Ki Tavo- A Biblical Musical about Gratitude

It has been awhile since I have pontificating on the internet highway.  Being at a day school in Las Vegas allows me to return to more Biblical thoughts.  So here is some commentary on this week's Torah portion.  If you want to read more, you can go to www.stanbeiner.com

Torah Notes                      Ki Tavo

There are many ways to remember the message of a Torah portion like…Show Tunes!

(sung to My Favorite Things)

The Torah is clear in its preference for First Fruit

Remember our God is whose horn that you first toot

The purpose is giving our thanks to the Lord

By bringing the best and not trying to hoard.

Bee-KU-room is Hebrew for the very first PRO-duce

Sort of like charging the farmers fair share dues

The fruit went to Levites who didn’t own land

Sharing the bounty was part of the plan

CHORUS

Think of desert

Wand-ring minions

Rejoice that we’re out of the sand

And simply remember to give God your thanks

Obey the Bi-KU-rim plan

At first there was Mishkan* where people brought yummies

Thank heaven for bounty and fill the priests’ tummies

Then it was Temple where farmers brought stuff

Parades and processions- oh my, what a fuss!

CHORUS

*Mishkan- Portable sanctuary carried through the desert until the Israelites decided enough was enough, entered the land, built the Temple, and retired the Mishkan.

So, the bottom line here is that we need to remember to be grateful for the gifts we are given and not take things for granted.   And also Rodgers and Hammerstein were geniuses.

Mission and Vision: Why the Hillside Garden Society Descended into Darkness?

 

The Hillside Garden Society existed for the purpose of enhance the beauty of the town park and nurture an appreciation of flower gardening. The society was highly respected for the role they played in presenting the Hillside Township as a most desirable place to live.  With great pride, the society announced that over a three year period, it would be introducing four unique and cutting edge flower gardens.  Mollie O’Connell, a newcomer, along with small group of misguided gardeners thought it would be great fun to surprise everyone by planting stalks of corn and watermelon plants whose vines entangled the garden and burst forth among the blooming flowers at the most inopportune moment. This led to a scathing article in the Hillside Gazette decrying this abomination and calling into question whether the city should retract its arrangement with the Garden Society. Letters to the editor called it confusing, disappointing, and embarrassing. The society was placed on probation while Mollie O’Connell and company had their memberships revoked. 

The devastating downfall of the Hillside Garden Society illustrates what can occur when an organization loses its way. Vegetables and fruit have no place in a garden whose purpose is to celebrate flora.

 

Impactful mission and vision statements can be the determining factor between excellence and mediocrity.  This applies to both the business and non-profit worlds.  Each statement is essential and serves an important purpose.

 

WHY DOES IT EVEN MATTER? My Uncle William once told me “To thine own self be true.” If you don’t know who you are (aka Mission), you are less likely to figure out where you are going and the best way to get there (aka Vision.)  Members of Hillside Garden Society knew who they were; unfortunately, some of them lost sight of the fact that the vision always has to support the mission.

So…WHAT ACTUALLY DEFINES A MISSION AND A VISION? 

MISSION                                                                                              VISION

Sums up the organization’s reason for being by answering: ·         What do we do? ·         Why are we doing this? ·         Who are we doing this for? ·         How do we go about doing it?	Addresses the direction and aspirations by focusing on: ·         What do we want to become? ·         What will we be doing over the next few years to serve our mission to the fullest? ·         What key outcomes are we seeking to achieve.
Embedded with passion and purpose	Inspirational and strives to rally the troops
Length can vary between several sentences and a paragraph.  If it is a longer statement, use devices such as acronyms to help people remember the core message.	Usually limited to a few key statements
Serves as the “elevator speech” when explaining who you are and what makes you unique	Vision outcomes should be measurable.
The mission is like the 100,000 car maintenance.  Missions should reviewed, reaffirmed, and revised (if needed) every 8-10 years	The vision statement is the regularly schedule oil change.   Visions are designed to cover a shorter timeframe (3-4 years)

 

Old school thinking (in Millennial Speak- fifteen years ago) presumed that the mission statement was a staid and formal definition of the organization’s purpose while the vision was the inspiring call to action.  The mission was created with the head and the vision was created with the heart.

President Kennedy's plan to land
 a man on the moon within the decade
is an example of what vision is all about.

But that’s not a Buick anymore! In reality, both mission and vision statements should be crafted to inspire and motivate the organization.  The mission is why people join your enterprise; the vision is why people stay. 

