JumpStart National SEL Day (3/3/25)

QUOTE:  "Embrace uncertainty.  Some of the most beautiful chapters in our lives won't have a title until much later." (Bob Goff)

MESSAGE:  My mom used to have a t-shirt that said, “Eat dessert first, life is uncertain.”  And while that quote was perfect for her, the deeper truth is more universal.  We need to embrace ambiguity rather than shy away from it.

I was on Instagram the other day, and saw this reel made by a professor at Duke University where he used an impending snow day to conduct a quick experiment on his students.  He says that understanding how we make decisions when things aren’t clear - and then reflecting on whether or not that is the way we actually want to make them is important.

I turns out that there’s a thing called the Ambiguity Effect, where people tend to choose options with a known probability of a favorable outcome over options with an unknown probability.  This can lead to ‘suboptimal’ decisions.

For example, take investing.  Most people will go for a savings account in a bank with a minimal interest return on their money over the stock market where they could win big or LOSE BIG.

What does this look like in your school?  Is there something you do in your district that doesn’t really make sense when you look at the data?  It’s not like it’s HARMING anyone, or maybe the growth is still there albeit slight. But what if…?

THIS WEEK, TRY THIS:  The next time you don’t seem to have all the information and you need to make a decision, try clarifying the goal, seeking other perspectives, or embracing experimentation. You never know - this might end up being a highlight reel in your life!
DAD JOKE:  Bigfoot frequently gets confused for Sasquatch...Yeti never complains.