#MyChicagoMarathon No. 1

I am running the Chicago Marathon in October 2019!

For some people, running marathons are not a big deal. For me, this is a big deal. I wasn't always a runner. However, over time, I've become a runner. This will be my first marathon.

Previously, I've written multiple posts, the past couple of years, that connect my experiences as a runner to my role as an educator; in the near future, I'll make sure that I re-share the links to those posts in a one centralized location. Furthermore, starting now and throughout 2019, I'm going to devote my blog posts to telling the story of how and why I am running the Chicago Marathon.  I hope that you'll be interested, I hope that you'll follow along, and I hope that maybe you'll learn something as a result of my journey.

Coming-up, I plan to dedicate an entire post to why I'm running for charity and why I chose Action for Healthy Kids. In the mean time, check-out my page My Chicago Marathon for Action for Healthy Kids. Thanks!

Brush Your Teeth

On a fairly recent school night, my (eight-year-old) son got home late. He’d been at an Iowa Hawkeyes basketball game with his Grandpa, and by the time he got home it was well past his regular bedtime.

I told him he had to brush his teeth before getting into bed. He pushed back and asked to skip it, just tonight. I insisted; brush your teeth.

That’s the Slight Edge.

Not brushing his teeth that night, in isolation, isn’t a big deal. He would have brushed them in the morning, brushed them again the next night, and so on. However, it would have created a precedent. A precedent that would have made not brushing your teeth a little bit easier the next time there was a reason not to brush them.

But this post isn’t about brushing your teeth. It’s about the Slight Edge. The Slight Edge is a book that I recently read by Jeff Olson. I was turned-on to the book after learning how the University of Iowa football team used(uses) it to shape the culture of their program (article, linked). The book is good; it’s full of good ideas and principles that lead to self improvement.



The Slight Edge is does not involve any one monumental thing. Instead, the Slight Edge is doing the little things with such consistency that over time they become monumental. Notice that I said over time; the Slight Edge is about the process. It is about the long game, and not giving-up.

Through self discipline, the Slight Edge becomes possible. And having the Slight Edge results in success. It results in a success that is sustainable and endurable. It’s what our kids need (it's what we all need).

Love Being a Principal

This past semester, I had the good fortune of having Corey Topf do an internship with me. (Honestly, I think I may have benefited from the experience more than he did.) As we reflected on our time together, he asked me the following question - if my children were considering becoming a principal, is it something that I would encourage? Whoa!

Being a principal isn't easy. It is stressful, it is challenging, it is defeating, it is never ending, it is exhausting, it is more. I think that Baruti Kafele summarizes it pretty well in his Tweet (below). Even more telling are the responses that his Tweet generated; if you get a chance, scroll through some of them.

Circling back to the original question that Corey asked me, my answer was yes. My answer is yes. My answer will always be yes. I can't imagine anything better than a being a principal. Coincidentally, around the same time that Corey had asked me that question, I had just visited my son's second grade classroom to share about my job as a part of their unit of learning about communities.  The Slides pictured, below, outline the top ten things that I love about being a principal.

Being a principal can be hard. But there are things that we can do to combat those difficulties. My friend, and fellow principal Jessica Cabeen outlines a lot of those things in the recent post that she wrote for Edutopia, The Importance of Self-Care for Administrators (linked). The things that Jessica shares are real things that we NEED to do in-order to thrive. The reward can easily outweigh the risk. Doing those things, with the right attitude, mindset, perspective make it easy to love being a principal. And that's the bottom line, my advice to my kids, do what you love.

Process and Persistence - Pt. 2

I run. I run for my fitness/health - both physical AND mental. I run to compete - with the field of runners that I'm with during a road race AND with myself every time that I lace up my running shoes.

I've always considered myself a goal oriented person. Dating back to high school, I've written down my goals, and checked them off as I've accomplished them.

In regards to running, I used to set goals with variables of time and distance. My thinking was that I would either be able to reduce my time OR increase my distance. No, my thinking was that I would have to either reduce my time OR increase my distance. However, I was forgetting a key variable. My age. As I’m getting older (this is not a pity party for me, I'm still far from old), I’m finding it harder and harder to reduce my times. My goals shift to maintaining. My goals shift to just keep running.

Maya Angelou wisely said, "Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better."

I used to think being goal oriented was of the utmost importance. I know think that being process oriented is far more valuable.
I’ve had previous conversations with my friend and mentor, Adam Welcome, about the idea of writing a book. This, writing a book, is a life goal of mine. Adam’s advice is always the same: before you even start to think about writing a book, you just need to write, write, write, and write some more. This makes sense; this is being process oriented.