While vision statements change more frequently, in order to stay relevant and vibrant, MISSION STATEMENTS ALSO HAVE TO EVOLVE.  When Girl Scouts of America formed over a century ago, its mission spoke of training girls “to take their rightful places in life first as good women, then as good citizens, mothers, and wives.”   Now the mission addresses building courage and confidence while building a better world.   

My Uncle Socrates was fond of saying, “Know Thyself.” To know thyself, an organization has to be in alignment with its purpose.   It will constantly monitor its decisions, strategies, and choice of personnel in order to reflect the mission….which is why corn had no business mixing with lilies in Hillside Park.

This all leads to one more question…WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH EXCELLENCE? I’ve spoken to a number of young entrepreneurs who share that the number one challenge they have is finding employees that are as passionate about the business as they are.  They need people who aren’t just there to collect a paycheck.  The solution lies in creating a vibrant staff culture in which the mission and vision are firmly engrained into the team’s DNA.  

A watermelon in a flower garden is just one example of what happens when the players are not all on board.  If you go into a restaurant where the food is excellent but the service is bad and the employees are bickering, it is likely that you won’t go back. In contrast, Southwest Airlines is an example of what happens when employees completely buy into the airline and what it is trying to achieve.  Despite the hassles associated with boarding a Southwest plane, customers know they are getting a good price and love how much fun the service attendants have doing their jobs. Missions and visions serve as the engine; people are the fuel that makes them run. THAT IS WHY IT MATTERS.

 

It behooves every organization to devote time to a structured process designed to ensure that its mission and vision statements resonate in people’s hearts AND minds.  Organizations of excellence will live by those words and make certain that whatever happens is in keeping with its mission. 

Epilogue: The Hillside Garden Society recommitted themselves to the mission and clearly defined how their vision would be achieved.  They took special care to orient members as to what they were setting out to accomplish and why. Two years later, their gardens had become the envy of the northwest corner of their state. I should know. I visited recently. It was lovely and there was not a cornstalk in sight.

Stan Beiner (www.stanbeiner.com)  is a School/Non-Profit Consultant, educator, and author. 

 

Who Am I? Ummm... The Reinvention Process

Who Am I? Ummm… The Reinvention Process

I succeeded a woman who had been a head of school for 19 years.  She had done a wonderful job but was ready to move on.   Her fear was about July 1.  “I am going to wake up on that day and no longer be in the role that has defined me as who I am.”  It scared her. At the time, I was not sure why it stuck with me but now I know.

Our jobs tend to define who we are.   Conversations often begin with “What do you do? Where do you work?  How long have you been in the field?”  People rarely respond with what roles they play at home. “I’m a dad. I have three kids. I coach football.  I am a Girl Scout leader.”    

I currently find myself in the role of my predecessor and for some reason, the words from “Les Miserables” keep popping into my head. (with a few paraphrases here because I have not yet been in jail though it could be on my bucket list)

Who am I?
Can I conceal myself for evermore?
Pretend I'm not the man I was before?...
How can I ever face myself again?
My soul belongs to God, I know
I made that bargain long ago
He gave me hope when hope was gone
He gave me strength to journey on

Who am I?  I am (fill in your name)

Jean Valjean, the hero of this tale,  had come to a point in his life where he no longer wanted his past to define him and wanted to become a new man.

When I first began my new adventure into the unknown, I was not quite sure how to respond to “What are you doing now?  Where are you?”    I had lots of answers and they kept changing.  I shared that I was a writer.  I explained how I was developing a portfolio around being a non-profit fix-it guy filling in for administrators. I talked about plans for a website to sell plays.  All of them were and still are true but none of them have defined me. I’d like to return to administration. I’d enjoy being back in the classroom. Or I could finish the five books that sit on my computer in various stages of completion.

Lots of articles are now appearing about reinvention.   As companies change hiring policies and more people find themselves out of work or underemployed, there are a lot more choruses of “Who Am I?” being sung.

Having been a part of this process now for about six months, I am finding myself more comfortable with what’s going on in my life.  I offer what I’ve learned because that’s what you do in blogs:

• 1.     Do not doubt yourself.  You have skills and talents and are more than the sum of a job.  The renowned SNL therapist, Dr. Stuart Smiley, once said “I’m good enough. I’m smart enough.  And gosh darnit, people like me.”
• 2.     Stay busy and hustle.  Follow leads, drive Uber or Lyft, take a part time job. Just get out of the house.
• 3.     Be willing to take risks (consider a franchise, apply for a job in a different field...)
• 4.     Socialize with your friends and continue to entertain.
• 5.     Be mindful of your budget but don’t make it an excuse for not getting out and doing things. That is why Costco and AAA invented cheap movie tickets and a Higher Power created Scoutmob.
• 6.     Exercise.  As the immortal Billy Crystal says, “Better You Should Look Good Than Feel Good.”
• 7.     Identify your theme song.  Download songs with meaning and sing along with the artist.  Some of my favorites include “I Will Survive,”  “I’m Still Standing” and my new go-to sing-along, Jason Mraz’s “Three Things.”

