The temperatures are warming up here in North Texas. We have been getting some rain but for the most part we have been getting pretty good temperatures. The kids in the neighborhood are starting to come out of the wood works and play. We are lucky in that we are in an established neighborhood (houses are 25yrs old) with many original owners but there are quite a few kids around my son's age (1st-2nd grade) that live right around our block.
It started at Spring Break. Our neighbor's grandson visits every weekend and during spring break. Every day he came over and Jack and Caroline would play with him. Sometimes over here and sometimes over there...(really nice quiet time for us)
Since then my son does his homework right after school and then out he and his sister go to play with the kids who seem to always gather up in front of our house. 4:30 to 6:00 they are out there riding bikes, scooters...looking at bugs throwing a football...you name it. Either me, my wife, or the neighbor watch over them. 6:00 dinner..then decompress time and off to bed at 8:30.
I made a mental note today because TODAY was special. The kids went outside to play with the next door neighbor's grandson. I kept our door open so I could hear them. I started hearing more and more kids. I went out to check on them and their must have been 15 kids out there playing stick ball. I did this a lot as a kid (playing in the street) only we playing football. I started laughing when I heard 15 kids yell...CCCCCAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and everyone moved to the side......brought back a lot of good memories.
I LOVE MY NEIGHBORHOOD
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Another Battle with Large Insurance Company
Okay I FINALLY got my first long term disability check from large insurance company a month llate. They told my employer and me electronically that my March check was mailed March 24. Great they would be caught up right?. That was Monday. Today is Sunday.......What type of mail are they using Pony Express?!? So tomorrow it's back on the phone and trying to figure out what this companies problem is with paying people. I pay the premiums on time but they seem to have MAJOR issues. As I talk to other people who have been in other situations similar to mine with long term disability this seems to be a common practice among the companies. As my sister pointed out to me if I were the sole provider for my family we would be HURTING right now. Hopefully I will just be on this two more months and I will be cleared to work.
Pray for HEALTH everybody.
Pray for HEALTH everybody.
A Great Weekend
Wow what a weekend. We really had a nice time as a family unit this weekend. It started with Friday. I decided to keep my 4 year old daughter Caroline home from daycare and let her hang around me. I had a bit of a self imposed honey do list so we stayed busy all day. She is quite the helper too. We went to lunch together at Luby's (one of her favorites). This was funny. She knows her way around that place like the back of her hand. In the afternoon we came home and colored and painted. Then at 2:00 she rewarded me with a two hour nap. She woke up right as brother was coming home and they went out to play. We then took them to our church for play time and we went to dinner with another couple.
Saturday is just a blur. Between Caroline's first soccer game (another post) and Jack's Golf we were driving all over the place. We finally got home for good about 9:00. The kids crashed and so did we.
Sunday we just slept in...(sorry Lord) and I am glad we did. Normally the kids get up around 7 or a little later on the weekends. Today they got up at 8:00 and 8:30. We had breakfast and then just chilled for about two hours. I then went to the grocery store and my wife went after the lawn. I got to bond some more with my daughter at the store. She was wearing this sparkly dress and the workers up there just ate it up. The lady at bakery yelled over to me.....YOU ARE CUTE. I told her thanks before I realized she was talking to my daughter. She then gave my daughter a cookie. But not me. BUMMER.
We spent the afternoon taking naps and relaxing. The kids went outside to play for about an hour with the neighborhood kids (another post) and came in at dinner time. Caroline ate and went to bed at 7:00 and Jack is laying next to me playing a game and enjoying being by daddy.
This IS a great weekend.
Saturday is just a blur. Between Caroline's first soccer game (another post) and Jack's Golf we were driving all over the place. We finally got home for good about 9:00. The kids crashed and so did we.
Sunday we just slept in...(sorry Lord) and I am glad we did. Normally the kids get up around 7 or a little later on the weekends. Today they got up at 8:00 and 8:30. We had breakfast and then just chilled for about two hours. I then went to the grocery store and my wife went after the lawn. I got to bond some more with my daughter at the store. She was wearing this sparkly dress and the workers up there just ate it up. The lady at bakery yelled over to me.....YOU ARE CUTE. I told her thanks before I realized she was talking to my daughter. She then gave my daughter a cookie. But not me. BUMMER.
We spent the afternoon taking naps and relaxing. The kids went outside to play for about an hour with the neighborhood kids (another post) and came in at dinner time. Caroline ate and went to bed at 7:00 and Jack is laying next to me playing a game and enjoying being by daddy.
This IS a great weekend.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Update from the Doctor
Well all is looking good so far. The bone marrow biopsy came back clean. Counts are coming up and liver function is coming back to normal. Now if I can just get off the steroids so that the blood sugar will come back down. Dare to dream. I still hope to return to school before the kids get out. It is a lofty goal but one that hopefully I can attain. I will keep you posted.
De-smoked
We got the car back today from the dealership. The previous owner was a smoker. It is amazing but the smell is completely gone! I have to admit I was sceptical. I thought it would knock it down a notch but it is complete gone! Loving the gas mileage too. Now if I can just get a chance to drive it. Wife loves it.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Texas Holdem and My Dad
When I turned 21 my dad took me to Vegas! It was the first of our father/son gambling bonding moments. We still talk about that trip some days. Over the years we have had many gambling trips and TONS of funny stories.
Recently I got my dad interested in Texas Holdem. He likes the game but he was not confident enough to play it in a casino with people who "knew what they were doing." Well I set up a little practice session where we looked at 10 hands face up. After about a 10 minute tutoring session he had it down! So it was decided that we would go up to Oklahoma to give our "skills" a try.
Dad played AWESOME. He folded when he needed to, played aggressive when he should have, and bluffed a couple of times to keep the other players on their toes. We both walked out of there with 150 dollars of other players money and back home we went. Successful card players.
Dad had a great time and we talked all the way home about the different hands we had and strategy. We agreed that we would go back the next week and try our luck again.
Off we went on trip two. This time we had different results. Neither he nor I go anything to play with and when we did someone always had something a little better. It was not high stakes poker by any means but both of us got kicked in the gut. We were the definition of the term BAD BEAT.
When we decided to leave dad and I walked through the casino and neither one of us said a word. We were both thinking in our minds about how we lost. We walked through the parking lot and neither one of us said a word. We got into his truck and neither one of us said a word. Then as my dad was turning onto the highway he said.....
I THINK LAST WEEK WE GOT BETTER CARDS!-------I just started laughing my guts out. I mean crying I was laughing so hard. My dad followed that up by....HEY I AM SERIOUS. The only thing I could say was...I know dad....I know.
We still talked all the way home about what happened but this time we shared...this is what I had going into the flop and would you believe he had....
Recently I got my dad interested in Texas Holdem. He likes the game but he was not confident enough to play it in a casino with people who "knew what they were doing." Well I set up a little practice session where we looked at 10 hands face up. After about a 10 minute tutoring session he had it down! So it was decided that we would go up to Oklahoma to give our "skills" a try.
Dad played AWESOME. He folded when he needed to, played aggressive when he should have, and bluffed a couple of times to keep the other players on their toes. We both walked out of there with 150 dollars of other players money and back home we went. Successful card players.
Dad had a great time and we talked all the way home about the different hands we had and strategy. We agreed that we would go back the next week and try our luck again.
Off we went on trip two. This time we had different results. Neither he nor I go anything to play with and when we did someone always had something a little better. It was not high stakes poker by any means but both of us got kicked in the gut. We were the definition of the term BAD BEAT.
When we decided to leave dad and I walked through the casino and neither one of us said a word. We were both thinking in our minds about how we lost. We walked through the parking lot and neither one of us said a word. We got into his truck and neither one of us said a word. Then as my dad was turning onto the highway he said.....
I THINK LAST WEEK WE GOT BETTER CARDS!-------I just started laughing my guts out. I mean crying I was laughing so hard. My dad followed that up by....HEY I AM SERIOUS. The only thing I could say was...I know dad....I know.
We still talked all the way home about what happened but this time we shared...this is what I had going into the flop and would you believe he had....
My Parents Are So Cute
I love to hang around my parents. I always have. When I was growing up our house was the place to hang. My parents made all of the kids welcome. My friends loved hanging around my parents as well. There were many nights that my buddies and I would stay up late eating taco's and playing cards with my parents. As the years passed I watched my parents and how they interacted with one another. Sure they had arguments but not around me or my sister. Sure we got spankings and whoopin's but it was not child abuse by any means. If me and my sister got it....we deserved it. Many of those tactics my wife and I practice. Sure we have disagreements but not in front of the kids and if the kids hear us we stop and continue later.
Since I have been home recuperating from my transplant I have had many opportunities to talk with my both my dad and my mom individually. They both have their you won't believe what your father/mother did moments. Heck they started dating in the 7th grade and are now 65 years old. They married at 18.
So why are my parents so cute? Because after all this time when they are together they are still in that "dating" mode. My dad opens the door for my mom. They hold hands. When walking if there is a bump in the side walk my dad makes sure my mom is okay by holding her arm to secure her. He buys her flowers still. He gives her money to go buy things she wants. My mom adores my dad and he adores her. I just think it is awesome that after all of these years they still feel they same way they did in 1956.
My wife and I have been married 11 years and I have told her I will be chasing after her with a walker. We have a long way to go to catch up to my parents in years but thanks mom and dad for modeling yet again how it should be done!
Since I have been home recuperating from my transplant I have had many opportunities to talk with my both my dad and my mom individually. They both have their you won't believe what your father/mother did moments. Heck they started dating in the 7th grade and are now 65 years old. They married at 18.
So why are my parents so cute? Because after all this time when they are together they are still in that "dating" mode. My dad opens the door for my mom. They hold hands. When walking if there is a bump in the side walk my dad makes sure my mom is okay by holding her arm to secure her. He buys her flowers still. He gives her money to go buy things she wants. My mom adores my dad and he adores her. I just think it is awesome that after all of these years they still feel they same way they did in 1956.
