Today was the first day of school for my grandsons.  With that comes the promise of new learning, new friends, new experiences, and new opportunities to grow physically, academically, emotionally, and socially.  As usual, the summer flies by too quickly.  Time is fleeting as we relish the moments we have, always wishing for more.  My husband and I were blessed to take them to the mountains for a trip earlier in the summer.  In the last week or so, I’ve had the pleasure to take them for some grandma field trips that included a stop or two at various playgrounds.  Each time they chose to spend most of the time on the swings.  “Will you push me grandma?” says the youngest.  “Push me higher, grandma!” says the oldest, echoed by the youngest too.
 
           Yes boys, in all ways that matter, I will push you higher.
 
I will push you to show respect to all people, living creatures, and things so that you can appreciate their value, and in turn have respect shown to you.
I will push you to be kind and compassionate, for the power of this simple act leads to greater virtues.
I will push you to make a difference so that you might lift others up and in return feel the satisfaction of knowing your words or deeds benefited another.
I will push you to say something when you see injustice or mistreatment toward others for it is when we take that first step, we can right a wrong; change the culture, and eventually the world.
I will push you to follow your faith, believing in a God that offers acceptance, grace, and forgiveness to all who seek Him.
I will push you to have courage to stand up for your convictions and do what is right when it might not be the most popular thing to do because it is then that your character is revealed.
 
I will push you to do the right thing, to make choices that are responsible, productive, and advance you toward your goals.
I will push you to be curious and continue to learn long after leaving the classroom for learning keeps us relevant and viable in an ever-changing society.
I will push you to try harder, especially when it’s difficult and you feel like giving up, for the satisfaction of completing challenging work is worth the effort.
I will push you to do your very best work every time because “if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well.” (Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield)
 
I will push and encourage you to find your passion and fulfill your dreams.
I will push you to take calculated risks and think outside the box so that you may grow and live life to its fullest.  But I will not push you into harm’s way because your safety and well-being are my top priority.
I will push you to have fun, finding pleasure in recreational and social activities that allow you to relax, recharge, and enjoy life.
I will push you to live a healthy lifestyle so that your life may be more enjoyable and productive.
I will push you to surround yourself with people who share and support your values, your goals, and your interests, but to also embrace those who differ from you so you may expand your knowledge and appreciation of other ideas, cultures, and ways of doing things.
I will push you to travel so that you may appreciate the wonderful world in which we live, and to learn about history and culture so that you may better understand your own legacy.
I will push you to find common ground with others so that you may work together and have amicable relationships personally, within your community, and in your chosen field.
 
Yes boys, I will push you higher… in the swing so we can laugh and enjoy our time together, and in life so you can reach your full potential and become a productive and caring adult.  I will push you to fly and soar like eagles, achieving greatness, but reminding you to return home to the ones you love and who love you.  I will push you as long as I am able, but I will always have your back until I take my last breath.
 
“                     Push me higher, Grandma”…. You bet I will.

Did you clean your room?  "Kinda, sorta..."
Do you work out during the off season?  "Kinda, sorta..."
Did you study for the test? "Kinda, sorta..."

These are responses that I have received from my "kids" over the years (both my own children and my students).  In all honesty, it's an answer I have given too, probably more than likely to my doctor or dentist in response to whether I'd regularly exercised, watched my diet, elevated and iced that sprained ankle, done regular breast exams, or flossed my teeth. 

Kinda, Sorta Translated.  What does that really mean?  When my kids told me that, I knew they had done less than expected.  Maybe they started but didn't finish.  Maybe they gave it a lick and a promise.  Maybe they did it once in a while.  Kinda, sorta may have seemed like a better answer than "Yes I did" when you knew you didn't do what was expected; or "No I did not" which failed to reflect that you did something, even if it wasn't exactly right.  We use it as a way to soften or justify the reality. When I told my doctor that, I was attempting to avoid what he/she already knew.  I was more talk than action.  Kinda, sorta.  Not really.

