Educational Achievements and Leadership

The holiday season puts a lot of things in perspective for us. And, as the year comes to an end, I guess we can reflect back on our accomplishments and failures. So here it goes. At the age of 19, in 2006, I started my first job in education. Now I’m 29 and we are about to fall into 2016. It’s hard to believe that I have been working in education for 10 years now. As I reflect back on the past decade, I can almost remember every moment I’ve had with students, parents, and colleagues. Every face I remember is a memory, maybe not all memories are the best; but a memory nonetheless. Now, I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve any accommodation, support, or love in my life. But I do know that I greatly appreciate it. All I can say is that I am blessed for the good fortune that I have been given in my life. In the early 1900s, there was a French novelist by the name of Marcel Proust. He said, “Lets us be grateful to the people who make us happy: they are the charming gardeners...

People come in and out of our lives. That’s just they way it is. My grandfather use to say, “Three friends is too much. Two friends are possible. One friend is all you need.” Over the past six or seven years of teaching, I’ve seen students come in and out of my classroom or stop by my office to let me know what’s new with them. I love the connection and interaction. What makes me feel good about my students stopping by, to me, is the relationship. That relationship is built by trust, guidance, and a little bit of accommodation. Nevertheless, a student comes by because of the “connection.” One time, early on in my career, there was a student who came into my classroom. I was teaching a full load of classes back in those days (a full load is considered five classes). The student seemed to be aggravated. Of course, wanting to know what was up, I asked him if everything was okay. What seemed to be what I thought could have been minor, immediately captured my attention. It was not ...

“This is important: to get to know people, listen, expand the circle of ideas. The world is crisscrossed by the roads that come closer together and move apart, but the important thing is that they towards the good.” -Pope Francis It was an incredible experience when the Holy Father came to the United States, this past week. I wanted to share with all of you some key leadership-characteristics that we can all learn Pope Francis. I think the key that his holiness is elaborates on the most, is the idea of 'humility' and how we should continue to treat others.  1. Set an example
 The reformist Pope immediately set his sights on the Vatican’s finances, aiming to clean up a regular source of scandal. For the Pope—who took his name from the saint who devoted himself to a life of poverty—financial reform was a priority because it brought “together the three vices that distress him more than anything else: corruption, exaggerated clerical privilege and indifference to the p...

Ever ask yourself why is it so hard to be a teacher? A teacher, in some way, is just like a parent. With the exception that we get to send the kids away at 2:30 in the afternoon. When you take the role of a teacher, you should take it with great conviction and passion. There will be some days where your most challenging student, who constantly defies you, will come to you. The most important thing to do is to not turn them away. Now, of course we as teachers, school counselors, and administrators have rules to abide by; the objective is to embrace the student when they are hurting. Do not show any form of discomfort towards their struggles. Always listen and console them, appropriately. One of favorite scenes from Good Will Hunting is when Matt Damon’s character (Will) allows his guard to drop and finally confide in Robin William’s character (Sean). While the scene is emotionally draining, it has a powerful influence how Will should shape his life.   Absolution and affirma...

While this might be my shortest blog ever, I hope this might be the most powerful one for you. And if this is something that you needed to see, then I hope it helped you in some way. I hope that it gave you a little peace of mind, clarity, affirmation, and absolution. Sometimes we need to also hear this from other people. Emily Buck did an amazing job when she wrote this poem… __________ You are Enough—  You are enough— If you watch to much TV, If you haven’t read all the books on your bookshelf, And could have bought that DVD With your overdue library fees. You are enough— If you can’t run like you used to, Can’t throw like you used to
, Can’t pump weights like you used to. You are enough— If you don’t do it right the first time. If the sun burns your skin, If you have to swim With a t-shirt on. You are enough— If you can’t put on weight Even though you try and try, You fear You’ll always be the kid 
with the chicken legs. ...