End goals can be paralyzing. They can be overwhelming, they can prevent you from getting started, and they can cause you to quit prematurely. And this is why the process is paramount. Don’t get caught up in the end results. Instead, enjoy each moment; be thankful for the opportunity.

When you’re committed to (this is persistence) and in love with the process, the results take care of themselves.

Process and Persistence - Pt. 1

During the final moments prior to a recent road race I was preparing to run, someone made the comment that, “Some people are natural runners.”

I’m not one of those people. Running has never came naturally to me. There was a big chunk of my life where strongly disliked the activity. If you’re interested in this story, I previously wrote about how I came to enjoy running (The Bix and a Real World Growth Mindset, linked).

The comment did, however, make me think. Although I don’t consider myself to be a natural runner, I don’t have that advantage, I do consider myself to be more persistent than most.

I’m no ultra runner, but I pride myself on being able to run longer distances than most people are comfortable running. It’s one of the things that I love about running; knowing that I’ve pushed myself, out of my comfort zone, to the point where I now enjoy doing something that I once thought torturous. This didn’t just happen, naturally, either. It’s become easier, it’s become routine as a result of a process. A process and persistence have allowed me to prove to myself, time and time again, that I can do more.

#DadsAsPrincipals - After-School

I’m not saying it’s the way, but it’s my way.

Since the start of Tiny Tot (insert name of sport, here), I’ve always volunteered to help coach my children’s athletic activities. (See the blog post that I wrote, previously, #DadsAsPrincipals - #DadsAsCoaches) I’ll continue to do it as long as he keeps asking me.

So this fall, my son, who just turned eight, has been busy. As a result, we’ve been busy. During one particular week, we had a football game, two football practices, a baseball game, and a basketball practice. That makes for a busy week. Throw in the 40++ hour work weeks that my wife and I both work, plus our daughter’s dance and gymnastics classes, and it makes for a crazy week.

My wife isn’t always thrilled about our schedule of events, Monday through Friday. And I can’t say that I blame her. After a long day at work, sometimes you just want to get home and be home.

Nonetheless, I love it. I love having something that forces me to leave work at a decent hour. I love having something to do, something (practice or a game) to fully engage-in after work that allows my mind to completely detach from the day-to-day stresses of the job. It allows me to focus on the present; it allows me to Be There.

I love sports, and coaching is why I, initially, got into education. Sports are a great opportunity to teach character education; building character through sports is quite possibly my favorite thing about them. Plus, I love working with kids. I love helping kids.

Being able to watch kids learn and grow in areas that they are willing to commit and enjoy is a pretty neat thing to witness. It’s even neater knowing that you possibly played a role in contributing to that development. And it’s a bond with my son. That’s my favorite part.

There is no blueprint for balance. It’s personal. What can you handle? What can you live with? No...it’s more than that; much more. What makes you happy? Do that. Even if/when it’s unconventional, because like my daughter says...

The Lessons Your Children Will Learn

My friend and fellow #DadsAsPrincipals leader, Todd Schmidt posed the following question on Twitter: What is one lesson you hope your children learn from your example?

This stemmed from audio captured from Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints quarterback, telling his sons, "You can accomplish anything in life if you're willing to work for it." These words were spoken after Brees had just passed Peyton Manning as the NFL’s all-time leading passer.

Recently, on a Monday night, I had just sat down. I turned on ESPN to the Monday Night Football game for a little white noise while I was about to do some work. It just so happened that as I tuned-in, the Brees family (his wife and four children) appeared on the screen as they were being escorted down the sideline in preparation for the record being broken. Immediately afterwards, Brees hit a receiver down the sideline to set the record. History.

I loved this for two reasons. 1) To think about everything that went into that moment being possible is amazing. All of the preparation, and all of the work. Everything. That one moment is the product of a countless number of parts to make that accomplishment possible. And 2) To see his family, on the field, to share that moment with him was special. What I want more than anything from this life is to make MY FAMILY proud of me and the work that I do. It was evident, on Monday night, that Brees had my made his family proud.

So...back to Todd’s question that he posed. What’s the one thing that I hope my children learn from my example? It’s hard to pick just one. Too hard. There were so many great examples from many people that I admire and respect on Twitter. I’ve been stuck here for almost two weeks. Ready to hit publish, but not having my one lesson identified.

How am I supposed to pick just one? I can't. I have three. Attitude. Love. And Persistence. They’re all three essential lesson that I must pass along to my children. They’re all three essential things that are interrelated to one another. I hope that I am a model of these things for my children to witness. I hope that I engage my children in conversations about the value of these things. I hope that my children persist, love, and embody an attitude that allows them to be happy and successful individuals.

