Learning to Grow Every Day

Recently, my classes have begun reading both Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand (outside of class) and Grit: The Power and Passion of Perseverance by Angela Duckworth (in class). After kindness, I believe that persistence, work ethic, and attitude are a close second. I lumped all three of those traits into one category because Grit is more than just being determined. Duckworth defines Grit as “passion and perseverance for long-term goals.” Whether we develop that passion over time or it comes naturally to us, that passion is a necessary ingredient to our success. Author and motivational speaker Jon Gordon defines Grit as “...driven by love. Inspired by vision and purpose. Fueled by optimism and belief. Powered by faith and hope. Revived by resilience. Kept alive by stubbornness. And if we’re honest includes some fear of failure and desire to prove oneself.” Having Grit is not just one attribute and it does not happen overnight, but rather over an extended period of time and incl...

While this has been a slower reading month for me, it has also been a rewarding one. There is no greater feeling than being challenged by a book, and I have been challenged by two books this month. The Zookeeper’s Wife , by Diane Ackerman, was a book I listened to in my car on the way to school and back. Ackerman recounted the true story of Antonina and Jan Zabinski (the director of the Warsaw Zoo) and their risky act of kindness to save hundreds of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto. I often ask myself what I would do in that situation. Would I risk my own life to save the lives of others? Of course, I would hope the answer would be yes, but one can never be sure. Even decades later, it is so inspiring to read the story of citizens who risked it all to save those who were being persecuted. Truly selfless acts of kindness sometimes require sacrificing ones’ own comfort or safety for the benefit of others. 9/11 is a transformative event that has so many different perspectives and storie...

I have some new blog ideas in the works; however, this past weekend my family had a community service experience that is worth sharing. Alas, my other blog ideas will have to wait a week. About a week ago, my wife caught wind of a family service opportunity through our church for an organization called Mobility Worldwide. Out of 25 locations across the country, the lone location in Ohio happens to be in Stow, Oh. This organization builds hand-driven carts for men and women who are immobile or don’t have legs. A team of volunteers, many of them retired, get together each week to put together these carts, which are then distributed worldwide to those in need. The genius of the operations lies in the setup. Although it took a while to set up, a group of men got together six years ago and began setting up a workshop with preconfigured jigs set up at each station; these jigs allow for producing a consistent product. Because they are set up this way, it allows volunteers ...

In a moment of vulnerability, I would like to explore the idea of self-belief. This has not always come easy to me. Self-doubt so easily creeps into our minds on a daily basis and can cripple our productivity. When we believe the lies about ourselves, it is difficult to move from the impossible to the probable. Rather than thinking about ourselves as not talented enough, not athletic enough, not smart enough, we should focus on our strengths and developing the right habits. I have always been fascinated by grit and persistence, which I will blog more about later. However, I recently came across a tweet by author and motivational speaker, Jon Gordon . Gordon speaks in great detail about positivity and using our strengths to propel us forward. As you can see from the screenshot include in this post, Gordon speaks to those habits we can control rather than the arbitrary skill that is assigned to each of us by the world. Even if you don’t have the most skill, you can be on time, ...

While my reading life has slowed down some in the past month with the business of home and school, I am still really enjoying the process of selecting books and listening/reading with a purpose. I am learning so much about myself and about different cultures, and ideologies with some of the books I have read this year. That journey continues with my most recent selection, Hillbilly Elegy . Hillbilly Elegy was written by J.D. Vance whose family originally hailed from rural Kentucky coal country before moving to Middletown, Ohio. He mixes the stories of his youth with an argument that affixes the blame of the poor “hillbillies” on themselves. He claimed that it was largely “learned helplessness” that has led to the plight of many poor working whites, who have taken advantage of the welfare system and feel that no matter what they do, they cannot improve their condition in life (Vance). When I first started reading the book, I was taken aback by the premise that we should be taking...

In any career, we need time to “re-fill our bucket” so to speak. It is so easy to get bogged down in the little details of the teaching profession and it is not uncommon to get stale. That is why it is important to do something to reset and give ourselves a spark. This past Thursday, I had the opportunity to attend the GAR Educator’s conference . It was such a great conference and gave me some ideas to think about. 1. One of the main speakers spoke about the need to understand the unconscious bias that we all carry with us when it comes to race, gender, religion, etc. It is so important to recognize when it is happening and be more intentional in our thoughts and actions. 2. The first breakout session I attended was about Growth Mindset. While I have read many articles and books about Growth Mindset, the speakers brought home the point that it all starts with the teacher. If the teacher does not demonstrate a growth mindset on a consistent basis and really mean it, it is going t...

This week’s blog covers two different topics because I did not want these topics to slip through the cracks. The two topics are not really related but so vitally important to what I am doing with my character-building curriculum for my 12th-grade English curriculum. UCLA Establishes Kindness Institute Yes, I will admit it, I googled “kindness” to see what articles might spark some inspiration for me this week. I was thrilled to have come across the following article about UCLA establishing a legitimate research institute to study kindness. Their goal is to research all aspects of kindness within organizations and people and determine how those characteristics can transfer to real-life applications on spreading kindness. Daniel Fessler, the appointed director of the institute, will be focused on, “...exploring how witnessing acts of remarkable kindness can cause an uplifting emotional experience that in turn motivates the observer to be kind” (Abraham). I love that the univers...