Kinda, Sorta Understanding.   Sometimes kinda, sorta really does express the level to which we understand or "get it."  If a student kinda, sorta understands the lesson, it means they have some knowledge or skill, but not enough for clarity or to effectively apply the learning to other situations.  People often stop at our house to ask for directions.  I give them the directions they want, all the while knowing that I have something to connect to - a mental map if you will - and they are just listening, trying to keep it in order.  I'm pretty sure when they leave, kinda, sorta is all they really understand and the result may be that they are still lost. So to answer the question, "Do you understand?"  the correct response might truly be, "Not really."  That is our cue to help clarify or reteach the content so that it becomes clear, and meaningful connections are made, so that the knowledge and skills can be used.  Then kinda, sorta becomes "I get it"  and the lost is now found!

Kinda, Sorta Efforts.   Too often, kinda, sorta is more of a reflection of the time or effort we put into a task.  I used to tell my basketball players that we had to "walk our talk."  It didn't do us much good to talk about what we were capable of accomplishing if we didn't act in ways to prepare us for that journey.   We lose focus or become complacent and then kinda, sorta stop attending to details, or making what should be a regular behavior, irregular.  We stop doing our best and settling for something less.  We procrastinate and make excuses. Success that ends with a quality product involves purposeful intent, hard work, and consistent effort.  Kinda, sorta  just isn't the same thing.  Not really.  Not ever.

Educators expect students to do their best on assignments or tests, and actively participate in class activities/discussions.  They are typically not thrilled with kinda, sorta efforts.  Not ever.  Yet teachers can fall into the kinda, sorta trap too.  When new instructional strategies are presented, teachers are asked if they have implemented them.  When their response is "kinda, sorta," you'd be correct to assume that means they tried it once and haven't given it another thought.  So when their students are not showing the intended benefits of that new strategy, one only has to look inward to realize our kinda, sorta implementation probably netted those kinda, sorta results.

Kinda, Sorta Results.  The results we get from "kinda, sorta" are not really what we want and certainly not what was expected.  What if your surgeon kinda, sorta took out your appendix or put in that stint?  Or what if your hairdresser kinda, sorta cut your hair?  Would we be happy with those results?  Of course not.  We want to look good, feel healthy, achieve all of our goals, and be successful!  But if we are honest,  most of us would admit that we would like to get the best results with the least amount of effort.  If we try, isn't that better than not doing it all?  Kinda, sorta.  Not really. 

Would you be happy with your child's teacher if they just kinda, sorta taught the lesson and then sent the child home for you to help them with their homework?  Of course not!  This works both ways too.  It is important that parents facilitate the child's completion of the task instead of kinda, sorta doing it just to say they got it done.  We have to teach our children at home and at school from an early age that kinda, sorta just isn't going to cut it in real life.  Not ever.

Kinda, Sorta Lifestyle. Unfortunately, kinda, sorta can become a way of life if we're not careful.  There is less pressure on ourselves if we choose to be good but not great, or act in ways to just "get by."  The farther away we get from doing it right, the harder it is to get going again.  I use these blogs to hold myself accountable sometimes.  This one is no exception.  My exercise program has been less than regular over the summer.  I was busy with hosting workshops and then went on vacation.  Oh yes, there's that new bad habit I have of drinking coffee first thing in the morning and playing on my phone while I watch the Today Show.  That would be OK if 30 minutes didn't quickly turn into 2 hours.   So my one time religious habit of 30 minutes on the treadmill every morning as soon as I got up has turned into a "sometimes" event.  So when I fill out the paper work at the doctor's office and they ask me if I exercise regularly, lately I'd have to say "kinda, sorta."   How's that working for me?  Not good.  Not really.  And honestly, not ever.  

Eliminating Kinda, Sorta.   To get that kinda, sorta mindset out of my lifestyle, I must decide that what I want and what I'm getting just isn't in agreement and that only I can do something about that.  My keys to making this change: Focus; Motivation; and Action.  So this week, I have been better.  Not totally focused, but moving in that direction.  My once a week exercise became 4 days this week.  Progress.  Kinda, sorta is turning into most of the time.  Will I be perfect in this endeavor?  Of course not.  But I'll be a lot farther away from kinda, sorta than I was a month ago if I just keep making movement a priority.  

