long been a hero of mine because of the circumstances that led to him being chosen as the first african-american in baseball. While Robinson was a phenomenal baseball player and arguably one of baseball's best athletes ever, he wasn't universally regarded as the best player in the negro leagues at the time. Players like Satchel Paige, and Josh Gibson were regarded as established professionals who competed with dominance against the white players of their time, but Robinson had something other than athleticism that made him a more ideal first choice. Robinson was regarded as an individual that could take the public ridicule that would certainly come with being the first black baseball player. Individuals like Branch Rickey knew that regardless of how well the first player played, it would be his ability to handle ridicule, death threats, and even physical abuse at the hands of other players and even fans that would be the measure of his success. Rickey was smart enough to know that the first player to break the color barrier would have to be able to persevere in an unfair situation. This player, whoever it was to be, would have to be able to live an experience that no player before, and no player since would have to tolerate. This player would have to thrive amid the most intense pressure, and while living under a microscope that would expose everything about his life, both personal and professional.

In short, Jackie Robinson while perhaps not an easy choice, was regarded as an individual who could whether all of these expectations and what is truly incredible about Jackie is not that he met these expectations, but that he exceeded them. Robinson demonstrated an emotional control, tolerance in the face of abuse, perseverance, fortitude and determination that won him fans among his fellow players and fans throughout baseball who otherwise were opposed to the integration of baseball.

This ability to remain emotionally in control, composed, and calm regardless of external circumstances is what sets Mariano Rivera apart as the best tribute to Jackie Robinson's legacy.

Rivera, in one recent game received a stare down from a player on an opposing team. Rivera's response was simply a non-recognition of the event.

In an era with players, and even coaches who display the narrowest of emotional resilience and repertoires of coping strategies, Rivera consistently, continuously, and without exception demonstrates a level of professionalism that has never been exceeded.

Rivera's message to all of us is one of perspective. Rivera, by demonstrating his composure, and especially in reminding us of Jackie Robinson every time he performs reminds all of us to keep our lives in perspective. Whether it's one's own mistakes on the job, or the irrational and sometimes unbalanced nature in the way we are treated by those who are attentive to our actions, Rivera, like Robinson did, reminds us that these events, and these people do not define us.

In the end it is our dignity in the face of challenge that defines us and it is our emotional resilience that girds this dignity empowering us to persevere and be a model for others.

While I have become a far less enthusiastic professional sports fan over the last 30 years, I still tune in to watch individuals who command respect and who serve as a model for principles and dispositions worth emulating. I am less a fan of teams and more a fan of individuals who are these models.

Thank you Mariano Rivera for the class, dignity, and emotional intelligence you model so well. More importantly, thank you for the impact you have on so many people outside of baseball.

I am NOT "Waiting for the World to Change"

John Mayer's title lyric "Waiting for the World to Change" is a powerful reminder of the responsibility that adults have in empowering children and young adults to have a voice for change in our culture.

Our (adult) responsibility is to demonstrate and empower in our young friends that the world is theirs to change and that, rather than sympathizing with the disposition that Mayer describes, they should instead aspire to a different set of lyrics.

If you haven't heard John Legend's "If You're Out There" take a moment to find it and perhaps even pay for it. Reading the lyrics here doesn't do his rendition justice.

Are you out there?

If You're Out There lyrics

If you hear this message, wherever you stand
I'm calling every woman, calling every man
We're the generation
We can't afford to wait
The future started yesterday and we're already late

We've been looking for a song to sing
Searched for a melody
Searched for someone to lead
We've been looking for the world to change
If you feel the same
Then go on and say

If you're out there
Sing along with me
If you're out there
I'm dying to believe that you're out there
Stand up and say it loud
If you're out there
Tomorrow's starting now
Now, now

No more broken promises
No more call to war
Unless it's love and peace that we're really fighting for
We can destroy hunger
We can conquer hate
Put down the arms and raise your voice
We're joining hands today

Oh I was looking for a song to sing
I searched for a leader
But the leader was me
We were looking for the world to change
We can be heroes
Just go on and say

If you're out there
Sing along with me
If you're out there
I'm dying to believe that you're out there
Stand up and say it loud
If you're out there
Tomorrow's starting now
Now, now

Oh now, now

If you're ready we can shake the world
Believe again
It starts within
We don't have to wait for destiny
We should be the change that we want to see

If you're out there
Ooooh
If you're out there
And you're ready now
Say it loud
Scream it out

If you're out there
Sing along with me
If you're out there
I'm dying to believe that you're out there
Stand up and say it loud
If you're out there
Tomorrow's starting now

If you're out there
If you're out there
If you're out there

If you hear this message, wherever you stand
I'm calling every woman, calling every man
We're the generation
We can't afford to wait
The future started yesterday and we're already late

