Living on Edge of Chaos Podcast - Episode 4 - 5 Questions on Passion Driven Classroom

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Show Notes

This show will focus on the following 5 questions based on my prior podcast on Passion
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/coffeechug-cafe-episode-1/id438001112?i=162564070&mt=2

Questions/thoughts I have been thinking about:

1.  How can I balance a passion with reality?  Seems like when I have a passion, it can turn in to an obsession where I am thinking about the topic and wanting to work on various tasks related to the topic all of the time, which can then take away from time I need to be spending with my family and the mundane chores (dishes, laundry, etc.) that need to be done.  I've been trying to think of ways to balance the two.

2.  If I  am in one of the "valleys" where I don't seem to be passionate about anything, how can I get "fired up" again?  Maybe watch motivational videos, reading blogs, keep up on the latest and newest technologies?

3.  Can passion turn into stress if I get too absorbed?  (Back to the whole finding a balance idea)

4.  How can I address 100+ students' passion in my classroom? I am brainstorming ideas  for projects where students can work on a topic that they are passionate about.

5.  I am still thinking about the question, "What is my wow?"  I am wondering if it would be beneficial to do an activity with my team where we share with other team members what we see as their strengths.  For me, it is easier to see other people's strengths than my own.  This might help to identify my wow.


Theme Song: All credit goes to 

https://twitter.com/BigRonCrowley
https://twitter.com/schink10

Book Review: The Passionate Teacher by Robert Fried #coffeechugPLN #bookreview

Title: The Passionate Teacher

Author: Robert Fried

It would only make sense that I read any book that deals with passion and education being that this has been a major platform of mine this year.

Doing some research into the merits of passion and how far you pursue this mindset lead to this author Robert Fried.

I had never heard of him or any of his work. I was lucky enough to find a copy of this book at one of the libraries here in the state of Iowa. The book is 12 years old, but was such a breath of fresh air to my mind.

This book brought a lot of new ideas to my mind and challenged some of the things that I was developing on my own.

I found this book to be quite important to my reading and development as an educator. What I liked best about this book is that he offered practical ideas, units, and forms to use to help transform our thoughts and teaching.

As I work to develop my own book on education I realized that I must do the same. If I am going to challenge a system, I must come up with how I would actually go about making the change.

I took about a half of a legal notepad full of notes. I would be willing to share my thoughts and ideas. If interested let me know and I will send the link to my Evernote.

At the end of the day, there has to be a balance between the passion of the teacher and the interest of the students. If your passion is in education, then the role of student voice must play a part.

This book drove home many new ideas for me, but more importantly it reinforced some key concepts that I have been focused on personally.

To have passion grants us a way of honoring our life's work. We must show our students what it means to be passionate learners. 

We are role models for what we are still learning, not what we already know. This is a monster mind shift for many educators.

Teachers wear success so hesitantly. We need to broadcast and share. Students need us to help them discover the right questions.

Change must be quality and not just a trend.

Teachers need to go for it. It is time to go with our hearts and gut instinct and make it happen.

How are you going to be stay out of trouble? This should be the question for teachers. We should be experimenting more and testing out new ideas and ways of teaching. If we feel safe, then we are not really pushing ourselves as learners and teachers.

Challenge yourself as a learner so you stay passionate

In closing this was a great read. One that I am so happy I found. Rarely do I go back and read books more than a few years old, but this one exception made me realize that perhaps I should change this reading rule. If you are looking for some ideas about changing your ways and more insight on passion driven teaching, then this one must be on your nightstand.

#CoffeechugCAFE Podcast Series: Living on Edge of Chaos - Episode 1

I am back to the podcasting world.

This episode is the first of my new podcasting series titled, "Living on the Edge of Chaos"

This particular run of podcast episodes will focus on the cutting edge ideas that are not yet mainstream, but will hopefully one day be something that all educators implement into their teaching.

This podcast series is my personal edge of chaos goal by creating a weekly show.

I give much support and thanks to Vicki Davis (@coolcatteacher) for helping me get back into the game of podcasting to help share out my ideas beyond just this blog.

As always, I would love for you to leave any feedback or comments on iTunes, this blog, or Twitter (@coffeechugbooks)

I would really love a ratings and/or reviews on iTunes to help get my messages heard by more people. I would be eternally grateful if you took 5 minutes to do so. Let me know if you do and I will send you Thank You Note!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/coffeechug-concepts-podcast/id438001112?mt=2

Here is the episode

Soundcloud


https://soundcloud.com/aaronmaurer/living-of-the-edge-of-chaos

This link will link you to all previous episodes
http://coffeechug.podomatic.com/entry/2013-11-03T12_37_41-08_00




The song intro was created by the iTunes app Figure - https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/figure/id511269223?mt=8

3 Levels of Passion #coffeechugPLN #bettpassion #coffeechugPLN

It was not too long ago that I gave my first presentation on my current self PD - Passion at the World Council of Gifted and Talented Center.

Since then, I have continued to toy around with the concept as I know I am not quite where I want things to be. It has been a pursuit to really identify the issue that I am trying to battle and solve.

I have done some illustrations to work through my ideas.

Just a few weeks back I crafted my latest sketch where I was digging deeper into this notion of passion.




























Working with students on our latest project titled BettPassion and speaking with teachers and other people online I reached this idea that there are three levels of passion. Right now I am giving them the names of Fans, Hobbies, and Career.

