Intent vs. Impact

Speaking to a group of principals, one of the participants, thanked me for my time, and gave a very elegant “call-to-action” to the group.  It was not simply discussing what I talked about, but what they needed to do to move forward.

One of her quotes that resonated with me was, “Intention is not good enough; we need to look at our impact.”  It jolted me.  There are very few people in the world that don’t want to do important things, yet what is the impact of our intentions?  Everyone wants to be a great teacher, but do all educators do things that keep them up to date and moving forward in their work? This would obviously apply to any profession.

I have always believed that you could have been a great teacher ten years ago, changed nothing, and now be irrelevant.

This is one of my favourite quotes from a college dropout who felt a post-secondary education was no longer relevant to what he needed to be successful in our world today:

“Wanting” is not good enough on it’s own; the impact of our actions are how progress is always measured.

• July 11, 2015 The Importance of Taking Risks
• January 27, 2017 A World that is Asking for Continuous Creation
• January 16, 2017 Innovation is a process, not a product.
• October 28, 2012 Learner Focused
• February 17, 2013 Moving Forward

Source: George Couros

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The Book of Polly by Kathy Hepinstall

I'm always up for reading an author who decides to take a chance and write a novel that's quite different from their previous works. Kathy Hepinstall wrote two previous books that I loved:  Blue Asylum and Sisters of Shiloh. Both revolved around the Civil War and took place in the South.  The Book of Polly does have a distinctly Southern flavor, but it's contemporary and utterly wonderful.

Told through the voice of Polly's young daughter Willow, the story unfolds with an unusual twist:  Polly became pregnant with Willow at age 58, and found out she was pregnant just after the sudden death of the Captain, Polly's husband. Willow's mother is much older than her schoolmate's mothers, and Willow is obsessed with her mother dying. Her obsession leads her to spin wild tales about her mother, and Willow becomes a very colorful liar.  
Polly is a pretty unusual mother, and not just because of her age. She's a real pistol; witty, sassy, and not above borrowing a falcon to perch on her shoulder as she goes to visit the counselor at Willow's school to discuss Willow's out of control lies. Yes, Willow told the children her mother has hunted with a falcon. And Polly isn't going to make Willow look bad at school. As she says to the counselor about Willow's tall tales, "It's not my fault that the gray of everyone else's stories makes the color stand out." 

Willow's obsessed with her mother dying (Polly smokes Virginia Slims and drinks margaritas) and the life her mother lived before she was married and had Willow's older brother Shel and sister Lisa, both grown and on their own. Polly is from a small town in Louisiana, and refuses to talk about her life, the town, and the people she knew. Of course Willow's obsession never ends, and as she becomes a teenager and the Bear (cancer) strikes home, she becomes determined to know her mother's whole life.  

I loved Polly. A larger than life character, she is so darn funny I kept chuckling over some of her witty lines. Seventy-two years old and raising a teenager, she is at her wit's end:  

"Jesus isn't gonna help me with a teenager, Lisa. He was good with lepers and whores and blind people, but he can't cure the smart-ass years and you know it." 

At times a strong woman raising a child on her own, to a vulnerable woman struggling to weather life's ups and downs, Polly is an unforgettable character. Willow is just as complex and funny. I can understand her terror at her mother dying and leaving her alone so early in life. There comes a time in all our lives when we realize our parents will someday pass on, and thinking of life without their presence is terrifying. For Willow, this fear is part of her life very early on, and most of this novel is about her struggle to cope with her fears. The mystery of Polly's early life in Louisiana (the story is set in Texas) is always a part of the background, and her refusal to tell Willow any of it just drives Willow to do some detective work and figure it out on her own. Will Polly ever tell Willow her story--which, in turn, is part of Willow's family history? 

I am so glad I discovered the story of Willow and Polly Havens. I didn't want to finish their story and say goodbye. The rest of the cast of characters: Shel and Lisa, Willow's older brother and sister; Phoenix, a childhood friend of Shel who worships Polly; and battling next door neighbors who drive Polly nuts made me feel a part of the family.  

A big thank you to Viking/Penguin (Pamela Dorman Books) for a review copy of this novel.  I would have missed it otherwise, and that would have been a shame. 

Rating:  5/6 for endearing characters, a complicated yet loving mother-daughter relationship, and that Southern flair I love so much.  Fans of Fannie Flagg would enjoy this novel. Full of humor and heartfelt moments. 

