Choices and Redemption

The broad themes of chapters 28-31 in The Energy Bus are reflection, renewal, redemption, perseverance, and appreciating the moment. Each of these themes is undoubtedly comprehensive and critical enough that you could easily have a lengthy discussion or fill a lengthy book about each of those concepts. In these chapters, we learn that George offers a second chance to Michael, a former energy vampire on his team, who goes on to become a significant and vital contributor, as he seeks redemption for his prior shortcomings. We also learn of George’s renewed commitment to “drive with a purpose” and to “enjoy the ride” as he loves and leads his team to ultimate success. George learns to so by allowing his team members the freedom and flexibility to spread their wings and blossom their ideas into feasible realities. George is also reminded to see and to promote the greater good in each of the independent and interconnected tasks they engage in. And all of these are presented in chapters 28-31 with the backdrop of learning to live in the moment and learn from your prior mistakes in order to better yourself, your impact on others, and your future success.

In reflecting on these themes in my own life, and in my own experiences, I was drawn to a prior era in my adolescence, when I was afforded an opportunity for redemption that eventually allowed me to become the person and the professional that I am today. Undoubtedly, we can all think of times when we were younger when we made extremely poor choices that we are grateful we recovered from! I am no different. However we know as educators there are unfortunately enough sad stories of people who never learned from their youthful indiscretions and ended up on the path to destruction.  The refreshing reminders of redemption through reflection and growth in chapters 28-31 of The Energy Bus resonated with me.

I can vividly recall when I was in 8^th grade. In the middle of my 8^th grade school year my father took a new position in Shanghai, China. This was after he lived abroad for work from the time I was 9 months old until I was 7 years old. Then, just before I turned 14, he again had to move away for professional obligations. My mother did the best she could as a single mother, raising 3 rambunctious and mischievous latch-key kids in Southern California in the 1980s and 90s, before the dawn of cell phones, internet, and instant access to communication and information. You can imagine these circumstances afforded my sisters and I infinite opportunities for life-altering poor choices. In all candor, all 3 of us took advantage of those opportunities for misbehavior. And for me, being younger than both of my sisters by 6 years and 9 years, I had an inordinate amount of time to make poor choices while my mother was working 12 hour shifts with 1.5 hour commutes to and from work. In middle and high school, some of my poor choices came with increasingly long term implications and consequences.

There were 2 such choices in particular that I made between 8^th grade and 9th that could have seriously derailed my life and jeopardized my future. And in today’s era of “zero tolerance policies” and “stiffer penalties” they assuredly would have. I was fortunate to have had 2 different principals that saw some value in me and my potential contributions, I suppose, that I was offered opportunities for redemption. In 8^th grade my mother was literally on her knees in the principal’s office, Mrs. H, pleading for her not to expel me for one particular poor choice. She didn’t expel me, thankfully. But I did have to research and write a lengthy report while I was out of school about the implications of the choice that led to my suspension. Then in 9^th grade, I remember my mother convincing the principal, Mr. P, not only to suspend me from school for a different poor choice, but also demanding that he not allow me to call my grandmother to come pick me up at my high school some 30 miles from our house. Instead, she made sure to tell him that I was to take the city bus home (3 busses by the way, with all the transfers!) on the day I was issued an extended suspension from high school.

These opportunities for redemption did not come without consequences, of course, and rightfully so. I recall my mother called our priest when I was given that 7 day suspension in 9^th grade. He told her to send me to the church every day from 7:00am to 4:00pm while I was out of school. My mother’s infinite wisdom taught her to do whatever she could to provide me with some semblance of structure, even given our circumstances. For her, this meant relying on the lessons and resources from our faith community. And Father John made sure I scrubbed the church pews, weeded the church lawn, and swept the church parking lot every single day I was suspended from school. These physical exertions were accompanied by deeply reflective conversations with him about choices, consequences, second chances, and the road to redemption. I still reflect on those conversations and experiences, and the lessons they provided me. I was fortunate that I learned then the importance of relishing second chances, remaining on the road to redemption, and righting the wrongs we commit however and whenever we can. Doing so not only strengthens our character but also allows us to grow and advance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have my mother, Father John, and Principals Mrs. H and Mr. P to thank for continuing to believe in me while teaching me these important themes back in 8^th and 9^th grade. It’s because of their choices then, to hold me accountable and teach me to learn from mine, that I was ultimately able to serve all of you as principal today. I will always appreciate them for that, so I didn’t miss out on the opportunity to support our students and staff to achieve success and reach their dreams here at Barnwell. The most recent chapters of The Energy Bus reminded me of those times, and that I was able to dust myself off and continue my growth.