What kinda, sorta thought process or activity do you need to eliminate from your life?  How's that working for you now?  Get the results you want by getting focused, deciding a course of action, and making it happen.  Don't let that kinda, sorta response slip back in.  Not now.  Not ever.

When I was a kid, I had a bad habit of saying, "I know" when my dad would talk to me about something.  He would then say to me, "Well if you know, then why aren't you doing it?"  How often do we "know" but fail to "do?"

After spending the morning in a planning meeting with the executive director of Learning Forward (a professional learning organization for educators), I began to think about the bridge between knowing and doing.  She challenged us as a state organization to get busy, with no excuses, and move from knowing to doing in order to impact the direction of professional learning for educators in our state.  Schools and organizations are notoriously slow to change because we often don't want to leave our comfort zones or fail to provide the necessary education and support to facilitate effective implementation of the desired change.  But schools are not alone in this problem.

I think about how many times we know better, but either don't do what we know we should, or do nothing at all!  The other day when I went to teach my college class, it was seriously raining, yet there were so many cars who didn't have their lights on!  In Kansas, it's a state law to turn on your lights if you are using your windshield wipers.  There are blinkers on every vehicle to signal your intent to turn, yet so many drivers fail to do this simple step.  All these things are designed to keep us safe, to let the other drivers know you're around or your intention to make a change, and yet although we "know," we don't follow through with the "do."

Sometimes we "know" a lot of stuff, but we don't know when or how to use that information.  When we know how to do something and when to do it, then we are applying our knowledge and skills.  The knowledge becomes more than useless trivia, it becomes useful.  When we ask students to do more than memorize and perform rote recall, we are deepening their understanding because now they can actually use what they know.

Doing requires sufficient motivation to act.  No one can make you do anything!  So maybe the first thing we should examine is WHY do we avoid the "doing?"  Sometimes it's because doing means we will become accountable or responsible.  Doing means we have to stop gathering information and move forward. Doing might mean we make a mistake.  Doing makes us uncomfortable when it's not what we usually do!  We know we should be exercising and eating healthy choices and portions.  But we often do - or fail to do - what we know to be the right thing.  Doing may require some discipline on our part, and sometimes it just isn't fun.

But doing is also active and engaging!  Doing makes us feel useful and worthwhile!  The more we do the more experience we gain and the more confidence we build.  Talking about doing something happens all the time and is usually just an exercise in futility.  Letting others do it for you makes you feel helpless or unworthy and offers you no investment.  But doing WITH others is also beneficial too.  No one expects you to do it alone.  Doing requires you get dirty, sweaty, and involved.  And in the end, you can smile and say "I/we did it!"

So instead of just thinking about it, or talking about it, or know you probably should, - just get up and do it!   Cross that bridge from knowing to doing and see what results you get on the other side!   

                                                              **************************

Thinking is easy, acting is difficult, and putting one's thoughts into action is the most difficult thing in the world. 
                                                                     Johan Wolfgang von Goethe, German poet


Action alleviates anxiety.
                                   B.J. Gallagher, Power of Positive Doing


Even if you fall on your face, you're still moving forward.
                                                                         Victor Kiam, businessman

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!

You don't have to be a football fan to learn from the National Football League.  The Pro Bowl has been the showcase for the best talent in the NFL.  And yet, it was almost cancelled for the lackluster, in fact embarrassing, performances that became the norm the last few years that didn't excite players or viewers.  Even the great Peyton Manning could only partially motivate the players to step up and give the fans a good show last year, so changes had to be made or it was going away.  And this year it appears at first glance that it worked.  So while I enjoyed the game last night, I kept wondering,  what can schools and educators learn from this much needed turnaround?

