Treat Life Like a Golf Scramble - Pick Each Other Up

I like to ski. It has been a good winter for skiing. Unfortunately, it is hard to get to the slopes enough. I have purchased a ski pass for the last several years at Crystal Mountain. My mother-in-law works there, and it is a great place to ski. I just started skiing more seriously about five or six years ago. I have mixed feelings about this time of year. I want to have more opportunity to ski, but I am ready to be able to golf, too. I don't have enough time to do either, but I enjoy them when I can. I used to be very competitive and get upset if I didn't golf well. There is really no score in skiing, but I have advanced my skills so I feel pretty good about that, but golf is a different matter. There is always that score to let you know if you are making progress or not. I never really cared about beating a fellow golfer. For me, golf is an individual sport. I wouldn't mind having a higher score than someone I was playing with as long as my score was as low as I wanted. I used to get mad. I would toss my club and get so upset that the rest of my round would be shot because of one wayward shot that "ruined" my round. Now, I don't get too upset. I am just glad to have the opportunity to slow down, enjoy being outside, and leave everything else behind. The older I get and the less opportunity I have to golf, the more I like to play golf in a "scramble." I can have fun and make good shots, but if I have that wayward shot, I have a team mate to pick me up and make a shot that we can take as a team. The beauty of the "scramble" is that it is generally unlikely that everyone on the team will all have a wayward shot at the same time so collectively the team does better than any individual could. I guess the same could be said for most other things. There are times when we need to pick each other up. We are stronger collectively than we are individually. Encourage and support those around you.

Where Did You Think You Would Be By Now?

I recently sent these thoughts to the high school staff in my building. Though the content is specific to teachers, I think the idea applies to everyone - both those who have created a long personal history and those who are hoping to have many more pages to fill.

When you were 20, where did you think you would be by the age you are now? That may be too difficult to narrow down. For some of us that was quite a while ago. Most of us were in the middle of completing college degrees at age 20. Do you remember when you first thought you wanted to be a teacher? If you can remember back that far, what did you answer when you were asked, "Why do you want to be a teacher?" Would you give the same answer today? I remember a former teacher asking me that question when I told him I was going to be a teacher. I don't remember my specific answer, but I am sure it had to do with helping people and providing students with the skills I developed and the opportunities I had because of my high school experience. I think my answer would be a little deeper now as I take a more global view of things. Did you think, "I want to end up in Shepherd, Michigan for my career in education?" I would guess that most of you didn't have that plan in mind when you set out. Yet, here we are. Think back to all of the students on whom you have had an impact. I hope you can look back on your career so far (for some it is a longer look than others) and have a sense of accomplishment and happiness. I hope you still have the same enthusiasm for education that you did when you first began! It is easy to get mired down in the negative stuff of the job. Remember, the students we currently teach or students we taught and who are now working adults make up the society in which we live. That is an important and difficult task, worthy of honor and respect. I challenge you to look to the greater good and all of the positive aspects of your job - your influence on students, your colleagues/friends, and the history you have created and continue to create for yourself.

We all create a personal history - page by page, day by day. Whether you are a teacher or in any other profession, see the good that you do and continue to create that positive history that makes up who you are.