Yeah the third thing that I do now when my world caves in,
is I pause I take a breath and bow and I let that chapter end.
I design my future bright not by where my life has been.
And I try, try, try, try, try again.

Life is getting very interesting as I continue to wonder Who Am I?  I guess I’ll find out someday.

The Drones of Education

A few weeks ago, our Digital Learning Principal (we’ll call him Mr. G) was participating in a meeting off campus and asked if he could try out a small drone that one of his colleagues had brought along.  The discussions continued as he began maneuvering the small flying object across the Aquarium conference room.  Realizing that the little drone was heading towards the exit wall, Mr. G attempted a dive bomb which landed the object behind a soffit which could only be extracted with the arrival of a mid-sized crane.

Naturally, the story was dropped in my lap and during our weekly meeting I shared my interest in exploring drones for our school from an educational perspective.  We could use them to have children explore topography, I suggested.  I then inquired if he knew anything about drones and their maneuverability. Unfortunately, at that point I could no longer keep a straight face as Mr. G turned the color of his beloved Wisconsin Badgers.  We continued our meeting but as we wrapped up, I asked, “Seriously, what do you think about getting some drones for the purpose of sparking curiosity and learning?”

Not an hour later, one of his team members in the Media Center visited with me about an upcoming Book Party (side note-Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library is a great read for 3rd-5^th graders.)  I asked her to go back to Mr. G’s office and mention that she had just come up with an idea for using drones to teach students about the library decimal system by flying over each section with a camera and have them figure out how the media center was configured.

With staged timing, I popped in shortly thereafter to ask about buying drones.  My principal with a learner’s permit for drone flying didn't miss a beat and handed me a proposal for the purchase of three drones on the spot.

I share this story because I believe this is how educators need to be thinking.  While the integrity of learning must always serve as the foundation of a school, our students and faculty benefit from demonstrations of spontaneity, creativity, and a spirit of fun being modeled by school leadership.  It sends a message that ideas come from anywhere and anybody. It signals that learning is intended to be dynamic and ever changing.

A few months ago, we purchased two 3-D printers.  The goal was to have the printers to serve as an impetus for engaging staff in imagining new ways to present material.  Seventeen staff volunteered to work in teams and “play” with 3D printing.  Their hands on experiences are going to help them understand how to create open ended challenges for their students; fostering imagination, collaboration, and planning - all skills needed in a 21^st century world.

It did not take long for some of the middle school students to start demanding access to the printers.  They are being challenged by Mr. G to come up with ideas that have a “goal” (their initial request to create face masks of themselves. That did not cut it) before they are given permission to start production.  It should not be a surprise that a committee of students has now formed to set the parameters.

So now we’re buying drones that will fly around the school. For what purpose? To what end?  These are open ended questions.  We’re going to let our teachers and students figure that out for themselves.

Welcome to the world of education where even the image of “drones” is being turned on its head.

For those of you that would like to keep following my blog, I will continue to have the same address but the new title will be “An Educator with Principles.” 

What Katniss, Martin, Nachshon, and Ferguson Have to Teach Our Children

In the past year, the city of Ferguson, Missouri has become a center of unrest and a symbol of the challenges our society still faces. For some people, the issues of race are matters of passing interest.  The death of Michael Brown in August 2014, triggered strong emotions for the black citizens of Ferguson who felt they have been unfairly treated by the police and a broken system for years; they took to the streets seeking justice.

As a result, there have been demonstrations throughout the nation in attempt to place a spotlight on incidents of excess force being used on black citizens in Missouri and elsewhere. In Ferguson some of the protests have led to violence and looting. For many, this creates unsettled feelings.  It is disturbing to hear of racial inequality; but the violence seems excessive and disruptive for our society norms.

Fifty years ago, our country erupted in a rebellion against the injustice of our system and the disenfranchising of blacks, women, labor workers, and gays.  It spilled over to demonstrations against the Vietnam War as people refused to support US military actions. College campuses were taken over by student groups; riots erupted in the streets; and mass rallies were organized to influence change.  It was a time of activism; a time when complacency was replaced with engagement.  But the age of unrest has long passed.

How different is this than the world we now live in where we shake our heads in compassion, commiserate for a moment, and then go on with our own lives?  If it doesn't directly impact us, we tend to look the other way.  We might send a letter of protest or sign a petition but that is different than shouting in the streets and shaking up the status quo.