Contradictory Information

There's a lot of information out there. As a result, there is a lot of contradictory information out there. To steal a phrase from Nate Silver, how do you distinguish between the Signal and the Noise?

I was attending an educational conference, recently, when this thought first crept into my head. Then, while listening to a couple of podcasts, in the days that followed, that thought was only solidified.

Our minds are fed with so much information. We read things, we listen to things, we experience things. And those things are individualized, they are different for all of us. So how do you know what to believe? How do you know who is right?

I'm not always sure what's right and/or who is right. I know that I'm not always right. But I know what I value, and I know what I think. And I'd like to think that my values and thoughts continue to evolve over time alongside my learning and my experiences.

It's like Maya Angelou said,

"When you know better...You do better."

We don't have to be lock-step with our beliefs and/or thoughts; in fact, I wouldn't expect it. But I hope you'll keep an open mind and be considerate of all beliefs and thoughts. Let's stop thinking about things as either right or wrong, and instead just accept them for what they are; nothing more, nothing less. Let's ask more questions, and make less judgments. Let's be confident and strong enough to engage in healthy debate, and really listen to the other side. Let's assume positive intent.

So maybe we shouldn't perceive any of this to be contradictory information that's being presented to us. Maybe it's just a continuum of ideas, all based off of our own, individual experiences. None of which are right or wrong, depending on our individual circumstances and experiences.

This post has stalled as a draft for a couple of weeks. I was unable to find the right words for how I wanted it to conclude. But this morning, while consuming more information, someone else spoke the thoughts that had been giving me writer's block. I found what I'd been searching for on Don Wettrick's StartEdUp podcast; thanks for sharing!

"No matter what you do in life, you should be a life long learner. I pride myself on learning and challenging myself to either read books, go to conferences, go on podcasts, listen to podcasts. Life is about evolving, and I reserve the right to change my opinion if I find out more information." - Gary Brackett, former Super Bowl Champion

Choices On-Demand

I've got two young children. A seven year old, and a four year old. They each have their own iPad (please, no judgement). And what's the first thing that my kids do when they wake-up in the morning and before they get ready for bed, each night? They're on their iPads (again, please, no judgement). That's the reality in our house; we don't fight it...anymore.

Gone are the days of Saturday and/or Sunday morning cartoons in the traditional sense that we grew-up knowing. My kids don't need (or even want) the TV turned-on; they'd much prefer their devices. And YouTube or YouTube for Kids is their app of choice.

We, adults, parents, think that this is weird. I think that we think this because it's not something that we grew-up with. Seldom do I hear parents that are in my same generation complain about kids wasting time playing too many video games (I recall this being a common complaint when I was growing-up and earlier in my education career). Because we did that. The next generation of parents probably won't think that it's weird if their children consume YouTube for long stretches.

YouTube is great. I use it. I like it. It's a tool for learning, it's a tool for sharing, and it's a tool for entertaining. But I wonder...it gives us A LOT of choice. A lot. AND not only is there initial choice...if the user doesn't like something what they chose, they simply try something new, and they do that again, and again, and again. There are an infinite number of choices to obtain and maintain their attention. It's highly competitive.

So what happens when these kids that have who have grown-up with so many choices come into our schools?  Where do kids get this level of choice and freedom in schools? Do they? Can they? Should they? What challenges does this present to us, as educators? What opportunities does this present to us, as educators?

Champion Mindset

Disclaimer: *I'm NOT an advocate for participation trophies.*

Please don't confuse this post with that philosophy. However, if what I'm about to write evokes an emotional reaction from you, I'd encourage you to push back; I'd welcome you to engage in a conversation with me. Growth comes when our thinking is challenged.

I believe trophies, rings, medals, and banners, etc. are to be earned. Period.

That being said, I don't equate being a champion with being THE winner.

Shaquem Griffin might not end his season holding the Vince Lombardi trophy (that's a football reference). You can't tell me that he isn't a champion. That's just one of countless examples of individuals who have not let their circumstances limit what they are able to accomplish and/or become.

Being a champion is a mindset.

It's a way you think. It's not allowing your thoughts to get in your way. It's training your brain to overcome self doubt. It's fueling yourself with positive vibes. As a result, you believe that anything is possible.

Which wolf do you feed?

It's a way you behave. It's how you prepare. It's how you compete. It's how you act. All. The. Time.