My wife and I have been married 11 years and I have told her I will be chasing after her with a walker. We have a long way to go to catch up to my parents in years but thanks mom and dad for modeling yet again how it should be done!
Parents Living Through Their Kids
My son and my nephew are 7 and 6 years old. Both boys LOVE golf. My son is playing on a team and getting lessons Tuesday and Thursday nights in a group setting at our local golf course. Here pretty soon they are going to start playing with other teams from other golf courses in our area. My nephew has been getting private lessons and he is REALLY GOOD at this point. I saw video of his swing and I DREAM of the day my swing looks like his...heck even my son is already better than me. This past weekend I was talking to my brother-in-law about a tourney that my nephew played in recently. The dad's were the caddies for their kids. I was curious how it went because Jack will be doing this type of stuff in the future. He said most of the dad's are supportive naturally but there was definitely instances that would be considered mental abuse of a child. Here is some of what he heard.
- I cannot believe you missed that put. You are an embarrassment.
- What is wrong with you. Get your dam head in the game.
- I can't look at you right now. Just go to the cart. ( Kid goes to cart crying)
All of these kids are 6 and 7 years old mind you. What are these parents trying to accomplish?
Two years ago when my son was playing soccer he was a monster. He was aggressive and went after the ball. My son is big for his age. He is tall and he is thick. In sports when kids run into one another Jack wins those collisions 95% of the time and he keeps going. The other 5% of the time he might fall or trip. I was in the hospital at the time getting chemo so I missed this situation. I talked to my son on the phone that day about his soccer game and he was not his usual self and I got my wife on the phone and asked her what was going on? She told me that there was this kid on the other team that was aggressive like Jack and they had "run into" one another 5 times during the game. Jack won all five of those "run ins". I guess the other kid was determined but how many times do you have to get run over to learn a new tactic right? Well at halftime that kids dad got on the field and started yelling at my son. Thank GOD I was not there or I would have torn this dude apart. You NEVER approach a 5 year old(at the time) and do that. You have a problem approach your coach and let them handle it. It changed the way my son played soccer from then on. His aggressiveness was gone. The next two years the coach moved him back to fullback and goaly because he would only be aggressive if the kids came to him. Last year he started to whine about playing the last couple of games so we decided to give soccer a rest and focus on karate, basketball, and golf.
Remember parents- always be supportive and at the age of 6 and 7 the kids are there to have fun. Who really cares what the score is?
- I cannot believe you missed that put. You are an embarrassment.
- What is wrong with you. Get your dam head in the game.
- I can't look at you right now. Just go to the cart. ( Kid goes to cart crying)
All of these kids are 6 and 7 years old mind you. What are these parents trying to accomplish?
Two years ago when my son was playing soccer he was a monster. He was aggressive and went after the ball. My son is big for his age. He is tall and he is thick. In sports when kids run into one another Jack wins those collisions 95% of the time and he keeps going. The other 5% of the time he might fall or trip. I was in the hospital at the time getting chemo so I missed this situation. I talked to my son on the phone that day about his soccer game and he was not his usual self and I got my wife on the phone and asked her what was going on? She told me that there was this kid on the other team that was aggressive like Jack and they had "run into" one another 5 times during the game. Jack won all five of those "run ins". I guess the other kid was determined but how many times do you have to get run over to learn a new tactic right? Well at halftime that kids dad got on the field and started yelling at my son. Thank GOD I was not there or I would have torn this dude apart. You NEVER approach a 5 year old(at the time) and do that. You have a problem approach your coach and let them handle it. It changed the way my son played soccer from then on. His aggressiveness was gone. The next two years the coach moved him back to fullback and goaly because he would only be aggressive if the kids came to him. Last year he started to whine about playing the last couple of games so we decided to give soccer a rest and focus on karate, basketball, and golf.
Remember parents- always be supportive and at the age of 6 and 7 the kids are there to have fun. Who really cares what the score is?
A Streak That I Want To End
This week has been rough on me sleeping wise. The problem I am having is I am waking up at early hours and I can't seem to fall asleep. Each night I am tired and fall to sleep quickly but again each night I am waking up between 2:30 and 4:00 in the morning.
Friday Night- Woke up at 2:30- Had busy day but I started thinking about beating cancer. I have recently been declared in remission of leukemia, which is wonderful news, but this is my second transplant so I have heard those words before. Sometimes I worry about being there for my wife and kids. This just happened to be one of those nights. It happens. I think I am going to start going to a Cancer group at my church on Monday nights to help me. I stay upbeat and positive but it is hard. I will be so happy when I make it to the cure mark. I can then truly think about the future. Until then I have to live like everything is normal for me and my family but at the same time prepare my family for the worse case situation. It is a tough situation to be in.
Saturday Night- Woke up at 3:00- the kids were staying over at my parents house. I was excited for the new car for my wife. She LOVES her car. But I also don't sleep as well when the kids are not at home. I love the opportunity to be husband and wife and give the daddy role a break but the house seems a little empty when they are not there. I woke up at 3 and went to go check on the kids. I usually do this every night. I just go in and check the covers and make sure they are okay. I went into my son's room and the bed was empty. I just turned around and went back to bed....a little sad he was not there.
Sunday Night- woke up at 2:00- Have no clue. I was exhausted from Easter.
Monday Night- woke up at 3:45- Hungry as the devil. Thank goodness for PB and J.
Tuesday Night- Woke up at 1:22- We had Sloppy Joe's for dinner and those suckers are causing some serious HEARTBURN!!! I tried some pepto but I think I felt it go AROUND the heartburn. The heartburn just laughed at it. If I sit up it goes away. That is why I am blogging now.
I think I am going to invest in some Tylenol pm.
Friday Night- Woke up at 2:30- Had busy day but I started thinking about beating cancer. I have recently been declared in remission of leukemia, which is wonderful news, but this is my second transplant so I have heard those words before. Sometimes I worry about being there for my wife and kids. This just happened to be one of those nights. It happens. I think I am going to start going to a Cancer group at my church on Monday nights to help me. I stay upbeat and positive but it is hard. I will be so happy when I make it to the cure mark. I can then truly think about the future. Until then I have to live like everything is normal for me and my family but at the same time prepare my family for the worse case situation. It is a tough situation to be in.
Saturday Night- Woke up at 3:00- the kids were staying over at my parents house. I was excited for the new car for my wife. She LOVES her car. But I also don't sleep as well when the kids are not at home. I love the opportunity to be husband and wife and give the daddy role a break but the house seems a little empty when they are not there. I woke up at 3 and went to go check on the kids. I usually do this every night. I just go in and check the covers and make sure they are okay. I went into my son's room and the bed was empty. I just turned around and went back to bed....a little sad he was not there.
Sunday Night- woke up at 2:00- Have no clue. I was exhausted from Easter.
Monday Night- woke up at 3:45- Hungry as the devil. Thank goodness for PB and J.
Tuesday Night- Woke up at 1:22- We had Sloppy Joe's for dinner and those suckers are causing some serious HEARTBURN!!! I tried some pepto but I think I felt it go AROUND the heartburn. The heartburn just laughed at it. If I sit up it goes away. That is why I am blogging now.
I think I am going to invest in some Tylenol pm.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Thank God for Mentoring
I have wanted to be a teacher since I was in the sixth grade. That was when I had my first MALE teacher. Everyone wanted to be in Mr. Westbrooks class. He was one of us...he was a GUY!! Looking back on it he was not that great of a teacher per say. Typical math lesson would consist of the following.
1. Work five problems on the board.
2. Students work five problems on the board.
3. Questions?
4. Do page 123 1 through 50 odds.
Next Day
Repeat steps 1-3 and do evens.
What he WAS good at was listening to the kids and helping them through the tough preteen year. THAT'S when I knew I wanted to teach and I wanted 5th or 6th grade. THAT...he was good at MENTORING. I used many of his skills I learned when dealing with kids as a classroom teacher.
I knew I wanted to be a principal because that was what my father did and he did it very well in the 70's and 80's. He moved into central office and finished his career there.
I was in the classroom for 7 years. All in the 5th and 6th grade. I moved into administration and am finishing my 5th year in administration. 2 years as AP and 3 as principal. I made the jump to principal quickly for 2 reasons. FIRST, LUCKY....right place right time. Second, from the first day I was an assistant principal my principal began training me to be a leader of a campus. She allowed me the opportunity to try my ideas and be successful and sometimes not so successful. When things did not go well we talked about it. Why do you think that happened? What could we do differently? She also learned from me from time to time. That is MENTORING. Some principals use their AP for books and butts and whatever else they don't want to deal with but never train them to be leaders of their own one day. Often times when they do get the opportunity to lead they fail. I am SO lucky that I had the principal that I did. 3 years ago my principal was given the opportunity to move on into central office. Everyone on staff looked at me. Up to that point I had never run a building by myself much less one with over 7oo kids in it. I told the staff I was not putting my name in the hat and I told central office the same thing. I was busy trying to close down the school for the summer and I was going to be the summer school principal. My first solo gig. It went very well and on the last day of summer school the Superintendent called me and asked me if I would consider being the principal of our 5th and 6th grade campus the following year.
WHAT LUCK...all of my teaching experience was in that level. The first year there were300 kids and I was flying solo. The next year I got to hire an AP as we grew and I hired an excellent counselor.
I immediately started following in my mentors footsteps. I began teaching my AP to take my place and my counselor how to be an AP. My AP is awesome. She has grown so much. I will probably only have her for another year or so and then the district will snag her for principal. My counselor is getting ready to be named AP at an elementary that feeds into my campus. I am like a proud dad! Baby is all grown up and going off on their own. She will be great. I am just glad the cycle continues.
