5 Issues with Gifted Education That I Have

As I continue to sort through bookmarks, past emails, correspondence, and handwritten notes I came across some great discussions a group of us were having on a listserv. From this conversation that I forgot about completely I went back to revisit some key ideas I wrote down. Here are some thoughts from my brain as I piece together some ideas. As always would love to hear your ideas about these.

The one thing that really bothered me as a gifted education teacher is, "What is gifted?" What is really at the core level of "gifted"? Speaking with many educators and administrators this past year at various conferences, online, and Twitter I think we have this umbrella of thoughts. I think many of us know what "it" is when we see it, but from school to school the parameters change. This bothers me greatly as a professional educator.

How can a student be "gifted" in one district, but not "gifted" in another?

This question drives me to the brink of insanity. Other things that drive me crazy are the misconceptions of gifted. I still am trying to wrap my mind around how to best address the following issues.

• Many educators describe a gifted learner as the teacher-pleasing high achievers. This is wrong as this is a performance. We need to know how they learn. What are exponential reasons why they might choose not to perform? Many teachers still believe in the many of the myths about gifted learners and this needs to be remedied.
• How do we best handle, identify, and stay proactive with underachieving students especially when there is pressure to keep them from the gifted program?
• Motivation or lack thereof is such a problem. How we help them find their passion to get going?
• Is it that they simply do not care?
• Is it just a natural byproduct and a stage in development?
• The whole notion of a certain % of population MUST be gifted. We need to cater to who is really in need of a service and not get wrapped up in having enough numbers or cutting others off who could benefit from the service.
• Talent can be developed, but giftedness is something they were naturally born with.

Okay, so just some thoughts. Weird that as I depart my job as a gifted education teacher my fire still burns intensely for these students. What I struggle with now personally is the whole idea of "gifted". Can it be developed? What happens if it is not developed or worked with? Is there a need for a "gifted" label? Or the one that drives many people crazy, do we all have a gift and it comes down to if it fits into the criteria of the school?

The one thing that really bothered me the most is that there is not a lot of consistency. You talk to one school and they do this and another school does that. I think as a nation there needs to be a clear set of criteria to help identify and work to find a definition that works best. I don't believe there is one right answer because this does not exist in education and never will. But, there needs to a be a method at properly identifying gifts and figuring out how to best service these needs. Just my two cents worth.

Thoughts?

Book Review: Decisive by Chip and Dan Heath

Book Description

Publication Date: March 26, 2013

Chip and Dan Heath, the bestselling authors of Switch and Made to Stick, tackle one of the most critical topics in our work and personal lives: how to make better decisions.　
   Research in psychology has revealed that our decisions are disrupted by an array of biases and irrationalities: We’re overconfident. We seek out information that supports us and downplay information that doesn’t. We get distracted by short-term emotions. When it comes to making choices, it seems, our brains are flawed instruments. Unfortunately, merely being aware of these shortcomings doesn’t fix the problem, any more than knowing that we are nearsighted helps us to see. The real question is: How can we do better?

   In Decisive, the Heaths, based on an exhaustive study of the decision-making literature, introduce a four-step process designed to counteract these biases. Written in an engaging and compulsively readable style, Decisive takes readers on an unforgettable journey, from a rock star’s ingenious decision-making trick to a CEO’s disastrous acquisition, to a single question that can often resolve thorny personal decisions.

   Along the way, we learn the answers to critical questions like these: How can we stop the cycle of agonizing over our decisions? How can we make group decisions without destructive politics? And how can we ensure that we don’t overlook precious opportunities to change our course?　

   Decisive is the Heath brothers’ most powerful—and important—book yet, offering fresh strategies and practical tools enabling us to make better choices. Because the right decision, at the right moment, can make all the difference.

My Thoughts

Another must read! This was another good summer read. This book opened my eyes to the process of decision making. We all make decisions thousands of times a day so in many ways we are experts. However, what I like about this book is that it helped me to understand decision making process and what goes into our every decisions.

The authors go into the system on how to make valid decisions. They walk you through the steps of how to make a proper decision and how to identify the the issues that can cause us to make incorrect decisions.

