JumpStart Action Day for Tolerance & Respect Between People (4/24/23)

Main Idea:  Avoiding things can be more harmful than good. 

I had a conversation with the wise and wonderful Lisa Dinhofer this week, and one word leapt out at me: AVOIDANCE.
That had me thinking about my day-to-day and how much I avoid doing things that I think will be uncomfortable.  Not just the painful stuff, but the merely uncomfortable.

Then I got my butt out of my chair and went for a walk and ‘had a think’ (one of Lisa’s phrases) about the significance and the prevalence of avoidance in schools.

• How many conversations are avoided?
• How many opportunities for connection are missed?
• How much real work is never accomplished?
• ​What if a key lesson we explicitly taught kids was non-avoidance?

…just because we think doing it might bring a twinge of discomfort?

​And let’s be honest:  actually doing it is (99.9%) never as bad as we imagine it will be.

This week, try this: On your to-do list, find the thing you least want to do.  Take a few seconds and figure out why that’s so, and then do it first.

Quote:  "The avoidance of suffering is a form of suffering.  The avoidance of struggle is a struggle.  The denial of failure is a failure.  Hiding what is shameful is itself a form of shame."  ~Mark Manson

Educator Resource:  First Five - Jumpstart reader April B. recommends this resource.  Her school uses it and loves it. You receive an email everyday that has a bundle of resources for primary, and a bundle of resources for secondary.  Some are super-quick (a meme or a joke you can use in class), some are longer activities.  Produced by Edtomorrow.  Register.

Dad Joke:  What can't you breed an eel with an eagle?  It's eeleagle.

Wherever you are, keep one eye on the sky and stay safe!
Matt Weld, Area 5 SEL Coach