My two cents? From day one teach your replacement to do things better than you. You benefit in the long run.
As for my dad. He loves to hear my stories of how things are going and how I deal with people. He is proud of me and what I have accomplished as campus leader and on occassion I ask him for advice and we talk about how he used to handle certain situations. Sometimes he just shakes his head when he hears the stories. He tells me that I have skills beyond his level. I think he is full of it. He was my FIRST MENTOR. There are more similarities in our style than he thinks. He has said on more than one occasion that he would not last one year as a principal of a campus in today's world. Dad, I use something I learned from you every single day in the school world. I just present things a little differently.
Thanks Dad for being a GREAT MENTOR.... I LOVE YOU!!
1. Work five problems on the board.
2. Students work five problems on the board.
3. Questions?
4. Do page 123 1 through 50 odds.
Next Day
Repeat steps 1-3 and do evens.
What he WAS good at was listening to the kids and helping them through the tough preteen year. THAT'S when I knew I wanted to teach and I wanted 5th or 6th grade. THAT...he was good at MENTORING. I used many of his skills I learned when dealing with kids as a classroom teacher.
I knew I wanted to be a principal because that was what my father did and he did it very well in the 70's and 80's. He moved into central office and finished his career there.
I was in the classroom for 7 years. All in the 5th and 6th grade. I moved into administration and am finishing my 5th year in administration. 2 years as AP and 3 as principal. I made the jump to principal quickly for 2 reasons. FIRST, LUCKY....right place right time. Second, from the first day I was an assistant principal my principal began training me to be a leader of a campus. She allowed me the opportunity to try my ideas and be successful and sometimes not so successful. When things did not go well we talked about it. Why do you think that happened? What could we do differently? She also learned from me from time to time. That is MENTORING. Some principals use their AP for books and butts and whatever else they don't want to deal with but never train them to be leaders of their own one day. Often times when they do get the opportunity to lead they fail. I am SO lucky that I had the principal that I did. 3 years ago my principal was given the opportunity to move on into central office. Everyone on staff looked at me. Up to that point I had never run a building by myself much less one with over 7oo kids in it. I told the staff I was not putting my name in the hat and I told central office the same thing. I was busy trying to close down the school for the summer and I was going to be the summer school principal. My first solo gig. It went very well and on the last day of summer school the Superintendent called me and asked me if I would consider being the principal of our 5th and 6th grade campus the following year.
WHAT LUCK...all of my teaching experience was in that level. The first year there were300 kids and I was flying solo. The next year I got to hire an AP as we grew and I hired an excellent counselor.
I immediately started following in my mentors footsteps. I began teaching my AP to take my place and my counselor how to be an AP. My AP is awesome. She has grown so much. I will probably only have her for another year or so and then the district will snag her for principal. My counselor is getting ready to be named AP at an elementary that feeds into my campus. I am like a proud dad! Baby is all grown up and going off on their own. She will be great. I am just glad the cycle continues.
My two cents? From day one teach your replacement to do things better than you. You benefit in the long run.
As for my dad. He loves to hear my stories of how things are going and how I deal with people. He is proud of me and what I have accomplished as campus leader and on occassion I ask him for advice and we talk about how he used to handle certain situations. Sometimes he just shakes his head when he hears the stories. He tells me that I have skills beyond his level. I think he is full of it. He was my FIRST MENTOR. There are more similarities in our style than he thinks. He has said on more than one occasion that he would not last one year as a principal of a campus in today's world. Dad, I use something I learned from you every single day in the school world. I just present things a little differently.
Thanks Dad for being a GREAT MENTOR.... I LOVE YOU!!
TAKS SCORES ARE IN!!!
Well our Texas fifth graders are finding out the results of how they did on the State Reading Assessment. As principal of my campus I must say I was worried going into this testing season with my fifth grade. They are a great group of kids but for some reason they have been inconsistent. They do well on one assessment and then on another they don't do well. Our tutoring groups have been a revolving door because we try to tutor by objectives.
I am very proud of how they performed. They rose up and did very well. Compared to where our 5th graders (this years 6th graders) were last year they scored 9% higher. The kids who did not pass have another opportunity to take the test in April. If they don't pass it then they have to take the test in July. After the April assessment we will be able to figure out our school accountability.
On a personal note I am very happy because I have been out of the building since October while I have been getting treatment and recovering from Leukemia. I have been able to remain in constant contact by phone and email and occasional visits but by not being in the building and seeing the kids I feel kind of lost. Thank goodness I hired excellent people. My leadership team have been OUTSTANDING and the support I have been given by my district is THE BEST!
I am also happy because we scored higher than the other intermediate campus in the district. We tested more kids and had more pass. Of course I wish the best for them but it is just the inner competition in me. I want my school to be the best.
A good leader is one that while they are in charge the company prospers but when they leave it falls apart.
A GREAT leader is one that while they are there the company prospers but they also TEACH others so that when they are no longer there the company continues to grow and prosper.
I read the book GOOD to GREAT three years ago. I really got a lot out that book and use many of its lessons I learned in running my school and dealing with people.
I am not saying I am a GREAT leader. I have only been a principal for 3 years and I have so much more to learn but I cannot argue with the results I am getting from the people I work WITH.
I am very proud of how they performed. They rose up and did very well. Compared to where our 5th graders (this years 6th graders) were last year they scored 9% higher. The kids who did not pass have another opportunity to take the test in April. If they don't pass it then they have to take the test in July. After the April assessment we will be able to figure out our school accountability.
On a personal note I am very happy because I have been out of the building since October while I have been getting treatment and recovering from Leukemia. I have been able to remain in constant contact by phone and email and occasional visits but by not being in the building and seeing the kids I feel kind of lost. Thank goodness I hired excellent people. My leadership team have been OUTSTANDING and the support I have been given by my district is THE BEST!
I am also happy because we scored higher than the other intermediate campus in the district. We tested more kids and had more pass. Of course I wish the best for them but it is just the inner competition in me. I want my school to be the best.
A good leader is one that while they are in charge the company prospers but when they leave it falls apart.
A GREAT leader is one that while they are there the company prospers but they also TEACH others so that when they are no longer there the company continues to grow and prosper.
I read the book GOOD to GREAT three years ago. I really got a lot out that book and use many of its lessons I learned in running my school and dealing with people.
I am not saying I am a GREAT leader. I have only been a principal for 3 years and I have so much more to learn but I cannot argue with the results I am getting from the people I work WITH.
My Car Max Experience....SO FAR
In the almost 11 years that my wife and I have been married we have gone through cars. It is almost embarrassing. The longest we have kept a car is five years with 85,000 miles on the car. The shortest amount of time we have had a car is 6 months. Bought little car...here comes second baby. TRADE IN!!!
Anyway, I dread the car buying experience. I can't stand the back and forth stuff.
1. Let me go see my manager.
2. The "keep the keys" trick used acting like it takes two hours to assess a vehicle. TRAPPED
3. The sometimes LAGGING Finance department. Have waited 2 hours for "my turn" on a
WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON.
There are others but you get the point.
When we bought the car at Car Max on Saturday I was taken back a little by the HIGH interest rate. I learned from the salesman that typically people who shop at Car Max have some credit challenges and they have to use their prime lenders. They did give us three business days to go find a better rate. My salesman said....GO...you can beat this almost anywhere with your credit score. I thought for a moment....isn't that like a person working at McDonalds telling the customer to go to Burger King because their food is better? I digress.... Well I did go out and find a better deal. My payment went up 8 bucks but I knocked a year off the loan. WHOOHOO!
Well today I had to take the paperwork over to Car Max to show them my new loan. The guy working behind the desk took my paperwork and these were his comments.
1. WOW! You got that APR? I wish I had YOUR credit!
2. Sir, give me 30 seconds and I will have your forms to sign over to the new loaner.
3. You have an excellent loan company.
It took a grand total of 10 minutes ( I was expecting the usual...one hour at least that you get from other dealership.)
4. That's it sir is there anything else I can do for you? Have a great day and enjoy your new car.
VERY POSITIVE EXPERIENCE........
Tomorrow is a big test. I take the car in to have it DE-SMOKED. They said I would have a loaner car. We shall see. So far I have become a big fan of how Car Max handles their business. I know other dealerships are out there that operate well but what I have enjoyed about this experience is the "just the facts" approach. It is what is and you can take it or not? They leave you alone when you need to talk and they know when to pipe in to help you make the best decision.
Keep it up Car Max.....I have friends looking for cars and I will definitely send them your way.
Anyway, I dread the car buying experience. I can't stand the back and forth stuff.
1. Let me go see my manager.
2. The "keep the keys" trick used acting like it takes two hours to assess a vehicle. TRAPPED
3. The sometimes LAGGING Finance department. Have waited 2 hours for "my turn" on a
WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON.
There are others but you get the point.
When we bought the car at Car Max on Saturday I was taken back a little by the HIGH interest rate. I learned from the salesman that typically people who shop at Car Max have some credit challenges and they have to use their prime lenders. They did give us three business days to go find a better rate. My salesman said....GO...you can beat this almost anywhere with your credit score. I thought for a moment....isn't that like a person working at McDonalds telling the customer to go to Burger King because their food is better? I digress.... Well I did go out and find a better deal. My payment went up 8 bucks but I knocked a year off the loan. WHOOHOO!
Well today I had to take the paperwork over to Car Max to show them my new loan. The guy working behind the desk took my paperwork and these were his comments.
1. WOW! You got that APR? I wish I had YOUR credit!
2. Sir, give me 30 seconds and I will have your forms to sign over to the new loaner.
3. You have an excellent loan company.
It took a grand total of 10 minutes ( I was expecting the usual...one hour at least that you get from other dealership.)
4. That's it sir is there anything else I can do for you? Have a great day and enjoy your new car.
VERY POSITIVE EXPERIENCE........