-Norman

The Love Magnet

As we returned to school this month from a well-deserved winter holiday, I am continuously reminded of the many reasons why our school is such a special place: BECAUSE OF ALL OF YOU! It is because of Barnwell’s exceptional staff, who lead with love for children, and whose engines are driven by that love, that our school is such a unique and rewarding place. It is also that same love that is on display every day in your classrooms, and that I was so keenly reminded of while reading chapters 23 through 27 in The Energy Bus.

In chapters 23-27, Joy the Bus Driver continues to nourish George’s mind and soul with important life lessons for successful outcomes and enriching relationships. Joy allows other pupils on the bus, mainly Jack and Danny, to share their experience and eventual positive outcomes as a result of Joy’s teachings. The lessons that George learns through Joy, Jack, and Danny in chapters 23-27 resonated with me. It was these lessons in particular that allowed me to harken back to my days as an aspiring educational leader as fulltime doctoral student while still serving as a fulltime teacher. I recall then wondering where in the world to find the keys to unlock the secrets of success. (My search will never conclude…)

Within these chapters, Joy and her loyal pupils teach George that E-Motion is your energy in motion, and the energy flowing within you determines your emotional state. They remind him that when you are feeling good, and exuding positive energy, everyone around you feels good. This idea lends itself to the notion that the gifts we give the world are not on our resume, rather they are the joy, happiness, enthusiasm, gratitude, passion, and excitement within us. They teach George that it is time for him to become a changed leader by leading with his heart. They continue that George needs to transform his approach by opening his heart and by leading with contagious enthusiasm. They remind George that each person’s heart is their power-center, which broadcasts their emotions and energy every moment of every day.

George learns the importance of becoming his team’s Chief Energy Officer. That means for him to become the power-source for his team to share positive powerful contagious energy and heartfelt communication. They teach George about Emotional Intelligence, and that heartfelt leadership means tapping the power of your heart when leading and communicating. George learns that research supports emotional intelligence is responsible for as much as 80% of adult success.

Finally, Joy, Jack, and Danny teach George the next phase in his leadership is for him to become The Love Magnet for his team. Joy informs George that love is the answer for team success. Enthusiasm is important but love is the answer to tap the power of your heart, and to lead with contagious positive energy. In order to do this, Joy explains, George must first love his passengers. By loving his team and becoming his team’s love magnet, George will find his team’s productivity, success, and loyalty to each other rise dramatically. Joy states the more love you put forth the more comes back to you. The best way to become The Love Magnet is to help your passengers tap into their best attributes and flourish, and to discover their inner gold beneath the dust on the surface. As Joy teaches, letting people share their gifts and strengths is real love, which in turn brings out the best in you.

 

                Joy concludes her lesson as George steps off the bus with the 3 keys to being the Chief Energy Officer: Enthusiasm, Love, and Gold.

In reflecting on these essential lessons George begins to process in chapters 23-27 of The Energy Bus, I was reminded of my own Chief Energy Officer and Love Magnet as I began my journey in educational leadership. Her love, positive energy, enthusiasm, and her inner gold still glimmer in my life even as we concluded our regular work together 6 years ago. Her name is Dr. R. I had the privilege of taking my two favorite doctoral courses at USC under her tutelage. Dr. R is a retired high school principal, area superintendent, and interim school board member with the Los Angeles Unified School District.

