Back to square one (I’m fat again and school is starting).

You know, people always talk about how all of these famous, self-made businessmen and women struggled before they hit it big. We have heard the stories of Colonel Sanders, Steve Jobs, Michael Jordan, and Tyler Perry. From failure to millionaire, they all made it due to their hard work and never giving up on their goal. It sounds like the American dream. It is a story that sticks with you. It sounds so simple; however, success isn’t as simple as just wanting it. Mistakes are made and bad things happen to everyone. The difference is what do you do when you are face down in the muck and are at rock bottom. The difference in these individuals is their willingness to start back at square one and move forward.

I have thought about this process a lot over the last few weeks and have come up with two reasons people have to go back to square one. First, and the easier one to comprehend, are catastrophic events. Things go sideways and you are hurt, displaced, or caught off guard. These are the things that no one sees coming and probably couldn’t prevent. Your only option is to react, mitigate the damage, and pick up the pieces. In most cases, this type of failure can’t be avoided. You or your organization are simply the victim of circumstances. Do not be a victim, that mindset is dangerous and contagious.

The second reason for failure is the curse of comfort. This is when people get comfortable and a bit lazy. They no longer work to get better, only to maintain. This mindset is a slippery slope, as you will most likely realize you are slacking once it is too late. Out of the two, this reason could easily be avoided but is more prevalent than the first. Why? We all want life to be comfortable. It’s in our nature. For athletes, it is as simple as missing those essential workouts. For educators, it is not keeping up with current shifts in education.

Recently, I have allowed myself to relax and enjoy the little things more. Little things meaning nachos, tacos, ice cream, piazza, more tacos, chips, yet more tacos, and other scrumptious food that I have not indulged in for years. All the races I had planned are canceled. I figured, what was the point. I could live a little. And then, I stepped on the scales. CRAP. My suspicion was confirmed when I tried to put my dress pants on. Yep, I was fat again.

I don’t write this looking for pity or Facebook posts about how beautiful I am on the inside. Facts are facts, I am fat again. Trust me. I just got my order of stretchy dress pants in for the new school year. I can say it because I have been there before. I grew up a fat kid. Listen, I used to be so fat that when I chased girls as a kid, I left potholes. I had heard the familiar comments from my friends in their weak attempt to make me feel better. “You been hitting the gym? Bulking up? When are you due?” I brushed the comments off, but the scales don’t lie. I was in trouble.

So, I decided to start a new running program. I started off with what I considered some light mileage. The problem was that mileage was easy when I was 25 lbs. lighter. Now, I was dying. My legs ached and my heart pounded. “GOOD LORD, this sucks!” I pushed on anyway for several weeks and it got easier. I would feel better. Within three weeks, I had dropped the weight and had qualified for Boston Marathon, Ironman World Championships, and was asked to be on the cover of Muscle Fitness. It would be awesome if all that was true. The truth, is my journey back to my former self was going to be harder than I had thought.

The truth isn’t as glamorous as what I wrote or envisioned. Three weeks into my program, I noticed that my right Achilles tendon was stiff. I had an old injury in that ankle, and it was flaring up again. My response, I kept running. My ankle would go stiff and hurt. I kept running. It was what I knew. If I ran hard the pain would eventually stop, right. Wrong. It was official. The doctor told me the reality. I was now hurt. Welp! Now I’m fat and hurt. No running for a while was my order. Rehab and take it slow was the suggestion I got. The reality was I felt like the fat little boy all over again. I didn’t know if I had it in me to do it again.

I am writing about this now because this is where we are as an education system. We are back at square one. Systems around the country are trying to find their footing and design new school plans based on ever changing moments. Sure, this is a catastrophic event. However, I would argue that we had gotten comfortable with what school should look like and were caught with our pants down in March. We knew hybrid instruction was the new trend. We knew that our students needed devices. We knew teachers weren’t trained for this new trend, but we were comfortable with how things were and ignored it. Year by year, school systems pushed off this change because it was uncomfortable and unpopular.

Public schools are in the same position I am personally, the hurt fat kid. We are down, nose in the dirt. We are back to square one. Everyone knows it and is judging us. Everyone has comments, just look at Facebook or Twitter. Everyone thinks they have an answer. Reality is, that even the experts are still learning about the complexity of this problem. They are watching what is going to happen next. Some have plenty of snide comments on how schools should be run. People think that because they went to school, they understand education. I have been to the proctologist and I never claim to understand or want his job. The other bystanders offer pity, which is equally as useless.