Tomorrow is a big test. I take the car in to have it DE-SMOKED. They said I would have a loaner car. We shall see. So far I have become a big fan of how Car Max handles their business. I know other dealerships are out there that operate well but what I have enjoyed about this experience is the "just the facts" approach. It is what is and you can take it or not? They leave you alone when you need to talk and they know when to pipe in to help you make the best decision.
Keep it up Car Max.....I have friends looking for cars and I will definitely send them your way.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Ahh...Easter Sunday at Church
Alright...the family here are members of a large church here in Dallas. I don't know the exact member number but our Sanctuary holds about 2500 people and there are many Sunday's where the place is 3/4 full to full. The church runs 3 services each Sunday. Typically we go to the middle service. We can sleep in a little and still have most of our day to do whatever we want.
Today we left extra early to make sure we had plenty of time to get in and get settled. We PLANNED on it being crowded and we were not disappointed. Tons of people today. The problem I have is when these people do not plan accordingly.
Here is Jon Doe who shows up at church 5 minutes after the music has started and they make an announcement for us to move to the center so that we can make room for all of the Jon Doe's who showed up late to the service.
Here are my thoughts..
1. HOW ARE YOU LATE TO EASTER SERVICE? You know it's going to be crowded. PLAN AHEAD. The ol' saying of "your poor planning does not mean I now have a crisis."
2. Why should I give up my PRIME seat on the isle (extra leg room) for some person who is LATE to the service?
Now what I did do is move out of my seat to let THEM go squeeze into the middle of the pew but I worked hard to ensure I would get the seat so sorry I am not giving it up. (I follow the same concept in movie theaters.) I got here early to get the seat I want. Your late...you get the left overs not me.
The service was wonderful and the music was FANTASTIC Then came trying to get out of the Sanctuary. We had 2,000 people trying to get out but there were 2,000 people trying to get INTO the sanctuary at the same time to get a good seat. Result.....deadlock. Normally there is a line of traffic that people follow. People leave on the right hand side of the hall and the people coming in are on the right side of the hall. Today.....both sides seemed to want both lanes of traffic. I inched out the door.
Next came the parking lot.....oh my gosh. My son and I went to go get the car while my wife went to go get our daughter. I am in the middle of backing my car out when a guy in a JAGUAR pulls up behind me and parks on the curb and leaves his car JOGGING toward the church. I rolled my window down and yelled "Excuse Me?" but he either did not hear me or totally ignored me. So after a seven point turn I was able to get out of my parking space. I did have one family that walked right behind my MOVING vehicle and looked at me like I was evil for almost hitting them. NEWS FLASH...DON'T WALK BEHIND A MOVING CAR!!!!
Next year I have it figured out. We are going to PALM Sunday and the kids will dress up all pretty. When Easter hits the JDHTEACH clan is staying away from all the people who come to church on Easter and Christmas.
Besides that I had a wonderful experience at church today.
Today we left extra early to make sure we had plenty of time to get in and get settled. We PLANNED on it being crowded and we were not disappointed. Tons of people today. The problem I have is when these people do not plan accordingly.
Here is Jon Doe who shows up at church 5 minutes after the music has started and they make an announcement for us to move to the center so that we can make room for all of the Jon Doe's who showed up late to the service.
Here are my thoughts..
1. HOW ARE YOU LATE TO EASTER SERVICE? You know it's going to be crowded. PLAN AHEAD. The ol' saying of "your poor planning does not mean I now have a crisis."
2. Why should I give up my PRIME seat on the isle (extra leg room) for some person who is LATE to the service?
Now what I did do is move out of my seat to let THEM go squeeze into the middle of the pew but I worked hard to ensure I would get the seat so sorry I am not giving it up. (I follow the same concept in movie theaters.) I got here early to get the seat I want. Your late...you get the left overs not me.
The service was wonderful and the music was FANTASTIC Then came trying to get out of the Sanctuary. We had 2,000 people trying to get out but there were 2,000 people trying to get INTO the sanctuary at the same time to get a good seat. Result.....deadlock. Normally there is a line of traffic that people follow. People leave on the right hand side of the hall and the people coming in are on the right side of the hall. Today.....both sides seemed to want both lanes of traffic. I inched out the door.
Next came the parking lot.....oh my gosh. My son and I went to go get the car while my wife went to go get our daughter. I am in the middle of backing my car out when a guy in a JAGUAR pulls up behind me and parks on the curb and leaves his car JOGGING toward the church. I rolled my window down and yelled "Excuse Me?" but he either did not hear me or totally ignored me. So after a seven point turn I was able to get out of my parking space. I did have one family that walked right behind my MOVING vehicle and looked at me like I was evil for almost hitting them. NEWS FLASH...DON'T WALK BEHIND A MOVING CAR!!!!
Next year I have it figured out. We are going to PALM Sunday and the kids will dress up all pretty. When Easter hits the JDHTEACH clan is staying away from all the people who come to church on Easter and Christmas.
Besides that I had a wonderful experience at church today.
I Am Starting To Think....
Why would you buy a new car? Seriously....let someone else take that big hit of driving the car off the lot.
As my previous post mentioned I just purchased a two year old vehicle with 23K on it. I purchased an extended warranty to 100K and my car payment went DOWN a little over 100 dollars WITH the warranty.
Well you bought a cheaper car than what you had.....um...NO is the answer to that one.
I don't know why it took me this long to figure this out...slow I guess.
My motto from now on....look for a year to 2 year old vehicle and buy an extended warranty.
By buying the vehicle we got used we saved on average I figured 15k on the sticker price of the car. New versions of our vehicle start in the "holy crap" range of my budget and go UP from there.
Then I started to think about my family. My sister has been buying cars like this for about 6 years. My parents did it with their last car purchase. My brother in law did it with both of the vehicles he and his wife are driving. My father in law will ONLY buy cars this way.
I guess I am the slow one in the family. The important thing is I figured it out right?
As my previous post mentioned I just purchased a two year old vehicle with 23K on it. I purchased an extended warranty to 100K and my car payment went DOWN a little over 100 dollars WITH the warranty.
Well you bought a cheaper car than what you had.....um...NO is the answer to that one.
I don't know why it took me this long to figure this out...slow I guess.
My motto from now on....look for a year to 2 year old vehicle and buy an extended warranty.
By buying the vehicle we got used we saved on average I figured 15k on the sticker price of the car. New versions of our vehicle start in the "holy crap" range of my budget and go UP from there.
Then I started to think about my family. My sister has been buying cars like this for about 6 years. My parents did it with their last car purchase. My brother in law did it with both of the vehicles he and his wife are driving. My father in law will ONLY buy cars this way.
I guess I am the slow one in the family. The important thing is I figured it out right?
A New (used) Car
Okay, where I live gas is going at 3.25 a gallon. I know this it is higher in other areas but this is starting to get impacting. My wife drives a large SUV and we are slowly becoming a one car family as I drive a Toyota Camry. Well the other day we filled up the large SUV and it ran a little over 75.00. WOW....the large SUV just became a "Sunday to Church" vehicle. So I decided to look around and see if their was a possibility we could get out of this thing and find something with space for the family and BETTER GAS MILEAGE.
I knew we were upside down but not by very much. I also knew that for quite some time my wife had her eye on a type of vehicle that she really liked. I looked online at dealerships and the prices they had on their used versions of the car were on the high end to " to no way" end of our budget and high mileage.
My wife suggested looking at Car Max to see if they had the vehicle we were looking for. So I went on the computer and put the price range I was looking at and BINGO there were two vehicles on the LOWEST end of my price range. Both vehicles were a year or two old and had low mileage.
I had always heard about Car Max and their no hassle idea so off my wife went while I watched the kids. I must say they are correct. Here is the price and that's it. Here is what we will give you for your car...that's it and then you decide yes or no. It was extremely easy and not near as drawn out as I have seen the process go. If we did not have to go through financing my wife would have been out of their with the car she wanted in about an hour.
We went with the older vehicle because it was basically the same vehicle but it had 10k less miles on it.
So now my wife has a 2005 Cadillac SRX. I have seen the vehicles on the road but have never been in one. She drove the car home and I got in it and WOW!!! These cars are NICE!! I have never bought a car in this realm before. My parents had a couple of Cadillac's when I was growing up but I have not ridden in one in years. We went out in the car and I got to drive. The ride in these vehicles is amazing. I am VERY IMPRESSED with the SRX.
The best part is my car payment went down a little over 100 dollars and with the fuel situation that savings could go up to the 150 to 200 range. I did go with the extended warranty to 100k. Overall I would say a very positive car buying experience.
JDHTEACH
I knew we were upside down but not by very much. I also knew that for quite some time my wife had her eye on a type of vehicle that she really liked. I looked online at dealerships and the prices they had on their used versions of the car were on the high end to " to no way" end of our budget and high mileage.
My wife suggested looking at Car Max to see if they had the vehicle we were looking for. So I went on the computer and put the price range I was looking at and BINGO there were two vehicles on the LOWEST end of my price range. Both vehicles were a year or two old and had low mileage.
I had always heard about Car Max and their no hassle idea so off my wife went while I watched the kids. I must say they are correct. Here is the price and that's it. Here is what we will give you for your car...that's it and then you decide yes or no. It was extremely easy and not near as drawn out as I have seen the process go. If we did not have to go through financing my wife would have been out of their with the car she wanted in about an hour.
We went with the older vehicle because it was basically the same vehicle but it had 10k less miles on it.
So now my wife has a 2005 Cadillac SRX. I have seen the vehicles on the road but have never been in one. She drove the car home and I got in it and WOW!!! These cars are NICE!! I have never bought a car in this realm before. My parents had a couple of Cadillac's when I was growing up but I have not ridden in one in years. We went out in the car and I got to drive. The ride in these vehicles is amazing. I am VERY IMPRESSED with the SRX.