In her retirement from these important posts, she became a professor teaching aspiring educational leaders the power of love and enthusiasm. In reflecting on her approach, I am convinced she must have taken Joy’s bus to work every day! Dr. R’s message as a teacher and as a leader always revolved around love and enthusiasm. All of the educational minutia, complex policies, and procedural logistics we were learning in her courses were secondary. Her primary edict was love. She often reminded us of the power of love, and that without genuine love for our students, staffs, communities, and for their infinite potentials, the minutia was irrelevant. Of course she also taught us about those vital intellectual and logistical frameworks necessary to successfully navigate the minutia. But she modeled for us weekly that by starting with love and enthusiasm, the other components would eventually fall into place as they were supposed to. This approach started midway through my first course with her. Her husband of 40+ years became terminally ill. We all encouraged her to take time away from teaching, give herself the space she needed to focus on his care. She wouldn’t hear any of it! She insisted on seeing the journey through with us, her passengers. She insisted that was what was best for her and her family.  This was her formula which allowed her to become one of the most successful urban educational leaders of her era, during some of the most challenging times in education, and onto a prestigious professorship in her retirement. But knowing her, I’ll bet her proudest titles are Chief Energy Officer and The Love Magnet...

 

-Norman

My Radiant Holiday Light

The holiday season is a time of such wonder, regardless of your stage in life and career. It’s a time to reflect, renew, and recharge, while simultaneously giving thanks for our most precious blessings. During this holiday season, I thought I would take an opportunity to share in this blog about my own most grateful memories from past holiday seasons. I thought it would be appropriate to share during this season of thanksgiving and celebration, those aspects of past holiday seasons that I can most vividly recall and appreciate. 

In reflecting on past holiday seasons, every single memory that I am most grateful for begins and ends with my mother: Jayme. My mother comes from humble beginnings, but resilient stock. Both of her parents’ families emigrated from Italy to Northeastern Ohio in the early years of the twentieth century. Her grandfathers, uncles, and father all eventually labored in the steel mills that dotted the Ohio-Pennsylvania basin near the banks of Lake Erie. My mother was raised with the wealth of a steel worker’s resolve, a seamstress’ wisdom, and trans-Atlantic immigrants’ courage. But materially, they never had much…

My father was raised of similar beginnings, with a similar family journey. His family too emigrated from Italy in the early years of the twentieth century. The men on his side of the family were also steel workers for their entire careers. My father had different designs however. So he dropped out of high school, ran away from home, and enlisted in the Navy at 17 to fight in the Vietnam War. When my father returned from Vietnam, he and my mother got married and moved west from Youngstown, Ohio, all the way to Inglewood, California! He took a job as an airplane mechanic on the tarmac at Los Angeles International Airport, and my mother stayed home in their apartment to raise the kids. That same tarmac where my father worked as a mechanic would eventually be the same location where he held my mother’s dying brother in his arms as he succumbed to injuries he suffered from being backed over by a catering truck in 1975. It was my uncle’s first night on the job; the job my father helped him get…

 

I was born 3 years later, the last of Jayme and Norman’s 3 children, all born in Southern California. This was far and wide from the large extended family bosom of Italian immigrants in Northeastern Ohio that encapsulated my parents’ childhood. And when I was less than a year old my parents got divorced, and my father moved abroad to pursue other professional opportunities. So the first holiday season of my lifetime was my first of many where it was just my mother giving us the best she had, as a single parent, on a secretary’s salary, with no college education. 

It’s not until recent years that I fully comprehended the immense challenge those circumstances presented for my mother: to provide her 3 children with spectacular holiday seasons, gifts, meals, and celebrations, year after year, with such limited resources. But we never knew! My sisters and I had no idea about the year-long struggle it was for my mother to ensure that every December all 3 of her children had gifts under the tree and in their stockings, and delicious traditional Italian dinner to eat to celebrate the season. And that eventually included enough to eat for her friends from church, neighbors, and other social circles as well! (Her cooking soon became the stuff of legend…). We had no idea how, even back in the early 1980s, she had the foresight to set up an automatic withdrawal system with her bank in order to ensure a small percentage of every one of her paychecks throughout the year was placed in a holiday account so her kids would never know the difference. And we had no idea how much of a sacrifice this truly was for her ever year as a single mother raising 3 kids in a working class home, with limited opportunities for professional and financial growth. It’s only in recent years, as my sisters and I became parents, that we began probing our mom for just how in the heck she did it every year! We NEVER missed celebrating a single holiday season growing up, even though we now know how much of an immense challenge that was for her to ensure year after year. It took planning the whole year ahead from the time she took down last year’s tree. It also took a whole lot of “No’s” every February through October, with her infinite wisdom to know how much more we would appreciate the few “Yeses” she could provide us every December. 