Fans - this is what I consider Level 1. This is where you have a passion for something in your life, but your skill set is very low or does not exist for this particular passion. This makes you a fan. For example, I love college football. I watch my Notre Dame Fighting Irish every weekend. I love it! However, I am not equipped with the skills or body to be a collegiate athlete(disregard the age factor!). I could never play at that level. Being a fan allows me to sit and enjoy the game I love. No problem and nothing wrong with this.

Hobbies - this is what I consider Level 2. At this level you have passion for something, but as opposed to not having any skills, you actually do have skills with this passion. The problem at this level is that there is not a "market" for this combo and therefore you are not able to sustain a living. This becomes a hobby. It makes you happy, you love challenging yourself, and you devote a lot of time to it, but you cannot make enough income to go full time. For me, that would be blogging and nerd toys. I love experimenting with both. I devote a lot of time, resources, and manpower working on my blog as well as tinkering with the latest and greatest nerd toys. I would also say that triathlons fit this bill as well. Regardless, I cannot make a living off of these items. Actually, these hobbies cost me money! They do help give me a purpose to my life.

Career - the last level is Level 3. This has the perfect intersection of passion, skills, and a market. When you find this intersection of all three you have found your career. It is at this point that you no longer have a "job" because you should be loving what you are doing. You have a chance to live your passion while making a living off it. This is the sweet spot and a place we should all try to achieve. This is something that is attainable for anyone. Talking with many people and some who disagree with my platform(who I love for challenging my own thinking!) I think that establishing these levels brings into focus a more realistic set of expectations when discussing passion. I know I have hit the sweet spot because I love what I do which is teaching.

So.............

What are your thoughts to this new thinking?

Adults don't always understand vision of kids. Let them SHOW you! #choose2matter #bettpassion #coffeechugPLN

My worn out shoes seen here in this post tell a story. A story that opened my eyes at a time that could not be more perfectly placed.

My daughter Ava is 2.5 years old and she struggles a bit with speaking and formulating words. It creates frustration for both her and us at times when we cannot understand one another properly. Yesterday, Ava and I went outside after she was having a moment that all two year olds have from time to time:). After finally getting outside she became angry because she clearly wanted something else. I assumed she was tired and just being a bit whiny. She kept trying to go inside even though we just came outside after she was throwing a fit to be outside. During this moment I was growing frustrated because I did not know what she wanted. She was growing frustrated with me because I was not helping her meet her needs. It was quickly becoming a lose lose situation very quickly. The reason was simply because I was being a typical adult.

I assumed everything wrong.

All she wanted was to go inside real quick to bring me my shoes. She wanted to put my shoes on so we could go play. 

I felt terrible. Here I was misinterpreting what she wanted and all she wanted to do was help! It was at this moment that it hit me!

Tuesday, we are blessed to have Angelia Maiers come to Bettendorf to work with some of our 8th graders. These students will have an opportunity to have their voices heard. Students who we don't always give a chance to have their voices heard will be able to share their ideas and enact on a topic that they hold dear to their heart.

I wonder how many times our students/own kids behave a certain way to try to convey an idea or message to only have it misinterpreted by adults? The reason is because sometimes we just don't know how to express what we need to get off our chest. If we can work to help kids help express their ideas and at the same time work with adults to help them not jump to conclusions how many great ideas could be enacted on?

Working on myself as both a father and as an educator I hope to work on my own skills of helping students get their ideas out. I think sometimes the hardest thing to do is to convey ideas that are vital to our own lives. 

Simon Sinek discusses in his book how "our behavior is affect by our assumption or our perceived truths. We make decisions based on what we think we know." I wonder how often as educators we make improper decisions based on false assumptions?

All these ideas are swirling in my head and I cannot wait to put them to practice.

I am so excited to work with Angela and teachers of Bettendorf to help students find their ideas and passions to pursue. We will work very hard to help students broadcast to the world their ideas. We want all kids to share their ideas.

The biggest obstacles I see are the following

• students not confident enough to share their ideas because they think their ideas are not worth it or important enough.
• students stripping away the label and brand they have crafted for themselves as students. I really believe the best ideas to come forth Tuesday will come from the students who are considered not the best students.
• students really working with others besides their friends. Diversity is key when it comes to brainstorming

I know that personally these are the three things I will strive to work on with the students Tuesday and throughout our semester long project. I know Angela will help to eliminate these issues through her workshop. I know that Tuesday students will not be the only ones learning!

My goals with this project are personal as well. I will try to be a better father and educator by looking inward and adjusting how I treat situations where I don't always give people the proper time to share what they need to share.

I thank my daughter Ava for enlightening me at the most crucial point in time as I get ready to help students change the world!

Check out the amazing chalk illustration for the Passion Project! #coffeechugPLN

After providing my slides and Passion Project Challenge to people at a conference and online I realized a major flaw with the system in which I asked my audience to share their PASSION through some simple activities I realized a major flaw!

Teachers are just like students and need examples before they share. 

So I will be sharing my examples on the Passion Project website over the next few days.

Today I have uploaded two examples of using chalk to showcase Passion and finding ourselves.

Let me explain my image that I constructed. 

PASSION - right in the middle. I still need to find a more powerful word to convey what I am trying achieve, but for now this word will do. I believe that teachers and people in general need to be able to identify what it is in life that moves them, makes them want to get out of bed in the morning, and make a change. Not many people really know this answer, but I believe it is at the epicenter of all of our actions and what we do with ourselves.