The best part is my car payment went down a little over 100 dollars and with the fuel situation that savings could go up to the 150 to 200 range. I did go with the extended warranty to 100k. Overall I would say a very positive car buying experience.
JDHTEACH
Thursday, March 20, 2008
a Great Evening
Last night my wife and I had a wonderful evening. We were kid free and we were going out to dinner. I wanted to try someplace new and maybe a place were we could sit outside and people watch or a nice cozy place somewhere in downtown Dallas.
My wife read off three places and we chose the HIBISCUS. Sorry if I did not spell that correctly. Well I invited my sister-in-law K to join us. We were kid free and she was free of her house guest so I thought it would be great for her to join us. We made the decision to meet for drinks at 7:45 with reservations at 8:15.
My wife and I were so excited. You see with two kids the LATEST we usually eat is 6:00 and if you are eating out there is only a certain amount of time you have with a 7 year old and a 4 year old.
We met at the bar and had drinks and about 8:20 the hostess came to get us for our seats. The restaurant is very nicely decorated with dark woods and candles and funky lights. Well lit yet romantically dark.
We started off with a glass of wine and an appetizer. This restaurant I noticed paced the meal. They want you to relax and enjoy your meal. They are not rushing you out the door to get more people in their. They serve steaks and sea food with side dishes served seperate. Now the seafood seemed to come with side items but what I learned last night was you could order one entree and one side item and share both easily.
Everything we had was OUTSTANDING. The service was GREAT...our waiter really spent a lot of time at our table. I think its because my wife and sister in law are gorgeous.....he definately was not there for me. He had a lot of personality but it was not fake and he left us alone only checking on us at the appropriate times.
Before I knew it it was 10:15pm. For the first time in I have no clue we spent over 2 hours at a dining establishment and the time FLEW. The wonderful food, great service, and great conversation made for a truely wonderful evening. Definately will be going back.
My wife read off three places and we chose the HIBISCUS. Sorry if I did not spell that correctly. Well I invited my sister-in-law K to join us. We were kid free and she was free of her house guest so I thought it would be great for her to join us. We made the decision to meet for drinks at 7:45 with reservations at 8:15.
My wife and I were so excited. You see with two kids the LATEST we usually eat is 6:00 and if you are eating out there is only a certain amount of time you have with a 7 year old and a 4 year old.
We met at the bar and had drinks and about 8:20 the hostess came to get us for our seats. The restaurant is very nicely decorated with dark woods and candles and funky lights. Well lit yet romantically dark.
We started off with a glass of wine and an appetizer. This restaurant I noticed paced the meal. They want you to relax and enjoy your meal. They are not rushing you out the door to get more people in their. They serve steaks and sea food with side dishes served seperate. Now the seafood seemed to come with side items but what I learned last night was you could order one entree and one side item and share both easily.
Everything we had was OUTSTANDING. The service was GREAT...our waiter really spent a lot of time at our table. I think its because my wife and sister in law are gorgeous.....he definately was not there for me. He had a lot of personality but it was not fake and he left us alone only checking on us at the appropriate times.
Before I knew it it was 10:15pm. For the first time in I have no clue we spent over 2 hours at a dining establishment and the time FLEW. The wonderful food, great service, and great conversation made for a truely wonderful evening. Definately will be going back.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Off to Nerdville
Well today is the day that I go off to be a computer geek for a while. You see one of my most favorite games comes out today. The name is Rainbox Six 2. You have probably seen commercials for the game on TV. The game is beautiful graphically and for all of us military want-a-be's this game is it. I am even part of a group of players called (MwC). That stands for Married With Children. I do play online a lot in the late evenings. Basically you are part of an elite counter terrorism unit and you are in Vegas cleaning house.
It is really fun when you get a group of people who communicate well. You have the option of playing other groups online and when that happens you HAVE to communicate or your team is going to get WAXED!
See I told you....I am off to nerdville. I promise I will stay normal.
It is really fun when you get a group of people who communicate well. You have the option of playing other groups online and when that happens you HAVE to communicate or your team is going to get WAXED!
See I told you....I am off to nerdville. I promise I will stay normal.
Monday, March 17, 2008
First Day of Spring Break!
Well went to the doctor today. Got the results back from my bone marrow biopsy post transplant. I am currently livin' CANCER FREE!!!
Came home and took my son and wife out for lunch. It was a new place.....sports bar type. Not bad food. Did not wow us but we will give them another shot with the dinner menue.
Think I will relax and watch a movie.
JDH
Came home and took my son and wife out for lunch. It was a new place.....sports bar type. Not bad food. Did not wow us but we will give them another shot with the dinner menue.
Think I will relax and watch a movie.
JDH
Sunday, March 16, 2008
I Wonder What Is Going On At My Church
My wife and I have been members of our church for gosh about 10 years now I guess. We joined the year after we got married. About 2 years ago our church moved into a brand new building right around Easter as a matter of fact I think Easter weekend two years ago was when it officially opened.
Here is what is a little wierd. We have been getting pushed HARD to give more money to the church. Neither me nor my wife remember being constantly pushed like this. We get stuff in the mail now. We get reminders in our emailed church newsletter and a good 10 minutes of todays introductions was committed to giving more money. It just seems that has been going on since at least the first of December. I love to go to church in December. It's my favorite time. The church is decorated beautifully and the music is lovely. But all four Sunday's in December we were pushed to give, give, give so that the church could cover their 2007 budget. They made up a 225,000 deficit in 3 weeks. There are some wealthy church members who have donated over a million dollars a couple times a year. The church membership is somewhere close to 10,000 people. They just put in an extension to the parking lot for 750,000 that was paid for before a truck showed up on the job.
I know the church uses a lot of this money for the many wonderful projects they have going on all over the city, state, country and world. I get it and I want to help.
Now I can't afford the 10% policy but my wife does write a check to the church every month that averages between 50 and 100 dollars each month. Plus we put an "extra" bit of love in the basket each week.
I don't know what it is. Does the church have their finger in too many pies? Do we need to concentrate on getting the new building the way you want it and then expand our ministries or are we in a TON of ministries and trying to expand the church at the same time?
Not sure what is going on but the give give give messages need to slow down.
Here is what is a little wierd. We have been getting pushed HARD to give more money to the church. Neither me nor my wife remember being constantly pushed like this. We get stuff in the mail now. We get reminders in our emailed church newsletter and a good 10 minutes of todays introductions was committed to giving more money. It just seems that has been going on since at least the first of December. I love to go to church in December. It's my favorite time. The church is decorated beautifully and the music is lovely. But all four Sunday's in December we were pushed to give, give, give so that the church could cover their 2007 budget. They made up a 225,000 deficit in 3 weeks. There are some wealthy church members who have donated over a million dollars a couple times a year. The church membership is somewhere close to 10,000 people. They just put in an extension to the parking lot for 750,000 that was paid for before a truck showed up on the job.
I know the church uses a lot of this money for the many wonderful projects they have going on all over the city, state, country and world. I get it and I want to help.
Now I can't afford the 10% policy but my wife does write a check to the church every month that averages between 50 and 100 dollars each month. Plus we put an "extra" bit of love in the basket each week.
I don't know what it is. Does the church have their finger in too many pies? Do we need to concentrate on getting the new building the way you want it and then expand our ministries or are we in a TON of ministries and trying to expand the church at the same time?
Not sure what is going on but the give give give messages need to slow down.
Can we look at the practice please???
There is only one practice I think our church needs to look at when doing their weekly presentations.
AND THAT PRACTICE IS?????
The way they handle new members joining.
Here is what happens....They pick a song for us to sing that usually ties into that sermons message for the day. The song is usually quite lengthy due to the fact that they want to give the people plenty of time to get down to the front. The songs are usually 4 to six stanza's long and average I would say 3 to 4 minutes to sing.
Here is whete I think they need to rethink something. What do you do when noone is joining on that Sunday. They know when someone is joining and when someone is not. The church controls it. If you want to join you have to fill out a card and turn it in. Then they contact you and schedule a time to come talk to you and your family and talk about the process of joining and the dates that are open.
So WHY WHEN NOONE IS JOINING DO WE HAVE TO SING SIX STANZA"S AND STAND THERE FOR 3 TO 5 MINUTES.
Here is the deal. If noone is joining we stand up sing the first couple of stanza's...the Preacher gives the que to the organist to wrap it up early.....we get our benediction for the week and it's OFF TO JASON'S DELI and the SALAD BAR?????
what do you think....bad carma with God?
AND THAT PRACTICE IS?????
The way they handle new members joining.
Here is what happens....They pick a song for us to sing that usually ties into that sermons message for the day. The song is usually quite lengthy due to the fact that they want to give the people plenty of time to get down to the front. The songs are usually 4 to six stanza's long and average I would say 3 to 4 minutes to sing.
Here is whete I think they need to rethink something. What do you do when noone is joining on that Sunday. They know when someone is joining and when someone is not. The church controls it. If you want to join you have to fill out a card and turn it in. Then they contact you and schedule a time to come talk to you and your family and talk about the process of joining and the dates that are open.
So WHY WHEN NOONE IS JOINING DO WE HAVE TO SING SIX STANZA"S AND STAND THERE FOR 3 TO 5 MINUTES.
Here is the deal. If noone is joining we stand up sing the first couple of stanza's...the Preacher gives the que to the organist to wrap it up early.....we get our benediction for the week and it's OFF TO JASON'S DELI and the SALAD BAR?????
what do you think....bad carma with God?
To Join or Not to Join
I am considering joining a Sunday school class. There is a class for couples our age with kids our age. The "hang up" I have is when it comes to religion I am a private person. My experience in past has been you go to one class and the people try to become your best friend at that first class. Start inviting us to suppers at their house.....WOW!!!! I move a little slower in that front. "WE JUST HAVE TO GET OUR KIDS TOGETHER AND PLAY" Um no we don't....I don't know you and your kid could be a devil child who is not disciplined. Let me get to know ya then we will talk.
