LEADING THROUGH LISTENING

'Tis the season where you can go to the store to do some fun shopping and enjoy some time away from the house and end up leaving the store wondering what in the world has happened to our society? I know Black Friday has become a national event where we can literally save hundreds and thousands of dollars shopping. But, it has also become an event where many people seem to think that all rules of human decency don't apply anymore. I for one enjoy being in the mall and shopping on Black Friday but I found myself asking what people are thinking in our world today. On a minor level, people leave food waste, empty drink containers, and other trash wherever they want. What ever happened to a trash bin, which by the way is only a few 50 feet away? On a major level, people are being shot over parking spaces, trampled because of coupon give aways, and fighting over television sales. Is this really what the season is all about? More specifically, is this what mankind has really become ...

This is the week of the year where most Americans enjoy a short week of school/work, some food with their family and friends, maybe some shopping, and hopefully remembering what it's all about. This is the week where we are thankful for everything that we have as individuals and as a community. I'm sure that we have all had our struggles this past year, but through it all, there is much to be thankful for. On a weekly basis I find myself involved in putting out fires between someone on the school staff and someone in the community. Often times, when playing referee, I realize that both sides of the equation are actually right and justified for the feelings and thoughts. The problems arise when people overreact and make a situation worse because they didn't want to listen to the other side. Far too often, people become defensive immediately when trying to solve a problem together instead of truly taking the time to hear each other out. I believe that we would find far more...

One of education's most feared words is FAIL. Think back about going to school and what the fear of that word did to your academic performance, or being told that word. How did it make you feel? How often were we told by our teachers it's okay to fail because true learning occurs when we make mistakes and someone shows us where we went wrong and how to fix it? I would venture to say that not many of us were taught that failing is a method to growing when we were kids. I know I wasn't. Fast forward to today and I can think of countless skills that I have learned simply from trying to achieve something that I knew nothing about, but the power of trial and error has taught me so much. Everything from opening and closing a pool, electrical work, cooking, flooring, and tying a bow tie. Trial and error teaches us so much more than a skill though, it teaches patience. In the end, almost everyone is successful because they don't give up. That perseverance is because we aren...

The end of this week marks the official designation for 'Veteran's Day'. A day when we pay tribute to all of the men and women who have served our country over the years. Our community, and school community, has several military veterans who dedicated a portion of their life to protecting the rest of us. Whether it be in times of combat, or in times of so-called peace, these individuals have made sure that the rest of us can live a life that is free of worry from attack on our home soil. When you are in the military, there is no time of peace as you are constantly working to prevent those throughout the world that wish to do harm from actually doing it. It's safe to say that almost everyone probably knows someone who served in our nation's military, if not had a family member serve. Personally, I still enjoy reading my grandfather's field journal from France and Germany from World War II. Take time to thank these individuals and more importantly, learn their s...