If this reality can’t be extracted from the front page headlines, look at the recurrent themes of today’s young adult literature, In the dystopian novel, The Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen struggles to survive in a fictional world that, in reality, mirrors the one in which we live.

After the rebellion against the capital is put down, the government goes about segmenting the society by pitting the interests of each district against one another.  The people of the districts accept their lot, sacrificing their young people, with no hope that things will ever change.  It takes the defiant act of Katniss in protecting a fellow combatant and being willing to sacrifice her life to draw people out of their complacency and to realize that nothing will change if you allow things to happen or expect others to act on your behalf. Her desire to retreat from the problems of her world is replaced with an understanding that she has to engage if anything is going to change.

I am not advocating the radicalization of our society but I fear that we are now raising children who are either indifferent to injustice or lack the moral imperative to actively engage in change that doesn't conveniently fit into their daily calendar. To effect change, you must be willing to take a stand. If we want our children to be global citizens they must be taught to become aware of the world around them and their responsibility to repair it.

The people of Ferguson have had enough and are continuing to raise their voices and take to the streets. In March 2015, the U.S. Justice Department announced that they had determined that the Ferguson Police Department had engaged in misconduct against the citizenry of Ferguson, by discriminating against African-Americans and applying racial stereotypes, in a "pattern or practice of unlawful conduct". It validated their acts of protest.  Power to the people.

Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) a prominent Protestant pastor who emerged as an outspoken critic of Hitler and spent seven years in concentration camps as a result is best remembered for this memorable statement:

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

And now it is happening all over again. People are growing complacent and retreating into their segmented worlds hoping to avoid or ignore the injustices and unfairness happening to others.  At what point do you stand up and say enough is enough?

That is why we must share with our children why we can’t live in our own little silos or districts or neighborhoods and be grateful when it’s not happening to us. 

When the people of Israel were pinned up against the Red Sea facing impending doom, Moses extended his staff across the waters as commanded.  According to legend, nothing happened until one brave soul by the name of Nachshon took a personal risk and tredded into the rising sea. Only then did the waters split based on Nachshon’s willingness to make a statement on behalf of himself and the entire community.

At this season when we celebrate freedom from oppression, may we bless our children to be more like Nachshon, Katniss, Martin, and the brave people of Ferguson.

Love Them All Over Again

You never forget the moment when the nurse places your newborn in your arms.  It is difficult not to be overwhelmed by emotions of unconditional love and the desire to protect this tiny person from the big bad world that you brought her into.

These feelings are soon supplanted by the fear of not knowing what to do and how to care for this life for which you have assumed responsibility.

That idealized vision of parenthood you once had is replaced with many sleepless nights and sounds of your baby crying.  You take comfort in those moments when he/she falls asleep in your arms and you refuse to accept that her first smile is due to gas.  You think the world will fall apart when you first drop your child and they develop the “golf ball” bump on their head.  You are sure that the doctor will instruct you to go to the closest emergency room and are confounded when instructed to place some ice on the forehead and wait ten minutes.

If you have more children, some things are taken with less trepidation. With your first baby, you boil the pacifier when it falls to the floor and with the third, you wipe it off and place it back in.

There is one aspect of parenting however that doesn't gets easier.

You are never quite prepared for the first time, your child stamps her feet and defiantly screams NO.  And this is where the real parenting begins.  The endless streams of parental vetoes are met with protestations, temper tantrums, the slamming of doors (unless you have learned the towel taped to the top of the door trick), and the worst act of defiance of them all- the proclamation of “I hate you.”  It is a series of skirmishes, some of which you remember even as they share a glass of wine with you as a competent adult. 

 “No- you can’t have seconds on ice cream. No-you can’t go outside without a coat.  No- you’re not sleeping out without me calling your friend’s parents.  No- your curfew is ten. I don’t care what your friends’ curfews are.  No- you’re not getting a fourth piercing while you live in my house.  No- you’re not getting a new car. The van will do just fine.  No- you can’t backpack through Europe on your own as a fifteen year old.”

One thing has really helped us get through this whole parenting thing: forgiveness. My grandmother was always insistent on not going to bed mad at family or close friends because what would happen if one of you died and the other person had unresolved guilt over the last moments together.  That always stuck with me.

A few years ago, my wife had had a particularly challenging day with one of the kids. She felt bad about how things had gone and was worried about what to do next.  I told her that the best thing about parenting is that no matter how challenging a day might have been, you wake up the next morning and get to love them all over again.  It became our mantra.

