The Cardinal Way

I watched this Adam Grant TEDTalk again this week and saw a version of the image below. (I like the wording in the image below a little better than the image Adam shared.)

Adam Grant states in the video that “self-doubt is paralyzing, it causes you to freeze.” He goes on to tell us, “The key to being original is just a simple thing of avoiding the leap from step three to step four. Instead of saying ‘I’m crap,’ you say, ‘the first few drafts are always crap, and I’m just not there yet.”

This school year has pushed us out of the default of what school has traditionally been for our students and forced us to change. The challenge that I have faced, and I am sure you have too, is that during some of the difficult transitions, I have not skipped step four in the creative process. I have been paralyzed at times by self-doubt.

As we continue to delve into a new reality of education, the key to our success is to continue to try new things until we find what works best for our students. I encourage all of us to follow the creative process but don’t forget to skip step four. Look for ideas that cause you to think, “Wow, this is great!” (I love those moments of possibility.) Inevitably, in the efforts to put those ideas into action, I am sure at some point you will say to yourself, “OK, not so easy,” followed by the realization that, “This is crap...” But don’t then jump to step four. Iterate, innovate, and keep trying until you get yourself to the moment where you say, “Wait, this can work.” Keep going; keep trying. As Adam Grant said, “The first few drafts are always crap, and I’m just not there yet.” The most important part of that last sentence is “YET.”

The word YET means we are on our way, but we must keep the mindset that we can get there if we keep trying, keep a positive attitude, and keep innovating inside our new concept of school in 2022. To get there, we have to keep moving forward, realizing that while what we did may have been crap, there is potential to reach our students and find success regardless of the environment.

Be a Cardinal; Change Lives; Put a Mission into Motion

Thank you to:

• our grounds and custodial crews for clearing snow and checking on our building over the past few days.
• our entire staff for your efforts to make the best out of our e-learning days.

Week 23: Grateful Friday Challenge

Another Friday morning is upon us and this one looks a bit different than most as we stare out the windows of our houses and wonder WHAT THE HECK? Where did all this snow come from, how many times can a person shovel in one snow storm, wasn’t it just in the 60s a few days ago??? Isn’t it so cool? (No pun intended…)

The good news is we are getting to the end of the storm, the bad news is you are probably going to have to shovel at least one more time. The good news is that we should be back to school on Monday, the bad news is we have had 3 days (after today) of limited contact with some kids. The good news is that most of us are getting kids to show up and work, the bad news is some of the kids who don’t show up have no control over that situation and want to be there.

We live this idea of good news and bad news all the time. Have you ever heard someone say they have good news and bad news, and ask which one the person wants to hear first? Or you might hear… “The good news is that…”, implying that someone is currently dealing with the bad news.

This is our challenge today. We have the ability to control how we see every opportunity, and WE can choose to see the positive, even when our situations are less than desirable. We can put a positive spin on anything by looking at the bright side. When we do this we make others look at the bright side too. Today when you hear grumbles about why we can’t just have a regular snow day, or kids fail to show up for the google meet, or the snow needs shoveling… AGAIN, look for the good news, it’s there sometimes you just have to uncover it, so keep digging (or shoveling, right?).

Remember to enjoy the little wins, life is built from one small one at a time.

With banners flying as we go! #FlyAsONE

Hope you enjoy this weeks 180 Days of Learning Posts

Coach Brand had his friend, Coach Phil Bollier speak to our boys basketball team on Monday. Phil's message was powerful. He encouraged our boys to fill their roles as an important piece of the puzzle. He also spent time talking about a young man that he had the opportunity to have as part of his team. Below is a video from Ernie Johnson speaking about this young man. The video is well worth the five minutes it will take to watch. I love you, too!

Students in Mr. Bockelman's English 10 class are preparing for a large research unit in which they'll be researching a problem in the world they'd like to see change. They'll research and present their findings on the problem, its cause, and offer solutions.

This screenshot is from an online quiz from gapminder.org that students completed to get a sense of their understanding of common social issues in the world. Some of them were shocked at their misunderstanding of the issues. This was done to spark an interest in the students to investigate further.

Mrs.Walpole's Junior English students are having a whole class discussion about Huck Finn, banned books, and why Huck Finn is a commonly banned book. The students then used criteria in the Butler University article they read for homework to determine if Huck Finn met the banned book criteria.

Mr. Miner's Geometry students are learning about triangles. Students spent time in class explaining how to find the missing side of a triangle using inequalities. Mr. Miner took time to model a problem so students could see what the answer on their worksheet should look like.

Welcome to the midwest!

Website: http://websites.msdpt.k12.in.us/sh/
Location: 971 E Banta Rd, Indianapolis, IN, United States
Phone: 317-789-4800
Twitter: @SHS_Cardinals