Thanks to the remarkable Marcelo Campoverde for sharing this cool 'teacherscribe' graphic with me. It's amazing, just like him!

This truck driver is a hero. What if we all had this mindset of service and sacrifice? The driver collided with the back of a school bus. He worked to free trapped children before passing away himself in the hospital.

We spend so much time working - and don't get me wrong - I'm all for working. In fact, if you're a believer, we were created to work, right? We get Sundays off, remember?

But why do so many people (close to 80%) report being uninspired, unengaged, and even hating their jobs?

It's not hard to explain this. It all comes down to two things: leadership and culture. In this book, Diasley helps us find ways to not just enjoy our jobs but to actually love them.

Our work is too important not to love it.

Week #5 – October 5-9

Teaching Thought #20 - It’s the Method that Needs Adjusting; Not the Student

I learned this during my third year of teaching. I had an absolutely amazing student, who was also my yearbook editor.

I had her for both American Lit and Yearbook/Journalism. In American Lit this student knew To Kill a Mockingbird inside and out. She just was scared to take the final test. She missed school and had fallen behind. The make test sat in the media center and it sat and sat and sat.

Finally, at the end of the quarter, I sat the student down in my Journalism class and asked her what was up. It was at that time that she mentioned how she hated tests - especially make up tests. She said she was always anxious about them and never did well on them. In other words, she was telling me that the test I had made up and designed wouldn’t really reflect all that she knew.

So I made a deal with her. If she stayed after school, we could discuss the novel. In doing so, our discussion would replace her score for the test. She stayed after school that day and I took out the test (it was a six page mulThoughtle choice beauty - or so I Thought. It even had four essay questions at the end).

Instead of rushing through and filling in the correct bubbles for the ones she knew right away and then going back and trying to discern the best answers to the ones that confused her, I just asked her to tell me about To Kill a Mockingbird.

She gave me a thorough summary, even though we finished it three weeks ago, off the top of her head! Then she delved into the main characters - even nailing that Atticus killed the rabid dog Tim Johnson, which was a tricky multiple choice question on the test. She talked about the symbolism. She argued that Tom Robinson was a better symbol for a Mockingbird than Boo Radley. She chastised the Heck Tate for covering up the fact that Boo had killed Bob Ewell, and she surprised the hell out of me when she said her two favorite characters were Miss Lafayette Dubose (she wanted to die beholding to nothing and no one) and Miss Maudie Atkinson (especially when she stood up for Atticus when Aunt Alexandra couldn’t at one of their luncheons when one of their contemporaries was talking bad about him).

Now, my original plan had been to just go through the test orally with her, but as I scanned the test, which I had on my desk, I realized she not only hit all of the key information on the test, but she actually went above and beyond!

I had no problem giving her 150/150 on the test, for the only perfect score that quarter! She earned it.

What I realized then was this vital teaching Thought - don’t try to adjust the student. Instead, adjust the method to the student.

Teaching Thought #21 - Seeming Rather Than Being

This is a quote I found in Matthew Kelly’s The Biggest Lie in the History of Christianity. Don’t worry. The Thought isn’t religious in nature. It’s a letter from a principal that he forwarded to the students’ parents.

I think it makes a great point in our digitally saturated lives.

Seeming Rather Than Being

A latin phrase that was shared with me once has always stayed in the back of my mind: esse quam videri, which translates into “to be rather than to seem to be.”

Let’s acknowledge the fact that all of us are tired of people who try to be something they aren’t.

I hope, in life, each of our children will work to be something they are rather than settle for seeming to be something they, in fact, are not.

While on the subject of seeming, social media platforms seem like such a waste of time to me. When our youth expose themselves to too great a degree to habits like these social platforms, they risk seeming rather than being. They are trying to present themselves as they wish to be (and wish to seem) and in doing so are belittle some measure of their own individuality and ressence, or who in fact they are. The impact on self-esteem that flows from this one sentence is disastrous.

On social media, our egos temps us to present ourselves how we would like others to see us, rather than as we really are, and by constantly exposing ourselves to other people’s mundane Thoughts ,we are unlikely to come up with original Thoughts of our own and develop a true sense of self.