 

I recall the December when I was in 2^nd grade. My grandma gave me a few dollars to go to Pic’N’Save (Big Lots predecessor in California) to get my mom a gift. I recall buying her this green, small, egg-shaped glass jewelry container. It was the kind of small trinket that must have cost less than $3. In my 8 year-old mind, I was thrilled to have found my mother THEE perfect gift, finally after so many years in a row of her finding me THEE perfect gift! I remember lying awake at night all December long in anticipation of her finally opening a gift from me! Then, the morning she opened it, I was bursting with anticipation! When it was finally her turn in the gift circle to open MY gift, I could hardly contain myself! And when she did, I still remember to this day observing what I felt at the time was the first miracle of my life: the green glass jewelry container was emanating a bright shiny golden light out from inside of it to the other side of the room. It was one of those images that you have to pause and glance again to make sure you’re actually seeing what your eyes are telling you. And even now, almost 30 years later, I’m still convinced it was a sign from above of the radiant light my mother has always been, and always will be for our family, despite her humble beginnings. Strangely, we’ve never spoken of the light I saw that morning, but I know it was real. 

                This holiday season, I wish you and yours a splendid season of celebration and thanksgiving. I wish your families the brightest most radiant rays of light upon you, and that the warmth of those rays finds your hearts. I also encourage you to continue to serve as the same rays of radiant light upon your families, neighbors, and community, much like my fondest holiday memories of how my mother did the same for us and her friends every December. Thank you Barnwell Staff, and thank you, Jayme…

Happy Holidays!

-Norman 

 

The Resolve of Joy's Rock

 

Chapters 18-23 of The Energy Bus remind us of the need to find our own pillar of inner strength. These chapters also serve as a reminder that we need to be selective who we invite onto our bus, and that at times it’s necessary to kick the energy vampires off of our bus! Joy teaches George that it is perfectly acceptable to be selective with who gets an invitation onto our bus, including not trying to force anyone on who does not wish to be present. Joy also teaches George about the ultimate rule of positive energy, which states that the sum of your positive energy must be greater than everyone else’s positive and negative energy in order to achieve truly lasting and impactful results. To those ends, Joy gives George a rock to put in his pocket as a reminder of his inner strength and to recharge his personal fortitude. As a follow up in chapter 20, George has a series of courageous conversations with members of his own team at work. He shares with some of his team members what he needs from them for the team to ultimately be successful with an upcoming product launch. Not all of those conversations are pleasant, as George finds the strength to be candid by clutching the rock that Joy gave him. Finally, in chapter 23, Joy teaches George about “E-motion.” That is that the “E” in “emotion” represents the energy flowing through you, and that once you take control of your emotions the positive energy will flow.

Reading these chapters of The Energy Bus remind me of a dear colleague from my early days as a teacher. She is a woman I completed graduate school with at UCLA, student teaching with at Dorsey High School in South Los Angeles, and my first years teaching with at Lawndale High School in the Lennox community of Los Angeles. Her name is Ms. S. She remains a dear friend to this day. What I remember most vividly about her, especially in the early years of our personal friendship and professional collaboration is her “E-motion.” She was, and is, an outpouring of positive and warm energy. She also demonstrates a patience, understanding, and maturity beyond her years. She lives by the courage of her convictions, and she was born and bred to be an urban educator.

I recall my constant feelings of confusion and disarray in those first few years of teaching. I recall wondering how/when/where to go for help writing my lesson plans, aligning my assessment strategies, and determining which indicators of student progress to give my most immediate attention. I also recall Ms. S’ patient resolve during those times, and her confident presentation that we were in this together, that we were partners in education, and that all we had to do was walk one step at a time, with our compasses pointing true north, and we would eventually learn and discern all of those critical functions that a teacher must master in order to be most effective. Reading chapters 18-23 in The Energy Bus, I couldn’t help but wonder if, back in that era, did Ms. S keep the same rock Joy gave George in her pocket? She kept a constant smile and reminded me every day that I was going to get through it!