Regardless of the on lookers, the question is what do we do now? Do we stay down and let an uncaring legislature and public-school haters kick dirt on our bodies? Or, do we stand up and start the HARD work to move forward? Yes, I said hard work. I promise it won’t be quick and easy. It will be one of the most difficult times of our professional lives.

While I can’t give specific advice on how schools should look or on decisions you’ll make, I can speak on my experience of moving forward from square one.

1. Do the things that suck!

When you find yourself at this low point, get out of you comfort zone. Remember, comfort probably got you in this position in the first place, but comfort won’t get you out. We all know those things we hate doing. We hate the awkward phone calls. We don’t like learning new things. We roll our eyes at professional development. That must stop. Embrace those things. This is the only way we can grow. We must stretch ourselves.

I like to think of this like salad. I hate salad. I know it’s good for me and my waistline. I still hate it (even with ranch dressing and bologna). The thing I understood in the past was eating that cow food was a means to an end. If I watched my diet, I would lose weight. It was that simple. If I ate fewer calories, I didn’t have to exercise as much to burn those extra calories. HMMM. So, if I expand my educator thinking and learn new things, maybe I’ll have deeper knowledge when I need it.

2. Consistency is king.

We all want success overnight but that is a fantasy. Success comes from doing those positive things every day. This can’t be started and stopped. The key to this is micro-gains over time. If you are consistent at doing those things that suck, over time you will see the gains. This is tough to do. Consistency comes from making growth a habit and habits are made over time. I can tell you running every day for a short distance is better than a long run once a week. Yes, this isn’t as glamorous as a major feat, but it works.

For educators, that means practicing those new “strategies” or curriculum every day. It is easy to try it for a day or a week. That is when most see those new techniques as ineffective and go back to what they know. We will only see the benefits or the short comings after we consistently implement these new teaching strategies for a long time. I can tell you, I ran a lot faster and was more comfortable after six months of running every day, than one week after running.

3. Be ready to start over again.

Fact, you will most likely fail again. More likely than not, you will find yourself at square one again. It happens. You will make headway and then hit a stumbling block. Be ready and don’t let it be a back breaker. If starting over was easy, everyone would be successful. The reality is that progress is a major process. It takes time and a lot of effort.

We are facing uncertain times. Schools will likely spend all year adjusting to this change and will find themselves back at square one many times. Educators and leaders must continue to meet the challenge. This isn’t fun but it is necessary. If we continue to fight from underneath, public schools may never recover.

4. Keep your head up

You must realize that the only thing we may be able to control at this point is our attitude. If you are a leader, people will be watching. Remember, you set the tone for your school or classroom. Trust me, no one wants to hear you whine. Head up, put a smile on and get to grinding.

As educators, we are looked upon with high levels of esteem by parents, students, and the community. Despite if you think that is fair or not, that is the reality. With that knowledge, we, as educators, must understand the weight on our words and actions. When we are drawn into a debate on social media or publicly denounce those we work with, we fail to be a model for the public that is watching. Perhaps we should pause before we hit enter or send. Maybe we should think before we speak. Anyone who has been in education has been on the wrong side of an angry parent, student, or community. Let us rise above that and not contribute to the negativity.

5. Take care of yourself

This process will take time and will not be easy. There will be ebbs and flows to this year. The lack of consistency and the increase in negativity from outsiders can play tricks on your psyche. Take time to center yourself and care for your wellbeing. For some, this seems selfish. I am a firm believer that you must care for yourself to be ready to give your best.

In triathlon or running, athletes take time to recover before they race. This gives the body just enough time to heal before it preforms. I can attest that it works. Let me be clear, recovery does mean that you do nothing. We just lighten the load enough to maintain fitness and allow the body to heal. The mind functions the same way. We must take time to allow our minds to relax and prepare for the coming challenges.

A new year is upon us and it will be the most challenging in history. There are more unknowns than we can count. Educators and leaders are back at square one and don’t have a choice but to move forward. The start of school is coming and the time for feeling sorry for ourselves has passed. I know the road ahead will be bumpy and long. I assure you that we can get through this. We must take these changes day by day and keep up the work.

Next time- I will start a new blog series- Main Event Education

Till next time,

Stay Sharp

Dr. S