Have you watched the Lego movie that has been in theaters recently?  I watched it with my grandsons, thinking that I was doing them a favor, when really that movie did me a favor.  It had a great plot for kids - but also for the grown ups that took them to see the movie (good idea movie makers!).  The underlying premise:  You'd be amazed at what you can accomplish if you believe you can. Recognizing that often comes when someone else believes in you or notices what you have done.  As a parent, grandparent and educator, this is gold.

When Accomplishment Leads to Optimism
Today as the sun shines into my office, I am feeling like I am feeling accomplished and ready to tackle another project!  There is a whole new attitude exuding from me!  Why you ask?  What did I do that was so life-altering?  

Did I get a new job?  No - nothing that big.  But I finally completed a job that I have put off for a long time - because I guess I didn't have the necessary motivation to tackle it!   I have finally re-sorted the books on my shelves that I so deliberately put in alphabetical order by author when I first moved in a couple of years ago.  Why is this a big deal?  Because I look for TOPICS not authors, so I have had to look through every book to find the appropriate resource unless I know who the author is.  Today's little accomplishment has organized my office, made resources more available and useful, and will help my friend who needs some information from my wealth of resources.  Yes, her request was the necessary motivation I needed to overcome my procrastination.  She believed that I could help her and suddenly the state of my resources took on new importance and made me not only want to do the job, but do it now!  I feel proud, energized and ready for the next project!

Believe In Me so That I Can Believe in Me
So you think it might be silly to blog about such as reorganizing my books?  I think not.  Optimism and hope are reasons to get out of bed each day regardless of our age or vocation.  Without those things we feel unmotivated and irrelevant.  Every day I walk into my office, look around, shrug and think I'll reorganize another day.  What does it matter?  It's just me in my office.  Everyone else can stay out.  But when someone else needs you, then suddenly, it matters - because what I am doing matters to that person, and as a result, matters to me.

Relationships are important to the quality of everyone's existence.  We rely on others to help us see more clearly, provide us with feedback, to share our hopes and dreams, and to help us feel validated or relevant.  What messages are we sending to others?  Do we let them know we believe in their ability to succeed, and recognize their progress?  Our words and actions let others know that we believe in them or not; that we value them or not; that we support them or not.  

The Power of Positive Intent
What is Positive Intent?  It is not merely optimism.  It is a belief of ability, that what can happen will happen, of expectation rather than failure.  It can be held by the individual, by others about the individual, or by groups.  It's what you think about, how you phrase your self talk or what you say out loud to others.  It is an expectation.  It's a big deal and it sets people up to succeed... or not.

Establishing expectations is a way of providing someone with belief in their ability to succeed.   It is positive and intentional.  You can... you will...  In school, we provide rubrics so students can guide their own learning and know when they have met the expectations.  In everyday life, we provide parameters of time and quality to do the same thing.  

Allowing someone to do a job independently helps that person to believe in themselves because you "allowed them" to do it on their own.  Give them the tools to succeed but don't do the work for them.  Watch their face light up as they accomplish what they set out to do.  Remember the first time you tied your shoes, rode a bike, swam across the pool, or finished that first 5K, ALL BY YOURSELF?  It's that feeling of satisfaction that provides us optimism for the next job at hand.

As individuals, we have the ability to regulate our own thoughts, control our motivation, and ultimately our actions.  Like the Little Engine that Could,  "I think I Can" gets us through a lot of tough situations, but may not be enough.  Without the feedback or reinforcement from others, we are often unkind to ourselves.  We fail to appreciate what we can do or realize how much we matter.  Humans rely on reinforcement.   We don't need external reinforcement as much as we need to feel appreciated and valued.  And with those feelings comes the attitude of optimism and hope.  Life is worth living!
 
Are you the sunshine that someone needs to emerge from their gloomy day, the encouragement they need to take the next step?  Make a difference for others and for yourself.  Find a way to focus on the positives and share that optimism with others.  No one wants to be irrelevant.  I have another friend that closes every workshop by saying, "You matter."   I truly believe that and I challenge you to help make someone else feel like they matter too!