I took down a ton of notes on my Evernote page. I look forward to having a Twitter chat on this book and the ideas. I have found this book to being pivotal at a time in my life when I had a major decision to make. Using the tools and questions provided I feel that I made the right choice.

If you have read the other books by these authors, then you know what you are going to get. Quality writing with useful ideas that anyone can implement.

Another solid read and will be using these skills and tools over and over and again!

My new job! Change can be daunting!

I will be heading into my 10th year of teaching this fall. In the past 9 years I spent the last 4 years as a gifted education teacher. During my time as a gifted education teacher I have really immersed in this field and primarily how to meet the needs of children in the classroom. I have found a deep passion for gifted education in general and have worked very hard to be one of the best teachers that I could be.

Towards the end of the school year a new position in our district was created. This job is an Instructional Coach. The thought of this job intrigued me. I am not sure why, but I really felt an urge to take on this position. The job requires one to help with curricular areas grades 6-8 primarily in science and social studies, meet with teams to help review assessment data, plan instruction to meet PBL and Common core, model and/or team teach, help provide feedback to teachers, work with administration, and help to lead professional development.

As I talked with many people and spent countless hours stressing with my wife about what to do I decided to go for it. It was not easy because I do love my gifted classes that I teach. It was not like I dreaded what I was doing, but at the same time I could feel a sense of burnout slowly creeping much in the way that it did when I started out teaching sixth grade(why I moved to gifted).

I was fortunate enough to get the job. I am quite excited. The excitement does come with nerves as the future is now a little blurry. I don't know what it looks like, but that is part of the fun. I have several challenges ahead of me and I am excited to come back and connect and network with teachers. I look forward to connecting online with other instructional coaches and learning. It is all about learning and this gives me a new chapter in my life to push my learning boundaries.

The one thing I will not do is leave gifted education completely. I might not be teaching it anymore, but my passion for it is just as strong. I will continue to stay current in the research and help meet the needs of these students when I get a chance while networking with the teachers and classrooms. One thing I did learn this year through one project is that there are so many more amazing kids doing amazing things that are not labeled "gifted" that I must connect with. Over the last four years I have been able to connect and work with some of the coolest kids ever, but my reach has been limited to this population. This new job will allow me to stretch and reach all kids and that is a huge seller for me.

I did not write this post because I felt that everyone should know about the job. I wrote this post for my own benefit. I still have days where I get a little nervous about the job and question decisions I have made. You cannot look backwards and stress about the past, but until the school year starts it is hard to sit around and not do so.

I have already begun to fill my schedule with some big challenges for the year besides the new job, but feel it all connects in the big scheme of things.

1. I will be presenting two times at the World Council for Gifted and Talented in Kentucky. This is by far the largest platform I have ever been accepted to speak at in my life. The theme is creativity so it should be a great one!

2. I have decided to write a book this year. I am starting by turning my Twitter course into an ebook and then moving on to writing a book for teachers. Still working on framework at this point.

3. During the school year I would like to create an edcamp type event. One for parents and the community and another one for students. These are my two big goals for the school year to help bridge connections. I think it could be stellar!

4. Simply be the best I can be at my new job!

There you have it. As you can see some big change coming. At times it can be scary, but the excitement that comes from change is so worth it. I am ready!

Passion Is Key To Education

Here I am in the summer. School has been out for over 3 weeks and I am super excited about the learning taking place.

Earlier in the year starting in April I had some students work with Angela Maiers on her Choose2Matter project which is all about students pursuing their passions in life.

As I have time to help out with my Storytelling team for this project I am so impressed by the students who are still working throughout the summer. It is not all of them who were working during the school year, but to see any student in the summer still working is so exciting to me! It gives me great hope to continue to push down the path of PASSION! I am reading the books of Angela and through my own various projects I continue to see how powerful passion can really be when it comes to education.

Over on the site you can see the projects submitted by students from all over the world including the awesome Bettendorf students(sorry, had to put a plug in for my school and students!)