You really should play Chess

You Really Should Play Chess

I was intro'd to the game of chess by my 1st grade teacher. Truth be told, I think she had a group of boys who didn't know what to do with themselves and in Chess we found our flow where we lost time. (You should read more about "Flow" by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi ...try to say his name even one time fast...:)

Chess has stayed with me over the years and I still enjoy it, but this isn't about me. It's about you and why you should play. Did you know:

• Mike Krzyzewski the basketball coach at Duke University has his players learn and play chess (read more to find out why)

• Chess, as much as any other game, teaches a player to maintain a duality of thought (very valuable to teachers and public speakers). One has to always be conscious of watching "his back" while also trying to attack. Focus on one or the other too much and you'll quickly lose. It's one of those games where you simply can't sit back and rely on a good defense.
• Like life, one must "control their center" to be successful
• Chess hones forethought. It teaches a person how to be attuned to their environment for opportunity. It reinforces the value of thinking out options before taking action. Great chess players never say "I spoke without thinking."
  
• Like life, the King is often called the most powerful piece (lose it and the game is over) but it is the queen that is the most devastating piece (I think that's why my daughters love it so much...ha, ha)
• You realize that one can lose and learn at the same time.
  
• You realize that surrounding yourself with people "better" than you makes you better
• You realize that even when you're beating someone, you are raising them up and making yourself better
• Chess relies on collaboration and synergy, much like business and the most effective classrooms

Lastly, and apologies about a personal success story, chess teaches leadership. One must seize opportunity and take action. I enjoyed a largely successful high school athletics experience. I earned 7 varsity letters in football, basketball, and baseball having captained teams in two of these sports and earning "best defensive player" from my teammates in the third, but many don't realize that it was chess that empowered some of this.

I am very proud of having been a 2 year defensive captain for my football team and it was chess that lead to this. The similarities between setting up a football defense and chess are amazing. In football, one simply succeeds by getting more players to the ball than the other team. Individuals sometimes make great plays, but the TEAM that most consistently outnumbers its opponent wins. It's that simple. Chess teaches how to do this while still maintaining balance.

The MOST fun I had in sports was being empowered by a great coach to re-design our defense. In one game we had a terrible first half and at halftime our team was frustrated. I suggested that one of our defensive sets would work if we just changed responsibilities of our players. My coach could have shrugged this off, but he reflected on it, agreed with it and we put it into play. Our defense, which gave 175 running yards in the first half, only gave up 50 in the second and we won the game (and yes...we won the game). Regrettably, I never had the courage to tell anyone then about Chess.

So, hopefully you'll spread the word.

Oh, and lastly, if you're not convinced, chess also ...

• makes one a better driver (you know on the road) (and while you may think you are already good enough, likely everyone around you who really knows you will appreciate your improved driving skill ...ah come on, that was funny!)
  
• it makes one more meditative
• it's one of those mind-exercises that have been identified to keep the brain vibrant
  
• it really isn't as hard as you might think...

Good luck and happy Chess!

Fridays Are Good

Fridays are Good

I wrote this a number of years ago on a late Thursday night and I've shared it with colleagues and teachers who were / are both my mentors and my 'mentees' over the years. Here is to all of you who continue to be my mentor.

I love Fridays. I love being able to stay up a little later with my kids to watch movies, go to games, play games, read together, walk together, and exercise together. But in my teacher context I believe Fridays hold an enormous potential that has to be tapped. Fridays are the day we build our sense of anticipation in students that makes them want to come back after how-ever much fun they had over their weekend.

Or, as is certainly the case with many of our students, we remind them that school can be a safe haven from difficult things that happen outside of school. As much as this is for my colleagues, it is also for those teachers from my childhood who never let me dwell on the dysfunctions of my home. They kept me focused on my future and shared with me their visions for what my life could be. I am proud to say that I think they would be proud.

Fridays are good.
Fridays have to be good.
I have to send them away so that they want to come back.
I can stay up late Thursday because I know I have the weekend.

I’ll work and work and work and survive with too little sleep.
…but Fridays are good.
Fridays are my day of celebration.
Thursdays are tear-down days.

Thursdays are the days where we address mistakes, work on our faults.
I show them the nature of their actions – consequences seen and unseen
I get them to dislike what they might become.
…and on Fridays I show them what they will become.
Fridays are good.

Fridays I smile. Fridays I touch.
A high five, a “pound,” and a pat on the back.
On Fridays the pain goes away.
On Fridays we don’t think about the weekend…
…we think about our blossoming future.

Fridays are good…
…but Mondays are better…
…because Fridays are good!

