Have you ever considered at all the tools we use to measure?  Around our house, the rain gauge has been checked frequently during this week's dreary weather.  When I made cookies for my husband's lunch this week, I used measuring cups and spoons, the temperature control and timer on the oven to ensure that those cookies turn out just right.  My car has all kinds of gauges to tell me if my tires are aired up properly, how many miles I've traveled, and if I have enough gas. Last night at the track meet we used stop watches to measure the speed of the runners.  But were they accurate?  I know we have less errors when we use the automatic timer, but it was broken so we used what was available.  But I'm not sure any device always measures what we actually see.  Does it factor in the cold wind or the gutty performances as the relay anchor comes from behind to win through sheer determination or how hard the runner tried even though they finished last?

Every sport uses player and team statistics and standings that reflect win-loss percentages to determine the quality of their performance.  Schools use student test scores and walk through data to determine the use and impact of instructional practices.   We really have a lot of ways to give us information about how we're doing.  Data matters, but does it give us the whole picture?  Does it measure the value?  Does it recognize the intangibles?  I measured each thing correctly on my cookies, so the data says they should be great... but it's not until we taste them that we really find out just how good they are.

How do all those things we typically measure really matter?  We can count and measure as we attempt to quantify a lot of "things," but is it really the "things" that make a difference in our lives, or is it those moments, experiences, and feelings that we can't touch that leave the biggest footprints?   How do we measure those?  How do we measure quality or impact in the real sense?

On paper that sport team may look great, but what if they don't win?  Or more importantly, what about the team that doesn't look so good on paper but still finds ways to win?   How do you measure what you can't see - those qualities that really do make a difference?

How do you pinpoint what character or sportsmanship looks like in action or the effect that it has?  We identify specific traits, but until you see it happen, it's not the same.  If you haven't seen the video of the college softball players carrying their 5'2" opponent around the bases so she could complete her one and only (and final) home run of her career, then click here for that experience.  How do you truly measure the impact on the lives that those girls touched with their selfless act?  You only have to see the emotional responses of the player and the respective coaches to see what I mean, not to mention all those who witnessed it.

I read an article this week by Grant Wiggins that really spoke to what matters in education, but also really extends to life outside of school too.  The article entitled "Two Student Beliefs That Can Change Everything," brought to the forefront the importance of relationships in schools.  We are at a crossroads in Kansas where the Department of Education is asking schools to stress the importance of relationships as part of their accreditation process, and yet the political sentiment seems to be unraveling relationships with educators, giving them little hope for a bright future.  There is much research out there that supports the idea that relationships matter.  What does it look like when actions establish relationships that make a difference? 

The first belief Wiggins discussed was "my school is committed to building the strengths of each student."  What if we all did that....in our homes, in our businesses, in our churches, in our communities?  What if we made it a priority to build on the strengths of all people?  What would that look like?   What would be the result? 

Don't you enjoy life more when you do the things you love doing?  You enjoy them because you are good at them - that is playing to your strengths.  Which subjects did you like best in school?  The ones that were hard and made you feel stupid?  Of course not...it was the ones where you "got it" and you found success.  I'm not talking about avoiding challenges, but making those challenges attainable by playing to our strengths.  What if we identified, encouraged and promoted the development of our own strengths and the strengths of others?  When we recognize the interests and abilities of others and facilitate their use, we achieve greater buy-in and greater success.   We can win even if we don't look good on paper.  

The second belief was equally compelling:  "I have at least one teacher that makes me excited about the future."  Everyone needs to feel like there is something to look forward to and that someone believes in them.  Let's not just leave that to the teachers.  Families can do that for each other.  Mentors can do that (formal or informal).  Employers can do that for employees.  What if each of us examined our own actions?  Do we help people by giving them feedback, encouragement, or the tools to make them more successful?   Are we building up or tearing down?  Helping others is a win-win situation for both the doer and the receiver.

Everyday one can read posts on social media or watch news reports that reveal just how important relationships are to human existence.  We celebrate when relationships bloom and mourn when they fade away.  We "like" statuses that say what we feel, wish we could say, or what we hope to see in this world.    We recognize heroes and soldiers, and share joyous events.  We ask for prayer because we recognize the need for more than we can provide.   Most recently, we have seen how communities and strangers banded together to help storm victims in the south.  We have seen a hero die, using his last ounce of strength, to save another. I like how NBC News often closes their evening broadcast featuring people who make a difference.  When we utilize all of our strengths we create a brighter future for not only ourselves, but for those around us.  Instead of trying to measure that, maybe we should just try to measure up.

 

The mounds of daffodils and tulips were brimming with buds, had just started blooming around our yard this past weekend while temperatures soared into the 70's.  But of course, we live in Kansas, so they were not shocked early Tuesday morning when temperatures dipped into the 20's.  These are tough flowers, ready to face whatever challenges Mother Nature sends their way.  I thought about covering them, but did not.  I hoped they would make it through.  I hoped they would bloom anyway.  The temperatures rebounded quickly, only to be followed the next day by a howling wind, with gusts big enough to move vehicles on the road, send trash cans rolling out into the street, and whip those new blooms into frazzle.   But today, with calm winds on a cool, partly sunny, spring day, the daffodils and tulips continue to open new beautiful yellow and red blooms, denying the Kansas weather victory despite it's best shot.  They did as I had hoped and bloomed anyway.