Talking with some educators the other night I was thinking about how awesome this project has been for me. It has helped to reshape my focus on education. It opened up my eyes to how amazing students are no matter their background, intelligence, or grades. I have kids as young as 6th grade working social media like they have been doing it for 15 years. I have a 7th grader creating videos along with his very own published music showcasing his talents in multimedia. I have several students whose projects showcase a side of them that schools have never allowed them to showcase before. Going through the projects in the link above and working with the students who are part of the Dream Team behind the scenes making this project happen has ignited my PASSION for learning and teaching.

As I pursue a new job in the fall, one of the key benefits will be my scope and reach with so many students. I will be able to expand beyond just the gifted population and help all students find their passion and purpose along with teachers. I look forward to the opportunity. I look even more forward to where this Choose2Matter project will lead next. I really believe it has just begun.

Angela Maiers energy and passion is contagious. I have yet to meet her in person, but just through social media her energy and excitement permeates through the computer screen. She along with others has been a great breathe of fresh air to me this past year and summer. She has helped me find a new path in my educational platform and helped to fine tune my thoughts and ideas.

I really hope to continue to work with Choose2Matter because through working with this project my own passion has increased and my own project of expanding my reach to many students of all shapes, sizes, ages, and backgrounds has just begun.

Please take time to check out the project links. They are really amazing!

Here are my prior posts about this project

1. Email to teachers
2. Teacher Reflection #2
3. Teacher Reflection #1
4. Crowdsource Video
5. What Am I Teaching?

Time of Disruption: Education Looks Like Marketing & Business....

...........because I think that we are both (business and education) in a time of rapid change and disruption. This change is happening every single day whether we are paying attention to it or not.

It is how the world operates anymore. People are taking stances and fighting for change against the giants.

I say all this with a hope of optimism and with positive tones from my voice.

Business and education are in position where the customers and students are ahead of the brands and teachers that are there to serve them. Consumers and students are more connected, informed, networked, and collaborating than ever before. This is allowing them to become more intelligent on their own time and terms.

This is not to say that they don't need our guidance as business and teachers/educators, but it is time we all wake up to this realization.

Speaking with the forward thinkers and working in a district with certain administrators that are two steps ahead of the game and fighting the weight of decision makers not always ready for change we must be ready to change our old ways. This is not to say the old ways are bad. It is just that they no longer work like they used(or if they ever did to begin with!).

What are you going to do as an educator? Many of us attend conferences, read books, connect online, and look for the next bit of wisdom to help us improve. Others do the same, but are scared to implement.

It is time to put fear aside.

It is time to quit looking the other way.

It is time to get excited and embrace this state of change. This state of thinking where we can liberate our students to pursue their passions. This state of education where teachers can begin to fight the stress of test taking and fight for the right to teach kids, not tests!

We can do it. Continue to seek wisdom and insight. Continue to fight for what  you believe. Continue to stay passionate about helping our students prepare for the future that is so wide open.

It is time. Are you ready?

Being Genuine Is Key To Being AWESOME! #coffeechugPLN #tic13

Such a simple concept, but incredibly powerful idea.

Last night I had the opportunity to drive to Dubuque to meet up with Vicki Davis aka Cool Cat Teacher. I was not able to attend the #TIC13 conference going on in Dubuque on Tuesday and today, but I was able to make the drive to have dinner. I would not miss the chance to sit and chat with Vicki who has helped me as both a mentor and guide the last few years. She may not even realize it as this was actually the first time we were able to meet up in person. Working with her online through her Flat Classroom projects and courses is how we have connected and stayed in contact.

What I like best about Vicki besides all of her amazing ideas, thoughts, presentations, and classroom advice is the fact that she is genuine. She is down to earth and just a welcoming person. I always feel lucky when she emails back and especially last night when I was able to have dinner with her, but besides the feeling of sitting with greatness she gives off such a low key normal vibe that not everyone is able to do. It would be easy for her to think quite highly of herself and never consider the notion of meeting someone like me for dinner.

I was also able to meet and talk with some other amazing women as well from the Keystone AEA who is putting on the conference. It was a great pleasure to meet Bev Burns who I cannot believe I have not connected with earlier than last night. We brainstormed the potential for some great things that could be developed with Bald Eagle Project I conducted this past school year. She is from Decorah and therefore uniting the Decorah camera and the ALCOA camera has the potential for greatness. I woke up early this morning and started hashing out ideas that came into my head this morning.

