Secret to Success

Success is not brain surgery. The obvious thing to do is usually the right thing to do. And the right thing to do generally isn’t all that hard. I’m not saying you should do anything to be successful. I’m just saying that you have to get your priorities straight. Be clear about what you want to do. Then have the courage to roll up your sleeves and do it.

Dean Rieck, wrote this in his blog, Copyblogger, discussing the secret to success in his post The "Chicken Plucking" Secret of Success.

So the questions are, do you have it in you to be successful on the test? And, what do you have to do personally to perform at your best? What is your plan for success on Monday?

Why Do You Come to School?

Megan dipped into the conversation at the table beside us. This guy said, "kids should want to go to school because they want to learn." Megan gave me a funny look and said, "How many kids go to school because they want to learn?"

On Sunday afternoon, we were at the Millstone BBQ in Logan eating BBQ left over from last night's rush. Laura and I took Megan, our 16 year old daughter and our niece, Lauren. We had just ordered, and our conversation wasn't keeping Megan too engaged, so she dropped into the next table to see what they had to say. And that is when she overheard this guy talking about students and their reasons to go to school.

Naturally, Megan's question caused me to think about my students and their motivation. How many show up because it is a law? Because they have to? Or because their parents make them? Do they really want to be there? How many are there because they have a ticket on the love boat, and they just want to see their crush? I know a few guys just want to play B-ball at recess in the intramural tournament. Who is showing up just to see their friends? How many are coming just to hear their teacher's funny jokes?

So, why is a twelve year old, sixth grade student coming to school every day? And what are they getting out of our school, this reading workshop, and our time together?

Riddle me this, what makes school worthwhile?