It’s Not What You Are, It’s Who You Are.

That is a message I repeat time and again to the students and athletes I work with in my job.  I remind them that WHAT you are can change at any moment, WHO you are does not.  We’ve sent our graduates out into the world equipped them with what they need to accomplish amazing things.  More important to me is how we have contributed to who they have and will become.

Merion Golf Club's East Course

Which bring us to the summer.  I’m terrible at golf.  If the members of the TU are anything, it is horrible at golf.  As we begin our summer break, the 2013 U.S. Open is taking place at the East Course at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pennsylvania.  Those who make a living playing professional golf are living the dream, or nightmare depending on your perspective.  This year’s open venue seems to be making it more of a nightmare and promises a wonderful finish. 

When I watch golf I take a lot of naps. Not because I am bored.  In fact I am fascinated by pro golf .  And one player fascinates me more than any other.  Tiger Woods.  I love to watch him but have never been a huge fan.  Not because of his golf.  He's an amazing golfer and in some ways bigger than the game.    If you need evidence of how Woods transcends golf I remember when my daughter was 3,  she knew of  Tiger Woods and asked to watch the Masters.  He’s a legend.  But I never really liked Tiger because of how he acted.   And with Tiger there’s a “but”.  I try t not to be a hater but there is something else in the room besides his on course behavior when discussing Tiger.  Yep.  It’s that.  Tiger is and to some degree has, always acted like a jerk.   His actions while married are inexcusable and deplorable.  No matter what he wins and does as a professional it will and should be there.  To me he just doesn’t seem to get it. 
and have great admiration for the skill of the players. In recent memory no one has matches the skill and dominance of Tiger Woods.

They are both really good at golf.

That statement is true of far too many professional athletes who measure their lives by WHAT they do.  They become so driven by success and what they want to be. They tend to forget who they are becoming.   The spotlight of the media and scrutiny of public life cannot be easy things.  But people given such gifts, no matter how hard they work for them, should never take them for granted and as public figures should accept the additional burden of their impact on others.  Teachers and coaches get this.  It puzzles me why so many pros don’t.

The Michelsons

Even though the news seems to probe for their missteps and are presented with a wealth of opportunities, many athletes serve as great role models with who they are.  Enter my favorite golfer.  “Lefty” also known as Phil Michelson.   He’s a golfer.  He’s classy.  He’s a great person.  He’s a great role model.   While his resume at majors doesn’t quite stack up to Woods 14 so far, “Lefty” gets my vote for WHO he is.    

2006 US Open, Michelson reacts with the Double Bogey.

I know neither player well and admit to having no sound basis for judgment save their public actions.  If you look solely at raw talent, Woods may take the lead, but off the course it is no contest.  What I mean by that Michelson distances himself in the things that should matter most.  In 1999 Michelson wore a beeper and stated outright that if it went off during the U.S. Open, he would leave to be there for the birth of his child.  Fourteen years later that same child is graduating from the 8^th grade and on the eve of the 2013 US Open he flies back and forth across the country  to hear her speak at her ceremony.  He’s  finished 2^nd in the US Open 5 times. He has given the lead up late and I remember when he gave up the lead in 2006 with a double bogey on the 72nd hole and what did he do afterwards.  Throw his clubs? Curse?  Avoid the media?  No.  As a window to who he is, he made a point to apologize to his supporters.  Lefty is in contention this year.  Do I want him to win.  Yes.  Will I be sad if he doesn’t?  No.

We can all struggle with personal relationships and I don’t mean to pick on Tiger.  But it is tough to forgive some things.   Mostly the WHO type things.  I admire Ben Hogan who knew all too well how quickly the WHAT can be taken away.  His horrific car wreck in 1949 was supposed to keep him from walking let alone playing.  Inspired by letters from people who cared WHO he was.  He went on to play and win as he continued his epic career.  Another guy I admire is Arnold Palmer met and traveled with his wife on tour why I find it ironic that he and Woods appear on the cover of PGA 2013.   We can't forget the Golden Bear Jack Nicklaus.  Watching in 1986 when he won with his son on the bag.  Wow.  Those guys care about WHO they are first.

Hogan was struck by a greyhound and threw himself in front of his wife during the wreck.

As we all continue to watch the tournament play out we will no doubt treated to some pretty dramatic moments.   Let’s remember a few things. 

#1 I am terrible at golf.   

#2 As we cheer them on by yelling obnoxious phrases when they tee off or salute them arriving on the green be sure we appreciate who they are  as much as what they do. 

#3 During those goosebump inducing video montages steeped with history and emotional music give some pause to WHO the great figures of gold were and what they meant to the sport and the people in it. 

#4 Whoever wins will be a US Open Champion.  That’s what they’ll .  While the title is theirs for now, next year there will be another champion taking their place.   All that will remain is who they are.   When they play their last tournament they’ll walk away and have to live with who they are.   

I hope that will be the case.

Go Lefty!

They'll be competing on Sunday.  
Happy Father's Day.  

What They Learned Part I

The schoolyear has come to an end and my students have headed out my classroom door for the final time.    As I grade finals, tie up loose ends and endure the new Virginia Teacher Evaluations as part of our TPA(Teacher Performance Appraisal) I took a moment to consider what I have really taught my students.

