Gold Medal Blog

No one wants to talk about patience.  We don't have time for that.  In our fast paced, highly competitive world, patience is a character trait of the weak.  If we want to win we have to go, go, go!!  We are always looking towards the next thing.  While keeping our eyes forward is important, the fast paced hustle and bustle can cause us to miss the moment. I read an article a couple of years ago about anxiety.  The article compared anxiety levels in teenagers today.  The study stated that the average teenager today carries the same level of anxiety as a mental patient from the 1950s.  This statistic blew my mind.  As I examined why this was true and how I could help, I realized how this world we have created adds so much stress into our lives that the ability to find peace is almost non existent.  We work 40 hours a week.  But then when we get home we answer emails from the boss or text messages from a coworker.  We turn on the news.  We see war, famine, drought, devastation.  We sc

When Tom Coughlin took over as head coach of the New York Giants in 2004 he made some changes to the way the Giants approached their day.  His expectation was that when a meeting was scheduled or someone was supposed to be there, that person needed to be there and be ready to go at least 5 minutes prior to the arranged time.  His mantra was that being "on time" was late.  And being early was being on time.  While initially there was some resistance in the team, Coughlin eventually won them over to his way of thinking.  Being on time was a matter of respect for oneself and your teammates and it was a measure of responsibility.  After all, if I can't trust you to be on time, how can I trust you to win a football game?   When it comes to our students, we have a duty to help them to see the value in being on time.  It is about respect and responsibility.  We are working with kids to help them to develop skills they will need in the real world.  And being punctual is a real wo

 Anticipation: the art of knowing expecting something to happen.  When I look at the idea of anticipation, there are two main elements.  To accurately anticipate something, you have to have some knowledge of the subject.  Because my kids have a tendency to drop food at dinner, my dogs know who to sit by when we sit down to eat.  A good quarterback that studies film and practices well can anticipate a receiver coming open.  If he waits until he is open, it is too late.  As a cautious driver, I expect the cars around me to do something they shouldn't.  As a result, I am constantly on the look out to ensure my safety.  The key element in all these examples is that in order to effectively anticipate, I have to acquire some knowledge.  I new dog doesn't know where to sit at dinner so if something is dropped they may miss out.  A quarterback that doesn't prepare properly may misread a defense or overthrow his receiver.  A driver distracted by his or her phone will miss important

Yesterday I had the privilege of watching my son play football.  In fact, we have quite a few of our 5th and 6th graders on this team.  Our boys won the game comfortably 48-0.  In fact, the other team didn't even make a first down the entire game.  Our boys played a great game!!  The success of this team comes down to the fact that these boys had to listen to their coaches and then implement the game plan when they got onto the field.  The preparation, the practice and then the execution of the plan work together so that our kids and our team are set up for success. School success is the same.  If we get all the way to game day (tests, STAAR) and we haven't practiced well, the our chances of being successful go down dramatically.  Our kids have to prepare, practice and then execute, just like they do on the field or courts.  But so many times our kids are willing to put forward the effort and persevere in our athletics endeavors but they are not willing to put forward the same

 Like so many others from my generation, I remember where I was on September 11, 2001.  It was actually my first year in teaching.  I taught Algebra 1 first block at Airline High School in Bossier City, LA.  The truth is I didn't know anything had happened until another teacher came into my room and told me.  And then, there was silence.  We didn't learn a whole lot about Algebra the rest of the day.  It was too surreal.  President Bush, who was in Florida when it happened, left and came to Barksdale Air Force Base about 5 miles down the road from Airline.  The rest of the day Air Force jets crossed the skies above us to keep the President safe.  The whole scene was surreal. While we didn't learn much about math that day, many of my students got a lesson in heroism.  They saw and heard from first responders that were on the scene in New York and Washington D.C.  They heard the stories of people enlisting in the Armed Forces to help combat terrorism.  In so many ways, the ac

Hope.  We use this word a lot.  I hope I get that new job.  I hope I do well on this test.  I hope I make a lot of money one day.  The problem with this type of hope is that it is passive.  We see this so many times with our students.  They want so many things, they hope for so many things.  They hope to play in the NFL.  They hope to be a doctor or a lawyer.  They hope to be a Youtube star.  While hope is vitally important for our students, it is the action associated with that hope that is key to success.  We want our students to have hope.  In fact, I would argue, that this foundation is necessary for any success for our students.  They have to have a goal.  They have to have a dream.  That hope in a bright future is what is necessary so when the work gets hard, it is that hope that will sustain them.  But then we have to put in the work.  We talked with students this week about two things: respect and hard work.  The ability to work hard, no matter what we do in life, is important