One of my greatest hopes is that we will allow (and teach) our children to be comfortable and confident rather than succumbing to seeming as they embark on whatever journey is ahead of them.

Life is too short to waste time on social platforms. Like is too meaningful to worry about seeming when our children can and should be using that time being.

Esse quam videri.

I’m curious about a couple things here.

First, how can we help our students put down their devices and just be? Be present in the classroom. Be attentive to the moment. Be available for their classmates. Be aware of what we are challenging them with. Be intent on accomplishing something important. Of course, I could go on, but I think the more we can allow students to’be,’ the better off they will be (no pun intended there) in the future.

Second, how as teachers and adults can we model this for students? I recall how one students sheepishly acknowledged in class how he knew exactly when his teacher got an email because their computer made a little chiming noise. Then the teacher would dutifully march over to his computer to check. In my opinion, that isn’t good stewardship.

Be honest. If our students were constantly checking their statuses or updates, how angry would we be?

We have to model how to ‘be.’

I try to do this by instituting a cell phone jail. I put a large printer box on my desk. I tell students that we need to get a lot of work done today. We need to focus and get after it. I then put my phone in the box and get to work with them. I encourage them to do the same.

I’m always amazed - as are the students - at just how much work they can get done when they are busying ‘being’ in the class.

What ways can you help students be more than seem to be?

Teaching Thought #22 - Great teaching IS customer service

This is one of my favorite stories that I picked up from reading the iconic The Power of Moments by Chip and Dan Heath. It’s such a powerful book that I re-read it every single summer.

A mom and her two children stayed at the Ritz-Carlton, renowned for their customer service. Their father couldn’t attend because he was on a business trip. When they all reconvened at home, they made a horrible discovery, one of the kids’ favorite stuffed animals, a giraffe named Joshie, had been left behind at the hotel.

Of course, the father reassured his son that Joshie was fine and just needed a bit longer vacation. Then he called the hotel, hoping against all that they could find his son’s beloved stuffed animal.

The Ritz-Carlton staff found him in the laundry room. Not only did they send him back to the family, but they sent him as part of a care package full of freebies (a frisbee and football as well as Polaroids capturing what Johsie did in his free time on his extra day of vacation - he was lounging on a chair by the pool, he was working out in the gym, he was getting a massage . . .).

Obviously, this is customer service that goes above and beyond. But more importantly, think that family will ever book a stay at the Ritz-Carlton again? Of course they will! They know they’re in good hands.

Now contrast that with a place that has terrible customer service, like Wal-Mart. I know it’s easy to bash on them, but why? Because they don’t even attempt to serve their customers (otherwise, why are the self-checkouts so popular?)! This is why if I can order something via Amazon Prime and get it the next day, I’ll gladly spend more money to do that than drive to Wal-Mart.

So, do you want to be the Ritz-Carlton or do you want to be Thought of as Wal-Mart? Serve your students and they will love your class.

Teaching Thought #23 - Don’t Let Others Dim Your Light

This is an oldie but a goodie from George Couros. If you’ve taught long enough - or really done anything long enough - you know there are others who derive their joy from robbing you of yours. I don’t know if they are so miserable that they can’t stand anyone who isn’t miserable or what, but it’s a damn shame.

In his blog post, Couros offers four ways to not let negative people drag you down:

1. Be king, always. It’s hard to tear into someone who is always kind. This was H. He was always willing to help. In doing so, he never failed to show how much he cared. I recall when he learned we were moving to TRF. The first words out of his mouth when he saw me scrounging for boxes was “can I help you move?” Seriously. He was always so kind. As a result, who could ever say anything negative or mean about H? Exactly.

1. Ask questions. If someone criticizes you, simply ask questions in order not to take their criticism personally. If you ask enough questions, you’ll certainly see if the negative person in question is really trying to help you or if they are just spreading their misery on to you.