I spend the majority of my time focused on curriculum, skills and things directly related to the course I teach.  But I employ one unique way to find out how I have affected my students.   An extended class survey, which is part real and part humor, concludes with this question:

"What was the most important thing (if anything) you learned from your teacher this year(may be something other than history)?"

Absent context these might seem a bit odd but as part of a larger yearlong effort and fit into all that time working together they make complete sense.  Some students always choose not to answer but those that do provide funny, sometimes puzzling and often profound responses that make me feel like all my efforts are worthwhile. 

Enjoy

The Lessons in the ever popular Word Cloud

.
 

2013 Responses:

Go with your gut

I liked how you said “think”  I never really started doing that before.

That I have the ability to control myself

How to Outline

Don’t be afraid to put your personality in your work

It is better to try your hardest and maybe fail than to cheat

School is hard

How to study

Important to do homework

Opossums have bifurcated male organs

History can be fun. European history is the best

Outlining can teach you a lot, DO THEM

The 3 sentences that will keep your wife happy and keep you married.(You’re right.  I’m sorry.  I love you.)

Responsibility.  Effort.  Dependability

Studying gets you the grade you want, or deserve.

I learned to be less serious about schoolwork.  That sounds bad but it really equated to less stressing about school which is a good thing.

Outlining is terrible

Self Reliance

High School is more work

Communication

Too many profound quotes are swirling through my head to pick just one.

Humans have incredible potential, Fu**ing use it already

To have regular talks with your comb

Don’t be stupid

Just the random current events and what he said about them

Learn to mange yourself(spelled as it appeared)

To learn when it’s time to learn and joke around when it’s OK to joke around and make class fun

Fish can survive throughout the WHOLE Christmas/Winter Break w/o being fed.  

Failure is the best teacher.

Don’t Vote “Y”- (reference to the famed X/Y game)

That studying helps a lot

People are dumb

Work Hard

Do not memorize, learn to understand.  Hair is cool.

That history is very long

Doing Homework is essential.

Time management

How important learning is

Enjoy what you do

That nobody is perfect

Have fun while you are working

How to Outline since this was my first year doing it.  Also DBQs

Hope.  I learned to hope.

There are 3 questions we should ask ourselves: Where did we come from? Why are we here? What happens when we die?

Always say what’s on your mind and always be yourself

Eh.

Speech skills

If you lose your culture, you lose yourself.

How to give a great handshake.

I'll also take some time over the summer to share some traditional responses from previous students so keep an eye our for Part II. 

Why Teach?- The Last Week

You laugh, you cry, and you work harder than you ever thought you could.  Some days you’re trying to change the world and some days you’re just trying to make it through the day.  Your wallet is empty, your heart is full and your mind is packed with memories of kids who have changed your life. Just another day on the classroom.  Something most people controlling education- not in front of kids every day- either can no longer or never did understand. 

The Final Friday

Hard to believe but the 2012-2013 school year is almost a memory.  Today marks the final time we rejoice as all teachers do that it is Friday.    The end of school is a time of great change.  A chance to take stock of what you have and have not accomplished during the year.  F It is the time of year we usually finally get a contract from the division with numbers on it and maybe two days to think before signing it.  It is also the time we bid goodbye to a group of young people we've come to know pretty  well ovet the last 9 months.  Bittersweet. Indeed.  But that's the job.

What else is bittersweet besides the last Friday of the school year?  Glad you asked.

Cicadas

See that sad look?

But this is just gross. 

We all waited for 17 years for this brood to emerge and at least at my house, they did not disappoint.  Their collective call is almost indescribable and one I am glad I was able to experience again.  Their sound and numbers are simply staggering.   Think of how different the world is from when they entered the soil, and how different it will be when their descendents re-emerge.   Now, having lived out those precious few weeks they waited so patiently for, they seem resigned to their fate. Though their red eyes appear unchanged,  a closer glance reveals an all knowing expression and a dignity not there before, one awaiting their end.  As the numbers who have expired on my driveway continue to grow, it is sad.  Or bittersweet, so I am told. 

The One Year Anniversary of This
Teresa Sullivan Looks back.  Bittersweet cause the same issues are still very much present.  Our crack team of reporters was on the frontlines last year, some even credit us with her re-instatement.  But those people are idiots.    NBC29 WVIR Charlottesville, VA News, Sports and Weather



The Fizzle of School
 Once AP Tests, SOLs and Graduation arrive...school just kind of fizzles out.  Like cheap firework.   It's go -go- go- fizzle.  How unfortunate it is that the days of engaging and interesting activities serving to tie everything together have been undermined by all the crap we have railed against on this blog.    Also it is bittersweet because we all get burned out by the hectic push to the end, only to have the end not live up to the billing. I guess it is about the journey not the destination.  Kind of how the other days of the week being what makes Fridays so special. 








Departing Retiring
We are saying goodbye several great faculty member.  We do so at a seemingly ever increasing pace.  We are so jealous....I mean happy, yeah...happy for them but will miss them.   Well, most of them if we were being honest.  Some are retiring, some moving to other teaching jobs or schools and some just getting out of the game.  As they leave us behind and go on to other things it goes without saying.  It is Bittersweet.  

Notes from Kids
There are still a few student who take the time to write a little thank you.  Some of these students even mean it.  I got one this year from a student who hasn't been at our school for two years.  That goes a long way.  The bittersweet part is that these grow increasingly rare.


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So it the final Friday.  It is not over.  But we are close. 


This song is so Bittersweet. :)