It was also wonderful to meet Eric Sheninger who I follow online via Twitter, his webinars, and website. Just to listen to his ideas and answers to questions was a pleasure.

The reason I share all of this is because on my drive home what impressed me most is how genuine everyone was last night. Intelligence and insights aside I felt right at home last night. Vicki embraced me as soon as I walked in the restaurant. It felt so normal to be there talking with people I have never met in person before. This shows how powerful social media has become when we meet people in person for the first time and we already know so much about one another.

Transitioning this idea is simple. I need to stay genuine myself. I must never lose sight of this idea as I continue to pursue life goals of mine. When teaching this also holds true. Being real and genuine with students is the first key concept to building rapport. Being genuine is the key to building rapport with anyone whether a student, child, parent, teacher, or administrator.

I got home last night excited for teaching. Just sitting with greatness(all 6 of you at the table!) my brain was in a frenzy. I am ready. I had so many ideas spinning in my mind. I jotted many of them down and was up early this morning to reflect and pursue them more. I wish I could be at the conference today to pick their brains even more.

Thank you for a great dinner Vicki! Vicki Davis you are the best! You have helped to shape me in more ways than you know and last night was a great opportunity for me to meet one of my mentors!

I am bummed I missed her sessions and keynote yesterday. I might have missed her key ideas, but I was able to see her genuine passionate personality and that is something more valuable than anything.

Bev and everyone else who I met last night it was a great pleasure and I look forward to hopefully connecting and pursuing future goals and projects.

I love it when my excitement and passion for education takes off! Time for coffeechug to keep going down the path of life goals.

#coffeechugPLN Summer PD and 2013-2014 School Year Goal

I have been laying low on the blog and other social media websites. Just taking a break from it all to restore my energy, explore new avenues during the summer, and prepare for another great school year that begins in over a month.

This summer I have decided through my reflection, declutter, organizing, and brainstorming days that I will finally tackle the goal that I have had on the back burner for many years. I think I am finally ready to write my first book. This book will be about education. It will be about teaching along with ideas, strategies, and things I have used in the classroom as well as other ideas I have gathered over time.

As I slowly begin to prepare to tackle this massive task I have decided to seek some input from others. I have created a form for teachers to share ideas about what they want to know more about. If you had a chance to read a book to empower you as a teacher what would this book contain? I am very slowly piecing things together in my mind and will begin to outline in July with writing starting in August. I have time to weave in many new ideas and thoughts.

So if you could take just 5 minutes to help share with me ideas I would be forever grateful. This link to the form will ask you four very easy questions.

Thank you so much and as always I will be documenting my journey writing and sharing out various pieces along the way for feedback. I love to crowdsource as I believe it only makes everyone better.

Let the new goal begin!

Present Shock: Power of Social Media

From the book Present Shock

According to research by Microsoft, 75% of human resources departments do online research about their candidates, utilizing search engines, social networking sites, personal blogs, and even photo sharing sites............

Did someone else snap a photo of you while you were drunk at her party?......

This ends up favoring the past over the present.

....every transient thought or act becomes an indelible public recording. Our resumes are no longer distinct from our dating histories. It's not just the line between public and private activity that has vanished, but the distance between now and then.

My Thoughts

Wow! I share this idea with my wife and the first thing we both said was thank goodness we are not growing up in these times! This is very real and very scary. It is scary because how good of a job are schools, parents, and communities doing to teach the kids about social media and the long term consequences. I know many kids don't think that far down the road, but it is our job to help them. Have you ever just done a general search of your kids online via Twitter, Instagram, FB, etc.? Not that you are looking for bad stuff or to get them in trouble, but just to see the world they are living in? I often wonder how the sharing of the things they share will affect their future jobs and careers? Will there be consequences for sharing the adolescent and very real thoughts of middle and high school students online? We all have been through that tough phase of life and thought all the good and bad thoughts that go on during those turbulent years. We were lucky enough to not have a platform to share it with the world. The kids today do and how will that impact them when they are older and wiser?

