Family Comes First

Good Evening/Morning Break Even Teachers!(depending on when you read it.)

Once again, I start with an apology for not writing more.  Time seems to fill up with so many things I want to do these days.  I guess once a year is not that bad. (He says, with a truly John Lennonesque tongue in cheek!)

Anyway, we are only into the summer a couple of weeks and it has already been a whirlwind.  Just to keep you up to speed, I just finished my second year at Culver Community Schools as the Business and Computers teacher.  When I started this journey two years ago, I really thought I would be back in Sales and Marketing field pretty quickly.  At first, it just wasn’t clicking for me.  So many nights of thinking, “What have I done?  I can’t do this!”  But this last year and a half or so has been truly amazing.  There are so many stories I want to share with you.  Maybe another day, hopefully not a year from now.

So, this summer, I was offered another teaching job in another school district.  It was for more money.  It was a bit closer, so the commute would be less. It would be teaching more Business and less Computers, which is what I had wanted originally.  It seemed to be a perfect fit.  But the more I thought about it, something just wasn’t right.

The more I thought about it, the more I felt as if I would be letting my family down.  Not my wife and sons, but my other family…my Culver Community Schools family.

Now I’m not one to use that terminology loosely, either.  When I first started here, the teachers in my wing talked that way.  “You’ll love it here…it’s like a family.” they would say.  Yeah, yeah, yeah.  Everybody says that about the place they work, right? After a few weeks with the kids, I felt like I wanted to be more of a foster family.  I just didn’t seem to be connecting with them.  Then, everything changed.  All it took was one student, (who shall remain nameless), that stood up for me to her classmates.  She jumped in there and had my back!  I couldn’t believe it!  It was great!  From then on I started to treat the students differently, and they started to treat me differently, as if we had some kind of connection.  This then, became a wonderful self-fulfilling prophecy, so to speak.  There WAS a connection!

I have wondered for two years what I would do if I were put in the position to make a move.  Now I have my answer.  These students and teachers and administrators and parents have all become a part of me.  I get excited when they get excited.  I mourn when they mourn.  I look at the kids every day and wonder how I can be of help to them today.  They have become my family, and I couldn’t be happier.

My First BET-What my Dad Taught Me

Good Morning BET's!

So, obviously there are many many lessons my dad taught me.  His legacy for me though, can be summed up in a few short examples.  He was not your traditional teacher in the sense that he didn't necessarily exhibit a true teaching technique.  He struggled with his patience with lessons like many of us do, especially with younger people.  But his true gift was the example he shared, just by the way he lived his life.

I think my favorite memory of my upbringing concerns an area which all teenagers covet, yet many parents fear, and struggle with greatly.  The drivers license and first car.  While my father was a very successful dentist and had the means to buy his kids a new car when they turned 16, he refrained from this.  Having seven kids, I think this was just good policy.

What was great though, was that while he didn't buy us a new car, he provided a "stable", if you will, of used cars for us to drive.  Being the youngest, when my closest brother left for college, I had my pick of the litter.  Here is that litter:

1.  1978 Chevy Citation
2.  1977 Datsun Pickup
3.  1971 Ford F150
4.  Tractor
5.  Horse

Of these, I chose the 1977 Datsun Pickup.  Many of my friends from high school will remember me driving this Canary Yellow,  yes, Canary Yellow, pickup for my entire high school career.  It also got great gas mileage and after touting this to a friend too many times as a rationalization for driving it, he said,  "Wow!  This car MAKES gas!", which I still find funny today.  What was great about this vehicle was that when it started rusting, dad decided to have it painted.  I was very excited at the prospect.  I thought a candy apple red would be nice, or a British racing green.  So one chilly fall Saturday in 1981,  my dad and I headed of  to start the process.  I assumed we were taking the truck to a body shop to have this done.  Instead, we went to Target, bought a Wagner spray painter and a couple gallons of canary yellow house paint.  The fear in me began to grow.

We headed back to the farm and my dad proceeded to tape off the truck so we would have a clean application.  I questioned this fiercely, or as fiercely as I questioned my dad ever.(read: never out loud).  Three hours later, the truck was finished.  A brighter yellow finish than the original, with the texture of semi-course sandpaper.  I didn't complain and actually congratulated my dad on what a great job he did.

I drove that truck for another three or so years until I left home for good.  I wasn't proud to be driving it, but I was grateful to have a car to drive at all.  The lesson here was that, at sixteen, a car is all about utility.  Getting from A to B.  This vehicle was reliable and it served me well.  Would I have preferred a Corvette or a Mustang...sure.  Would I be alive today had I gotten that wish...maybe not.

My dad provided me with exactly what I needed, not necessarily what I wanted.  So when my son Garrison got his license, while the temptation to buy him his own car was there, I looked back on that lesson and made the right choice.  He drove a 1995 Honda Odyssey minivan.  Funny thing though, Garrison actually thought it was okay.  He actually appreciated having something to drive at all.

So the lesson I learned was transferred to my son.  Be grateful for what you have and contentment will will be compulsory.  Thanks dad!

Break Even Teacher's Come In All Shapes and Sizes

Hi again BET's.  This has been on my mind for some time and I wanted to share it with you.  When I say someone is a BET, I don't necessarily mean in strictly a classroom sense.  You may be an engineer or a crossing guard.  You may be traffic cop or an avid bowler.  A BET to me is anyone with a passion for their subject that takes the time to be there for a student of the same. 

To illustrate I offer the video below.  This is Tommy Emmanuel.  He is one of my favorite artists and a world class guitarist.  He is a multimillionaire and doesn't need to sell more records.  At almost all of his concerts, he takes the time while he is in town to greet his many fans.  He not only greets them, more often than not, he takes the time to encourage them and listen to them.  Watch the video below, but don't focus on the guitar playing.  Watch closely what he makes important to him in this exchange.  "What are you working on?"  "Can I take a closer look?"  His stance is not so much what he can show them, but more about what he can do to show them how special they are.  I hope you enjoy this.  He is a true inspiration to me.