A View from the Now-Retired Principal's Seat

Before you continue reading, I want to ask permission to discuss a very important and potentially sensitive topic.  I promise you in advance that my intent is only pure, but I also recognize this may be a difficult topic to share.  I also ask for forgiveness if I offend anyone.  Over the last year as I've been writing this blog, so many people have shared supportive comments.  Today's topic will be potentially challenging for us.  I trust our community, however, to listen, reflect, and take action...for our kids. As a young teacher in Indiana I was deeply impacted and involved with my community's efforts to deter the racist efforts of the Ku Klux Klan.  This organization has a long history of advocating for hate, racism, segregation, and fear.  It was easy for our community to unite to stand against the KKK's form of racism. Now, however, our generation is faced with another form of racism.  While this form of racism is not blant and inten...

While my family and I were cleaning our kitchen after dinner last week, our middle school-aged daughters, my wife, and I were dancing and singing to music to make the job go a little faster.  The shuffle play brought up "Chain of Fools" by Aretha Franklin.  If you're not familiar with the song, you can hear it at this link . The song is a family-favorite, but I was taken back when our 8th grader responded, "You know, for the longest time I thought she was singing, 'Chain of Food .'"  We laughed,  but then I started thinking that this happens in songs all of the time.  What is heard and what is actually said are two different things . I have different example from my childhood. As a young child, my parents, sister, and I lived only about three minutes from my Grandma Ascher's house.  On many evenings after work and dinner with our family, my father would take my sister and me to see his parents.  (I learned later that this was to give my mother a ...

In a  previous entry on this blog, I shared that I stutter.  For whatever reason, I struggle with specific words.  The most troubling word happens to be... library .  It's crazy.  I know.  And-- talking on the phone about a library puts this stutterer almost over the edge!  As you can imagine, I have nothing against libraries.  I actually love libraries.  My family is an active supporter of our public library where we live.  My wife served on the library board.  I've been on a visioning team for our libary, and our entire family uses the services our library has to offer all of the time.  It's no surprise that when asked to be on a citizens committee to help pass an operating millage for our library, I volunteered.  The final task our little committee had to do was to run a phone bank to call potential voters to remind them to vote to support the millage.  So, I had to call complete strangers and ask them to su...

Christmas 1980-- The greatest gift of all time (from the eyes of this 4th grader)-- Our uncle purchased an Atari 2600 for my sister and me! An Atari 2600 was probably the first, successful home, video game console.  Considering this was a time when our family still had a black and white television, no cable, and only one corded phone in the house, having an Atari was cutting edge for the day and for our family.  I remember thinking my uncle was the coolest guy-ever.  To this day when I think of video games, my mind goes to classics like Pitfall, Pac Man, Combat, Donkey Kong , and... Space Invaders. The concept of Space Invaders was pretty simple.  Alien "invaders" gradually slipped towards the ground where the player was equipped with one "gun" that was controlled by a joystick and one button to shoot bullets at the invaders.  The player moved the gun back and forth with the plan to shoot as many invaders as possible.  As you moved along in lev...

"The Drop-Off/Pick-Up Line Starts Here" These words are posted on the large, official, blue sign at the far end of our school's front sidewalk.  Each morning another staff member and I do what I call the "Novi Woods Shuffle" to get parents to quickly, efficiently, and safely drop-off their children in the front of our building.  Car duty, as you can imagine, is an important job at many levels.  First, we need kids to be safe.  Next, if we are not quick about drop-off time, students will be late to start their day.  Finally, if our drop-off line gets too long, traffic on the road is backed-up which means our buses can't get to our school on time. We ask parents to stay in line, pull up as far as possible, and have their children exit on the right side anywhere along the sidewalk.  I've actually made it my little mission to be as efficient (and fun) as possible by wearing funny hats, waving my arms like someone guiding air...

As part of our music curriculum, our 3rd and 4th grade music students learn how to play the recorder.  It's an exciting time for them to learn "real" songs as they master more and more fingerings for specific notes.  I was fortunate to catch a lesson last week when a 4th grade class was practicing "Ode to Joy"--a timeless classic.  Hearing twenty-five 4th grader students perform Beehthoven on recorders reaffirms what is good and great in this world, and it reminds me of hope.  I'm grateful our music teacher opens this part of the world for our students. I asked the class, however, "Do you ever get frustrated because your brain knows where your fingers should go, but your fingers just don't go there?"  The entire class smiled and raised their hands.  I shared with them that I was given a guitar for Christmas.  I've always wanted to learn to play a few chords to hum to some simple songs.  I joked with my wife that I would do this once I...

Records.  Remember them?  For that matter, do you even know what a record is? Years ago...before downloadable music or even compact discs...people purchased records in order to hear their favorite music.  Rather than a digital player, music was transferred through a needle on a record player from a continuous groove of sound cut in a vinyl disc.  Records came primarily in two speeds.  Long play albums played at 33 1/3 revolutions per minute and had multiple songs on each side.  Singles played at 45 revolutions per minute and had just one song per side. Everything worked great until the vinyl disc got  a scratch in it or dust on it.  The sound was compromised.  Records used to "skip" if the scratch was deep enough...meaning the continuous groove of sound was broken...which meant the phrase would repeat over and over.  Despite the technological limitations, playing or listening to a record was an experience like nothing...