We live in a day and age where you may learn from your mistakes, but you can never start fresh. Everything is documented. Everything is available for others to find. This will either lead to a new way of thinking and understanding for the future generations where they are all in the same boat together or could have very negative consequences. Only time will tell.

Thoughts?

Hottest and Longest Run of Year To Date

After a weekend spent back in Indiana with family which pretty means eating around the clock, I woke up this morning and knew I had to get some mileage in early this week. I head to Dave Matthews Band concerts this weekend for the annual guy trip and therefore I need to get my mileage in before leaving because I doubt any running will be had while tailgating and dancing to the shows!

This morning I slept in a bit and around 9:30 I headed out. It was already a bit hot and very little breeze. I had not hydrated well all weekend so I knew I had to be careful, but also I knew I needed to get out for a longer run.

I did not feel too bad at first taking things nice and easy. My goal right now is not pace, but just getting back to enjoying running again. I have been in a year slump of hating running. I have decided to tackle the challenge of enjoying the run again and therefore I am running several times a week to get back in the flow.

As the miles went on I became hot. I soon remembered how this body does not take heat well. Around mile 5 I was able to stop at a water fountain and splash water on my face and head to cool down. This felt great. At this point I did not feel terrible.

Around mile 6 I stopped sweating which is never a good sign. I made myself finish up that mile and mile 7 I forced myself to walk .2 miles to just cool down a bit and not push too hard. I was able to finish up strong.

This was not an easy run. This is actually the longest run I have done all year. How sad is that? Here it is June already and this is my first 8 miler. Looking back on my training plans from 2011 when I ran my first marathon did help me. I was looking at things and noticed that I was not too far off in terms of training and point in the year compared to 2011 and actually this was when I started riding my bike for the first time. I was riding a Schwinn bike and only riding 4-10 miles. Despite my frustrations of not being in the shape I wanted to be in this year I have to take a step back and remember that I cannot burn myself out and was right in this spot two years ago. Baby steps is what I have take and I will slowly get myself back to where I want to be. I have to remember to keep pushing, but not to the point where I burn out and put myself back in the position I am in.

After water, smoothies, and a good lunch I will get my legs and mind ready to keep running for the next three days to get my mileage in for the week. I need to get to 26 miles. A nice easy run tomorrow and another long run Wednesday.

Midweek Exercise Update

To help hold myself accountable I am back to sharing my exercise in the quest to get back into the shape I was once in this time last year.

Monday - I started back to running. I need to find the joy I once had with running. I think I burned myself out from running by worrying about pace and time and splits all the time. I need to get back to just remembering the simple joy of running. One foot in front of the other.

I am jumping into a marathon plan, but not worry about pace, time, or actually even running a marathon. I needed a basic structure to follow to give me some guidance.

I ran 4 miles which was a great starting distance to get back into the swing of things. It helps to have Chad running with me so we can keep things easy and allow us to just chat about stuff. This really helps pass the time and keeps you out of your own head.



Tuesday - After an open water swim Sunday I knew I had some more work to do in the pool. Swimming is probably my strongest sport right now as I  have not missed a swim workout in a while.
Today I decided to mix it up and did a workout I saw in Triathlon magazine to do something completely different from what I have been doing. This was a tough workout. I have not crossed the 3000 yard swim barrier in a very, very long time.

800 warm up - 200 free, 200 kick x2
12 x 25 on :30 working on descent of stroke count - My stroke count was high hovering at 15-16. I was able to get that down to 13-14 by the end. This is way too high.
500 - 25 fast/75 normal - This was a gasser
4 x 150 on 3:00 - I did one set free, one kick, one free, one kick to work on swimming with tired legs
500 pull with 3/5/7 breathing - I did 50 at 3 breath, 50 at 5, 50 at 7, etc. 7 was a tough. I hate that panic feeling of not having oxygen. It was good for me to work on this.
8 x 50 - 3 fast at every :50 and 4th one easy at 1:10 - It is amazing how fast the time goes between sets. I would finish roughly around 40 seconds so the 10 seconds flies by.
100 cool down kick




Wednesday - Today was another 4 mile run. Felt much better despite more humidity and heat. Feels good to get out and run. I don't always want to do the run in the morning, but feel really good afterwards.