Effort and perseverance. That's what it takes. Always giving maximum effort. It's easy to put forth maximum effort when the stadium is lit and the crowd is cheering your name. But are you able to replicate that effort during practice? Are you able to replicate that effort when no one else is watching? Are you able to replicate that effort in your other endeavors? A champion mindset doesn't simply put forth maximum effort in one area of their life, they put forth maximum effort in ALL areas of their life.

And as Jimmy V famously said (in one of my all-time favorite speeches), "Don't give up...Don't ever give-up." Persevere. Keep going. Don't put limits on yourself. We're all capable of so much more. Too often we give up long before we reach our full potential. Keep going. Persevere.

Don't settle. Set your goals higher. Dream big.

Even if you miss...you know where you'll end-up.

It's not supposed to be easy. It's work. And defeat, failure, struggle, etc. are all a part of that process.  As I'm reminded by the American advocate, Wendell Phillips, in Ryan Holiday's book, The Obstacle is the Way:

"What is defeat? Nothing but education; nothing but the first steps to something better."

You can't skip the process. Malcolm Gladwell told us that a precursor to success is 10,000 hours of work in that particular field. Break the rock.

I love the culture that the Iowa Hawkeyes football program preaches.

Give it your best. And then keep going. Effort plus perseverance. That's a champion mindset.

Teamwork, Competition, and Fun

On August 1st, I posed the following challenge to our teachers at Van Allen (via Flipgrid) - You've had some time away from school to relax, recharge, and enjoy yourself, your family, and your friends. What have you been doing? Share with us a highlight from your summer.

My response is linked (the password is BackToSchool).

My summer has been great. I'm beyond fortunate to have the opportunities that I have, and I don't ever take them for granted. Yet, of all the things that I experienced this summer, the highlight was traveling two hours west for my son's 7U State Baseball Tournament. Why?

I love sports. I've always loved sports. I'll always love sports.

One of the reasons that I love sports is for the role that I credit them playing in building my character. I love how sports teaches lessons that carry over into all walks of life and allow young people to grow, learn, and become successful adults.

But what is it about sports that brings out the best in people's character?

Teamwork - Dictionary.com defines teamwork as, "cooperative or coordinated effort on the part of a group of persons acting together as a team or in the interests of a common cause." In it's simplest form, teamwork is when we 'work together.'

Being able to be a part of something bigger than yourself is fulfilling. Being a part of something where everyone is committed to accomplishing the same thing is meaningful. Being a part of something where everyone needs you, just as much as you need everyone is motivating. Being a part of something where everyone has to work together in-order to accomplish your goals is fun.

This causes you to work a little bit harder when you know others are depending on you. And the bond that it creates within the members of the group is unbreakable. Your teammates become your best friends, they become your family.

Competition - When the competition starts, the only thing that matters is putting forth your very best effort. Your ability to focus is enhanced, exponentially. It's just you, your teammates, and the goal that you're working towards.. Goals are essential. There is no competition without goals. Goals are motivating. How often do we get to say that we experience this in our day-to-day lives. Life is complicated. Sports are simple. 

Having fun - Sports are games. You play them with your friends. There are bonds that develop (bonds that last) when you're competing, together.

Patience vs. Assertiveness

One of my seven-year old son's favorite things is attempting to get baseball players to throw him baseballs before, during, and/or after baseball games. A term known as "toss-ups" made famous by the YouTuber, Zack Hample.

He's pretty good at this, actually. He (sometimes with my assistance on a couple of occassions) has received baseballs from Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, Guaranteed Rate Field, and Busch Stadium. And he's raked from numerous minor league teams at various locations.

Recently, while, at Wrigley Field waiting for toss-ups, two hours prior to the game, I started to reflect on this hobby. And as I reflected, I realized that there are two very good life skills that you need in-order to be successful in collecting toss-ups.

• Patience. You must be patient. Lately, when my son and I attend a baseball game, we get there when the gates open. That's two-hours before the game starts. There's a lot of sitting, and a lot of waiting. Last year, for example, we arrived to Guaranteed Rate Field at 4:30 to get in-line so that we could be some of the first entrants when the stadium doors opened at 5:00 for a 7:00 game. This meant that (at the time) my six-year old son was waiting, in July, in the sun from 4:30 to 5:00; we stood together and we talked to each other to pass the time.
  
  Once we were inside we watched the players take batting practice, but patting practice does not last the duration of time from when they let you into the stadium and when the game actually begins; there is a lot of down time. Nonetheless, he was engaged from 4:30pm to after 10:00pm when the game ended. And I kid you not, we left our seats less than a handful of times while at the game. He's a great fan. I love going to games with him.
  