It would be nice if K-State, KU and Wichita State athletic wins were the most prevalent headlines featuring the State of Kansas.  Unfortunately, Kansas has had its share of national headlines lately with some of the decisions being made in the legislature and by the governor, bills being proposed, and issues being raised.  And this is just about education!  

There have been several other headlines generated from our economic policies that stripped our schools of much needed funds, forced additional hardships on those who need our help, and bills passed that  included legalized discrimination as part of public policy (which thankfully has since been voted down).  It makes for a hotly contested election season; one that will be loaded with vitriol and misleading information.  It is time for Kansas voters to be informed.  It is time to teach our kids how to think critically so they can be informed citizens and not swayed by the influence of big money, attention grabbing headlines, and the faulty thinking and actions of our leaders.  This is not a made-for-TV reality show.  This is real life.  These are our children at stake.

Today's headline that grabbed my attention came from the Lawrence Journal World:  Area Legislator Hopes to Halt Common Core in its Tracks.  Wow! Another attempt to derail something in education that has been approved by the Kansas State Board of Education and is currently being implemented in schools across Kansas!  So I clicked on the link and began to read (you can too by clicking on the article title).  Much to my disdain, but unfortunately not a huge surprise, was the notion that the representative in question (who thankfully does not live in my district), put this bill before the House Education Committee which would nullify Common Core ELA (English/Language Arts) and Math, as well as the Next Generation Science Standards and prohibit any school from administering tests aligned to those standards.  Seriously?  

But here's the kicker, and I quote:  "The Common Core standards, I do believe, are not addressing the problems of the children," Dove said.  It's not the standards themselves that worry him.  In fact, he said, "I haven't seen the actual content of the Common Core.  However I do not believe it is within the scope of our federal government to put something together when it comes to education," Dove continued. End quote.  

Well here are a couple of lessons from the Common Core ELA Standards for this legislator if he chooses to read them before his bill is voted on: 

From the Reading Anchor Standard #1:  Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.

How can you make logical inferences about Common Core if you haven't read the text?  We want to teach our children to read the text and be able to cite evidence to support what they believe to be true.  Perhaps the adults in their life should model this skill.

From the Speaking and Listening Anchor Standard #3:  Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric.

I am hesitant to make judgments based on the quotes in one article, but on the surface it appears that this legislator's beef is with the political view that the federal government should not tell states (Kansas) or local schools what to teach. Well they didn't and if this legislator had been listening, or reading, or doing his homework, he would know this by now.

If you haven't taken a look at the Common Core Standards - do it now.  You don't have to be an educational expert to read the ELA Anchor Standards (page 10). Look at the verbs they are asking kids to do - "read closely, examine, analyze, make inferences, integrate and evaluate content."  

Or look on page 6 of the Math Standards for the 8 Standards of Mathematical Practice that reach across all content areas.  What business doesn't want their employees to make sense of problems, reason, construct viable arguments, persevere, etc.?

Kansas parents and citizens are finally starting to hear the voice of reason and are beginning to stand up to the special interests and misinformed people that would undermine our educational foundation and reduce the effectiveness of Kansas educators.  If that happens, Kansas kids lose; businesses lose; and Kansas will become irrelevant, known only for the Wizard of Oz, some basketball wins, and a place to pass through on the way to Colorado.  We are better than that.  We have a beautiful state with wonderful people and caring educators who work hard and want what's best for kids.  Unfortunately we have some leaders who don't believe we know how to think for ourselves so someone outside our state must tell us how to think, vote, and act. 

I, for one, think the lessons to be learned from Kansas leaders making today's headlines are that if you practiced the knowledge and skills offered in the Common Core framework, we wouldn't be having this divided political mess we are in right now.   Stay informed.  Keep Educating Yourself.