A View from the Now-Retired Principal's Seat

When our daughters, who are now teenagers, were younger, I used to "help" them clean their rooms.  Actually, I cleaned their rooms.  When they were 3-4 years old, my wife would keep them occupied while I organized toys, put away laundry, and put books back on the shelves.  When the rooms were in "tip top" shape, I would beam with pride at how nice the rooms looked and think about being such a great parent. Oh how wrong was I... It's interesting to me that even now now our daughters just haven't mastered how to clean their rooms.  Their tolerance for dirty laundry on the floor, books all over the place except on shelves, and just general "stuff" everywhere is remarkable to me.  Didn't I teach them to keep a nice and tidy room? In reality, I taught them that someone else will clean-up their messes for them. What I've learned about working with young people is that doing everything for our children is not always best.  Kids need to lea

Each week flowers are placed in our church by a person or family honoring or memorializing a special event.  Last week, a beautiful bouquet was present in the honor of Mr. and Mrs. Troudeaut's 65th wedding anniversary, That's 65 years! While it's not uncommon to have flowers placed for 50 years of marriage, anything over 60 is extra-special. The Troudeaut's are sweet people and friends of our family.  They've watched and cheered our girls as they grow up.  I asked Mrs. Troudeaut if she knew when they got married that their marriage would last 65 years. "David, I never put a year on how long we would be married, but I knew our love would never end." Mr. Troudeaut chimed in with, "Not all of those years have been easy either.  There have been ups and downs, but we've worked through everything--together." What great statements to apply to learning. When students come to school, I don't want them to think they are