Courage to Lead

The Courage to Lead
- Comes from Wanting the Best for Someone Else

I once had a mentor who cared enough to tell me I wasn't good enough. When I didn't believe I was shown the truth and when I was told I saw a greater potential than I'd ever dared to dream.

This is for that mentor...and the many more who have influenced my life.

A man paints a picture. It's a picture of a world that only he seems to see. There are many who try to keep him from painting, but still he paints. He seems older than he did moments ago when he started the painting. Maybe more tired. He worries that he won't be able to finish it on time. His colors are amazing, his clarity unbelievable. When you watch him paint you see a determination that few people bring to anything in their lives. When you approach and try to ask him what he is doing, he doesn't hear because he is so rapt up in concentration. The world around him seems gray as it flies by. The outside world seems less real than his painting.

As he paints people into his picture, happy people, you see a small tear run down his face. The people in the picture seem happier than you could ever be. They seem to have a better life than you. In fact, theirs' is the life you might wish for your own children, or even yourself.

You start to cry because you realize that nobody can see you - that you're safe, and that this picture makes you hurt in a place that you dare not go, or talk about with anyone. And yet, you realize that this moment, that this picture will stay with you forever and somehow you find that comforting. As you look around, you realize that no one around can see you and this man whose shoulder you're looking over. They seem too distracted to notice you. When you walked up to the man people avoided you and moved out of your way, but now they walk through you, as if, in some way, you are leaving their world and entering another. The man's features, even from behind, take on a clearer focus. You realize that you are listening and paying attention harder than you ever have in your life, because you are about to discover something. The man seems to grow younger right before your eyes and you seem to feel wiser and more distant from the self-centered, “problem of the moment” cares that clouded your thoughts just moments ago.

The man finishes, and for the first time, he realizes that you are with him. He seems surprised to see you looking at him. He asks you if you can hear him. You say "Yes, of course!" and ask why he would ask such a silly question.

He smiles and then turns to the masses of people moving around him and screams at everyone…and goes unnoticed. "Does my question seem silly now?"

"I guess not," you say. "Is this real?"

"For you it is. For them it is too. I've been screaming for a long time, but nobody's heard me for awhile. That's why I started to paint. I grew bored when nobody wanted to listen. This was the only thing that kept me believing."

"Believing in what?" you ask.

"Believing in what I knew to be true; believing that people had forgotten how to live; believing that we could all enjoy life a little more. When nobody listens to you, the easiest thing to do is doubt yourself. You find yourself standing in a stream facing the wrong way and it feels like the easiest thing to do is to turn around and let the stream carry you. Funny thing happens when you do that though. The ride becomes so soothing, that it lulls you to sleep. Have you ever gone to the ocean?"

"Yes."

"Did you ever swim in the ocean, or body surf and ride those huge powerful waves?" he asks.

"Yes."

"When you go home after that, or fall asleep shortly after that, you feel like your being rocked. That's what it feels like when you turn around and ride that stream."

You say, "If it feels so good, why did you stop yourself? Why did you keep yourself from riding?"

"I used to ride. I suppose that I did that for a long time. The only problem was that I kept waking up feeling like I was losing something. Feeling like I was further away from the truth. The more often I started to wake up, the more I realized I had to fight to get back upstream - to get to where I was before I fell asleep. It got to a point where I stayed facing upstream and kept pushing. Do you know what I found when I reached the top?"

"No, what did you find?" you ask.

"I found contentment. I found myself never wishing I had spent more time with my wife or children. I found that I didn't care about the things I gave up that would have impressed other people. A lot of people don't do things for themselves; they do them for all of the people around them. I found out that I didn't want to be all the people who were lying in the stream asleep."

"When you were painting, you started to cry…why?"

"I was crying for the person who this picture is about."

"Why?"

"Because they have never known how bright their life could be and I have seen how bright it could be. They have never known what an inspiration they could be to their friends, family, and their children. I have seen them wake up from the stream and try to fight. They've fought harder than most I've ever seen, but they keep falling back. I've tried to grab onto them many times. I've pulled so hard that I left bruises on them and they looked at me like I was the enemy. They would then be pulled too strongly by the people going the other way and fall back in."

"What happened to this person?" you ask.

"They're still alive and still trying."

"How do you know they're still trying?" you ask.

He stares at you for a moment, smiles, and then says to you, "Isn't there a better question you're dying to ask me?"

You are surprised because he seems to be able to read your mind. You think for a moment and then say, "Who is the picture about?"

He pauses, smiles, and with a small tear of joy in his eyes, he says "You!"

You don't know how much time has passed, you don't know if you've been laughing or crying, but you find yourself alone with the picture. You look around because you feel that the man has left, but he is now staring over your shoulder. You say, "But this isn't me. I've never been this happy."

