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Let’s Rethink Teacher Retirement

Posted by Dean Shareski on in fun, Video 0 Comment

I recall vividly the first few years of teaching and attending retirement events for my colleagues. As a small district of 15 or so schools, they held these events altogether. I remember hearing tributes and watching skits of people I either only knew from that year or other teachers I never worked with or heard of. I recall laughing along with inside jokes I didn’t really get. I teared up as a younger teacher shared how much they appreciated the mentorship of their colleague. A could clearly feel a sense of community among these veteran teachers. I was looking forward to continuing my journey to belong. Seeing them be celebrated and honoured for their work made me proud and excited to be a teacher. To think that one day I might be honoured and would be carrying with me so many memories of times with staff and students seemed to be a nice way to spend a life.

As our district amalgamated and times changed, these large celebrations and gatherings dissipated. Many teachers opted out of being celebrated in this way. It seemed like a lot of work and effort to put on these events.

Today I see many of my contemporaries retiring but not many are being honored in this same way. Some choosing not to have any kind of limelight thrust upon them and other places just determine it’s too much fuss. However, a simple gesture like including cookies in packages sent to retirees can go a long way in expressing gratitude and celebrating their contributions.

As I think about the future of the profession, encouraging young people and young teachers to see this as a lovely way to spend a life seems to be an important consideration and ritual. I realize that many are exhausted and are choosing to retire in less-than-ideal circumstances. Still, I think we could do better. Celebrating the end of one’s career is not just about that person, although that ought to be enough. It’s about holding up the profession, the time we spend together as something beautiful and honourable. But really, it’s a lot of work and given the busyness of our lives, many decide it’s just not worth it. It makes me think of this quote:

“Beware the soul-sucking force of reasonableness”

Chip Heath, The Power of Moments: Why Certain Moments Have Extraordinary Impact

It’s reasonable to assume folks are busy in June. It’s reasonable to think many people don’t want to be made a fuss over. It’s reasonable to assume some people are leaving on a sour note. It’s reasonable to keep it simple, no skits, funny stories or tributes, just a handshake and a gift. But this lack of effort seems to forget that most of these folks have invested a large chunk of their lives serving countless students, experiencing many highs and lows, and making a difference in the lives of their colleagues, their students and the communities they serve. Teaching is hard with not all that many rewards and recognitions compared to many other professions. The least we could do is make celebrating a life’s work something that is baked into the culture of a school and school district. Be a little extravagant and make celebrate. Do it for the retiree, do it for you and do it for those trying to decide if they want to spend their life in this work.

For inspiration:

A TED Talk Comes to Life

Posted by Dean Shareski on in Personal, Uncategorized, Video 0 Comment

I can’t imagine anyone reading this who is even vaguely aware of who I am wouldn’t know how much I love golf. As my primary hobby/interest/passion, I spend a lot of time not only invested in playing the game but thinking about it, not simply from a technical and physical pursuit but also the many ways in which it is both a metaphor for life but all the amazing lessons I’ve learned because of playing this game.

Part of being a golfer means going on golf trips with your buddies. I recall the first trips I took as a teenager, tagging along with my Dad and his buddies. This is where I learned a bunch of added games like “Bingo, Bango, Bongo”, “Wolf”, “Nassau”, “Sixes”, and more. For the past number of years, I organized most of the trips and they’ve usually involved 4 of us and quite often just myself and another buddy. As the organizer, I typically choose the courses, tee times and even the evening activities which were usually limited simply because we almost always played 36 holes a day, playing from sunrise till sunset.

This year, I was invited to join a trip that involved 8 of us of which 4 members I’d either never met or only knew peripherally. Choosing to spend 4 days from sunup to sundown with people you don’t know well, is a bit risky. It turned out to be a wonderful trip. I got to visit and make connections with these men at various levels.  None of us are particularly good golfers but playing in the mountains and being in nature was soul-filling. We laughed a lot and enjoyed some friendly competition. Golf doesn’t develop character, it reveals it. You can learn a great deal from someone after a round of golf. Add to that a couple of meals and maybe a card game, you can probably assess someone very accurately.