  *He ended-up with two baseballs from the Cubs (from batting practice) this particular evening.
  *I assure you, this is entirely my son's idea. I think it's awesome and I love doing it with him, but doing so is always his decision.
  Patience is a skill. Just like anything else, to get better at it, you have to practice it. Practicing patience is worth it; it's a valuable trait to possess.
  
• Persistence. You must be persistent. You have to be willing to speak-up. You have to be willing to communicate - clear, concise, and loud - what you want when the time arrives. We aren't the only ones at these games trying to get these "toss-ups." Quite the contrary, actually; these "toss-ups" make nice collections and souvenirs so they can be pretty desirable to obtain. When the opportunity comes for a "toss-up" you best be ready; make your way to the front, and communicate in a way that allows you to stand-out (while remaining extremely polite). And if you don't get that "toss-up," you better stay ready for the next opportunity, and then the next one, and then the one after that, too.
  
  Sometimes, to get what you want, you must be persistent. That does NOT mean being rude, nor does it justify being rude. Do NOT confuse those two things, they aren't the same.
  
  Just like patience, you can become more persistent the more opportunities that you have to practice being persistent. And it's another very valuable trait to have throughout life.

Mornings

It's summer. Some days I work, other days I take as vacation. Getting out of the house is easy. I'm in charge of getting myself ready, and that's it. My mornings are relaxing in June and July.

This post has been in draft format since April or May. I'm finally sharing it, now, as I've had a little extra time to polish it up.

Show me a house where the above quote (from the Kids Deserve It book) isn't the norm for kids. Show me a house where the above quote isn't the norm for adults.

What follows is a timeline of an especially crazy morning that I experienced, last spring.

4:50am - My alarm sounds. I get out of bed, I get dressed and get ready to leave the house for a #RunBeforeTheSun (shout-out to Gregg Bruno).

5:33am - I return from my run and I am startled by my son. He's sitting in the living room, and he tells me that he doesn't feel good; this is not normal, he doesn't usually miss school. He must not feel well.

5:35am - Unsure what to do, I start to get ready for the day; brainstorming options for what we'll do if my son can't go to school are racing through my head

I convinced my wife (she's a first grade teacher) to do one of the things that I hate the most (as a principal). She puts in for a substitute, and it's after 6am. Good luck getting that covered.

My kind and beautiful wife was going to stay home with our son, but she still has to get her classroom and sub plans ready. So she leaves the house sometime after 6am to do what she needs to get done. But that means that I'm in charge of getting our three-year-old daughter out-of-the-house. Yikes!

7:02am - My daughter and I leave the house. My son is left on the couch waiting for Mom to get back home (it won't be long). Please, don't judge us.

My wife usually takes our daughter to play school (and I am usually responsible for getting my son to school as it is along the route that I take to get to work). My wife also usually gets our daughter ready for the day, and I am tasked with overseeing that our son gets "ready." She is four, he is seven; you can see where my job is a little bit easier in this regard.

On this particular morning, however, it's on me to get Olivia (our daughter) ready. I'm thankful that she went to bed, last night, dressed for the day. I know that M&Ms and chocolate milk are poor choices for breakfast, but it's easier so we do it anyways (again, please don't judge). I'm not even going to try wordsmith the situation that was her hair...

Nonetheless, we made it. I got her to where she needed to go. And I was headed to work.

7:30am - I arrive to school (10-15 minutes later than usual due to the circumstances). As I enter the building, I'm welcomed by the news that we are short subs.

We hit the ground running! There is no norm when you're working with other people, and especially when you are working with kids. Embracing that idea makes coordinating the chaos (shout-out to the self proclaimed Chaos Coordinator, Lindsy Stumpenhorst) seem far less overwhelming.

Goals - #DadsAsPrincipals

Earlier this month, as my family drove home after attending a Chicago Cubs baseball game, we were trying to remember how many Cubs games our son Ryne has attended. For a seven year old, living in Iowa, he's been to quite a few games.

The road games were easy to recall. He's seen the Cubs play in Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Minnesota, St. Louis, and on the south side of Chicago. The playoff game, last fall, was another game that definitely stood-out. As did his first game, when he was eight-months old, that resulted in a walk-off victory against San Francisco in the 13th inning (to be fair, we were already an hour outside of the city while we listened to the conclusion of this game on the radio).

But we were unable to recall an exact number. We estimated that he's probably been to approximately 20 Cubs games. A number that I'm pretty proud of as his Dad.

