Search Institute

This upcoming Thursday, I’m giving a keynote address and the Minnesota teachers’ union annual conference. The title of my talk is So! How are the adults?

It’s an honor to be asked to speak and I’m looking forward to it. But when they hand you a mic and give you an audience, you’re given also the challenge of saying something worthy of the invite itself. For the most part, my public speaking events are marked by polite suggestions. For some reason, I feel like be a little rowdy. Or boisterous. Sometimes you want to rattle cages.

Here are the themes I think I’ll explore:
1. Opportunities we lose or use everyday to take care of ourselves as individuals or each other as colleagues.
2. Absolutes we should carry in our behavior toward others. There is a right and a wrong to how we work with others.
3.

I’d like to alert anyone in the Twin Cities area who is a teacher, knows a teacher, is considering becoming a teacher, or is curious about teaching to a cool event.

I’ve been invited, along with Minnesota Teacher of the Year Amber Damm,to participate in The Current’s Policy and a Pint series at the Varsity Theater in Dinkytown next Thursday, Oct. 8.

Here’s how it’s described on the site:

What makes for a good teacher? What changes do we need to see in teaching to ensure the best futures for our children? How much input should parents have for their children’s education?

I remember often talking with my students about those times of life when you’re able to say, “Whoa. I’m having a time of my life at this moment.” Face it: most days are relatively routine and mundane. More broadly, whole stretches of time can be rather unremarkable.

But these are not those times.

Something collective is happening. I see it in people’s tweets. I can see it on the faces of coworkers. I hear it in conversations. And I feel it myself. The phrase “in these rough economic times” has become some sort of ubiquitous mantra that permeates just about everything that we experience and sense in our lives. Not to be macabre, but it feels as though the world is playing itself out on a darkly hued backdrop that somehow affects nearly every facet of our lives – personally and collectively.

Of greatest concern to me is that even joy seems to be playing out on a landscape marked by general tension.

On my podium for years hung a cheesy, tattered poster.

Comments

Post Comment | Comments (4)

09-24-2009 @ 10:15 PM

Jennifer Griffin-Wiesner (not verified) said ...

Skittles and twittter, eh. I'm thinking I know this Force of Good. Great post, Nate. Reminds me

09-24-2009 @ 10:18 PM

Jennifer Griffin-Wiesner (not verified) said ...

Okay, so her word is "plan" not choice, but I'm just sayin'... :-)

I was listening to this fantastic interview of Nancie Atwell and Mark Bauerline on Minnesota Public Radio's "Midmorning" show last week.

From the MPR website:

Hello everyone.

One thing you don’t see enough of in mass media is a realistic depiction of American school life. Movies, t.v. shows, and most print media is usually either amazingly negative or overwhelmingly melodramatic.

So when you find a program that seems to be neither, it’s worthy of note.

PBS is airing a documentary called The Principal Story starting Tuesday, September 15. It looks utterly compelling.

As you visit the site, notice too that even prior to its airing, there’s already a robust debate in the comments section.

Here’s PBS’s description of the show:

_The Principal Story tells two stories, painting a dramatic portrait of the challenges facing America’s public schools — and of the great difference a dedicated principal can make.