JumpStart American Education Week and National Pickle Day (11/14/22)

Big Idea:  Two Thoughts this week:  1)  If everybody showed up with their best self every day, the world would be amazing, and 2) If everyone was constantly working to improve themselves, number 1 would naturally happen (and remember that happiness is an inside job!).

Self-improvement requires that we know where we are and where we are heading. A final, measurable goal isn’t necessarily what we need here. Our self-care goal should be a process not a number.

For example, my goal shouldn’t be to weigh 180 pounds because then once I’m at 180, I’ll stop doing whatever good things made be get there. Instead, if I have a goal of a healthy lifestyle, that becomes permanent (and I’ll hit my ‘ideal’ weight in the process). Self-awareness is the number one most important skill that people can have.

This week, try this: Let’s normalize talking about our emotions. The next time you talk about emotions with students, ask them where in their bodies they feel those emotions. I did it with kindergarteners yesterday, and they were surprisingly aware.
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Quote:   I can do nothing for you but work on myself, you can do nothing for me but work on yourself.  ~Rom Dass
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 Resource:  New Episode on the Teachers’ Classroom Podcast! Episode 58 features Katharine Bensinger, founder/CEO of ParenTeach and developer of a unique, 10-day parenting/caregiving curriculum for HS students. It’s evidence-based with a goal of stopping ‘unintentional’ parenting mistakes. We tend to parent how we were parented since no one really told us any differently. What if every parent were aware of ACEs, child development, self-care, and how to effectively discipline (vs. punish)?

Dad Joke:  Have you heard the one about peanut butter?  Oh, wait.  I can't tell you; you might spread it.

Special shout-out to Lisa Dinhofer of Koden, LLC. She and I had a catch-up call the other day for which she had saved up a Dad Joke to tell me in person (below), and in the course of conversation, dropped the Rom Dass quote (because that’s what happens when you talk with her). The plan is to update Administrator Academy 3693: Trauma-Informed Leadership, so stay tuned!