Adding Value

I recently read a blog from a former football coach concerning his advice for creating opportunity for you in whatever you pursue.  His message was simple.  Add value.  Make each interaction you have with somebody count for something.  Add value.  Whether its applying for college, applying for a job, meeting someone, or even talking to the boy/girl of your (current) dreams do something that separates you from the herd.  Add value.

You add value by bringing the things that make you a spectacular person to each encounter.  Think about the positive characteristics that you and other people love about you and be that person all the time.  

You add value by going the extra mile.  Everybody that applies to college fills out pretty much the same form that you completed.  So do something more to make yours stand out.  Be excellent academically.  With your essay, include a picture of you in that school's t-shirt.  Do more than what everybody else is willing to do, and you will add value to what you bring to the table.

The same goes for adding value to your own life.  Look for opportunities to become better at what you do and who you want to be.  Last week for genius hour I had you find five people who are experts of your topic.  I also had you find a way to contact them.  What are you going to do to make that contact worthwhile?  Add value.  Make them want to engage with you and help you in your pursuits.  

When they do, think about the value that will be added to your life because you began a conversation with someone considered to the best at what they do.  It could be life changing, mind-blowing, or world-rocking! The worst thing that will happen is they say no, or don't reply at all.  That doesn't mean you stop, it means you keep looking for that opportunity to add value to your life.  

I can't wait to see how each of you use genius hour and this opportunity to add value to your life.

New Year, New Beginnings

One of the great things about being a teacher includes the Christmas and New Year's holiday break.  I admit that I do enjoy the opportunity to have this extra time planned in to my work year that I don't have to request off.  I also admit that I use this time for almost entirely selfish reasons so that I may relax and enjoy the time away from my classroom.  I use this time to watch movies, to read, to spend time with my family, and to just sit around and not worry about anything.  My breaks are usually pretty glorious.

The start of the New Year always makes me reflect on my accomplishments and actions from the past year, and what I want to do differently or improve on for the next year.  This year I am proud of the strides and attempts I have made to write more.  Writing is something that I have always felt I could do, but never really put pen to paper and started actually doing it.  If not for discovering the site Medium, I still might be sitting around just thinking about it.  I am always proud of the amount of time and energy I put into being with my family, and I also look for ways to do more with them to be a better father and husband every day.  Of all the things I do, those are the most important to me.

I also reflect on my professional life as an educator to evaluate what I thought went well in my classroom and what crashed and burned.  I have been working with a digital classroom over the past year with varied success and failure.  Whether I thought it was successful and my students thought it was a failure is sometimes a blurred line.  Nevertheless, I do believe that the digital classroom is a positive feature and will continue to look for ways to enhance learning with technology.  I also enjoyed the writing and blogging I introduced to my class this fall, but I do recognize that I need to make it a bigger focus each week and stay committed to writing in class.  

I also had plans to implement a genius hour in class to allow the students the freedom to research and learn about topics that interest them and create something worth sharing with others.  Due to some problems with equipment and such, this plan was delayed.  After looking over the year, this probably couldn't have worked out better for my class.  It takes about a semester to get in a good groove with our aquariums, so the Spring provides more freedom to work with the time provided in class.  Genius Hour will be an activity we do each week in class this Spring.  I cannot wait to see the work my students are able to produce when their mind is given the freedom to wander.  

I look forward to this Spring semester because it gives me this opportunity to alter and enhance my original plans to finish the school year strong.  Everything I do is to (hopefully) benefit my students and help them be successful after leaving my class.  Not many professions give you the opportunity to have a fresh start twice during the year, but the education profession does.  Take advantage of this to learn from your mistakes and build on your successes in order to make the second half of your year the best ever.