It’s that time of year. Teachers are back to school and students are soon to follow. And, this is my first installment of the weekly blog. Starting tonight, every Sunday night I will sit at my computer and write about a current event related to character and leadership. In the blog, I usually provide my perspective, a video link and …
It’s Never too late to do the Right Thing
I have a friend who lives in a California. She gave up a lucrative career in journalism to be a teacher. She did this because she felt she had something positive to give back to the next generation. She even chose to teach at an alternative education high school because she thought she could make the most significant changes with …
Honoring Our Veterans #Gratitude
I hope you enjoyed Memorial Day yesterday. I am glad that you got a day off from school. In Michigan, Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial beginning of summer and campers take advantage of the long weekend to get away, relax and spend time with family. Although, I do hope Memorial Day has greater meaning for them and …
One Million Lovely Letters #Kindness
Last week I was talking to Marcus Mead, an assistant principal in my local school district of Traverse City, Michigan. Mr. Mead has a unique habit of asking middle school students if they believe one person can make a difference. Interestingly enough, they all say yes. He follows up this innocuous question with a tougher one, “You are one person! …
Mom…You’re the Real MVP #Gratitude
Ladies and gentlemen, that is how you do it! A Very Cool Story: Keven Durant recently provided a speech after receiving the 2014 Most Valuable Player Award from the NBA. Let’s just say it was one of the most emotional speeches I have ever seen, and I have seen way too many. The crux of what he said could be …
Commissioner Silver Banns Sterling for Life #Leadership
Well, everyone is talking about it today, so let’s join the fray. Donald Sterling, owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, made several racist remarks to his girlfriend over the weekend. She recorded their conversation and shared it with TMZ. On Sunday, TMZ released this recording. In the following 48 hours, almost the entire world united to condemn Sterling’s comments and …
The Impact of Technology
Albert Einstein lived from 1879-1955. He is arguably the smartest person to ever live. He died before the computer, the cell phone, texting, emailing and skype were invented. Still, he was wise enough to understand that technology might take the place of human interaction. I suppose he wondered what would happen to natural curiosity, exploration of the unknown and the diligence to …
Lacey & Adreian – A Symbiotic Relationship
If you are a college basketball fan, you probably know two things this morning 1) UConn won the national championship on Monday night and 2) little 8-year old Lacey Hollsworth died yesterday after battling cancer. America got to know this emotional story as Lacey played such a pivotal role in Michigan State University’s late season run and because of her …
How Important is Grit?
Angela Duckworth is a former teacher and psychologist. She has studied West Point Cadets, teachers, students, spelling B contestants and salespeople. Her main research question is, “Who is successful here and why?” She discovered that success had little to do with a person’s IQ, looks or personality. Her finding is that “grit” is the factor that determines the level of …
What would you do for $1 Billion? #NCAABracket #Integrity
Every year I fill out my NCAA college basketball tournament bracket. I usually fill out two or three and enter different office pools. I don’t normally win much because: (1) I try to pick upsets, but I typically pick the wrong upsets and (2) I usually pick Michigan State University to win it all. This year Quicken …