HEART - What do you love? What breaks your heart? What eats away at you that you wish you could solve or lend a hand with? These are the questions you must ask yourself when trying to identify your passion and your greater purpose in life. By finding these answers you will be on your way to making things happen.

E - Comes from a mind blowing book titled, The One Thing, by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan. It stands for Entrepreneurial Approach. What this means is doing the things that come naturally to you. I love the idea, but will veer off their ideas and spin this to my own thoughts. These are often the things we do well that we don't realize. This is where having a powerful tribe around you to help you identify these traits is important. I experienced this firsthand this summer working with some amazing educators who helped me find myself. These are the skills we should focus on to make our classrooms and lives better and more rich and satisfying.

P - Comes from the book also. P stands for Purposeful Approach. These are doing things that come unnaturally. They argue this is where breakthrough happens. I don't necessarily agree 100%, but what I will argue here is that we must push ourselves beyond our Entrepreneurial skills to reach new heights of accomplishment. We have to think differently about getting things done. In order to achieve your purpose we have to work outside our comfort zone sometimes. By doing this we are increasing our zone, acquiring new skills, and inching one step closer to making our Passions happen.

?+ - means to question. Ask the good questions. Put the facade questions aside and really drive to the heart of the matter. This is tough to do, but without real conversation how will we make progress? Many people don't like this because they really have to look inwards on themselves and sometimes they don't like the answers. We need to be brutally honest and have dialogue with our tribe. We have to be willing to understand that it is not a personal attack, but a moment in which we understand ourselves more so we can move to the next step on our journey. 

I would love many more examples. I think it is very important for educators to showcase their ideas, thoughts, and ideas with the world. We need to share and the more we share the more our students will follow our footsteps.

Please read the ideas and instructions in the links below. Email me your work so I can upload to the Passion website.

Next week I will be leaving Post It Notes around to further lead by example. Will you lead in your school?

What will you share to help spread the message of Passion in education?

• Reflection on my presentation on this topic

• Passion Toolkit Goes Digital

• Digital Version of Passion Driven Handout

• Passion Starts With The Eyes: Don't Lose Your Students

• Passion is the key to education

• Coffeechug Cafe Podcast: Passion Driven Classroom

• Can We Push Our Kids Too Far And Too Much? - 

• Coffeechug Cafe Podcast: Passion Driven Classroom

• Can We Push Our Kids Too Far And Too Much? 

Reflection on Passion Driven presentation: 1st time is scary! #wcgtc13 #coffeechugPLN

This morning I had my second presentation at the #WCGTC13. It was the first session of the day bright and early at 8:00 am. This particular presentation I was more nervous for than the global one yesterday because this would be the very first time I have spoke on this topic.

To speak on Passion in under 30 minutes is very challenging. I developed a Passion Toolkit for my Passion Project along with several questions and back channel materials for this topic. I had to fly through this to get to the root of my topic: In order to have a Passion Driven Classroom teachers must stop, look within, and discover their own Passions.

If you read this blog, then you know I preach passion all the time this past summer.

Here are some links to some posts about passion from this summer

Passion Toolkit Goes Digital

Digital Version of Passion Driven Handout

Passion Starts With The Eyes: Don't Lose Your Students

Passion is the key to education

Coffeechug Cafe Podcast: Passion Driven Classroom

Can We Push Our Kids Too Far And Too Much?

Without going on another rant here are my reflections on this presentation.

• It is easier to speak to many compared to very few. Literally three minutes before the start there were three people in the room. However, I had a decent crowd when it was time to rock and roll. 
• Sell yourself - this is part of my presentation, but due to my presentation yesterday I believe that people showed up today who did not even consider my presentation prior. You have a chance to be heard and make an impact so you better run with it. This applies to the classroom.
• Passion Toolkit LAST - I moved my slides all around with fear of running out of time. Ideally, I will go back to moving my toolkit slides to the very end. It was hard to bridge this without speaking on my thoughts about passion first. It was not a good flow. Slides have been changed.
• Examples: Teachers love examples. I want them to lead the way. I hope to get some great cultural examples with who I spoke with. Fingers crossed. I want more than just American ideas!
• Questions: If you get questions, then you know you have sparked thought. I had some amazing questions. Although I may not have the answers it challenges my thinking. I learn so much from the crowd.
• Can school/administration/policies affect the atmosphere of passion in schools? 
• What examples of passion can I share?
• Even more important is the self internal question: Is what I am preaching really passion or am I lacking the proper term? I think I am trying to go beyond the scope of the definition of passion. It is not tangible. It is something that is felt, beyond a manipulative, and can be a deep passion depending on the person AND NOT SOCIETY parameters

I am working heavily on this topic. The word PASSION may change. The intent will not. I am developing an online workshop on this topic to dig deep, working on PD for teachers on this very topic, and trying like mad to develop a book. It all takes time and I need more conversations like I had the last few days at the #WCGTC13. 

Here are my slides. 

Passion Driven Starts With YOU! The Teacher #WCGTC13 from Aaron Maurer

If you would like for me to send you the Passion Toolkit or would like to chat further let me know. I am working on interviews/conversations on this topic. I need to know more about where people are coming from. I need more perspective than my own thoughts.

Passion Toolkit is revealed! Find out how to share your PASSION! #coffeechugPLN

A few days ago I shared out a digital version of my handout for my upcoming presentation on Passion Driven Classrooms.

Today I wanted to give you a glimpse at the Passion Toolkit that I put together with the help of my wife. This is my handout that people will pick up when they enter the room.

The toolkit has been designed to be very simple to use and yet incredibly powerful to share PASSION!