"That's you there," he says pointing to the grown adult who is obviously the parent, "not there," and he now points to the child.

It all seems clearer now. You realize that your life isn't about what you've done, or accomplished. It isn't about the pain and suffering you've endured. You're not feeling sorry for yourself anymore, because now you know. You know what you can become and that what you were is nothing anymore. Your thoughts drift back to the man. He isn't like anyone you've ever met. "Will I meet more people like you?"

"Now that you know how to look, you will. Don't get me wrong, they're not very common, they never have been. That's where most people make a mistake. A lot of people like to think that there used to be more. They like to believe that the world used to be a better place, but that's just people feeling sorry for themselves, because they don't like where they are now. The world hasn't changed much. It might be getting a little more competitive, but with more competition, comes more people realizing that they don't have to compete so it all balances in the end."

"I guess that makes sense." You think for awhile and finally your last question hits you like a lightning bolt. "WHO ARE YOU?"

"I am your teacher, and I have been waiting for you for a long time. I'm glad you're here with me!…and I hope you'll stay."

This may not be reprinted or published without the permission of the author (Mike Klugman)

21st Century Learning - Teacher Professional Development

My school district, Bethlehem Central SD (in Delmar, NY) has initiated a 21st century learning committee within the last 18 months and we are discussing and planning how to evolve teaching toward a paradigm that moves students to be intrinsically motivated learners whose skills more than adequately prepare them for (even the unkown) challenges of their working and living lives.

Mission statements are complete, visions have been shared, and we are now at the stage where conversations become more public with our entire faculty. Importantly, our committee does not go out to our staff as experts. Rather, we go out merely as facilitators of conversation. I don't think the importance of this strategy (and the underlying beliefs that prompt it) can be underestimated.

At the core of effective leadership (in any realm, role, or organization) is an awareness of fallibility. Leaders who assume they are infallible often fail to trust those they are charged with leading. They assume incompetence, apathy, unprofessionalism and a host of many other dysfunctions. Contrarily, leaders who recognize that they are imperfect have a better appreciation for how unique experiences cause people to have very different skill sets, and as a result they can better anticipate how to move collectives toward successful completion of challenging goals.

This (leadership efficacy, or lack thereof) manifests itself in the planning of support as an organization transitions toward its goal. The "infallible leader" places the burden of learning, skill development and motivation on the employee, while the leader who acknowledges that there is no common foundation among staff (particularly when trying lead a broad paradigm shift) plans differentiated support to meet the needs of the critical mass.

To digress, this is a good point to define what I consider an important distinction. Too often educators confuse, or don't distinguish between "enabling" and "empowering." Enabling "does for" a person while empowering teaches, or provides for a person "to do for him / herself." The key in this distinction is that permanence of learning, skill development, and motivation only come through empowerment. The only established permanency of enabling is dependence. It can certainly be said that it takes strength to demand change in an organization. It takes far greater strength to manage the balance between support and empowerment. When "supports" are defined it is likely that they never have an enabling influence, but when they are ill-defined, even the best intentions of an effective leader can lead to some endpoint that is worse than the starting point.

Therefore, as I accept the charge of co-chairing a professional development sub-committee (of our 21st century committee) I find myself faced with an interesting and challenging opportunity; how to empower (and support) without enabling.

The following are my (draft / still developing) thoughts on how to proceed through this process:

1. Assess the current state of skill, knowledge, and motivational proficiencies of our staff
2. Begin to plan for differentiated supports in each area (skills, knowledge, and motivation)
3. Following a "McTighe'ian" backwards design framework, identifing exemplars for skills, dispositions, motivations, and collegial collaboration. This will effectively / possibly get the 'self-starters' off and running and preempt moving them too slowly, which could have negative consequence on the critical mass and momentum.
4. Involve and get investment from a diverse set of stakeholders whose sphere of influence creates a strong critical mass (this likely should be #1 on this list).

At this point I'm thinking I shouldn't get too much farther. While I haven't read, or found any literature to this effect, it is my belief that far too many leadership initiatives never get off the ground because leaders (while trying to compel collaboration) don't collaborate with their colleagues to build sound planning strategies. They lay out "their" plan without asking if it's coherent and congruent with what others believe, perceive, and conceive should be the plan and because of this the leader fails to inspire any momentum.

Regardless of how I and our team evolve our planning on this (and despite the fact that we all hate large meetings) my read on our group is that there is a genuine excitement at the potential this initiative offers. I don't know how many I speak for when I say that I am excited as much for my own teaching as I am for our collective. My greatest thrills in teaching come from discovering ways to better what I do and increase my capacity. I can't wait to learn more!