Full Speed Mistake

I know full well the importance of maintaining balance. My obsessive tendencies have often led me to become fixated on things. I find myself held prisoner, sometimes for years, as I try and fail and learn and improve. The more complex and difficult the task, the more I'm consumed. The bigger the challenge, the stronger the grip. I simply can't help myself even though I realize it creates imbalance. Thus, I've spent my entire life trying to achieve and maintain balance. I've studied it, read about it, prayed for it, and had many conversations about it with people way smarter than me. What I've found is I haven't given myself enough credit for the level of balance I've achieved. The main reason: my definition of balance was too limited. Thankfully, I've continued to try, fail, learn, and improve. Today I share my completely non-scientific lessons about balance gained through a lifetime of pursuit. Embrace the ledge The ledge might be a little dang

In the Arapaho culture, the bear is revered and respected like few other animals. A word they use to name the bear is wox (pronounced wach), which describe the soul of the animal, emphasizing its strength and wisdom. A former player, who taught me this, said it was his favorite word for a bear because it means the bear is always teaching. He went on to say each time you encounter one in the wild, you learn a lesson. So, rather than avoid the bear, the Arapaho seek their wox. They crave learning. It immediately became my favorite word as well. Like most educators, I also love to learn. From that point forward, I hoped I could, one day, find my own wox. Some years later, I got the chance.  While fishing in the high country, a black bear came out of the woods to get a drink right next to my buddy Reggie. My other fishing friend Adrianne noticed and called out to warn him, but he thought we were only joking. The bear, while only about 10 feet away, was hidden on the opposite side o

One of the things I like most about Twitter Edchats are the little birdwalks that happen from time to time. This was the case one Saturday morning when I came across this post from my friend Brian on #leadupchat. The Edchat discussion was centered around educational drive, but Brian decided to exit the interstate a little early. Of course, I had to follow and was happy that a few others also flipped on their blinkers. I won't debate that saying a school is on "cruise control" is generally not a positive description. It brings to mind people doing the same old thing, year after year, without giving much thought to innovation or improvement on any level. This is not a good place be. But is the concept of cruise control really that bad, even when it relates to education? This is the side discussion we ended up having. It started innocently enough with Brian's post above, but ending up being very thought provoking. The reason cruise control exists is to hel