Finding the joy in exercise, creating routine, and taking a break from school

This summer I have found myself all over the place. I have a long list of things to do and just seem to be in an unorganized mess. After a week of doing nothing, I have slowly turned things around. A lot of new things developing and a fresh look on my future as things have come my way.

The last two weeks I have found myself at the highs and lows of life and just trying to make sense of it all. Amanda and I have been decluttering our house and despite being a bit tense as we do things a bit differently it feels good to get rid of stuff.

I have also found the joy in exercise again. I have been off and on lately starting up with training plans for this race or that. I hit a wall. Hard for me to admit, but I lost the love of training. I still felt the benefit of exercise, but was not excited.

Over the weekend I swam at Lake G for the first open water swim and really enjoyed that. I ran the other morning nice and easy with a great friend and this morning had a killer swim workout in the pool. I just need to get back to enjoying these things because my life seems much more in harmony that when I am being active.

I have not posted much on the blog this summer and have just a few random things online here and there. It has felt good to step back a bit and just get away from it all. I still lurk and still bookmark things of interest. I am not going completely nomad style, but just recharging my batteries to get ready for another round of awesomeness.

I hope that others are enjoying their summers and time off. So much to do, but don't forget to take that time for yourself.

Things I plan on doing.

1. Recording my exercise here on the blog again to help with accountability.
2. Continue to downsize all the stuff I have
3. Plan out the next round of #coffeechugPLN chats
4. Get ready to start sharing out new projects and ideas
5. Enjoy the summer!

The goal is to do more with less

Powerful Quote on Gifted Children

"It is surprising that very highly gifted children do not rebel more frequently against the inappropriate educational provision which is generally made for them. Studies have repeatedly found that the great majority of highly gifted students are required to work, in class, at levels several years below their tested achievement. Underachievement may be imposed on the exceptionally gifted child through the constraints of an inappropriate and undemanding educational program or, as often happens, the child may deliberately underachieve in an attempt to seek peer-group acceptance".

� Miraca U.M. Gross₄

Summer PD experiment #2: Digitalizing Notepads to Evernote

Here is the next batch of things I typed into Evernote this morning. Each morning I am tackling one notepad, folder, or stack of papers. I am not recording everything just the ones that I think are useful for a later date.

Here is a link to previous blog posts about my Summer PD

Today I tackled the black folder. This has some awesome project ideas that I need to figure out the best way to get into Evernote, but scattered in the folder were many random pages of notes from readings of books I would assume. Too bad there was not titles recorded.

Ideas?

Virtual Pitchfire

• 60 seconds
• Intro, problem, solution, and resources

School Ideas

• Pitchfork?????
• Monthly/Bi-Monthly Teacher PLN

Always remain open and experimentative, always ready to walk a path you have never walked before. Who knows? Even if it proves useless it will be an experiment.

A problem can be dropped so easily if you understand that it is you holding the problem, not the problem holding you.

Whatever you try to deny becomes very attractive.

Who are we without labels?

A good thing and not so good as nothing.

Try to experience oneness.

No matter how extreme a situation is it will change. It cannot continue forever. Fire cools. Water seeks its own level.

Without imbalance there would be no movement in life.

In midst of extreme situations, wise stay patient.

The closer something comes to completion the harder and more definite it becomes. The ends comes from the shaping.

Actions in life are reduced to two factors: Positioning and Timing

We can be in the right place at the right time and still miss the moment

Position is useless without awareness

All things happen together

Here is to the pens that make your handwriting look amazing.

Never test the depth of water with both feet.

Small steps to make incremental improvement

The key is no setbacks

Take a few minutes each day in silence to visualize, pray, give thanks, reflect.

Maintain a sense of self control

Friendship is made to have mutual benefits

World is an echoing place - we throw anger, anger comes back.