Here is quick rundown of each item in the toolkit and what to do with them. You probably have these items around your house so please take part and participate! The more the merrier.

Take a Post It note and write a message sharing your Passion, draw some artwork, write a quote, etc. Anything that spreads your own individual PASSION. Take your Post It note and leave it somewhere for others to notice. Even more important is that you take a picture so I can add it to the Passion Project website.

Same thing with the chalk. Take your chalk and write a message somewhere spreading your PASSION. For me this summer has been about challenging my comfort zone so I have been making myself do a zentangle at least once a week. I am not an artist, but it forces me to work on something while finding myself. What will you do with your piece of chalk.

When students come to school they view teachers as all the same. They group us in this pile of Mr. and Mrs. What are you going to do to separate yourself and classroom from the rest. Students view us a blank piece of paper. Pretty blah! How will decorate your blank notecard to show students that your are full of PASSION? We must share our PASSION if we want students to celebrate their own. Decorate the notecard anyway you want to showcase your PASSION! Be ready to WOW your students on day 1.

The clothespin is the bonus item. I have not plans with the clothespin so I am leaving this item to the masses to find a way to showcase PASSION. I am ready to see what you come up with.

Don't put this off. Do it now! If you wait you will forget and your PASSION will go unnoticed. Be proud. Dig deep. Identify your PASSION and share it with the world. The more we share the more powerful we can become.

All of the images shared to me will be put on the Passion Project website that I created.

So, please rise to the challenge and submit your PASSION. Send me an email at aarmau@gmail.com and I will add your PASSION message to the website.

As always I would love your feedback. This is something new to me. This is not your typical presentation handout. I am a tad nervous, but excited to see what generates.

Check out awesome digital version of the Passion Driven Handout. #coffeechugPLN

For those of you who cannot make the World Council of Gifted and Talented Conference I have made my handout digital.

This postcard is one piece of the Passion Toolkit that I am creating for this presentation(toolkit will be shared shortly).

I used the website Thinglink which is an amazing tool if you have not yet experimented with it yet.




Above is the postcard. I took images of the front and back of the postcard. I then merged them together using Keynote and then did a screen capture to make it one image.

From there I uploaded the image to Thinglink and then added the hyperlinks accordingly.

You can hover over the sections and a button will appear to take you to the sites and links.

In case the buttons do not show up on the image above here is the link to go to it directly.

https://www.thinglink.com/scene/419870727366246400#tlsite

I would love to hear your feedback as well as have you take time to answer the questions on passion posted on the handout.

In a few days I will share the Passion Toolkit. I am assembling them as we speak and waiting for one more item to arrive in the mail.

Enjoy!

Help Needed! Passion Postcard Chalk Project #coffeechugPLN

I will be speaking on Passion Driven Classrooms at the World Council of Gifted and Talented Conference coming up in two weeks. I am very excited along with a mixture of nerves as this is the biggest speaking event I have been part of in my career.

Today I was working on finalizing my speech and typing it all up and prepping the necessary materials. A week ago my wife came up with an amazing idea that I have now developed and ready to test out.

At the end of my presentation I am going to challenge my audience to begin to think about and spread their passion right then and there. I am hoping that it will spark a positive vibe with messages spreading at the conference and beyond.

As I was working on the website to share their examples I realized that I need some examples to help jump start the motivation to submit works.

So, I am asking all of you blog readers and members of the #coffeechugPLN to help me.

I am asking for the following which is the same as my presentation. I will be providing my audience with a Passion Toolkit. It will contain post it notes, a blank postcard, and a piece of chalk. My challenge to them will be to spread their passion, take pictures, email the images to me so I can load up the website.

Here is a basic part of my speech about the toolkit:

We are going to start right here, right now by sharing our passion. I have provided you a Passion Toolkit. In this minimal toolkit you have a massive amount of power to share your passion.

I have equipped you with a piece of chalk. Right here at this conference, I challenge you to write a message about passion on a sidewalk or somewhere where chalk can be used. Spread the message. Don't be scared. Take a picture and share it online on twitter using #coffeechugPLN or share it to me by emailing at aarmau@gmail.com

Second I have provided you a postcard. It is blank. At the beginning of the year, every student views teachers as all the same. They group us in this blank category of a bunch of Mrs. and Mr. What image are you going to paint on the blank canvas of their minds to leave a powerful impression that you and your class is worth their time? The challenge is to take this blank postcard and decorate it to showcase your passion. There are no rules or restrictions. How will you brand yourself to stand out to the students? Just like the piece of chalk please share your design online via twitter at #coffeechugPLN or email me. I have built a website that will showcase all the postcards and chalk designs of passion. I hope to spread this message and continue to add to the site as I present and network with people. My goal is to share, spread, and offer insight into the minds of so many amazing educators across the world.

I thank you for allowing me to present and look forward to possibly connecting with as many of you as I can during this conference or beyond. Thanks and let us start sharing our passion today!

I will share the link to the website in a few days. I have a few things left to create and modify before it goes public. In the meantime I asking all of you to help by creating messages on post it notes, sidewalk chalk on sidewalks/driveways, and taking a postcard/blank card stock and showcase your passion. What is you WOW? that students will associate with you. 

Please create some great messages, quotes, artistic designs and email to me. I will upload and share the link in a few days. The more examples I have the better I think the outcome will be for this presentation.

If you want to know more about what I will be speaking about you can listen to my podcast about passion.

