Kindness Matters...

We have been celebrating a week of kindness this week at West Middle so I thought it would be a perfect time to share some tips on what it looks like to be kind.

So...

I talked with some students and got their feedback. This is what they said.

Helping pick things up

Volunteer work

Complimenting and caring for each other

Helping those who need it

Smiling

Holding the door

Helping with difficult tasks like when a locker is stuck

Saying good morning and good afternoon

Telling jokes, making people laugh

Here was one I loved...Kindness cards

Like this one...

Or this one...

Basically, the kids have these cards that have inspirational quotes on them. They can give them to random people or simply someone they know. They can say something to them or just hand it out and smile. One students said she liked to just hand it out and see the people's reaction.

How cool is that!

Although we strive to be kind everyday, it is also good to have reminders such as this week. It is intentional and who knows, maybe it will help form a habit of kindness.

As I thought about this, there were some others that I felt needed to be added...

1. Always be first...I read about this one in Tim Ferris' book Tools of Titans. He was speaking about Gabby Reece (famous volleyball player) and her husband Laird Hamilton and their relationship. Gabby says she likes to always be first...first hello, first smile, first hug, etc. She knows if she does it first then the kindness will get done.

2. When seeing someone, act like the young kid does when he or she sees you at the end of the day and its like she hadn't seen you in months. You know, when you walk in the door and your son or daughter screams and is all smiles. What a great feeling! Why don't we do that when our spouse or mom or dad walks in the room. We should take notes from toddlers. 

3. Free Hugs and High Fives...this is one of my favorite things we do. The first day of school, several of our kids and our teachers stand outside with inspirational signs and hand out free hugs and free high fives to any one who wants them. You should see the smiles, it really sets the tone for the day. 

4.  Say you are AWESOME - no explanation needed here. We can always say something good about someone else. 

Here's to every week being kindness week!

MS

Ol' Lazarus Lake and the idea of failure...

Have you ever heard of Lazarus Lake??

The ultra-marathoner who starts his race with the lighting of a cigarette.

Me either until just a couple of weeks ago when I was perusing my Netflix account.

Some of you may not know but I have a healthy (or unhealthy for that matter) addiction to documentaries and have watched some great ones the past month or so.

There are no boundaries to my genres of documentaries...none. I love them all! ESPN has some of the best in the 30 for 30 series and they have not let me down yet. Here are just a few of my favorites...

The King of Kong

RATS

I Hate Christian Laetner

The Wild and Wonderful Wests of West Virginia

The Barkley Marathons - More on this one in a minute...

Anyways, back to Lazarus Lake.

Lazarus (not his real name) is a runner. He really doesn't run much anymore but has contributed greatly to the running culture for many decades. In fact, Lazarus is well known for creating several races, one in particular is called the Barkley Marathon.

Again, this popped up on my Netflix account and I had no idea what it was about. I saw Tennessee in the title and felt I needed to explore this documentary.

I am glad I did!!

Long story short...The Barkley Marathon is actually an ultra-marathon... meaning that it is super long and I will never ever run in it.  Actually, the official definition is any race that is longer than the traditional marathon length of 26 miles. The race takes place in East Tennessee in part of the Appalachian Mountains and was supposedly inspired by a prison escape (won't spoil it for you). 

Start of the Barkley Marathon

You know how these things get started, friends sitting around having a good time talking about this and that and all of a sudden an ultra marathon is born. That is not exactly how it happened but you get the idea.

I do not want to spend the entire about this documentary because that is not the point. The takeaway was something said by Lazarus Lake. He simply said, "you can't accomplish anything without the risk of failure."

Yes, an eccentric, ultra-marathoner spouts wisdom that is applicable to all aspects of life...including and especially the world of education. You see, in his world, in the world of the Barkley Marathon...most fail. In fact, only 10 in the past 25 years have actually succeeded (more since the taping, but still) in this ultra-marathon. But, the popularity is increasing year by year. I'm sure the documentary will only make it grow more.

You can't accomplish anything without the risk of failure...

In order for that to happen in a school, in the classroom, etc...these things have to be present...

• A culture that allows people to take risks and try different things.
• Being transparent and modeling how making mistakes and learning from them can work.
• Continuous dialogue on how taking chances...trying new things...taking risks can be acceptable if it means that something better is going to come out of it.
• Sharing and celebrating successes that have risen out of taking chances/risk-taking.

Too often we reward success and discourage failure. Don't get me wrong, educators are good cheerleaders but we may need to go further. Adults and kids need to see it in action. 

They need to see that something better can come out of something that did not initially work.

MS

5 Reasons to Try Something Different...

It is important for us to change. It is important for us to do different things. If not, we stand a chance to become stagnate personally and professionally.

To do something different does not mean drastically changing your thought and actions. It could simply be small changes in incremental steps. It can be methodical or spontaneous.

Although I would never recommend drastic changes without first putting some thought into it (pay attention to your Spidey-Sense).

In case you aren't sure what Spidey-Sense is, here you go...

I do think it is important to do something different every once in awhile.

Here is why:

1. It keeps people on their toes...guessing a little.

It is ok that there is wonder. If people expect the same thing every time, then after awhile do they even pay attention any more??

2. Gives you a sense of excitement/nervousness.

Every get that butterfly feeling when you do something new? That is a reminder that you are ALIVE. 

3. Leads to reflection

Doing something different allows you to look back at what you have already done. It allows you to reflect on what has worked and what has not. 

4. Starts a conversation

When you do something different people ask questions. Then, YOU get a chance to talk about the great things you are doing. 

5. Becomes contagious

When people see different things, when people see others get excited and that excitement becomes contagious. People want to be a part of something fun and meaningful. 

One word of warning, people may try to stop you because it is not "normal" or because it is different than what everyone is used to. Those distractors like the status quo and will most likely respond with statements like "it will never work" or "that's not how we do that."

Do not let that change your course of action. Push ahead and if it works, AWESOME. If it doesn't, you can always adjust.

That's the key, you can always adjust...

Go out and try something different.

MS