In reflecting on those times, I recall that she was a djembe drummer, and her drum was a fixture in her classroom, in her personal space, and was woven into every fabric of her life. It must have been her drumming that gave her the patience and serenity to navigate herself, and me, through those first few years of teaching and student teaching together in Los Angeles. Her support and belief in me then laid the foundation for a lifelong friendship and collaboration.

It is those kinds of individuals who come into your life, not only to serve as friends and mentors, but also to remind you of your own strengths and redeeming qualities, that we often appreciate and admire most. For me, her example kept me from leaving the profession in those early years, by constantly reinforcing that I wasn’t crazy, that the difficult times would eventually pass, and that I would eventually figure out what I was doing each day in the classroom!

Today, Ms. S just began the new phase of her career by accepting a position as vice principal of a middle school, after 14 years as a high school teacher. She is now working in the East Bay, Northern  California. Reading these latest chapters of The Energy Bus reminded me of her example, her resolve, and the profound support she provided me in my novice years in the classroom.

For further inquiry, below is an article published by the Harvard Business Review about the value of humility and fierce resolve:

http://hbr.org/2005/07/level-5-leadership-the-triumph-of-humility-and-fierce-resolve/ar/1

 

Who's on Your Bus?...

 

In chapters 12-17 of The Energy Bus, George is further enlightened about the pitfalls of negative thinking and the ways to forge ahead by Joy the Bus driver and other passengers. Joy and Marty teach George that there are really 2 dogs living inside each of us: the positive dog and the negative dog. Furthermore, it’s the dog we choose to feed the most that will eventually win out, and we are all wiser for feeding our positive inner dog, to ensure our ultimate success. George learns that being grateful produces positive endorphins and is an energy booster. He also learns about Joy’s Rule #4 and #5. Both of these speak to inviting people on your bus who wants to be there, charting and articulating the course ahead, and avoiding wasted energy on people who don’t want to be on your bus. Marty tells George of a recent Gallup poll that revealed there are 22 million negative workers in the United States, resulting in a combined total of $300 billion in lost productivity annually. It is for these reasons, as George learns, that we must focus our energy on cultivating our bus as being full of passengers who want to be there with us, who share our vision for the course ahead, and who contribute to our team’s success story. Chapters 12-17 of The Energy Bus afford George opportunities to further crystalize his thinking about positive thinking, building a team, supporting the team’s mission while not diminishing the momentum due to wasted energy on negativity.

George’s experiences in chapters 12-17 remind me of the approach of the second principal I had the pleasure of serving under as a social studies teacher at Lawndale High School. His name is Mr. G. He was a retired NFL linebacker who turned to education as a second career after his playing days with the Los Angeles Rams (remember, the Rams did once play in Los Angeles!). Mr. G became the principal at Lawndale High after our founding principal retired. They were both exceptional leaders in different ways.

What I recall most about Mr. G was his infectious energy and enthusiasm, even in the face of unpredictable adversity. He still had that unconquerable linebacker’s spirit, that he could overcome any challenge by sheer force of mental will. In that era at our high school, we were faced with the constant challenges of being in a community with high rates of crime and poverty and few avenues for families to overcome those circumstances. Those challenges permeated our school, as is often the case for schools in similar environments.

But Mr. G was the first leader we had to openly advocate for and articulate his goal of our school to eventually become a California Distinguished School (the state’s highest individual honor for a school) awarded for exceptional success within a number of realms advancing student achievement. This distinction was unheard of at the time for a high school that fit our school’s profile. At first we all thought his goals were too lofty and too unrealistic, and based more in idealism than practical reality. Along with his vision, he also spread his enthusiasm, force of will, positive energy, never-give-up approach, and the belief that we had all that we needed within the walls of our school to be a “Distinguished School.” From his first day as principal, he was handing out tickets to his bus, and his enthusiasm ensured we all wanted a seat!