Available in hardcover and e-book. 

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Wired for Play

So I’m currently reading this amazing book titled, The Importance of Being Little, by Erika Christakis, and I literally cannot put it down. An outstanding educator, leader and friend of mine, Paola Pereira lent it to me after I saw her carrying it around last week, and it’s one of those books that makes you sad as you get closer to the end because you truly hope that it goes on and on forever…you’ve all read books like this I’m sure. Anyway, there is one chapter in particular that has resonated deeply with me, and has got me thinking again about something that I’ve been passionate about since I first stepped into a classroom many years ago…the paramount importance of play in the lives of our children. 

 

Christakis puts it beautifully at the end of the chapter by suggesting that as educators, “we should do our best to get out of young children’s way as much as possible to let them draw their own conclusions about how the world does and doesn’t work. A reinvigorated play habitat is just the place for this”… I love that! The idea of getting out of children’s way is something that can be difficult for us as educators I know, and giving up the reigns can often be a struggle as we do our best to “teach” our kids. That said, it’s probably the biggest gift that we can give as educators to all of our students, regardless of how old they are…unstructured play, trial and error learning, and the incorporation of the natural world often leads to the beauty of that serendipitous learning that we’ve all seen in our students at some point or another. It makes me wonder why we tend to get further and further away from this approach to learning as the students move up in grades, and as traditional educational models continue to hang on by their fangs. 

 

It’s not just kids though, as adults we are guilty, I think, of losing that love of play as we grow up and “mature”, but I’m here to tell you that this is not a good thing for us or for our kids. I wrote a blog post just over five years ago that speaks to this, and I’d like to share it again because I believe it’s worth repeating. Think about how playful you are in your own lives these days, and how much you try to inspire this in the lives of your students…I bet there are improvements that we all can make, regardless of what grade you teach, to bring the idea of play more to the forefront of your day to day experiences with kids. Here’s a piece from that older post…

 

Last week, I watched kids playing tag, cops and robbers, hopscotch and hide and seek, not to mention all the great games of soccer and basketball and football where kids were pretending to be their favorite players from their favorite teams. I saw kids jumping in puddles and playing rock, paper, scissors, and every single one of them was smiling, free, and completely engaged. I started to wonder why as adults we don’t play more together? I thought about how maybe it’s actually the kids who’ve really got it right, and how maybe it’s time for us as educators to let the kids teach us an important lesson for once. Then I thought about the times in my life when I’m the happiest and it occurred to me that it’s when I’m playing. Either playing soccer with my boy, or dolls or moms and dads with my girl, or when I’m out for a run just letting my imagination and that dreamy state of mind take over. I also thought about the best teachers that I’ve ever had in my life and it struck me that it was the ones who played with us as students. The teachers who found ways to bring “play” into the classrooms, and the ones who found time to incorporate “play” into their lessons…and the ones were out on the field at recess throwing footballs and playing horse. The teachers who hadn’t lost their inner child, and who knew the importance of having fun like a kid.

 

I’m not really sure when “play” becomes immature, irresponsible, or un-cool in the minds of most adults but I think it’s time to take “play” more seriously. I think most of us tend to get saddled with the seriousness of work, and paying the bills, and the responsibility that we have to ourselves, our students, and our own kids…and I think it’s the wrong approach. I think that finding time to play may just be one of the most important things that we can do as adults. I think it will make us better educators, better mentors, better colleagues, and better parents. Like balance, finding time to play in your life is hard, and maybe something that you haven’t put as a priority of late. I guess I’m asking you all this week to think about how much you play with your students throughout the school day, and how much time you set aside in your own lives to escape like those kids on the playground…it might just change your life for the better.

 

Have a wonderful week everyone and remember to be playful with our kids and good to each other!

 

Quote of the Week –

The opposite of play is not work, it’s depression! – Stuart Brown

 

Great TED Talks on the Importance of Play – (watch these)

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Interesting Articles –

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Intent vs. Impact

Speaking to a group of principals, one of the participants, thanked me for my time, and gave a very elegant “call-to-action” to the group.  It was not simply discussing what I talked about, but what they needed to do to move forward.

