Be The One For Kids

If you had to lump humanity into two groups what would those groups be? In an inspirational speech, the late Randy Pausch asked his audience “Do you want to live your life as a Tigger, or an Eeyore?” It is a fun, yet intriguing question. Tigger is positive, energetic, fun, cheerful and confident. He always is trying to do his best, is up to try new things, keeps going even when he falls, and always sees the glass as being half full. We all know Tiggers. Eeyore on the other hand is the opposite. Eeyore is usually gloomy, pessimistic, sarcastic, and never looks on the bright side. His glass is half empty and lacks confident. We all know Eeyores. People and systems are going to let you down. Things and situations are not always going to go your way. We have no control over the actions of people that are in our lives. We have no control over the universe. But we do have control over who we are. I know that being a Tigger 100% of the time sounds daunting but being a...

Just the other day a teacher reached out to me to let me know that there were two upcoming conferences that she would like to attend and asked if she could attend one of them. Soon as I read the email I reached back out to her to let her know that I think both conferences had value and since they were spread out I thought that she should attend both of them. Think of the last time that you wanted to go to a conference. What was the response when you asked for permission? Did you get the same response that this teacher recieved? I’ve had many experiences when it comes to conferences and professional growth that haven’t turned out the way I wanted them to. They left me with a feeling of not being supported and not valued as a part of the team. I can remember an experience as a teacher asking for permission to attend a state conference in Southern California. As soon as I mentioned it to the principal, the answer was no. Then through conversation that I was able to convince...