Parenting is not a science.  You will make lots of mistakes. We all do.  No matter how many wise books are written on how to raise children who have skinned knees, ADHD, food allergies, defiant behaviors, and sibling rivalries, you can always remember the most basic parenting rule- You can’t control your children’s behavior all the time, but you can control how you react.  Yeah- we all follow that adage of common sense all the time, don’t we?

Our kids are now in college and there are still those days you’d like a do-over on. 

As an educator I would like to think that the same advice applies to the classroom setting.

So the next time, your child gives you a rough time of it and you react in a way you regret, just remember that the sun will rise the next day and you will indeed love them all over again.

Fail It Forward

I have not failed.  I have just found 10,000 ways it won’t work.- Thomas Edison

Each October, I meet with a special group of middle school students who ran for student government but did not achieve their goal.  After enjoying some food and jovial banter, I proceed to congratulate them for having taken a risk and going for something they wanted.  Not winning does not mean losing.  I share with them my belief that it is those who are willing to risk failure that truly will achieve their goals.  We talk about the week leading up to the announcement and all of the fun they had.  We share how exciting that moment is just before the results are revealed when the possibility is there for the hoping.  I tell them how proud I am of them and that in my mind, they are winners.  And I believe it.  We've all had our share of disappointments when putting ourselves out there.  It hurts but it also instructs.  As Ol' Blue Eyes once crooned, I just pick myself up and get back in the race, that’s life.

In The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do In Life And In Business, Charles Duhigg uses the analogy of baseball.  If a player is hitting over .300, he/she is considered an amazing batter.  What one sometimes forgets is that it also means that he/she is not successful two out of three times at the plate.  There is also the shared knowledge that if you fall off a horse, the first thing you have to do is dust yourself and get back in the saddle.  If you don’t, you become afraid of getting hurt and stop trying.  The only one that wins then is the horse that smelled your fear and can now go snort to his friends about how he bested a silly human.

Schools should be a place where experimentation flourishes.  Traits such as risk taking, problem solving, and taking on challenges need to be fostered and yet, this is not always the case.  I think it has a lot to do with the pressure of time and product.  When teachers feel the pressure to produce, it is far easier to do things the old fashioned way- frontal teaching, drills to hammer the lessons home, and the all-encompassing barometer of truth, the culminating test, that tried and true measure of knowledge acquisition.  It takes more time to have students learn from one another, figure it out on their own, and play out different options.

It also has to do with space and how it is used. Seat a group of students facing the teacher and you have a dynamic controlled by the teacher. Set up a room where students face each other, sit on comfy chairs, or lay on the floor and kids start taking control for their own learning and the teacher becomes more of a facilitator.

The fact is that society is not in need of more drones trained to spit out information that is released from their brains the moment the test is completed.

In a world where “failure is not an option,” it is imperative for schools to create environments where failure is not just an option but an opportunity to learn and  where there are lots of ideas floating around on how to solve a problem.  After all, scientific breakthroughs are not made on the first try and NASA had to launch a number of unmanned satellites before sending John Glenn into space.  That is the dynamic that has to be found in the classrooms and hallways of our schools.

Without failure, there is no innovation.  If we want children to be creative and clever, we have to allow them time and opportunities to figure things out for themselves.  They can only do that by making mistakes, analyzing what didn't work, and trying another way to find the solution.

When I was a high school teacher, I would provide the rubric for what would constitute an essay deserving of an “A.”  I then shared that everyone would get an A whether it took one rewrite or five.  I didn't care about a homerun on the first try out.  I wanted each of my students to know they were capable if they applied themselves.  My goal was to teach them; not to judge them.

Even with the best of intentions, schools can’t provide opportunities to fail or take risks unless parents and community leaders understand the value in doing things that are less result oriented and more process focused.  That requires an education unto itself.  Being in the field for a long time, I have come to understand that when obstacles are placed in the way of innovative thinking, programming, and piloting, fear quickly grips educators and they revert back to the old way of doing things.  In a world where creativity and innovation are critical to success and students must be prepared with key skills such as collaboration, self-advocacy, and problem solving, this is a very bad thing to have happen.

I have a daughter who ran for school office three different times and did not win.  It was demoralizing; but she kept trying because she believed she had something to offer.  It was a relief to her (and us!) when she finally became grade rep and then went on to regional office in her youth organization.  But, the best part was her experience became the focus of her college essay.  She shared how learning to cope with disappointment and continuing to take risks was one of the most important lessons she took away from her high school years.  That essay got her into each of the schools to which she applied so it really is a happy ending.

If we don’t value failure and recognize the power it has to foster a child’s ability to achieve, we are missing out one of the most powerful life altering tools we have at our disposal.

So, FAIL IT FORWARD.