We did a bible study about 4 years ago. It was a small group of about 10 people and I did enjoy that.
My other hang up is the time. They meet when we normally are in church...9:45. This means that if we join we have to go to either the 8:45 service....which means getting up at 7:00...which means no sleeping in or go to the later service at 10:45...which means not getting out until 12:00 and you have to fight the rush at Jason's Deli.
What to do....what to do. I do enjoy going to church. I LOVE our preacher. HE IS GREAT. I love his style of delivery. I get in....get the message and in an hour I feel connected with God and I am ready for the salad bar at Jason's Deli.
WHAT TO DO????
We did a bible study about 4 years ago. It was a small group of about 10 people and I did enjoy that.
My other hang up is the time. They meet when we normally are in church...9:45. This means that if we join we have to go to either the 8:45 service....which means getting up at 7:00...which means no sleeping in or go to the later service at 10:45...which means not getting out until 12:00 and you have to fight the rush at Jason's Deli.
What to do....what to do. I do enjoy going to church. I LOVE our preacher. HE IS GREAT. I love his style of delivery. I get in....get the message and in an hour I feel connected with God and I am ready for the salad bar at Jason's Deli.
WHAT TO DO????
Insurance WAR Update
Okay you are going to laugh at this. I called the insurance company today because I was told Tuesday that they would have the check in the mail by Thursday and I should have it Friday or Saturday at the latest. Well Friday and Saturday came and went and I have NO CHECK.
We are creeping up on two months with no monitary contribution from JDHTEACH. Are we going to have to take MORE money out of savings?
Well I called them this morning. Of course its Sunday so you get computer voice....no real people.
I found out from Mr. Computer that my check will be mailed on March 17th and the first check will be mailed to my employer and after that each check will be mailed to my house. The check for March will be mailed on the 29th. Cool I thought...that is about $6,000 in 12 days. I was so happy I hung up......then it hit me.
My district is on Spring Break until the Tuesday after EASTER! I wont be able to get my check until the 24th of March at the EARLIEST!
February has been a dry month but it looks like with my wifes bonus for teaching Saturday school and my two checks owed me March 31st will be a good day in our household.. Just gotta hang on a little longer.
My only question is why did my case manager tell me they were mailing it to me and the computer says they are mailing it to my employer??
This company has issues.
We are creeping up on two months with no monitary contribution from JDHTEACH. Are we going to have to take MORE money out of savings?
Well I called them this morning. Of course its Sunday so you get computer voice....no real people.
I found out from Mr. Computer that my check will be mailed on March 17th and the first check will be mailed to my employer and after that each check will be mailed to my house. The check for March will be mailed on the 29th. Cool I thought...that is about $6,000 in 12 days. I was so happy I hung up......then it hit me.
My district is on Spring Break until the Tuesday after EASTER! I wont be able to get my check until the 24th of March at the EARLIEST!
February has been a dry month but it looks like with my wifes bonus for teaching Saturday school and my two checks owed me March 31st will be a good day in our household.. Just gotta hang on a little longer.
My only question is why did my case manager tell me they were mailing it to me and the computer says they are mailing it to my employer??
This company has issues.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Parents, WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO YOURSELF?
I think I have mentioned that I am in education. I have been on the administrative side of the table now for 5 years. I cannot tell you how many times I have run across this exact situation.
Kids get parents riled up and mad at the school for multiple reasons. Bad grades and Discipline I would say would be one and two.
Now here is a multiple choice question to see if you know how to correctly handle this situation.
A. Parent calls or emails teacher to find out what is going on and works with the teacher(s) to correct problem.
B. Parent skips calling teacher and calls AP or the principal (me)
C. Parent just shows up at the campus spitin' mad.
Now if you think about this A is the obvious answer. Sometimes parents will try B. I handle this by listening to their situation and letting them get their concern out there. I then ask them if they have talked to their teacher about this concern. 99% of the time the asnwer is no. At this time I direct them to the teacher and move on.
But here is the kicker. You would be surprised how many parents choose C as their option. Why do you only take the information from your child as the holy writings and then show up at school only to find out your child has told you only half truths or complete fabrication of the facts. You end up not looking to good and often embarrassed and you apologize for your behavior and you leave with your tail ducked between your legs. Some parents this happens to more than once.
So please parents before you show up at your son or daughters school ready to get even for the tragic conditions your child has been dealing with PLEASE give the opportunity of the educator to give you all of the facts before you make a decision.
Educators are not PERFECT. They do make mistakes. But please give them an opportunity to speak. Many times it will save a lot of time and you a lot of stress.
Kids get parents riled up and mad at the school for multiple reasons. Bad grades and Discipline I would say would be one and two.
Now here is a multiple choice question to see if you know how to correctly handle this situation.
A. Parent calls or emails teacher to find out what is going on and works with the teacher(s) to correct problem.
B. Parent skips calling teacher and calls AP or the principal (me)
C. Parent just shows up at the campus spitin' mad.
Now if you think about this A is the obvious answer. Sometimes parents will try B. I handle this by listening to their situation and letting them get their concern out there. I then ask them if they have talked to their teacher about this concern. 99% of the time the asnwer is no. At this time I direct them to the teacher and move on.
But here is the kicker. You would be surprised how many parents choose C as their option. Why do you only take the information from your child as the holy writings and then show up at school only to find out your child has told you only half truths or complete fabrication of the facts. You end up not looking to good and often embarrassed and you apologize for your behavior and you leave with your tail ducked between your legs. Some parents this happens to more than once.
So please parents before you show up at your son or daughters school ready to get even for the tragic conditions your child has been dealing with PLEASE give the opportunity of the educator to give you all of the facts before you make a decision.
Educators are not PERFECT. They do make mistakes. But please give them an opportunity to speak. Many times it will save a lot of time and you a lot of stress.
PLEASE FORCE YOUR KIDS TO PLAY
Today I got to my sons basketball game about 15 minutes early. This gave me the opportunity to watch the basketball game before my sons started. I am guessing here but these kids were in either 5th or 6th grade. I am leaning toward 6th grade. Each team had exactly 5 players show up for todays game and the game is set up in 6.....6 minute periods with no stoppage of the clock. So breaks are frequent.
Here is my observation.......THESE KIDS ARE TERRIBLE AT PLAYING BASKETBALL. Here is what I saw.
Shot from one foot....hit bottom of rim
Kid rebounds and shoots again.....hit bottom of rim
Other team rebounds...passes the ball out....great pass.
The kid gets the pass but tries to dribble and it goes off his foot and rolls out of bounds.
Team inbounds pass and kid shoots a 3 pointer....excellent form and MAKES IT.
Team inbounds the ball and their point guard is dribbling I swear all by himself and he falls down. I guess he tripped on the paint on the floor. Other team stills...dribbles down the court for a layup but NO...Layup hits the bottom of the rim.
There is more but you get the point. Each team had one good player and the rest of the kids were just BAD.....and this was the 10th game of the season and after at least 10 practices as a team.
If JDHTEACH were a sixth grader and on this team I am telling you I would have been a STUD. I am not saying that I was a basketball god or anything I just know where my skills were at this level.
I am not making this up when I say this fact. You put me and two of my friends K and D that lived on my street as a kid and we would have beat the living crap out of either one of these teams 5 on 3.
Why do I make such a claim??? Because we actually played OUTSIDE as a kid. When we did play outside I would say at least 4 out of 7 days we played basketball. We were in shape..these kids are puffing and wheezing. We were pulling off no look passes because we knew where our buddies would be. I can think of 2 other friends of mine M and T that if you add them up to make the teams even we would never loose to either of those teams. I tell you NEVER. We actually had plays and practiced playing 21 against one another when we could not scratch up a game. It got to the point that all of the other kids in our neighborhood would come up with all different types of combinations of kids to try to beat JDH, K, and D. They even attempted to throw in a couple of older siblings at us who were a grade level above us. We never lost. I am not lying about this but we just didn't. I was the inside guy because of my size. K was the intermediate shooter and D was deadly from outside. So kids had to pick their poison....stack on me I dish it to K and it's over. Double K and he dishes it to me or D and its over. For 3 years we ruled the neighborhood and we never lost. By the time we got to high school we joined the church leagues and played there.
Where we basketball gods???/ HECK NO!!!!!! Only one of us went on to play high school basketball.
We just played the game.....outside.....A LOT. On Saturday nights we would go up to the local Rec and play with and against kids that were 2 or three years older than us. You learn a lot by doing that as well.
So parents....please get your kids out there and make them play.....DADS...get out there and help your son. Coach...teach skills....play with them do something to get them out there playing.
Here is my observation.......THESE KIDS ARE TERRIBLE AT PLAYING BASKETBALL. Here is what I saw.
Shot from one foot....hit bottom of rim
Kid rebounds and shoots again.....hit bottom of rim
Other team rebounds...passes the ball out....great pass.
The kid gets the pass but tries to dribble and it goes off his foot and rolls out of bounds.
Team inbounds pass and kid shoots a 3 pointer....excellent form and MAKES IT.
Team inbounds the ball and their point guard is dribbling I swear all by himself and he falls down. I guess he tripped on the paint on the floor. Other team stills...dribbles down the court for a layup but NO...Layup hits the bottom of the rim.
There is more but you get the point. Each team had one good player and the rest of the kids were just BAD.....and this was the 10th game of the season and after at least 10 practices as a team.
If JDHTEACH were a sixth grader and on this team I am telling you I would have been a STUD. I am not saying that I was a basketball god or anything I just know where my skills were at this level.
I am not making this up when I say this fact. You put me and two of my friends K and D that lived on my street as a kid and we would have beat the living crap out of either one of these teams 5 on 3.