Before changes could be made, questions needed to be asked.  What was the purpose of the Pro Bowl?  Why was the Pro Bowl (once a competitive game of talent vs. talent) becoming a backyard game of touch football?  Where was the passion?  Did it happen because the game was moved up to fill the void between the last play-off game and the Super Bowl and no Super Bowl players could participate?  Was it because the contracts of highly paid players have taken away the monetary incentive to play to win?  Was the venue (Hawaii) too much like a vacation?  Was it because there was no "reason" to play well except for personal pride?  (ex: Baseball plays for home field advantage in the World Series)  Or are all players today just self-serving thugs and don't care about the intrinsic values of performing at a high level no matter what?

Except for the last one, which was a facetious jab at a minimal few (who are most likely NOT Pro Bowl players), there is probably some merit in each of these questions.  It was exciting to see that the solution was to not to make wholesale changes of the content (football), not provide more monetary incentives (that would not have been meaningful), but to change the delivery system.  The old AFC vs. NFC divisional rivalry didn't seem to be enough any more, so each team was created in a "draft" format which led to new combinations:  participants would play with and against different players - even teammates!   They put in some new rules - a way to try something new in a lower stakes environment.  They included rewards for great offensive performances and defensive performances which gave everyone something to shoot for.... and the award was a meaningful man toy - a shiny new truck!  Just these few simple changes made football relevant (fun) again for the players and the results were just what they hoped for - a higher level of competition in a game that could truly showcase the ability and skills of these very talented athletes!  Something new and relevant, created in a purposeful way, ignited passion and elevated the quality of the performance!  Everybody wins!

So what is the take away for educators?  Don't we have talented students who do not do well in our school settings or under perform on the high stakes tests that we require of everyone?  We ask ourselves why?  Sometimes it feels like they don't care. Maybe there is a disconnect between what we value, how we teach the content, and how learning is assessed.  So we must ask the hard questions -  Did we focus on results instead of the learning?  Is the learning relevant and thought-provoking?  When was the last time we did something new for the right reasons?  Did students lose their passion (or never find it) because we we failed to make the learning or the assessment meaningful?  How did we help our teachers learn and apply new instructional strategies to address the changing student culture?  As we examine our educational offerings for educators and students, we must consider what would be the most effective changes to implement if our purpose was to ramp up the quality of the the teaching that would positively impact student learning and student results.  In other words, improve the relevance and the rigor to increase the results.

Learning designs are delivery (instructional) methods that make the acquisition of knowledge and skills more efficient, effective and appealing (relevance).  What is the best way to produce the desired understanding of the content?  How do you know?   Are we finding ways to enhance the talents of all students so that they can demonstrate (apply) their understanding of the content?  Are we finding ways to help all students care about learning and showcasing their understanding in the best way possible?  Are we supporting educators in their learning that will translate to the classroom?  Are we relying on old ways to produce new results? Just as the Pro Bowlers seemed to not care until the game became more meaningful, perhaps the lackluster educational performances that we see are the result of an absence of making the necessary changes to the learning designs for both educators and students!

Solutions?  How about including more authentic learning and assessment.  Make it real!  The hands-on, practical experiences that many of us "oldies" had at home, back when we were kids, don't exist for many of our students today.  Society as we know it has changed with the influx of technology and the huge amounts of information that are available at the click of a button or touch of a screen.  We must teach them to think; to problem solve; to use the technology to work for us as we create and dig deeper, rather than just make everything faster.  All of these things make learning more meaningful and will result in a higher level of engagement. Consider the video games kids play and the many layers each player must uncover or build upon to achieve the goal.  This is an example of great thinking and problem solving using the knowledge and skills they have acquired over time.  Now we must help students bridge that understanding with that of the important educational content and skills that will help shape their future.   While memorizing is an important tool, it is not a meaningful end of learning, and one we have relied on much too often to assess understanding.  Knowing what to do with and when to use the ideas, skills, and concepts that we have learned is the key to uncovering the talents each of us possesses.  This must be learned by doing not memorizing.  