1. Move on and ignore. My new mantra for this is simply: “I’m glad you assume that I care what you think.” Then I move on. It might be a bit harsh, but I’m trying to positively impact kids here so they love learning, so they learn to write well, so they learn to think critically, so that they can’ wait to grow up and be an adult and have an amazing life. Thanks for expressing your opinion, but I don’t care. I have work to do.

1. Give back. Couros says it best: “If you want to be empowered; empower others.” Or as one of my favorites, Zig Ziglar said, “If you help enough people get what they want, you will get everything you want.”

Teaching Thought #24 - It’s okay to still have fun, part 3 - Surprise your Students with Food

I know Coach Mumm loves his Dilly Bars and is always quick to share them with his classes. And it matters. It shows you care.

What I like to do is bake for my students. Two of my favorites are my spicey pretzels and my double decker Rice Krispie bars with a layer of caramel in between.

When I bring these into my classes – about once a month or so – they know I appreciate and care for them. This says to them, look at what I did. I spent time making these for you. Why? Because I care and want you to enjoy them in class! That’s so important.

Other times, I will see if anyone is interested in ordering some breakfast pizza from P Main. We will take a quick survey, with students throwing in a couple of dollars - and I have a small stash fund for kids who don’t have any - and then we call it in. I’ll have a student run to grab it and bring it to class.

Students love this. Is it against the rules? Probably. Who cares? You know where I got the idea? Madison Brekke! She did this in my class her senior year. I’ve been doing it ever since.

Late this summer I had a chance to attend Kelly Lasalle's wedding. Kelly and I hit it off instantly when I had her as a freshman in composition and then as a junior in College Comp and as a senior in College Comp II.

Though I've written senior letters for years before Kelly's class graduated, I found myself so close to those in my College Comp II class that year (I think it was the fact that they were the first class that I embraced connecting with via texting on my cell phone).

When it came time for graduation, I wrote my senior letters to all of them. Well, when I attended Kelly's graduation party, at one table I saw my senior letter to Kelly framed along with some pictures of us over the years.

I didn't know it then, but that letter would serve as a constant source of inspiration to Kelly.

I realized this at the wedding when a bride's maid came to our table selling ticket for a drawing later in the night.

"Now, who are you?" she asked.

My wife said, "We are the Reynolds'. Kurt was Kelly's teacher."

Before she even finished her sentence, the bridesmaid asked, "What subject?"

"English," I said.

She smiled and said, "Nice to meet you" as she doled out our tickets. Then she stopped and said, "Wait a second. Are you the one who wrote the letter?"

"Yes," I said.

I'm alway surprised by the power of the senior letters. They take hours and hours to comprise, but as long as I get feedback like that - from strangers even - I'll keep doing them! Our work matters!

If you need a shot of inspiration or a dose of perspective, give this podcast from John O' Leary a listen.

The lessons are simple - People matter. Words matter. Wonder Matters.

The most important take away from me was for the second lessons, "Words Matter." After spending months and months recovering from his burns (remember, O'Leary was burned almost 100%), his parents were desperately searching for a doctor who could help him with his hands (due to the amputations, O'Leary was left with no fingers).

Finally, the found a radical doctor in Ohio. When they loaded the family up in the station wagon and headed across the country, they had hope in their hearts. Hope that John would be able to write and lead some type of normal life again.

However, when they met the doctor, and he looked at the severity of John's burns, he sat down at the desk in his office and appeared to mull things over.

After minutes of silence, John's father finally asked the doctor, "Well, what can you do, doctor?"

Now mind you, the room is filled with John and his parents as well as the doctor, of course.

It was at that point that John learned how much words matter, for the doctor simply replied, "If he was a horse, I'd take him out back and shoot him."

Can you imagine the heartbreak? What kind of person even entertains saying that? Let alone letting those words come out? In front of the boy's parents and the boy himself??

Thankfully his parents got John the hell out of there and found the next doctor, the one who taught John that Wonder Matters and changed his life forever.

We all have that power.

Mojo has some great content. This one is interesting, but there a dozens more for nearly every subject or interest.

My question is why can't we have students organize our content into top ten lists like this? Or why can't they create content like this? Think of all the skill creating a video or presentation like this would entail.