 

As fate would have it, within 5 years, our school did achieve the success he first instilled our belief in. In 2009 Lawndale High School was honored by the California Department of Education as a “California Distinguished School” for the inordinate success our school demonstrated closing the achievement gap and advancing student achievement to some of the highest levels compared to other comprehensive urban public high schools within the state. It was a magical time in my life, and I know many of my colleagues felt the same. And it all started with our collective enthusiasm and positive outlook, led by Mr. G. Chapters 12-17 in The Energy Bus reminded me of those times, and also reminded me of how far along we already are here at Barnwell. We too have a staff that won’t take no for an answer, believes in the abilities of all of our students, and puts forth the requisite enthusiasm and dedication every day to ensure all students are successful. We too were acknowledged for this recently with our School of Excellence award by the National PTA. I am thankful and proud of all of you, Bears! Reading The Energy Bus often reminds me of that too…

Additionally, here is an article about enthusiasm that you might find interesting:

http://www.lmi-inc.com/articles/Enthusiasm_The_Sixth_key.pdf

My Broken Foot...

 

September 5, 2014

In Chapters 9, 10, and 11 of The Energy Bus, George learns through Joy the Bus Driver that personal crisis can often offer opportunities for growth, development, and refining of one’s life vision and purpose. Joy reminds George of the need to develop a personal vision, to forge through the crisis, and to visualize the light on the other side of that crisis.  Joy teaches George about the law of attraction, which states that the more we focus on the goal the more it becomes our reality. In other words, we think about what we attract. George learns that life often presents us with our very own Energy Field of Dreams: mentally build it, focus on it, take action, and success will come. Along those lines, Joy teaches George that positive energy is the high octane fuel for the ride of your life! 

 

In reflecting on these lessons from chapters 9 through 11, I can’t help but think of my own time of personal crisis that eventually, indirectly, led me to Barnwell! I may not have comprehended the law of attraction and the energy field of dreams at the time, but those principles were well at work for me during that era of my life, which I have to thank for eventually allowing me to serve as your principal.

In January of 2006, I was in the middle of my 6^th year as a social studies teacher at Lawndale High School, in the Lennox Community of Los Angeles. During this era, in my free time (remember this was long before marriage and twins for me!) I played basketball at a local gym and ran on the treadmill at least 5 days per week (I usually took Sundays off). I remember that I developed a chronic pain on the side of my right foot that I ignored and never got checked out. The pain lasted for a few months, before I suffered a devastating foot fracture playing basketball in January ’06. Turns out I had a small stress fracture for months that, because I ignored, turned into multiple breaks in multiple locations throughout my right foot.

 

 This left me on crutches and a hard cast for the next 10 weeks. I had to learn to manage teaching 5 periods per day, making and carrying all the copies, grading, moving around the room, checking for understanding, monitoring student progress, etc. that one would expect of a teacher, all while maneuvering through student desks and activities on crutches! Did I mention that I lived on the second floor of my apartment building, with no elevator?! 

Then, finally, after 10 weeks of struggling through the daily routines of a high school teacher on crutches, I got my cast off and I was cleared to resume normal physical activities. So of course, I did. And less than one month later, I broke my same foot again!!! I had to repeat the same processes and challenges all over again for another 10 weeks! Clearly my foot had not completely healed.

During this period of time when injury forced me to sit still for the first 6 months of 2006, I began to ponder where my career might take me, and what next personal challenges I might visualize for myself to tackle. I first began to envision my own personal Energy Field of Dreams at this time. What I began to look into was the pursuit of a doctorate in education. I always knew that I did not want to be an administrator, but maybe I could further my education just for personal and academic enrichment?...

My injury forced me to slow down and visualize the rest of my life and my career, and afforded me opportunities to explore possibilities that I never took the time to ponder before. That was a period of great physical difficulty for me that eventually allowed me to come to the conclusion that I should purse a doctorate in education. Gratefully, I applied to and was accepted to the University of Southern California’s Doctor of Education program. I began classes in September 2006. 

 

It was my doctoral pursuits at USC that exposed me to the many possibilities for continued professional growth that a career in educational leadership might present. I owe much of the next stages of my career to my experiences and new understandings that I amassed at USC during that period. It was during the final stages of my doctoral studies that I was fortunate enough to become an assistant principal, which eventually led me to the high honor of serving as Barnwell’s principal. I can safely say, if I never broke my foot back then, I would not be serving with all of you today.