Doubt is a barrier

A line is a dot that took a walk - Paul Klee

We are the product being sold

From the book Present Shock

It's as if we are slowly connecting everyone to everyone else and everything else. ...If everyone in the world is your Facebook friend  then why have any Facebook friends at all? We're back where we started. The ultimate complexity is just another entropy. Or as Cheryl put it, "everything is everything."

Later in the book

This is the Facebook reality, in which we operate under the false assumption that we are the users of the platform, when we are actually the product being sold.

Nothing is personal. This may be the hardest lesson for victims of present shock to accept: it's not about you.

Thoughts?

Interesting concepts as I am working on unplugging a bit more and more over the summer to take a much needed break from the obsession I have with the internet. I carve out a time in the morning and trying to go longer and longer without checking my phone every 10 seconds.

I often wonder if we truly ACCEPT this idea shared above. Or is it more that we just don't care?

Digitalizing Notepads to Evernote - White Notepad Part 1

Part of my summer PD is to declutter my life. I have some experiments already underway with sleep and alarm clocks.

The next step is to declutter all my notepads, notes, folders, and thousands of pieces of paper with my notes scribbled all over them.

I will be archiving them in Evernote(the good ones anyways) and sharing them here.

Get ready for the randomness. If you see something good let me know.

You can push your level of hustle up a notch for games, but you won't push your performance level up a notch unless you learn to hustle in practice.

excuses are misplaced energy, focus, and time

ETDMTYS (Et - D - Mitas)

"Expect to do more than you share"

It is right in your face. This moment. It is handed to you. --Yuanwu

What are you waiting for?

Here it is - right now. Start thinking about it and you miss it. Huang Po

Time With My Kids - May The Force Be With You

Robodog Summer Camp Has Arrived!

I have spent all day putting the finishing touches on the next batch of robot missions for our Robodog Summer Camp.

This year we have more students than ever before. Two full sessions of 32 students ready to learn, experiment, and challenge themselves.

I decided to challenge myself and set out to create my very own mission boards. I found some boards in my room and began to brainstorm. I have been brainstorming for quite some time now, but just was not sure what angle to take.

This morning I finally laid out all ideas and came up with a plan that I think will work. I am excited to see how the students go about solving the challenges.

We have everything from easy to very difficult to see how they go about dealing with different issues as this all part of the season of First Lego League. What do you do when you simply don't know the answer?

Check out our Robodog website for more information - http://robodogs.wikispaces.com/

Summer PD Experiment #1: Waking Up To Alarm Clock and NOT iPhone

I think the first stop is establishing waking up at 4 am like I used to do in order to be productive. I have lost this piece and I think part of it is due to motivation, but my system in flawed.

I used to wake up like clockwork early in the morning in order to get my workouts done before my family would wake up. This gave me great peace of mind knowing I could have some morning solitude, workout, and be home before anyone was out of bed.

Lately, I have been struggling waking up. I overslept three days this week and missed my workouts. I make great excuses and know myself well enough to know that if I don't get things done in the morning they never get done.

Time for change

Experiment #1: Use old school alarm clock and not my iPhone

My iPhone is an issue. I have noticed that since using my iPhone and keeping it at my bedside I oversleep, stay up much later, and am not sleeping as good as I could be.

So long Candy Crush, email checks, FB updates, Twitter checks, and online reading.

It is not needed.

My iPhone will remain on the main floor at night so I am not tempted to look at this screen late in the night or while laying in bed.

Time to get up and make things happen.

Not only will my sleep improve while getting up in a routine again, but it will give me time for solitude to think and reflect before becoming glued to my devices. This is part of experiment #2, but for now working on this one will be enough.

Finding my routine? Where are you and how do I get back on track.

Summer is upon me.

One week down.

I have not gotten anything done and yet I don't feel recharged or rested either.

What I have found is that I need to establish a routine, a system, a pattern to my life in order to get things done.

Starting doing lots of reading.

My summer PD if you call it will be all about digging into the patterns of the body and mind to help best utilize my time.

I have so much going on and yet I am not getting much of anything done.

I will be documenting these changes and experiments. Some very simple and others will be challenging.

It is time to quit wasting time by filling my days with mindless stuff that gets me nowhere.