Why do I make such a claim??? Because we actually played OUTSIDE as a kid. When we did play outside I would say at least 4 out of 7 days we played basketball. We were in shape..these kids are puffing and wheezing. We were pulling off no look passes because we knew where our buddies would be. I can think of 2 other friends of mine M and T that if you add them up to make the teams even we would never loose to either of those teams. I tell you NEVER. We actually had plays and practiced playing 21 against one another when we could not scratch up a game. It got to the point that all of the other kids in our neighborhood would come up with all different types of combinations of kids to try to beat JDH, K, and D. They even attempted to throw in a couple of older siblings at us who were a grade level above us. We never lost. I am not lying about this but we just didn't. I was the inside guy because of my size. K was the intermediate shooter and D was deadly from outside. So kids had to pick their poison....stack on me I dish it to K and it's over. Double K and he dishes it to me or D and its over. For 3 years we ruled the neighborhood and we never lost. By the time we got to high school we joined the church leagues and played there.
Where we basketball gods???/ HECK NO!!!!!! Only one of us went on to play high school basketball.
We just played the game.....outside.....A LOT. On Saturday nights we would go up to the local Rec and play with and against kids that were 2 or three years older than us. You learn a lot by doing that as well.
So parents....please get your kids out there and make them play.....DADS...get out there and help your son. Coach...teach skills....play with them do something to get them out there playing.
My Son the BASKETBALL STUDD
Went to my sons LAST basketball game of the season today. My son plays in an Upward league at our church. He is on a team of 7 year olds. Now let me set this up for you. The kids know who to guard by the fact that they are wearing matching colored wrist bands. My son is the baby Shaq of our team. He is at least a head taller than any kid in the 4 team league and weighing in at 91 pounds I don't think anyone comes close to his size. Typically Jack, my son, enjoys just playing the game. He loves to play defense and dribble the ball. He usually gets an average of 3 baskets.
Today he was a STUD. It was like he was on another level. He had at least 4 steals, 9 assist, 5 rebounds and 14 points. He was stoked and so were his mommy and daddy. I could not help but coach from the side lines. His current coach doesn't do crap but that is another blog. Anyway, when he did what I told him to do it usually worked out for him.....maybe their is a connect with my coaching and his success???? Nah, he just played well.
My son is a pretty good athlete. He has it in his genes. His grandfather was an All State athlete and had offers to Notre Dame, Texas, Arkansas, and TCU. His Aunt was a great high school athlete and his mommy and daddy were both athletes while in school.
I wish we had a few more basketball games to go so we could build on this.
Today he was a STUD. It was like he was on another level. He had at least 4 steals, 9 assist, 5 rebounds and 14 points. He was stoked and so were his mommy and daddy. I could not help but coach from the side lines. His current coach doesn't do crap but that is another blog. Anyway, when he did what I told him to do it usually worked out for him.....maybe their is a connect with my coaching and his success???? Nah, he just played well.
My son is a pretty good athlete. He has it in his genes. His grandfather was an All State athlete and had offers to Notre Dame, Texas, Arkansas, and TCU. His Aunt was a great high school athlete and his mommy and daddy were both athletes while in school.
I wish we had a few more basketball games to go so we could build on this.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Fast Food Industry Hiring Practices
I dropped by one of my local fast food establishments today and I noticed something. All of the workers in the establishment were hispanic. I will say this about the hispanic culture. They WORK. Every single person in that restaurant was working like crazy. Noone was casually working either. I mean these people had a MISSION. The sign on the restaurant says 43 million served but these people were working like they were trying to serve 43 million....TODAY. Across the world they probably do.
I have only two request.
Request #1- Any person who is in a position where they are going to be interaction WITH people please speak the English language effectively. Today, I give the girl credit for trying but normally when you step up to place an order you get ...."May I take your order". Today in very broken English which I did not catch the first time and asked the girl to repeat was "What...you ...want?" What the heck is that? What I want? What do I say? Me want food? Me want hamburger?
Request #2 Learn how to make change so that in the event that the cash register goes funky on you you know what to do.
My bill $4.97. I gave the girl 5 dollars and 2 cents. I did this so I could get rid of the pennies in my pocket and I would get back one nickel instead of 3 pennies. The girl just looked at me like I was stupid for paying OVER my bill when I explained to her my reasoning. SHE HAD TO GET THE APPROVAL OF THE MANAGER. He of course told her sure and we moved on but I sure shut down that cash resgister for an extra 5 minutes.
My son is learning how to make change in the first grade for crying out loud!!!!!
I am just going to throw this out there but if I were a manager of fast food place I would put the English speakers on the registers and the non-english speakers on the assembly line making the food.
I have only two request.
Request #1- Any person who is in a position where they are going to be interaction WITH people please speak the English language effectively. Today, I give the girl credit for trying but normally when you step up to place an order you get ...."May I take your order". Today in very broken English which I did not catch the first time and asked the girl to repeat was "What...you ...want?" What the heck is that? What I want? What do I say? Me want food? Me want hamburger?
Request #2 Learn how to make change so that in the event that the cash register goes funky on you you know what to do.
My bill $4.97. I gave the girl 5 dollars and 2 cents. I did this so I could get rid of the pennies in my pocket and I would get back one nickel instead of 3 pennies. The girl just looked at me like I was stupid for paying OVER my bill when I explained to her my reasoning. SHE HAD TO GET THE APPROVAL OF THE MANAGER. He of course told her sure and we moved on but I sure shut down that cash resgister for an extra 5 minutes.
My son is learning how to make change in the first grade for crying out loud!!!!!
I am just going to throw this out there but if I were a manager of fast food place I would put the English speakers on the registers and the non-english speakers on the assembly line making the food.
Money, Money, Money
If you have been reading my blog you know that I am currently at WAR with a very large insurance company trying to get them to pay up on my long term disability. I am going on two months now without any finances coming in from my share. Needless to say our savings has taken a hit. Well in the last week here is what has happened for me and my family.
Saturday- Income tax refund came in.
Tuesay- Said insurance company called me telling me my claim was being recommended for approval and I can expect a check either the end of this week or next for February and the March check will be here on the 29th.
Thursday- Went to my campus today to do a little office work and found out that my school did a secret penny drive and the PTA gave me a check for almost 1.000 dollars to help cover medical bills.
My wife also will be getting money for teaching Saturday school in this months check and next month.
After all of the withdrawls and money transfers it will be nice to actually be putting IN the bank.
Saturday- Income tax refund came in.
Tuesay- Said insurance company called me telling me my claim was being recommended for approval and I can expect a check either the end of this week or next for February and the March check will be here on the 29th.
Thursday- Went to my campus today to do a little office work and found out that my school did a secret penny drive and the PTA gave me a check for almost 1.000 dollars to help cover medical bills.
My wife also will be getting money for teaching Saturday school in this months check and next month.
After all of the withdrawls and money transfers it will be nice to actually be putting IN the bank.
Monday, March 10, 2008
American Gangster and 3:10 to Yuma
Well I am behind the times but I just watched 3:10 to Yuma and American Gangster. I really enjoyed both movies. American Gangster was over 2 hours and 15 minutes and for me the time flew by. 3:10 to Yuma was equally entertaining. I wish the ending were a bit different but I still really liked the movie. If you have not seen either one of these movies you need to make it a point to put them on your "to see" list.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
One Lucky Dude
About 11 years ago I met a girl in my graduate classes. I was not looking to get into a serious relationship at the time because I had recently got out of a relationship with a girl that drove me nuts. We worked together in a couple of group activities and I would be lieing if I said I did not notice her but I did not get the vibe at all that she was remotely interested. This girl as a remember had beautiful eyes, thick dark brown hair and an unbelievable olive complextion. The best though had to be her calf muscles. She had ROCK HARD calf muscles. My guess was she was either a former cheerleader or was involved in sports. I found out she played volleyball in high school. That was June of 96.
In July of that year she actually asked ME out. After a couple of cancelations we finally went out in August of 96.
So what happened to her? We married May of 97 and it has been a wonderful decade together.
We have two beautiful children and she still has those ROCK HARD CALVES!!!
Thank you Sexy Momma. Thank you for sticking with me! HM
In July of that year she actually asked ME out. After a couple of cancelations we finally went out in August of 96.
So what happened to her? We married May of 97 and it has been a wonderful decade together.
We have two beautiful children and she still has those ROCK HARD CALVES!!!
Thank you Sexy Momma. Thank you for sticking with me! HM
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Poker Rules
I like to play Poker. It really does not matter what game is played I just like to play. Particulary I am a fan of Texas Hold'em. In the past couple of months I have visited a casino that is about 90 minutes out of Dallas. When playing during the day you find many retired "locals" who play probably almost every day.
It seems when they see me coming they think.....oh boy here comes easy money. I don't know why they think if you are under 50 you are dumb.
But here is my observation: Can someone tell me why old men feel the need to talk CONSTANTLY while playing poker? Honestly, they don't shut up. YAK YAK YAK. If you happen to get in hand against one of them and lose??? It's over...you just signed up for 30 minutes straight of listening to their guide to poker playing. It does not matter that an hour earlier you beat them 3 times.
So please Poker players out there....enjoy your victories but please have some dignity.
What are some "practices" that get on your nerves when playing poker?
JDH
It seems when they see me coming they think.....oh boy here comes easy money. I don't know why they think if you are under 50 you are dumb.
But here is my observation: Can someone tell me why old men feel the need to talk CONSTANTLY while playing poker? Honestly, they don't shut up. YAK YAK YAK. If you happen to get in hand against one of them and lose??? It's over...you just signed up for 30 minutes straight of listening to their guide to poker playing. It does not matter that an hour earlier you beat them 3 times.
So please Poker players out there....enjoy your victories but please have some dignity.
What are some "practices" that get on your nerves when playing poker?