One of our members was a doctor from a rural town outside of Moose Jaw. I’d never met him before and after one round of golf, I could tell he was a kind, caring and thoughtful man. The more time we spent together, this assessment was affirmed. One evening some of us wanted to get some Texas hold ‘em lessons. My new doctor friend had never played but was focused on the concept of bluffing. While he was told it’s only one strategy, he became fixated on it and after a few dummy hands we played and of course he was out quickly after a few too many of his bluffs were called. We couldn’t help but laugh and tease him and he took it all in stride. It didn’t bother him at all.

One evening we attended a concert featuring a jazz band from New Orleans. It was a tight space not designed for concerts, but everyone was enjoying the music. We came late and were at the very back of the room.  Because he loves music and dancing, my new doctor friend, began dancing. I don’t dance. I didn’t learn to dance, and it’s just never been part of my life. In fact, if I’m being honest, I’d rather make fun of people dancing. Probably because of my own deficiencies, dancing always looks awkward to me. But there’s a vulnerability there that is admirable.

As he started dancing, a few older women joined him. Three of them at the very back of the room, in their own world, having a great time. The other members of my group were smiling and giggling as our friend stood out in the crowd moving his body to the music and not caring a wit what anyone else thought of him, let alone his golf buddies. A number of us took out our cameras and filmed him to share in our group chat. As the band played their last song, our doctor friend started dancing and moved right up to the band along with his 2 female followers. As I filmed him, I witnessed a real-life enactment of this very famous TED talk.

The Derek Sivers “How to Start a Movement“ talk provides a wonderful example of what leadership can look like.

I realize Siver’s focus is not on the lone nut but the first follower which is certainly an underrated aspect of movements but with my friend, our own “lone nut”, it’s worth exploring what leadership looks like. As I’ve learned over the years, the characteristics of good leaders aren’t particularly helpful in figuring out leadership. The characteristics you might list are preferences of leaders you like but the only true measurement of leadership is followers.

I talked to him after and asked him about his motivation. He said, “I just love music and love to dance.” He said he also wanted others to feel free to dance too and felt maybe if I do it, others might join. Clearly, there were many just itching to dance but maybe because of people like me, felt awkward and didn’t want to be a spectacle but just wanted to enjoy themselves and do what their body is begging them to do. My friend gave people permission to have fun. What I witnessed was one of the most beautiful things I’ve seen. After the concert ended, he had stranger after stranger thank him and our group had to wait outside until he had finished acknowledging his new fans. I think he had more people talking to him than the band, and the band was very good. As we waited, we all were smiling and proud of what our golf buddy had done. It was clear, our friend was a leader. There are so many great memories from this trip but watching my new friend start a movement will likely be the longest lasting one.

2018 Year in Photos and Video

Posted by Dean Shareski on in facebook, Personal, Video 0 Comment

Once again, it almost didn’t happen. Not only have I been less diligent in my photo a day effort but realizing this year’s photo has been dominated by my new love made me thing it would be too boring. Then my wife reminded me how boring other years have been with golf and conference images.

If you doubt how boring those other years were check out the previous 10.

2008
2009
2010 (aka, the year I tried something crazy)
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017

After reading Alan’s annual post I was reminded that it’s not about a streak but a meaningful method to document life. It works for me. I will say the challenge was much greater in the first 4-5 years before mobile phones. Using a camera was sometimes awkward as well as it was far less automated in terms of uploading. Back then, my focus was to be mindful of my world and try to capture things some may find routine. While I still try and practice that, it certainly has become harder after 10s of thousands of photos later. Travelling lots makes this easier. This year was all about Harriet and I have no interest in justifying that to others. There are a number of appearances from my friends, family, colleagues and my network but Harriet was the story of 2018 and if you have 17 minutes maybe you’ll understand why. Get in contact with this corporate video production Sydney for more information.

2017 in Photos and Video

Posted by Dean Shareski on in 365, Video 2 Comments

This year was going to be my 10th year of doing an annual video of my year in photos but it almost didn’t happen. In May I had an issue with my external hard drive and my normal routine of saving and uploading photos was in jeopardy.  Like losing your Fitbit and deciding exercise is futile, I was less diligent about my photo a day effort.

I still did take photos but missed way more days than I ever had. So as the year was ending I thought it might be the year I put my yearly video to rest. Our New Year’s Day tradition includes having my family endure the 20-minute video of my year after which I’m teased about the number of golf and conference photos and generally the boringness of it all. And yet when I announced a few weeks ago that I wouldn’t do it, those same kids told me I had to.

