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Check out my latest video: The Next Five Days. The link can be found on m home page https://www.instagram.com/p/CCovVm-B56F/?igshid=13kj0dmfutbw3

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3 Tips For Making Your Next Conference Your Best Yet

3 Tips For Making Your Next Conference Your Best Yet

How do you decide which sessions to attend when you go to a conference? Especially one that has amazing session at every time slot. It’s not easy and until last week, I had no plan. It’s not as if this is tragedy, but I can tell you that I left the most recent conference I attended, National Principal’s Conference 2019, feeling as if I had gotten everything I wanted out of the 3-day experience.…

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Just Be There

Photo by Peter Bond

I couldn’t believe it. I told my son that he could get any candy he wanted. He had the entire aisle. Literally hundreds of options to choose from. But he couldn’t make up his mind. He lost it. At one point he wanted to quit and just go home.

Without picking anything?!

Oh no, I know quite well how that story ends.

So, I waited.

I tried to convince him to get this fruity candy…

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Every Minute

Photo by Veri Ivanova

Last Saturday my wife and daughter left for Australia. They will be there for two weeks, during which time it will just be my eight-year-old son and I at home. I do not have to work for the next two weeks so I have the luxury of spending this sacred time with him.

He and I have been talking it up for quite some time now. We have planned events that we are both anxiously…

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Crumpled

Photo by Steve Johnson

Sometimes it doesn’t take much.

Hours of heavy lifting can be negated by a letter (eval rating), a look or an unmet expectation.

A sculptor sees hourly progress. A writer, daily. But a teacher?

Weeks may pass without even the hint of a step forward.

And then what?

Give up? Start over? Salvage?

I admit there have been times I have tried all three in the same day and come…

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Just 5 Words

Photo by Raul Petri

Kitchen table left as if immediate departure was necessary.

Nothing disturbed and no sign of distress.

But why?

It appears they took nothing with them. Maybe nothing was needed.

Where were they going?

More importantly, when will they return?

Action figures comfortably positioned on the kitchen table. As if they had expected this all along.

Expected what?

If only they could…

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Overwhelmed, Too Many Choices

Overwhelmed, Too Many Choices

Photo by Victoriano Izquierdo

I know a guy who, when searching for a book to read, can spend hours on Amazon. He finds a book he thinks he’ll enjoy but then goes down the Amazon Rabbit Hole only to come out an hour later having one-clicked three times. The books often sit on his shelf, half-read and not even partially digested.

I know a guy who has spent more time reading about working out than…

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Before It's Too Late

Before It’s Too Late

Photo by Ali Yahya

You know you should exercise more often. You used to. But you’re too tired most nights to head to the gym and you’re too sleepy when your wake up to slip into your running shoes.

But, some mornings you’re able to slide out of bed and do a few crunches and tell yourself it’s better than nothing. It still doesn’t feel like much. Then there’s the occasional evening when you muster…

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Not this year!

You’re almost there.

And whether you’re counting the days left to make a difference or you’re counting the days to the beach (no judgment here either way), I am quite certain of one thing. This is the time of the year when you are exhausted and you are busy.

From graduation ceremonies to end of the year state testing. It seems like every evening you have some sort of celebration, recognition…

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It's Gonna Be Alright

It’s Gonna Be Alright

Photo by nrd

Remember what it felt like to finally have your own place?

Moving in was exhausting. But it was yours. And it felt good.

I used to love late-night bowls of cereal.

My way.

You open the fridge.

Get the milk.

And leave the door open.

Yup, you left the door open while you poured your bowl of cereal and found a spoon. You eventually closed the door. But it was open much longer than…

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Always On

Photo by Stacey Gabrielle Koenitz Rozells

Recently a friend and I were going back and forth about the demands of teaching. While my friend acknowledged that he could never be a teacher, he didn’t agree with me that teachers needed to ease up, slow down, even let a few balls dropin order to perform at high levels. It wasn’t as if my friend was clueless as to what teaching entails. Over the years…

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Thank You Teachers, But...

Thank You Teachers, But…

Photo by NeONBRAND

  I have been out of the classroom – let me start over – I have not been a classroom teacher for over ten years. Technically speaking, as an elementary school assistant principal, I am in and out of classrooms every day. But … there is a huge difference between being in a classroom and runninga classroom. Trust me, the increasing degree of difficulty of the latter is not lost…

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5 Strategies to Help With the Day After Blues

5 Strategies to Help With the Day After Blues

Photo by Paul Gilmore

  This happens more often than we care to admit. And though we try to talk ourselves out of it, we are often unsuccessful. Recently I fell victim to the day after blues. I know better. But knowing better doesn’t always result in doing better.

Last weekend I gave a presentation at a conference. There were no technical difficulties and not once did I fall down or split my…

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I Got Back Up

I Got Back Up

  The room was dark. I didn’t want light.

The room was quiet. I didn’t want noise.

And the room was empty. I didn’t want people.

For two days, I laid in bed, only getting up to use the bathroom, eat and occasionally amble downstairs to visit my wife and kids.

Most of my time in bed was spent buried under several layers of blankets. It was winter, and I had enough blankets to keep me warm. But…

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I Got Nothing Done

I Got Nothing Done

Photo by Sabine van Straaten

I could smell the coffee brewing and I knew it was time to get up. Early morning is one of my favorite times of the day. Oftentimes it is when I able to read and write and think without any distractions. But this morning was different.

My seven-year old son woke up when I did. And he couldn’t go back to sleep. So, he joined me in my makeshift office that is right…

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Why We Shouldn't Give 100%

Why We Shouldn’t Give 100%

Photo taken by Ben White

Something has to change. Then again, maybe it’s just me.

I am paid a fair salary and my working conditions are good. And yet, it continues to bother me. So, until I make a change, it will continue to happen.

What am I talking about?

I am referring to the physical and mental state I am in when I arrive home each day.

When I walk through my front door, and sometimes before…

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You Are A Good Parent

You Are A Good Parent

Photo by Sai De Silva

  Being a good educator is difficult.

Being a good parent is even more difficult.

Being both sometimes seems damn near impossible.

The juggling act that parents who are educators must perform is very tricky and often leads to guilt that never seems to go away. We engage in negative self-talk and we constantly beat ourselves up. We often believe that we are bad parents and we…

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