Thank you for considering and look forward to the amazing ideas that you awesome #coffeechugPLN tribe members will contribute!

Why did I create #coffeechugPLN?

I was fortunate enough to be interviewed by Vicki Davis for the BAM Radio Network. This was my first interview and podcast and I was nervous. Overall, it was a great 15 minutes to drive and chat about education with Vicki who I have blogged about several times and is not only an amazing person and teacher, but also a mentor and one who I watch, read, and try to learn as much as I can.

During the interview we were talking about PLN and connecting with other teachers and she asked the question about why did I want to create one more Twitter chat when there are already so many good ones out there? What a fantastic question. It is so good that I have not stopped thinking about this question since the interview.

So, what is my answer to this question? Is it as simple as I wanted it to be? No, I don't think so. If you uncover the true meaning I think it is much deeper. I answered the question the best I could during the interview, but I feel I have more to offer.

I want to create my own tribe. I have a mission in education. I want teachers to feel their passion and not only feel it, but act upon it. I want teachers to change their own ideas, be challenged, and think about topics in ways that perhaps they have not thought before.

#coffeechugPLN is designed to be 24/7 and not just for the actual chat that takes place once a week. I want our tribe to be powerful. I want #coffeechugPLN to stand out and be a purple cow. This question has made me really reflect what I hope to gain by doing this and I love it.

With this question in mind I have placed together a rough draft framework of some big ideas coming down the pipleline. I am beyond excited that I sent out a tweet

#coffeechugpln has some great things in store. Stay tuned. Working on making this movement really take off and go places in education
— Aaron Maurer (@coffeechugbooks) July 19, 2013

Yes, there are so many excellent Twitter hashtags and chats that already exist. Many of them are better than what I have. Many of them have 20x the participation. But it is not about numbers, but the content and quality. As I work through the growing pains of helping teachers and thinking beyond yourself things will take care of itself. It is not about recognition, but about movement and change. So many of us have been in education long enough to know that things move slowly. I want #coffeechugPLN to be that Purple Cow that causes change to happen faster and it starts with educators. We will make it happen. And it will be exciting.

I want the discussions and ideas to be outside the box and help teachers see things in a new light. I want teachers to feel empowered by what they do. I want them to begin to realize that they have a voice just like our students.

And as always, I give a big virtual hug to Vicki for once again challenging my thinking and helping gain insight into myself and the direction I want to go. She may not have intended this one question to have such an impact, but that is what great leaders do. They inspire and push people beyond their current thinking. #coffeechugPLN is attempting to do that very thing. I would not be where I am today without her guidance and encouragement along the way. Her words have kept me going when I doubted myself and questioned things. I follow her and learn from her every week.

Last, I would like to compare this network to a light beacon. A beacon does not know who it helps or inspires, but at same time a beacon helping people. It is not about recognition, but knowing that by helping others, the help will come back around to help you out. By constantly sharing and networking the PLN will increase. It is a give and take.

My goal is that my voice stays original. I will never be fake and will always speak the good and bad from my experience and learning journey. What I share are my ideas. I will never tell anyone what to do, but hopefully what I share inspires others.No BS. I want to be authentic and passionate about my ideas and education.

I hope you consider joining the #coffeechugPLN and connecting and sharing. It is going to be one heck of a journey as we all learn together. I look forward to making the tribe stronger and more passionate than ever before.

Can we push our kids too much and too far?

Reading an article in Parents as part of my self experiment to push my comfort zone and perceptions I read about the issue of the amount of pressure we place on our children to excel at activities. This article and topic lead me to connect the contents to Passion which has been my hot ticket item this summer on this blog.

As a parent of 8, 6, and 2 year olds I feel great pressure that my kids are not involved in activities on a daily basis, participating on travel teams, being involved in scheduled events all day everyday, and not competing like every other child that we know and run into.

I feel torn and this has been an issue that I struggle with as well as my wife. We both are quite competitive coming from college sports backgrounds in basketball and volleyball. We loved what we did. It is hard not to have kids loving what we did. They are young and my heart tells me they will develop their love of things on their own. However, the crazy culture and society we live in today makes me feel like I am doing a disservice to my children by not forcing them into drills and travel teams and being part of an organized system all day and night.

My instinct as a parent along with my coaching experience that includes all the good and bad parenting pressures leads me to believe that my kids need to be kids. They need to experience the world on their terms and find their own passions. By giving them the freedom to create, play outside, be bored, experiment, and just not live a structured life of always being in an organized activity will pay off. So many children today do not know how to entertain themselves on their own. How will they ever find their life passion if they cannot accomplish the most important ingredient in life - making oneself happy? To be clear my kids are involved in activities, but during the summer they are left to figure out how to entertain themselves, create their own games, organize their own fun with the neighborhood kids, etc.

The article discusses how parents are getting kids to find their speciality early to appeal to college. Parents feel like they have a head start if they start their children on these paths early. I love the quote by Michael Thompson, Ph.D when he states, "The goal of childhood is to become independent, moral, loving, and productive young adult - not to go to a great college." I think it is easy as a parent and also as an educator to lose sight of this central idea.

This quote stuck with me as an educator. As we work to be the best teachers we can be I think his quote is a great reminder of what our jobs are as teachers. We are trying to help students and kids become independent, moral, loving, and productive young adults. Schools are so focused on standardized tests and college prep that we are overlooking the most important ingredients to our recipe for success in the classroom. Those ingredients are the ones that we should be focusing on because if we can help students become independent, moral, loving, and productive, then the scores and curriculum content will just naturally occur and the test scores will take of themselves.

