A Short Goodbye

Today I grew as a professional because of the work of one man. I work for kids. Everyone I work with does; but sometimes we forget that. Today, we said goodbye to someone who never forgot it in his 31 years of service to the same organization. Think about that for a second. In this day and age, it is one thing to spend ten minutes in one place. Today, Charles Toth retired from an organization to which he truly gave his life's work. From a substitute teacher, the man moved up to Principal Deputy Director.

Anyone who knows Charlie can understand why. He's a mammoth man with a personality just as big. His voice booms as he speaks in triads to his teams. It used to be teams of football players and basketball players, but it quickly became teams of teachers, principals and eventually I got to play on his team. This last team didn't win any titles, but as I'm sure he always did, we played as hard as we could for him. Charlie's skill is knowing what he doesn't know and letting others lead when they can. He knows talent when he sees it and he pushes people to be better.

Charlie taught me today that you don't get to pick when you're done. I'm sure he would have preferred going out with a district title and the accolades that could have brought for us. He knows he leaves an organization in a bit of turmoil. He also knows that it is someone else's game now. He was gracious in bowing out, never allowing anyone to see the disappointment he might have been masking. He thanked everyone. He showed me what it should look like after 32+ years of marriage when you thank your wife for standing by you.

It was very similar to watching my Dad bow out of Education last year. You don't get to pick it, but when it is time, it is just time. It is a gift and you can't keep it. Charlie taught me my last lesson today as I was walking out. Keep your nose clean and look to the future. A good coach sees the potential, but it is up to the player to reach that potential.

Charlie, this is a private blog that isn't viewed by many people, but I thank you and so do thousands of military students and parents. You kept them safe whether they knew it or not while their parents were defending this nation. I will do the best I can to keep that in mind when I do this work. Enjoy your retirement. It is well deserved!

Shut It Down!?

It amazes me that there are some people that find really complex things simple. Mostly, I think we will things to be simple. Even the really complicated things. Tomorrow night, the government may shut down for some really complex reasons. I think good people are working as I type this to avoid it, but it may happen anyway.

To me, if I wanted this to be simple, I'd say this is because lawmakers aren't doing their jobs. But I suspect it isn't like kids who show up to class without their homework done. This is complex. This has to do with public polls, policy issues, economic concerns, and some new people who maybe thought this was all a little more simple than it is.

Education is complex like this too. Since nearly everyone has been to school, we all think we're experts. That's like saying anyone who's had their teeth cleaned could be an oral surgeon. Education is part art, part science. It requires dedication, commitment, long hours sometimes, grace, eloquence, a warm, quick wit, and heaps of patience. We have a national shame in what we pay teachers. In fact 30% of Americans claim that teachers should be paid more than anyone else!

You know what no one really talks about? We probably don't really think that. We probably think that the really good teachers...the ones who make a huge difference; the ones that are constantly getting better, should be paid more. We probably don't think the burned out teacher or the person that hands out worksheets all day should be making 125K like the teachers at TEP. Except that at TEP, they haven't seen test scores go up dramatically yet.

Do you know what I really hate? I hate that the people that know a lot about this stuff dumb it down to the media. We need to be informed. We need to know how hard merit pay would be. How would you like it if your job was on the line and those that could save it were adolescents who care more about their impending break-up or basketball game than a test? Maybe that's how government workers feel tonight! We also need to know how hard it must be to be chancellor of the New York City School System. It is easy to take shots at teachers or Michelle Rhee. What's hard is to look at Cathie Black, Michelle Rhee, Geoff Canada, Arne Duncan, as well as many dedicated teachers and think how hard it must be to be them. It has to be so hard to do what they are charged with doing.

We need to stop dumbing it down...or else our kids will be the product of that. So work hard tonight, Senate staffers. I bet it is hard doing what you're doing tonight. Oh...and thank you for doing it. Your teachers would be proud.

Spring!

Springtime usually means that we can start anew. We shake off the dust (and hopefully the pounds) that winter has left behind and look forward. In the world that I have always lived in, however, the school year rules. Sometimes, in this environment, the snow melts and we are left with the same issues that were there in the fall and perhaps a little less hope that change will be made "this year." It is a strange cyclical view of the year where people begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but that light may not be what we hoped for in the Fall.

It is these times when the ideas and focus of our team members can help us get to a place where we can push forward. Building a great team does not require you to be a leader in title. I think it requires only two things: a shared vision and the self awareness it takes to build meaningful relationships. Look around your community, home, and workplace. Who is on your team?