One of her quotes that resonated with me was, “Intention is not good enough; we need to look at our impact.”  It jolted me.  There are very few people in the world that don’t want to do important things, yet was is the impact of our intentions?  Everyone wants to be a great teacher, but do all educators do things that keep them up to date and moving forward in their work? This would obviously apply to any profession.

I have always believed that you could have been a great teacher ten years ago, changed nothing, and now be irrelevant.

This is one of my favourite quotes from a college dropout who felt a post-secondary education was no longer relevant to what he needed to be successful in our world today:

“Wanting” is not good enough on it’s own; the impact of our actions are how progress is always measured.

• July 11, 2015 The Importance of Taking Risks
• January 27, 2017 A World that is Asking for Continuous Creation
• January 16, 2017 Innovation is a process, not a product.
• October 28, 2012 Learner Focused
• February 17, 2013 Moving Forward

from Connected Principals http://ift.tt/2nofSA1

Don’t forget…relationships should include parents too! What do parents want from a principal? #IMMOOC

I am a relational leader. I am casual to a fault. I can’t help but build connections, which leads to relationships, which leads to a MUCH BETTER LIFE FOR ME. I have the benefit of having the VERY best parents in my Whitt Wolf world. One of them Mrs. Stacie Smith, in fact, has not only [...]

The post Don’t forget…relationships should include parents too! What do parents want from a principal? #IMMOOC appeared first on Love, Learn, Lead.

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The Guildford Homes at Towncentre -Tangerine Developments

In a quiet section just off Surrey’s most sought-after street. Come home and enjoy some  wind down and have tranquil me-time in the carefully designed comforts of a 1, 2, or 3 bedroom home.

JUST A WALK AWAY:

3 Minutes walk to Landmark Cinemas.

3 Minutes walk to Guildford Town Centre

8 Minutes walk to Guildford Recreation Centre.

Perfect for first-time home buyers, the Guildford hits the jackpot in urban living. Each home will have it’s own spacious outdoor patio or deck for admiring the neighbourhood’s lush and green setting. Inside, you’ll find a place that you’ll be proud to show off to all of your friends and family.

 

 

The post The Guildford Homes at Towncentre -Tangerine Developments appeared first on Vancouver New Condos.

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The Paralysis of Fear

Image by http://twitter.com/alytormala

“Perfect is the enemy of done.”

I saw this quote and it has stuck in my thinking.  Often we hold back our ideas because we are scared of being criticized, sometimes for the major components, but sometimes for little things that people will nitpick.  If that held people back, nothing would ever get done.

For example, when the iPhone first came out, here were some of the criticisms:

• “Is there a toaster that also knows how to brew coffee? There is no such combined device, because it would not make anything better than an individual toaster or coffee machine. It works the same way with the iPod, the digital camera or mobile phone: it is important to have specialized devices.” —Jon Rubinstein, former iPod engineer
• “iPhone is nothing more than a luxury bauble that will appeal to a few gadget freaks.” — Matthew Lynn, Bloomberg
• “There’s no memory-card slot, no chat program, no voice dialing. You can’t install new programs from anyone but Apple…The browser can’t handle Java or Flash, which deprives you of millions of Web videos.” —David Pogue, The New York Times
• No stylus is provided.” —Edward Baig, USA Today

Now would I want the original iPhone over the one I have now? Absolutely not. But without the first one coming out, we do not have the iteration we have now, which at one point, we will laugh at for being so outdated. Yet, as of August 2016, it has been projected that over a billion iPhones have been sold.  Seems like it has appealed to more than a few “gadget freaks”.

If I had to choose one, I would rather be a creator than a critic. Personally, I embrace there are flaws and imperfections with what I create, write, share, and do.  To be the first one to acknowledge this also gives me ownership and ensures that I do not become paralyzed by my own thoughts.

I would not want to be the one that holds back the ideas of another person because I have instilled a fear of imperfection in their practice; this is weak leadership at best.  Life is in beta; flaws will happen along the way. Embrace it, move on, and move forward.  Without that willingness, nothing from our imagination would ever become a reality.

• September 11, 2016 If we know better, we have to do better. #IMMOOC
• August 7, 2012 What Schools Can Learn From the World of Photography
• August 14, 2016 “When your attempt rate is high, each individual failure becomes a lot less significant.”
• October 6, 2016 “We expect innovation in every organization except for the one we work in.”
• December 15, 2015 Could “Too Late” Come Too Soon?

Source: George Couros

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