So whether you are a Pro Bowler with great talent, a struggling player, or somewhere in between, there is much to unlock and discover in the world where we learn, work, and live.  The key is to make it real - to provide incentives through the delivery system - to make the participation in the learning and the assessment of that learning meaningful.  Make that your next project, educators.  How will you change your school or classroom to make it an event in which students can't wait to participate?  Remember the lesson of the NFL.... they didn't throw out the Pro Bowl, but they tweaked it just enough to make it meaningful and accessible for all.  Our challenge is to create relevance and rigor to ignite (or rejuvenate) passion, and that folks, is a winning combination!

"Create a life you can't wait to live."  This quote by Zig Ziglar says so much to me about our outlook, our passion, and our willingness to plan and act in a way to make that happen.  

Notice that the first part of this statement is about the action of creating - not about wishing it to happen or expecting others to make it happen for us.  We can be inspired by our own dreams and the encouragement of others, but each of us creates our present and our future by our dominant thoughts and the choices we make.  Whatever you do, wherever you live, or whatever your age, our choices determine our path.

Every action (or inaction) has a consequence - intentional or not.  Do we plan (and act accordingly) to succeed or set ourselves up for failure by failing to plan?  Do we live life with purpose and expectation of good things?  Every morning we wake up with a new opportunity to make a difference in our own life and the lives of others.  Do we take advantage of that opportunity by our intentions and our actions?  As you look in the mirror each morning, ask yourself, "What will I accomplish today?  How can I make a difference?  Who will I touch or influence?"

We must also recognize that not every plan will turn out as we intended, so we must anticipate roadblocks and be flexible when things go awry. These things don't keep us from our intended goal, but certainly may offer us a detour or a longer path.  Again, what will we do in response to these challenges?  Creating is messy. It takes time and effort.  It is much easier to buy a packaged product or follow someone else's lead, and sometimes that is OK to not reinvent the wheel. But make no mistake, SOMEONE took the time to do the creating, and we can't always assume that there will be something out there that will fill our need.  Creating does not ensure perfection, but it does give us a chance to control our own destiny.  

The action of creating should come with a vision, a plan, and ultimately a decision.  My dad used to tell me, "Not to decide is to decide."  Those are powerful words.  We can choose to sit back and wait or we can choose to move forward.  But if we wait too long or are indecisive, the results are no longer in our control.  Choosing to create takes courage.  There is no one to blame but ourselves if something goes wrong, yet the success is ours as well.  When we create our own destiny, the reward seems so much sweeter. 

Purpose requires Passion.  "Change your thoughts and you change your world."  Norman Vincent Peale offers an important perspective that must be present if we are to "create a life we can't wait to live."  If you "can't wait to live," you are excited, eager, and enthusiastic!  And your attitude is contagious.... so so choose to be positive and passionate.  There are a multitude of quotes out there that encourage us to strive to think positively, so why not choose to have an attitude that will produce positive results?  One of my favorites is "Attitude determines our altitude."   Whatever thoughts dominate our consciousness will provide the framework for us to see possibilities, to achieve, and to persevere through the inevitable challenges that come our way.  Unfortunately too many of us choose to to be discouraged, fail to start or just simply, give up.  It is an ongoing internal battle to maintain this positive outlook.  Of course there are days when we are discouraged, but choosing to find that light at the end of the tunnel gives us a place to focus besides on our present situation.  Move forward with thought, word, and deed.  Rear view mirrors in cars are an  important feature, but the windshield is bigger for a reason.

We are educators.  Change happens to us every day, every school year,  without fail.  We often have no real say over the policies and decisions (that impact our schools and classrooms) made by voters, legislatures, board members, and others despite our best efforts to influence those decisions.  But no one else controls how we respond.  Every day we have the opportunity to make a difference in spite of the changes going on around us.  Choose to be a positive part of the change.  Choose to create a classroom, school or district where everyone is excited to go to work and to learn each and every day.  It begins with you.  "Choose to create a life you can't wait to live" and then spread that passion to everyone you meet!