And isn't this the way many of us face life?  What takes down one person, is just another obstacle to hurdle for another.    Some of us just bloom anyway.

Kansas educators have taken some real gut punches in the last few weeks as politics reared its ugly head in the legislature.  There were some wins for kids and teachers alike, but they came with a price.  But when it was all said and done (and really it's still not done), teachers went to school and taught their students, coaxing them to bloom, just like the do every day.  Political battles may take their toll, but we still are able to experience the true beauty of teaching and learning.  It would be nice to make more money, have general support from the public, and have tenure to protect us from undeserving criticism, but no matter what, we are educators first and we will find a way to bloom anyway.

As a teacher, I saw many students over the years demonstrate their ability to persevere and stand tall despite the odds stacked against them.  There is no greater joy for a teacher than to see a smile spread across a child's face when they finally get something that has been difficult to understand; or when hard work pays off for an athlete so they are able to feel the joy of a personal best and perhaps earn a medal too.  Some kids give up easily while others dig down deep and find a way to bloom.  Maybe they weren't as smart or talented as their peers; maybe no one supported them like they should have, but somehow, some way, they found a way to bloom anyway.

I see this same thing happening right now with people that I know.  Some are fighting cancer.  Some are dusting themselves off from a failed relationship, loss of a job, or other disappointment.  Some just can't figure out why today, of all days, that tire went flat on their way to work.  But I see their determination to emerge from these pitfalls and sometimes tragic events.  I see them find ways to bloom amid frustration and bad news.  I see them deepen their faith and offer comfort to others, whose plight might be just as dire as their own.  We  win when we choose to stand strong and bloom anyway despite overwhelming odds.

It is the resiliency of the tulips and daffodils that inspire us during their fight to give us a burst of color as we emerge from the grays of winter.  It's easy to bloom during those springs when temperatures are warm and rains fall generously.  It is in those times of personal challenge, when others may have said it couldn't be done or stood in our way, that makes us appreciate our efforts to stand strong and bloom anyway.  

Driving across the Flint Hills of Kansas along I-70 or any other such stretch in Kansas, one sees the scorched earth nearby and the rising white smoke in the distance.  What in the world?  Why are they burning?  But in those places where the burning occurred a couple of weeks ago, the blackened pastures are being overtaken by new, bright green grass.  In Kansas, and I'm sure in other Midwestern states, this is a very normal part of the growing cycle.  Through a controlled burn, we purge the thatch and dead grass from the past season and allow it to be reborn with new growth.  Is this annual rite of spring something we can use in our own lives, both personally, in school, our business, or organization?  

One of the big attractions of spring is the greening of the grass, trees and shrubs, and the blooming of those first spring flowers that brave the elements to show us their bright colors of hope.  The landscape transforms from the dull grays and browns of winter to the energetic colors of spring and summer.  But do we realize that those colors are more vibrant if we prune, remove the thatch and dead leaves that accumulate from the residual effects of autumn, and get rid of the things that delay growth?  Those very things that protected the plants from the harsh winter temperatures are also the things that keep the growth from coming to the surface in the spring.

In our own lives, we often do those spring cleaning things around the house - remove clothes we no longer wear; clean the windows of the film accumulated from the furnace that kept us warm; and uncover all the items that we prepared for winter for use in the spring and summer.  Maybe we look at the bad habits we have and remove one or more of them.  Perhaps we get off the couch, get outside, and get active; or vow to remove the soda from our lives and replace it with life-giving water.   

At school or work, spring is a time to review our policies and practices that provide the expectations or parameters of our work.  Are they effective?  What could we revise or consolidate?   What new strategy will we implement and in exchange, what will we stop doing so we don't overload ourselves for this new idea?  What "controlled burn" will we undertake in order to emerge transformed with new growth that results in real progress?

We all stand aghast as forest fires rage each year - an uncontrolled burn if you will - but marvel at the new life that emerges from those horrific events.  Park Rangers tell us that lightning strikes that begin many of these fires are nature's way of renewing the forest to sustain it for the future.  Do we look long term like this when we make changes - bringing in the new "thing" to replace the old?  When I buy a new outfit or a pair of shoes, I think about all the places where I could wear the item or what else it goes with in my closet.  I am looking beyond the fact that I like this outfit or pair of shoes.  But my closet is not big enough for every item of clothing I ever bought, so I must take something out when I get something new.  We must be like the Park Rangers or the burners of the prairie and see how this will impact the future and ultimately the big picture.  

Out of control burns are dangerous and may burn things we didn't intend to be destroyed, so burning or purging must be done with care.  We don't randomly reach in the closet and pull out just any piece of clothing to send to Goodwill.  In fact we think about how that will impact future outfits (or at least I do!).  When raking the dead leaves from the perennial flower beds we take care not to dig up the new sprouts peeking through the ground.  We must purge with intent so that our work fulfills our purpose or goals for the future.  To that end we must have a vision for what we want things to look like.  That vision then results in the need for controlled burns from time to time so that new growth can emerge.  

As I look at the Kansas Legislature this year and some of the members who continually want to pass legislation that essentially is an assault on public education, I'm thinking a controlled burn (purge) might be beneficial there too come election time.  But I digress.  That probably should be another blog.  But the idea of a controlled burn in all aspects of our lives has its merits. What can we remove in order to renew?  Let the practices of the prairie inspire your thinking as you look to remove some of the dead grass in your life that may be keeping you from the green that you seek.