"Enthusiasm motivates a child to keep getting better at something." quote by Madeline Levine, Ph.D. strikes another chord with me. As parents and educators we have to share our passion and enthusiasm for life and learning. I have blogged about finding our passion and sharing our passion as teachers to engage learners. Enthusiasm is key. It is contagious just like passion. Look at a young kid loaded with excitement for life and try not to smile!

Reading this article made me feel better. My kids will find their niche. It took me most of my life to find mine. I have bounced around to explore. I have to remember that basketball was not always my desire, but for a large part of my youth it was. It has once again changed. I have to remember that my instinct is right. My kids will be fine. When it comes to my classroom I have to allow my students to explore and learn and bounce around. I cannot worry that my children bounce around from activity to activity. I have to remain open to this idea both as a parent and an educator because after all life is the passion of child. Kids by nature are to explore and therefore bouncing around from this activity to this activity is part of the process.

Whether a parent or educator our jobs are to provide many different experiences and opportunities for students and kids to explore and find more about themselves. Mix things up. Appeal to the senses. Move around. Try new things. Share your passions for life. By doing these things  we are creating the next generation of passionate learners of life.

What are your thoughts on this topic?

Ideas were based on reading of article from August 2013 issues of Parents magazine: http://www.parents.com/parents-magazine/

Who else wants to be a Purple Cow for Education? #coffeechugPLN

This post started out as a book review for Seth Godin's book Purple Cow, but morphed into something much more. If you have read Purple Cow, then this post will resonate. If you have not read Purple Cow, then read this post and then go read the book.

This book is over 10 years old and yet it still speaks to me on many levels. Like all the other marketing business books I have read this summer I read the material through the lens of education. Instead of worrying about how to make money, I read these books to figure out how to appeal to students and improve education.

This book is spot on. The book discusses the markets of companies. I feel that the market for students is no different. Society today has over-saturated the minds of our youth. They have so many outlets, apps, people, communities, etc. pulling for their attention that it is almost beyond absurd. Reading this book about being a purple cow made me think even more about how teachers brand themselves. I hate to say it, but we are in the market of our students. We are fighting for their attention. What will we do as teachers to stand out for their time?

The frustrating thing is how many teachers don't feel this is their obligation. They don't think they should have to appeal to students. It is not their job to entertain or grab their interest. They believe the students should conform to them. I know it is not professional to say, but I want to ask them what planet do they live on? When we were kids we did not conform either. We might not have gotten into trouble, but it was not that long ago that we were young and begging to get out of school. It is our duty to be a game changer. It is what we do. It is our job. Why else would you be in the occupation if not for the kids. You want your own children to have teachers who go above and beyond so make sure you do the same.

Teachers today have to connect with students. We have to be better than very good. As Seth states in the book, "The opposite of remarkable is very good. Very good is an everyday occurrence and hardly worth mentioning." Teachers today have to go above and beyond. Stand out. Make your teaching brand known. Not only do we have to stand out among the buzz of society, but even among the teachers in the building we teach in.

I cannot help but think of several years ago when I was one of four teachers in the district who received a SMARTboard. It was mind blowing to students. Everyone wanted to be part of the action. Teachers wanted one and students were so excited to be part of the journey. Now every classroom has a SMARTboard and nobody cares. Following the leader only leads to very good. You have to create your own niche. The SMARTboard is now a chalkboard of today. Not one kid cares about the technology. What are you doing to separate yourself?

I have typed up my notes to Evernote which you can view here. I have taken the context of the material and tried to rewrite it to fit education. I would love to hear your thoughts and feedback.

Despite the book being a decade old, the material is still fresh. Yes, his examples of the the digital camera no longer work as they have been replaced by smart phones, but the ideas are as strong as ever. We are in an age where we have to stand out. Safety is in the risk taking.

Working on my own teaching and craft this summer I am really trying to brand myself. I want to be "me" aka Coffeechug. I don't want Coffeechug to look like anyone else. Would I love the following of Dave Burgess and #TLAP? Yes, he is everywhere right now. I am learning from him and his community like no other, but I cannot be just another person. I have to apply, adapt, modify, and make things my own. Coffeechug has to be a Purple Cow in education.

Last, in order for this to happen I have to shake things up. Schools need to quit being factory mode learning institutions. I know we have preached that for years, but very little has changed. Desks are still in rows and we still expect students to fill in worksheets perfectly to our standard. Let your uniqueness as a teacher spill over to students. Let them be unique. Let them chart their own path with your guidelines. We are not linear by nature and our classrooms should not either. It is time schools become a Purple Cow and move beyond very good to remarkable.

Thank you Seth Godin for giving me more fuel to my fire to pursue my passion of being a remarkable educator. This is a must read if you have not already read this book.

How Coffeechug Uses Evernote: Part 1

If you have thought about using Evernote, then this post may provide you one example of the benefits to this amazing piece of software/web tool/app. I started to use Evernote as an experiment towards the end of the school year last year. Since then I have fallen completely in love with it and will never go back to the old ways.

I am far from a pro and have much to learn about the best ways to use this tool, but I want to share the many ways that I find benefits to Evernote so far.

The first way I use Evernote is as a digital portfolio for my own children. My school district currently does not have a digital portfolio system in place for students. It drives me nuts. I am hoping to create a grassroots movement by having my students create one this year and spread the word. (mischievous grin while typing!)