Twitter is the best PD I've ever had. I learn more in half an hour on Twitter than I did in my first decade of school sponsored PD.

I agree. But the question is how to keep that curiosity alive when so much about modern schooling (especially at the middle and secondary levels) is about drill and kill for high stakes testing that make schools look good (supposedly) but offers little value to students (so they might save a few grand on tuition - big deal. And show me a legit study that connects one's ACT score to long-term success and fulfillment in life)?

Some entrepreneur has to jump on this.

We can learn so much with just a click on Google or a search on Youtube or even a rabbit hole on Wikipedia, but we too often spend out time complaining on social media or watching funny cat videos.

Yes. Yes. Yes.

This is vision and leadership. No one does it better than Dr. Joe Clark. If I were in admin, I'd be following his every move (and reading his book).

Skitch. This is an app (and website) that allows you to annotate images. I use this every single day. If I want to draw attention to an error, I can take a screen capture and draw an arrow to it and share it with students. If I want to blur out a name or some information, Skitch allows me to do just that. Seriously, this is another tool I couldn't teach without.

I don't know if you're a professional/personal development junkie like I am, but this list from TED has some excellent suggestions for what to read next.

Keeping Kids Engaged at Home. That's no easy task. At all. Edutopia examines the science behind engagement and what works.

I am married to the most amazing person in the world, Kristie. It was love at first sight. At least for me. And it still is.

We have four wonderful children, Casey, Koko, Kenzie, and Cash. And now we have been blessed with five grandchildren!

I also happen to have the greatest job in the world: teaching English to high school students.

I am in my 23rd year of teaching at Lincoln High School. I graduated from Lafayette High School in Red Lake Falls in 1992. I decided to enter the field of education because of two amazing teachers, Mr. Mueller, my fourth and sixth grade elementary school teacher and assistant baseball coach, and Mrs. Christianson, my 9th grade English teacher.

I attended Northland Community College, and had my life changed by the amazing Dr. Diane Drake. Then I transferred to Bemidji State University in 1995. There I had amazing professors who further inspired me to teach English (Dr. Helen Bonner, Dr. Mark Christensen, Susan Hauser, and Gerry Schnabel). I graduated with my BS in English Education in 1997.

I student taught with the wonderful Lisa Semanko and then began teaching full-time at LHS in 1998.

I took a year's leave of absence in 2001-02 to return to BSU for my MA in English. There I had the privilege to teach and work closely with my greatest mentor, Dr. Mark Christensen. I earned my MA in English in 2006 and was honored with "Thesis of the Year" for my creative non-fiction, braided, multi-genre memoir, "Meeting Myrtle: A Biography."

In 2013, thanks to my dear friend and mentor, Dr. Jodi Holen, I was offered an adjunct teaching position fall semester at the University of North Dakota. Tuesday nights I teach Intro to Education: Teaching and Learning 250 from 5-8. Those three hours fly by in about ten minutes.

Then in 2016 I was blessed to win a WEM award (thanks to a nomination from a former student (and now an elementary school teacher), Ciera Mooney).

In 2017 I became part of the #pineconepd podcast club along with Brian Loe, Jeff Mumm, Kelsey Johnson, Kelly Weets, Josh Watne, Tevia Strand, Megan Vigen, Mariah Hruby, Laura Brickson, Loren Leake, Katie Hahn, Melora Burgee, and new members all the time. This has been one of the best forms of PD I've ever been a part of. They make me a better teacher every time we meet. Please think about joining us in the summer at the Pine Cone Pub from 6:30 - until we've solved all the world's problems. For that evening anyway.

Thanks to the inspiration of Shane Zutz (our former principal) I devised this as a way to distribute my Teaching Thoughts and add more content to, hopefully, help out and inspire others.

Email: kurt.reynolds@myprowler.org
Website: http://teacherscribe.blogspot.com
Location: 101 South Knight Aver Thief River Falls MN 56701
Phone: 218-686-7395
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kurt.reynolds.5?ref=bookmarks
Twitter: @teacherscribe