Anyways...while we were having this conversation...my wife, nonchalantly, suggested that we (my son and me) attend a Major League Baseball game in all 30 Major League Baseball stadiums by the summer that he finishes high school.

I don't think that she realized what she had just said; it was game-on! The next day I was mapping out where we've been, where we need to go, which cities could be clustered together in one-trip, and envisioning an epic finale the summer after he graduates from high school where we could conclude our list on the east coast with our final five stadiums.

My math says that we have 11 years to make 11 trips and check-off 20 stadiums. My wife is already second-guessing the subtle words that she spoke. But there's no turning back now. Let's go!

What's this got to do with you? What's this got to do with us, educators?

• Commit to a goal. Write it down. Share it with someone, better yet, share it with everyone.
  
• Form a plan.
  
• Make it happen. Be relentless.

"Some people talk about what they want to do, and others go do what they want to do. Make it happen for yourself and go do." - @MrAdamWelcome, #RunLAP 

#DadsAsPrincipals - #DadsAsCoaches

Over a decade ago, the opportunity to coach is why I got into education.

Fast forward...I came to love being an educator so much that i gave up my coaching aspirations to pursue educational administrative positions. For the past six years, my coaching responsibilities have been limited to crowd control while I’ve volunteered to help “coach” baseball, basketball, flag football, and soccer with my son’s various teams.

This past spring/summer, my son graduated from “rec” ball and played a more competitive brand of baseball. He was on the 7U Tigers; it was still coach pitch, but it was certainly an accelerated version of what he’d previously experienced. Again, I volunteered to help coach.
What follows are a few reflections from that experience:

Coaching your child is HARD. Maybe the hardest. I’ve been on both ends of this. My Dad coached me and now I have spent time coaching my children.

It’s hard because you know your child more than any of the other kids. You feel more comfortable with them. You know their capabilities. And you want the world for your child. As a result, it's easier and more natural for you to be in their ear more than the other kids. But they don't see it as Dad (or Mom) wants the best for me; they just hear you always talking (nagging - let's call a spade a spade) at them.

On the flip side, coaching your child, and being able to share the triumphs that he/she experiences, individually or as a team are incomparable. Triumphing as a team is one of the best, maybe the best, things about sports. It is only enhanced when you are able to feel those sensations with family.


My advice:

• Encourage more than anything

• Explain why when making suggestions

• Make sure to include plenty of praise whenever you critique
  
• When you’re at practices and/or games, play the role of coach; when you’re at home, or the park, or whenever/wherever else...play the role of parent
  
• Have FUN. Sports are games. Your son/daughter is just a kid; these opportunities won’t last forever. Enjoy them!

Running is My Run

Recently, @trevorabryan wrote a blog titled, Find Your Run.

Running is my run! Previously, I've written blog posts about how running benefits me as well as some of the connections that I make between running and education. I'm thankful to be involved in tribes such as #FitLeaders and #RunLAP. These groups of people are encouraging and inspiring; they push me in regards to my own personal fitness, as well as my educational thinking and doing.

That being said, for the past three + weeks, I have been out of commission. I hurt my back. I mean I hurt my back. For two weeks I was forced to hobble around, moving slower than normal, with a noticeable limp.

Getting up and down the hallways, in and out of classrooms, participating with students at recess...these are all things that I love about being a principal (#PrincipalsInAction), but all things that became extremely difficult (and painful) for me to do.

Furthermore, I wasn't able to run. I wasn't able to jump start my day. I  wasn't able to clear my head. I wasn't able to get lost in my own thoughts and reflections. I wasn't as energized and/or upbeat as I normally am. Instead, I was pretty down.

I consider myself to be a fairly connected educator, which has many benefits. However, when you have to sit back and watch your #PLN engage in a virtual conversation that you aren't able to take part in...that's an additional punch to the stomach.

I wanted to be fixed. I wanted to run. And I wanted this to happen now.

What does this have to do with education? This has everything to do with education!

Think about the student that can't read, or can't behave, or can't demonstrate whatever skill it is that we want, expect, demand them to do. They need the exact same things that I needed. They need the exact same things that I was wiling to do.

Patience
I went out multiple times thinking that I could push through the pain. I couldn't. On three separate occasions I left the house with the plan of a leisurely three-mile run. On three separate occasions I didn't get past 50 yards. It was too painful. I had to convince myself (this was not easy) that I needed more time to allow myself to fully heal in-order to avoid this same situation in the future.

Persistence

For these three weeks while I've been hurt, I've spent A LOT of time stretching and icing my back (with a steady diet of anti-inflammatory medications). A LOT of time. And even though the progress was minimal at first, I didn't stop.