Without going into how to set up everything because I am sure there is a much simpler way than the way I do things I basically have a stack set up for each of my three children. Within each stack is the school grade they are part of as seen in the picture to the right.

There is not a lot in the folders as one of my summer projects is to add all the paper copies of school work from years past. I would like to organize the contents within each grade level.

Within each grade level I have added materials to the folders since I started using Evernote. This is such a great benefit. I can take pictures using the Evernote App and add to the proper folders. Below you can see a small example of my daughter. There is no reason to keep all the paper copies. It just creates clutter. So I quickly snap a picture and dispose of the work. At first my children were super bummed that I kept tossing things until they realized what I was doing. It finally made sense to them that I was keeping it all in digital form. Some things we do keep, but the day to day stuff can go. However, what this allows us to do is see their growth. I kept a little story Addy wrote at the beginning of kindergarten and compared it to the end of the year and it was amazing. This learning journey is more valuable than a data on a report card.

One of my favorite features is being able to record audio to the images and documents. Below is a story Addy wrote about our trip to Wisconsin Dells. I cannot read what she wrote, but she could read it clear as day. I recorded her reading the story. This is so powerful! I did the same months later and it was amazing to hear the growth. I will be doing this at the beginning of the upcoming school year and throughout. I think it is good for my kids to hear themselves and actually see and hear their growth. They are kids and don't always think they are learning.

I will continue to do this for my kids. I need to improve with using tags and organizing but it is a start and one that I find to be powerful for all of us to document their journey. Being my own children I have added elements outside of school. I continue to find many uses.

I will be using Evernote this year for my TA students as we create our journey with Habitudes and learning about ourselves. This will be an interesting experiment with using Evernote with students. It will be a big learning curve for us all, but one that I think will jump start the conversation about doing this for all students in our district.

If I was still in gifted education this was going to be our ongoing project to document our students and where they ended up after we were done with them. Now that I am an instructional coach I am going bigger and thinking all students.

I hope you enjoyed this. Please let me know if you found this worthwhile. If so, then I will continue to share the many other ways I use Evernote. It plays a role in everything I do now.

Coffeechug Cafe Podcast #1: Passion Driven Classroom

This is not a pristine podcast, but it is real and raw. I don't have a theme song(anyone want to make one?) and the tools I have are quite simple: Audacity and my Mac mic.

But the message I deliver is a strong one. A message about Passion Driven Classroom and this is one that has fueled my fire for several months now.

I will be speaking on this topic at the WCGTC(World Council for the Gifted and Talented Conference) in August. I have been doing extensive research and also working on some key ideas.

As I continue to work the outline of my speech I wanted to do a practice run speaking on passion as well as get started with my new Coffeechug Cafe Podcast series that I have been wanting to create. I figured I could kill two birds with one stone.

I would greatly appreciate it if you would give my podcast a listen and give me feedback. I want to enhance this podcast as I go along. I also want feedback on the content. As I work through my presentation and you listen to this podcast I would love to know:

1. Did my passion come through?
2. Did you find the message and content helpful?
3. How was my delivery?
4. What else does the message need?

I am still looking for more quality content and real life examples of passion based classrooms. My goal is to get teachers reflecting about their passions for being a teacher and ensuring they share that in the classroom. When that happens learning can be amazing.

Thank you for listening and giving me any feedback that you think will make me better as a speaker, podcaster, and as well as the message.

In case the podcast does not show up in your browser or device, here is a direct link
http://coffeechug.podomatic.com/entry/2013-07-13T12_21_38-07_00

Here are the links mentioned in the show

• http://coffeeforthebrain.blogspot.com/2013/07/passion-starts-with-eyes-dont-lose-your.html - It starts with the eyes
• http://theglobalgeniushourproject.wikispaces.com/
• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/12/malala-day-at-un_n_3586266.html?utm_hp_ref=impact

Passion Starts With The Eyes: Don't Lose Your Students!

This morning it dawned on me that passion emits from us directly from our eyes. This is the essential signal sender that tells people in a split second whether you are passionate and alive. Before you even speak people can tell whether you are 100% genuine or not. It happens so fast. You can completely lose your audience or have them captivated before you do even begin to teach your lesson or interact with others.

It starts with your eyes. Don't believe me? Look into the eyes of a 2 year old or really any child and try to disagree! They will burn a hole into you with their passion for life. This passion can be excitement or the temper tantrum that they throw, but regardless their passion for what they are doing shines through their eyes.

My daughter woke up early this morning and I put her in bed with me to see if she would fall asleep. As we laid there looking at each other I could just feel her burning desire for life. Her eyes were intense with a passion for life and exploration.

It made me think about myself - Do my eyes emit the same passion as I looked back at her? Or do I need time to warm up, drink coffee, and get ready? Even more important, what message do I send with my eyes when I am in my classroom? Am I groggy? Am I sending the wrong signals? Or am I just bursting with passion? The more I think about it the more I realize that my body signals and passion in my eyes really determines the lesson at hand whether in the classroom or with my own children. Students will know right away before the bell rings or soon thereafter how good of a lesson the day will be before you even start. They will know whether the class will suck or not and will make that determination in a split second. You might have a great lesson planned, but if you don't show it as you enter the room or while standing outside the room, the lesson is over.

Before you step out the door perhaps you should look in the mirror and do a Passion Double Check to be sure you are ready to start your day! As students enter your building you better be ready. Don't sell yourself short because you are not bringing your A game.

With passion you can begin to persuade those students who are on the fence about school to slowly change their thinking. Don't let one moment ruin the joy of learning and the power of your classroom.