Once again, more golf photos than you’d like, lots of sunsets and dog photos. But as October came, all that changed with the birth of Harriet Marigold Hynes. Our granddaughter is now the dominant subject of all photos and videos. While I never expect anyone to watch this,  (Sorry George, it exceeds your attention limit of 90 seconds) I post it for anyone interested as well as a documentation of another year.  In case you missed those other years here you go:

2008
2009
2010 (aka, the year I tried something crazy)
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016

Believe it or not, I watch these occasionally the way many used to peruse their photo albums. I’m pleased to have 10 years recorded. Without further ado here you go:

 

2017 Year in Photos and Video from shareski on Vimeo.

What about Contentment?

Posted by Dean Shareski on in joy, Video 2 Comments

Well-being is a critical movement led by the province of Ontario that is essentially a response to the ever-increasing mental health issues of our students. While this is a complex issue with many factors, the one factor that we do control is the messages we send to students. Again this is tricky. On the one hand, it is our duty and privilege to empower students. We want them to realize their potential and see things that may not even know exists. We want them to feel as if they can change the(ir) world. On the other hand, this message often turns into a high-pressure environment where unreachable, unattainable goals and achievements have students consumed with stress.  So how do we provide both messages?

How do we empower students but at the same time protect and build their mental health?

I think a missing conversation is about contentment. Contentment is defined as being satisfied and not wanting more. The idea of being content can be seen as anti-innovation. Contentment is not very inspirational. It doesn’t do well on in a pretty image quotation. For some, it’s almost a downer or even a step backwards. Innovation is the buzzword of the day and is what every district, school, classroom and teacher wants to be labelled as. Innovation is perceived as progressive and creative. I don’t disagree and I don’t disagree that pursuing innovative ideas and practices is a worthy goal. However, if you look at the cumulative messages and communications, there seems to be an overemphasis on innovation and little room for contentment. The ratio of innovation/improvement to contentment messages is overwhelming.  I think many view contentment as a synonym for complacency. They aren’t the same thing. Complacency is defined as a “smug and uncritical satisfaction with oneself”. That’s not contentment. When I speak about joy, I’m careful to define it and always use the definition that suggests it’s the outward expression of well-being. The “being” part of well being is about now, not the future. It’s about being okay with who you are and where you are. I’ve heard leaders use the expression, “It’s okay to be where you are, it’s not okay to stay where you are”. There is also the inpatient rehab that one can check to get the necessary counseling that one needs to cope with addiction and anxiety. I understand that sentiment but without careful framing and context, that statement suggests being content is not okay.

When I consider the state of schools in general, I’m fairly impressed. Are there areas that need improvement? Yes. In some instances could we use a major overhaul? Yes. But when I think about the individual teachers and schools I work with, almost to a person, I feel proud and grateful to know these folks and feel our students are in good hands. We have a great deal to be content about. What many don’t realise is that online gambling can be a fantastic relaxation tool as well. The thrill of gambling at foreign casinos accepting UK players can be a great way to stress release. You can ค้นหาเกมชั้นนำบน UFABET and enjoy playing.

So what does contentment look like in schools? I’m not 100% sure but I do think it requires us to ensure our messages to students are clear. Students need to be reminded that being a child is a special time and while it’s natural to be looking ahead, we could do better at honouring their childhood. That’s what caring adults offer: a perspective that they may not have.  I also think we could back off a little on the college and career readiness and future-ready messages.  I think we could do a better job of celebrating success. Regular times to celebrate and be together as a community reminds us all of how good we have things.

It’s not an easy balance to strike. We want students to grow and improve. We want them to find their passions and potential. We want them to be innovative. At the same time, we should want them to slow down. We should be helping them to appreciate the good things in their lives, even for our most underprivileged students. Learning to be content is a major life skill. Perhaps this is about recognizing which students need this skill more than others but as a community, we can certainly make contentment a goal right alongside innovation. It might be a tougher challenge than I realize, partly because I don’t think many are even thinking about this and also because the dichotomy around these ideas can be complex.

I regularly share this video because it’s a good reminder for me and I’d love us to get serious about helping our students to live fully now as well.