Do Something Different
If you want different results? Then you have to be willing to do something different! Time a wasn't enough. There was minimal progress from stretching and icing. I was impatient; I wanted things to change. So to get a different result, I had to be willing to do something different. I did. For the first time ever, I decided to seek treatment from a chiropractor (for those who know me well, know that I've always been very anti-chiropractic care). Shout-out to Mike Humpal (my chiropractor) and the work that he did to aid my recovery.

This injury has knocked me out of being able to run my first half-marathon in 2018, the inaugural Run CRANDIC. That was a hard pill to swallow as it is going to be a great new race that benefits our local school systems. Silver linings:

1. I'm gearing back up to run; in fact, I'll be running the a 5K portion of the CRANDIC with my son (it will be his first ever 5K; I'm pretty excited for that opportunity and the memories we'll have from that...#DadsAsPrincipals).
2. While being unable to run, I went to a hot yoga class with my wife. This is a silver lining for several reasons: 1) it was great to increase my flexibility, core strength, and balance; 2) I enjoyed it, and hope to incorporate it into my fitness routine on a regular basis; and 3) my wife loves yoga. Solid #DadsAsPrincipals move to do things that your significant other enjoys doing.

P.S. I'm not back quite back to 100%, but I am back to running. It's progress. And it's amazing!

#LoveMySchoolDay at #VanAllenPride

#LoveMySchoolDay is a thing. It's a great thing. John Wink created it, and you can read more about its origin and purpose in this blog (linked) that he wrote.

Last week, I participated in #LoveMySchoolDay. This post is a collection of the Tweets that I shared.

1. Counting down 10 reasons I Love My School: 1) Our Students. I'd put our student population up against any. #LoveMySchoolDay #JoyfulLeaders #VanAllenPride
2. Counting down 10 reasons I Love My School: 2) Our Staff. Too many great ppl to begin to name names. #LoveMySchoolDay #JoyfulLeaders #VanAllenPride
3. Counting down 10 reasons I Love My School: 3) Our Parents. They are an extremely positive and supportive group. #LoveMySchoolDay #JoyfulLeaders #VanAllenPride
4. Counting down 10 reasons I Love My School: 4) Our bldg leadership team. Always impressed w/ our conversations. #LoveMySchoolDay #JoyfulLeaders #VanAllenPride
5. Counting down 10 reasons I Love My School: 5) Our Facilities. Our school building is beautiful; second-to-none. #LoveMySchoolDay #JoyfulLeaders #VanAllenPride
6. Counting down 10 reasons I Love My School: 6) Our Community. Not many places better than @northliberty/@Coralville_IA! #LoveMySchoolDay #JoyfulLeaders #VanAllenPride
7. Counting down 10 reasons I Love My School: 7) My Commute, 2.5 miles. Plus, it's great to work and live in the same community! #LoveMySchoolDay #JoyfulLeaders #VanAllenPride
8. Counting down 10 reasons I Love My School: 8) Our proximity to so many other great schools to learn from and push us to get better. #LoveMySchoolDay #JoyfulLeaders #VanAllenPride
9. Counting down 10 reasons I Love My School: 9) Our "extra-curriculars" that we offer our students. Things like #WorkoutWednesday, The Rocket Times, and Code Club to name a few. #LoveMySchoolDay #JoyfulLeaders #VanAllenPride
10. Counting down 10 reasons I Love My School: 10) Our Opportunities. We were fortunate to work w/ @zkruger7 of @TierneyBrothers AND just found-out about a new opportunity w/ a @Seesaw trial! #LoveMySchoolDay #JoyfulLeaders #VanAllenPride

And thanks to all of these Van Allen teachers who contributed to the hashtag, #LoveMySchoolDay!

"We need to make the positives so loud that the negatives are almost impossible to hear."  - George Couros

#ParentsAsPrincipals

This post is co-written by Eric Ewald from @dadsasprincipal and Lindsy Stumpenhorst from @momsasprincipal. It’s a collaboration where #DadsAsPrincipals meet #MomsAsPrincipals to share #ParentsAsPrincipals.

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This is Eric. My son does not attend my school. My son has never attended my school.

He wanted (wants?) to attend my school. I wanted (want!) him to attend my school. But we don’t live in my school’s boundaries. We could attempt to complete the paperwork so that he could transfer into my school (I know a guy…), but we don’t.

Prior to the possibility of my son attending my school, I was a strong advocate for neighborhood schools. My wife reminds me of this, regularly. As a result, my son attends his neighborhood school (Garner Elementary - it’s a great school that is full of great people, led by my friend and fellow @dadsasprincipal, Nick Proud).