What are some techniques or tricks you use to make sure you are ready when the kids enter the class?

Now if only I could wake up and instantly be ready to go like my two year old I would be set! Thank goodness for my coffee.

Top 5 Posts from last 30 days

Below are my top five most popular posts from the last thirty days. I am working through Platform University created by Michael Hyatt and after seeing Cool Cat Teacher Vicki Davis share her top posts from the last six months I decided to do the same. I don't have the data to track my last six months, but I can look at the last month so that is what I did. 

Here are the top five in order.

Online Tips: Cleaning Up Email Signature and About Me Page

5 Issues with Gifted Education That I Have

Running Shoes Review: Kinvara 2 and Brooks Ravenna 2

Bald Eagle Student Showcase: Video of Presentations and Link to Visuals

Digital Citzenship CAN and SHOULD be taught to young kids

When I examined these five posts I tried to figure out the WOW factor in each. I am working through Platform and just listened and filled out the study guide to the first master class. As I work through cleaning up my online presence and organizing all my stuff that feels scattered all over the place I feel the need to stop and ask what is my WOW factor to coffeechug? I figured I would start with these five posts to determine what works in my writing. I know my writing needs work and can improve. 

The problem with these five posts is that I don't see a theme. I thought at first it was providing a point of view to gather discussion. My perspective is not coming across as the right answer, but just a starting point to a topic to increase dialogue. However, one of these does not contain opinion. Even harder is the post from over two years ago where I reviewed a running shoe that no longer is in production. 

I don't know what makes these tick and stand out to people. I will have to look at other posts to find a theme.

Even more important is still to determine my WOW factor. What is it that draws people to this blog and persuades them to come back again to read future posts? That is the answer that still escapes me and one I need to identify. By finding this I feel that I can then organize and structure all my content and sites around that central theme.

My summer PD has proved to be quite challenging. And I love every minute of it.

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?

#Choose2Matter Week 1 Reflections, Guidance, and Blog Topics

I was trying to think about ways to help guide my students for the Choose2Matter project created by Angelia Maeiers. I am currently working with around 30 students in grades 6,7, and 8. I have about half part of the Dream Team in which they are working to actually be the project by working with social media, creative media, storytelling, and evaluation. These four teams within the Dream Team are composed of students from all over and they will run this project with leaders from college and the real world businesses and organizations.

I also have about half working on submitting projects to create change to the world. As I work through the swirl of students going in 30 different directions I have made some observations and want to give some guidance. I thought about writing up a task sheet, but that seems to go against the very grain of this project and my teaching.

Instead I have decided to create a blog post to share with them all and you, the reader, in case you have any words of wisdom to share.

Idea #1: Your personal brand

For many of you this is your first time sharing your work and ideas out in social media and the real world. Students have a blog over on Kidblog.org where I am having the Dream Team and the project students share our their ideas during this journey. I shared some links on how to blog along with some other tips to do it right. This is a work in progress as they learn how to make it work for them. If you get a chance, please read the posts and give any guidance that you can about the content, voice, organization, etc.

Students are also using Wiggio for their main hub for the Dream Team. This is where they will work with their teams to communicate and so forth.

As we explore with these two tools it is important that students you remember

• Display who you are through your actions and words. This is not chit chat time where you talk randomness. Keep the vision on the project and learning.
• Remember what you share is there forever even if you delete it. Before you post and submit always ask yourself, "Is this the essence of who I am?"
• Always write with voice. Have PASSION for what you do!
•  Proofread - don't come across ignorant by using improper words, spelling errors, forgetting punctuation, etc.

Idea #2: Blog Post Topics

Last night I attended a very interesting #Dadchat on Twitter lead by Angela Maiers. We talked about ideas and visions for students to make a difference. From that chat many great questions were shared. I have shared some of these questions below.  By Monday, May 6th, I want everyone to write up a blog post that tackles one or some of these questions. Really put some thought into your voice and answers.  We need to make sure kids change the world before the world changes them.

Here are some questions to spark some thought. Remember, to think about students, student voice, making change, this project, etc.

Who did you notice today? How did you help?
What made you proud?
What made you say WOW?

How dangerous is it to tell our kids, "Have something to fall back on.

Our driving questions are What makes U awesome? & How can you use that 2 make world better?

What is the diff between You Matter and Self-Esteem?

CAN every kid change the world? What if reality doesn't? What do they think changing world means?

Can kids be taught to care about anything other than themselves?

Idea #3: Don't Bite Off More Than You Can Chew

Changing the world happens in breathes and moments w/monumental feats. A smile, a hug, a commitment to act. As we work towards putting our projects into place, make sure you really understand the issues that you are tackling.

Some of us have great ideas. However, make the project something that you can manage. Working with some people outside of the US and people who are willing to help you see the projects through remember they are not going to do it for you.

Make sure you have proper information. Don' have a lack of information on the issues of your project. Understand the topic thoroughly before embarking on a solution to one particular problem. (thanks Eden). Really make sure you understand the problem at hand and what really needs to be done. Think more locally where you can test and achieve your goals. Many times the global issue that you are trying to tackle is a major issue locally. And that last statement is another blog post for another day!


So, remember
1. Stay AWESOME and PASSIONATE about your work and vision.
2. Sell yourself in a professional and positive way. Don't post and submit things that could impact your image.
3. Work on that blog post by Monday. Dream Team this will be your second post. Project people this will be your first.
4. Stay connected and keep learning every single day.