JDH
Friday, March 7, 2008
Trying To Read the Bible
Okay, I am making a very hard effort to read the Bible. The problem I am having is some of the books are VERY LONG and drawn out. Does anyone know a good study guide that you can get that helps you work through the readings?
JDH
JDH
Frustrated with Insurance Companies
I have been not been able to work for quite some time due to the fact that I have been receiving treatment for leukemia. I was finally put on long term disability through my employer back in February. I won't name the company but I am getting pretty darn frustrated in working with them to get them the information they need. I started by getting a list of what they told me was EVERYTHING they needed on February 15th. They told me this was everything they needed. As of MARCH 7th they STILL claim they need more information from my doctor. This has gotten rediculous. They have no problems collecting the premiums each month but when it comes to dishing out money you should see the list of everything they need to PROVE that I cannot work and that they need to pay up. Mean while BILLS keep coming in.
Family has helped support us and thank goodness we have savings that can float us a few months until this long term stuff kicks in. It's just frustrating.
Thank goodness the income tax return is on the way.
JDH
Family has helped support us and thank goodness we have savings that can float us a few months until this long term stuff kicks in. It's just frustrating.
Thank goodness the income tax return is on the way.
JDH
Thank You Mr. MAN CLUB
I wanted to thank a good friend of mine who happens to be head of "The Man Club" I met Mr. M about 7 or 8 years ago. We were both teaching at the same school at the time. He worked inclusion with my kids who needed the extra help. We both worked extended day at our campus for extra money and the ultimate bonding happened when we held an all night party in our school. It was a fund raiser and he and I watched over and played with the kids in the school. That was the deal. It was like a lock in. We had a blast....played basketball with the kids...hockey....kickball......it nearly killed us but finally at 3 o'clock in the morning the kids crashed and he and I looked like death warmed over. We won a TON of browny points with our principal at the time because it was supposed to be for girls. A couple of female teachers were going to do make-up and nails all night. The only problem was as a joke a boy put in a ticket in the pot. AND HE WON. They had no idea what to do. They approached Mr. M and I about would we consider doing it. Both of us jumped at it and had a ball.
Why did I go into that long story? Because it is one of my best memories as a teacher and it was at that point Mr. M became not just a work partner but a friend. Since this time we have both moved on to other jobs in different districts. However, we still email one another quite frequently and we meet up to play POKER at least once a month. Occassionally we can squeeze in twice.
Off and on I have been battling leukemia (I will tell my story later) for two years now. Mr. M has been praying for me and asked his friends in his church to do the same. He has visited me in the hospital and watched games with me on the TV just so I would not be alone and he lives about 40 miles from the hospital. He has even offered to mow my yard for free...again he lives 30 miles away from me.
Mr. M you have been a great friend to me these past almost 10 years and I am glad you are here.
JDH
Why did I go into that long story? Because it is one of my best memories as a teacher and it was at that point Mr. M became not just a work partner but a friend. Since this time we have both moved on to other jobs in different districts. However, we still email one another quite frequently and we meet up to play POKER at least once a month. Occassionally we can squeeze in twice.
Off and on I have been battling leukemia (I will tell my story later) for two years now. Mr. M has been praying for me and asked his friends in his church to do the same. He has visited me in the hospital and watched games with me on the TV just so I would not be alone and he lives about 40 miles from the hospital. He has even offered to mow my yard for free...again he lives 30 miles away from me.
Mr. M you have been a great friend to me these past almost 10 years and I am glad you are here.
JDH
Thursday, March 6, 2008
How Much Is a President Worth
Each morning my parents take care of my kids in that they feed them and get ready for school. With both my wife and I in the education field this is a nice luxury. If it were not for my parents my kids would be at school at 7:00 in the morning. Not ideal for a 7 and 4 year old.
One morning in making conversation as they were getting ready my mother asked my son..." What else are you studying in school? Grammy knows about spelling and math but what else are you studying?' My son told her he was studying "THE PRESIDENTS". Oh, she thought.....what president are you studying now? My son thought about it and he said......The one worth five cents! Translation....Thomas Jefferson.
Which brings up an interesting point? Do you know what Presidents are on US Currency?
Quick list them off.
Penny
Nickel
Dime
Quarter
Half Dollar
Dollar
2Dollar Bill\
5 Dollar
Keep Going.....be honest and tell me how many you knew before you had to look it up...or look in your piggy bank.
JDH
One morning in making conversation as they were getting ready my mother asked my son..." What else are you studying in school? Grammy knows about spelling and math but what else are you studying?' My son told her he was studying "THE PRESIDENTS". Oh, she thought.....what president are you studying now? My son thought about it and he said......The one worth five cents! Translation....Thomas Jefferson.
Which brings up an interesting point? Do you know what Presidents are on US Currency?
Quick list them off.
Penny
Nickel
Dime
Quarter
Half Dollar
Dollar
2Dollar Bill\
5 Dollar
Keep Going.....be honest and tell me how many you knew before you had to look it up...or look in your piggy bank.
JDH
Telling Someone They Are Being Fired
I am a Principal of a school here in North Texas. There are a million things I love about my job. I love working with kids. Yes even though I am the principal I have been known to jump in there and sub from time to time. I do have tutoring groups that I keep up with and of course I try to get into the hallways and classrooms as often as I can. I have a WONDERFUL office staff that has taken me 3 years to assemble but they make my life GREAT!! It has taken me 3 years but we have finally established a great culture in our building and the teachers have a lot of buy in into what we are trying to accomplish.
There is one part of my job that I hate. That part is telling someone that they are not going to be coming back. This is something that I have had to do each year. I have been in administration for 5 years now. There have been 4 people that I have had to say..."its not in the best intrest to continue this relationship." Now the responses I have gotten have been varied. It has ranged from acceptance....because they knew it was coming....to last year having someone file a grievance on me. The thing that is hard is that in each case personally I really like the person. These are good people. They just are not doing what they are supposed to be doing for a living or their style is not what I am looking for in a classroom teacher. When making these decisions I always ask myself....IS THIS WHAT IS BEST FOR KIDS?? Now don't get me wrong I don't just get rid of someone because they suck. If someone is not reaching their potential I will grow that teacher into a great teacher. That is one of the reasons I got my job. But if that person fights everything I tell them to do or does not do what I tell them to do or in some cases is negligent (SP?) in there job I have to say....its not in the best interest to continue this relationship. I have to have this converstation with two people tomorrow. They both know it is coming but it does not make it any easier. You are still dealing with people's livelyhoods. On the other hand if I don't do something it would be MY livelyhood and the kids that would suffer.
Do you have to make these calls in your job? What do you do?
There is one part of my job that I hate. That part is telling someone that they are not going to be coming back. This is something that I have had to do each year. I have been in administration for 5 years now. There have been 4 people that I have had to say..."its not in the best intrest to continue this relationship." Now the responses I have gotten have been varied. It has ranged from acceptance....because they knew it was coming....to last year having someone file a grievance on me. The thing that is hard is that in each case personally I really like the person. These are good people. They just are not doing what they are supposed to be doing for a living or their style is not what I am looking for in a classroom teacher. When making these decisions I always ask myself....IS THIS WHAT IS BEST FOR KIDS?? Now don't get me wrong I don't just get rid of someone because they suck. If someone is not reaching their potential I will grow that teacher into a great teacher. That is one of the reasons I got my job. But if that person fights everything I tell them to do or does not do what I tell them to do or in some cases is negligent (SP?) in there job I have to say....its not in the best interest to continue this relationship. I have to have this converstation with two people tomorrow. They both know it is coming but it does not make it any easier. You are still dealing with people's livelyhoods. On the other hand if I don't do something it would be MY livelyhood and the kids that would suffer.
Do you have to make these calls in your job? What do you do?
FAMILY CONCERT
I wanted to tell everyone about a special moment that I almost missed. I am married to a wonderful woman and we have two beautiful children aged 4 and 7. Last night we had pretty much settled in for the evening. My wife was watching TV...I was on the computer and the kids were doing their own thing in their rooms. My four year old comes in and asks my wife and I if she could get out her KAREOKE (sp?) machine out and play. Now here is the thing. It does not matter to my daughter what song is playing on the machine. She sings WHATEVER is in her head. And so that she can be heard over the music she likes to sing loud!! My initial thought was DANG....there goes the quiet. But my wife set it up for her in her room so that she could play. Well after a couple of songs I walked in there and sat down on the floor and started to sing the song FAME because that was what was on her CD. Remarkably I did pretty good and remembering the words. I could not believe how much of the song I actually remembered. After the song was over my daughter said...LETS DO ANOTHER ONE!!! The only problem was I knew no other songs on this CD. So on a hunch I asked my wife to bring us a regualar CD. She brought me ELVIS. PERFECT ....I thought. First, I love ELVIS ....THANKS MOM...and I know most of his songs by heart. We popped in Elvis and away we went. Well soon my son and my wife joined us. In two minutes I was singing away (pretty well I must say) and the wife and kids were dancing. WE HAD A BALL!!! My son caught on to ELVIS finishing phrases and he would grab the microphone when I handed to him and he would add...."yeah baby" or "yeah momma" and of course "uh huh and oh yah" .. The next thing I knew we had been singing for about an hour and the kids were exhausted from dancing. Made going to bed a little easier. It was a special time to remember and to think....at first my thoughts were....there went the quiet.
JDH.
JDH.
MY VERY FIRST BLOG
Well I have done it. I have joined the blogger world. I have read other blogs for quite some time and I feel it is time to get my thoughts out there and see what others think. I will keep personal information strickly that....personal. But I will speak in general enough terms to where you will get to know about me, my family, and my profession. I look forward to hearing what you have to say throughout this endevor. I know there are many people out there wiser than me so I look forward to learning from YOU the reader.
JDH
JDH
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)