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“Mrs. Stumpenhorst, your son is sick, I need you to come pick him up.”

“Okay, but it’s going to be a while, I’m 40 minutes away”

I was a first year assistant principal at a middle school and was doing a pretty good job at managing my professional live. Problem was, my personal life was spiraling out of control! Keep two school calendars and being a mom was hard. One time I even sent my son to his school in because after getting out two school calendar’s mixed up. The good thing? He was only in 2nd grade and didn’t mind going to school in his PJ’s, imagine if I would’ve gone to school during HIS pajama day?! Phew! Close call. This is one example of what happened my first year in administration.

During my second year in this district I was given the opportunity to transfer to a 3rd-5th grade school as a principal. I knew that my husband and I had a big decision to make...our son was going to be in 3rd grade and our daughter was going to be in kindergarten, should we pick them up from the local comfort of their friends and open enroll to my district? There were many pros and cons.

Currently my son is quickly approaching his last few weeks in my school, soon he’ll be graduating 5th grade. My daughter will then take his place as a student in my school, she’s comin in hot as a 3rd grader.

As a result of the kids being open enrolled and attending my school a few things have resulted…

1. I’m probably harder on my son and daughter, because I know and see everything!
2. Teachers at my school have the unique challenge of approaching me as a parent, not  as the building principal.
3. I’ve attended 4/6 of my son’s field trips, both as the principal & parent
4. When I’m having a hard day, I know where to find the best hug
5. My kids have seen me work...and work hard...and they are so proud of me
6. We have around 75 minutes of uninterrupted time in the car every day
   

Some of our days have been long, sometimes they are irritated with the drive, on the rare occasion one of them will even wonder aloud what it would be like to attend their local school. My husband and I do not regret our decision and our kids love their school. It’s not easy being a working parent, this is a small adjustment we’ve made in attempt to help me juggle these two very full time jobs.

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Contrary to Lindsey’s situation, when I leave my house in the morning, it takes me approximately 10-minutes to get to school. And within that 10-minutes, I’m able to drop-off my son at his school. You see, once you get out of my neighborhood my son’s school is one and a half miles straight down the road. And if you keep going, one mile further, you end-up at my school. It’s a nice little set-up.

In fact, it’s so nice that I’ve even been able to sneak away from time-to-time to attend different functions at his school including sometimes being able to eat lunch with him! This was NOT a luxury that I had, previously, when he attended pre-school in one district and I was a principal in a different district 30 miles north of him

I won’t lie. The possibilities of being a principal at the school where my son (and someday my children (my daughter will start pre-school, next year) attends would trump any argument that I could make regarding why your children shouldn’t be at your school. I’ll admit it; when principal friends like Lindsy, Nick Proud, and Andy Jacks (just to name a few) share stories of encounters with their children while working, it makes me a little envious. I can’t think of much better than 1) being able to check-in with my child throughout the day, and 2) providing opportunities for my child to see me thriving while doing work that I love.

Regardless, there are silver linings that we (my son, wife, and I) benefit from as a result of the decisions that we’ve made and the set-up that we have...

1. ‘Tis the season of creating class lists for next year! And full disclosure, I’m A-OK not having to place my child on a class list for next year.
2. There are many things that I don’t know about my child’s teacher. Let’s keep it that way. I’m all for transparency, but parents don’t need to know EVERYTHING about the person that their child spends so much of their time with.
3. I consider my wife and I to be easy-going people. Nonetheless, I imagine that it can be intimidating to sit-down for parent-teacher conferences with us (me as a principal within the same school district as my child’s teacher and my wife who’s a teacher in a neighboring district). I can only imagine how this could be amplified if my son and I were at the same school.
4. As a principal, I sometimes have to have difficult conversations with parents. Fortunately, I don’t have to have those difficult conversations with the parents of my child’s friends. I am able to keep those relationships strictly personal.
5. Like I said, I love the school where my son attends. I get to benefit from a lot of great ideas that I hear and see, firsthand, as a parent.
6. Hamish Brewer likes to use the word, Legacy. Previously, I wrote about what that means to me: #DadsAsPrincipals - Legacy. So while I know that I may not benefit from seeing my son throughout the day, at school; I also know that down the road, he’ll benefit from the work that I do each and every day.

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We never know how the decisions that we make will effect our future and, increasingly relevant, is how these same decisions will impact our family. In the end all we strive to do is the best we can in the moment and try not to worry about the what ifs.