In closing, I truly appreciated what George learned about turning personal crisis into renewed opportunity to refocus and reinvigorate one’s life purpose and focus. I experienced the same circumstances nearly 9 years ago, and I have those to thank for the privilege of serving as your principal. It is true what they say about we never know the unexpected twists and turns life will present, but the true test is how we respond to adversity. My own career is evidence of that….

If you are interested in reading more about the themes of turning adversity and challenging circumstances into opportunities for growth in an educational setting, you might browse the article pasted below published by the National Association of Elementary School Principals. The article focuses on principals’ positive responses to adversity, but there are a number of universally transferable messages for teachers and other leaders within the article.

http://www.naesp.org/resources/2/Principal/2007/M-Jp16.pdf

-Norman

 

My Own Personal Joy the Bus Driver

    

August 17, 2014

Between Chapters 2-8 of The Energy Bus, we find out that George is in the midst of some serious challenges in his professional and personal life. We learn that he began to view his life in recent years as a series of disappointments and could’ve beens, despite that on the surface he has a seemingly picturesque marriage and family, and a successful career. We also learn that an innocuous trip to the auto-repair shop becomes the microcosm of life-change that George so desperately needs to transform his outlook and approach. We learn that George has to muster the courage to allow Joy the Bus Driver to usher in those needed changes in George’s life, compliments of her 10 Rules for the Ride of Your Life.

                The first of Joy’s 10 Rules, You’re the Driver of Your Own Bus, is a great place to begin to unpack not only the common professional and personal challenges of George’s life, but it also serves as a fitting mantra to remind ourselves about the power of positive and willful thinking. In the world of philosophy, it’s the Existentialists who posit that each individual provides their own meaning, passion, direction, and energy to their life, as opposed to any external forces. Joy the Bus Driver attempts to explain the same to George. In our world of Education the innumerable accountability measures, policies, procedures, and mandated programs make it easy to lose site of the power we all truly have over the circumstances within our own classroom, team, school, and with our students. Our challenges in Education are real, and always seem to shift somehow. Yet the mission of service to our families is undaunted and constant.

In times of my own frustrations, I harken back to my days as a 22 year old first year high school history teacher (much like George remembering himself of yesteryear in Chapter 6). I recall being ready to light the world on fire! I recall feeling like my entire destiny was before me, and I was prepared to embrace any challenge, any unforeseen circumstance, and any curveball my career as an urban high school teacher in Los Angeles could possibly throw me! Then of course, those things eventually did happen, from unspeakable student tragedies, to the never-ending cycles of poverty, crime, and systemic low expectations. Some of those challenges temporarily frayed my enthusiasm, but I was always reenergized by our students’ resolve to do whatever they could to advance their circumstances by completing their education, and often becoming the first of their families to graduate from college. 

Chapters 2-8 remind me of many of my students in those early days of my career who were the drivers of their own buses. I was also reminded of my own personal Joy the Bus Driver from that era in my life:  Mrs. Sonja Davis, the principal who hired me out of graduate school. Mrs. Davis was the eternal optimist, the eternal believer in the undefeatable power of teacher-driven innovation as the avenue to solve every systemic challenge schools face. Our high school eventually reached previously unforeseen heights for an urban public high school in California, based on her endless supply of optimism, forward thinking, and positive energy. I was pleasantly reminded of those times by these chapters of our book.

In closing I want to invite all Barnwell staff members to consider joining us on Thursday December 11, 2014, for our Service Holiday Party. In lieu of our traditional holiday party, this year I would like to invite you all to consider your availability afterschool on December 11, as we celebrate the holidays together serving those in need at North Fulton Charities from 4:00pm to 7:00pm. What better way to live out Joy the Bus Driver’s mantra of the power of positivity?...

            If you enjoyed reading Chapters 2-8 in The Energy Bus, you may also appreciate the article linked below. The article provides some further insight on thought awareness, and rational and positive thinking:

http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTCS_06.htm

-Norman