June 22

 I have had a good week.  The girls and I went for a long walk on Father's Day, then we went out for a Father's Day meal at Earls Restaurant.  As usual, I am playing a lot of ball during the week.  On Saturday, I went out to visit my brother, Vince at Margo Lake, a lake that is close to Fishing Lake.  On Tuesday, I conducted a ukulele workshop with a grade 4 class in Wakaw.  Mom is coming in to visit me on the weekend.  I am taking her to a wedding on Saturday. 

The girls are doing well.  They are busy wrapping up the school year.  There is a lot of anxiety around support staff cuts in Prairie Spirit School Division.  Of course, this certainly affects Haley and Mary because they are Special Education teachers and work closely with Educational Associates.

Next week, I am off to Summerland, B.C. to visit my sister, Paulette.  Looking forward to the getaway.

Principal’s Message June 07

            Have you noticed how many conversations you have had about money lately in light of the present housing boom in the Saskatoon area?  People have made and lost fortunes.  Many conversations are people lamenting how they should have held onto the house a while longer or they are boasting how they “flipped” a house for a tidy sum.  Now, who am I to judge?  We do need money these days especially if you want to provide even the basics.  The point is: we don’t need to love money.

            You may have heard me say before that much of what our children learn is caught, not taught.  Children can easily learn that money and things can bring happiness.  They can very easily learn that life is about getting toys and the one who gets the most toys wins.  Ironically, I have found that in most cases, the more money you have, the more you worry about money and the more things you have, the more things you have to fix.  The lessons we should teach children should be about being good stewards of the money and things they have.  Moreover, children need to be encouraged to be good stewards of the time, talents, and gifts they are given.  I truly believe each child is born to a purpose and I am convinced the purpose is not to be a consumer but rather a giver.  Yes, let us teach our children that money doesn’t buy happiness. 

            In fact, many of the things that make us happy are free.  Watching a sunset, smelling a lilac bush, listening to frogs croak, craning your neck to seek a red tail hawk, playing checkers with Grandpa, skipping stones, and chasing butterflies is free.  I have also learned that good health, faithful friends, and loving families cannot be bought – they are priceless.

            Recently, I went to visit the small village where I began my teaching career.  While I was there I visited old friends, bottle fed baby lambs, shared simple home cooked meals, took early morning walks where I observed 15 species of birds, observed the stars on a new moon, did not spend a penny and I was happy.  I also met a lady who was battling cancer, talked to an old friend whose body was being destroyed by Huntington’s Disease, and I heard that two longtime friends were not talking to one another because of a major misunderstanding and I was sad.

            Why give this message in June before summer holidays?  Well, my wish for the children and their families is that you will have a glorious two months of doing things that are free like singing by the campfire, playing catch, reading a good library book, and making people happy.

June 13

Yes, I am still alive.  I had a busy weekend playing in a slow pitch in Edmonton.  Last week, I played 3 games during the week and three games on the weekend.  I would have played four games on the weekend, but I had to leave Edmonton early to attend the Garth Brooks concert with Haley, Dustin, and Mary. 

Haley and Mary were at the lake on the weekend.  Our lake family planted a tree near the beach where Judy used to spend many hours enjoying the sun and watching the girls swim.  On June 16, the girls and I are going to attend the Martensville Grad Ceremony at Credit Union Center.  The staff of MHS has created a scholarship in Judy's honor.  The scholarship is available to a student entering the College of Education.  The scholarship will be granted to the student who has demonstrated determination and a positive attitude.

Principal’s Message

A few weeks ago, I was having lunch with a few of my staff members and we were discussing the factors that make a student successful in school.  The discussion was about parental support, parental expectation, watered down curriculum, the influence of television, latchkey children, and a whole host of societal ills that are affecting children’s ability to learn.  We compared the children we teach now to children we taught 25 years ago. 

            In my opinion, parental support is at an all time high.  Parents are reading to their children, enrolling children in athletics, providing music lessons, taking parenting classes, and seeking knowledge about child rearing.  On the other hand, children are probably spending less time talking with their parents at meal time and spending more time sitting in front of a television or video monitor.   Without a doubt, there is fewer stay at home parents. Twenty five years ago elementary schools were not expected to teach AIDs education, social skills, street proofing, word processing, information technology, and drug prevention.  Schools taught less more and now schools teach more less. 

            You may have read statistics on current student academic performance compared to 25 years ago.  Some data suggests scores are lower.  Some data suggests we are doing some things better.  I always hear anecdotal evidence that students are just not able to perform at the high level of days gone by.  Teachers often tell me the quality of work is slipping and ambition is waning.  Personally, I think teachers have highly achieving students stuck in their long term memory and poorly achieving students in their short term memory.  Children’s abilities haven’t changed.  My personal conviction is we have created children who take less responsibility for their success. 

            My parents never helped me with my homework.  They may have gone to parent teacher interviews once in my school years.  They never called the teachers with constructive criticism.  I wasn’t registered in Kumon.  They fed me, clothed me, and provided shelter.  Moreover, they had high expectations for me, believed in me, and taught me that I was the one who was ultimately responsible for my failure or my success. 

            There are more children now who blame others for their failure.  They blame their lack of performance on their home life.  Their parents were too rich and they were spoiled or their parents were too poor so they lacked opportunity.  Their parents were too strict so they rebelled.  Their parents were too lax so they lacked direction.  Their teachers were inept, expected too much, or did not understand their special qualities.  They fell in with a bad crowd or they were not accepted by the popular crowd.  There are always circumstances to blame. 

            I am not denying there are parents who make mistakes, teachers who are less than adequate and other circumstances that are debilitating.  Life isn’t fair, but you usually have a choice whether you are going to rise up and take responsibility for your life or blame your failure on the poor hand  you have been dealt.  Children need to know that they are responsible for their lives and their actions.  They need support and love, but they also need to know that they are responsible for making use of their abilities, accepting the consequences of their wrong choices, and succeeding in spite of their circumstances.

June 5

I went to the lake today to play some golf.  To give an idea of the wind today...I was on the 18th fairway and found a ball lying in plain view.  There were no other golfers on the 18th so I picked up the ball thinking it had fallen out of someone's cart.  Along the trail comes another golfer.  He had lost his ball.  The ball I had picked up belonged to him.  He had teed off on hole number 15 and the ball had drifted over to 18!

This week will be another week of playing ball.  Plus 50 plays on Monday.  Plus 60 plays on Tuesday.  The tournament team plays on Wednesday.  On Thursday, I am on my way to Edmonton to play in a plus 60 tournament being held on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  Then the trick will be to get back in time for the Garth Brooks concert on Sunday night.

May Principal’s Message,

            When I was in my first year of university, I handed in my first essay and received a devastating 48 %.  The professor had a brief meeting with me and said, “Maybe university isn’t your thing.”  He didn’t know that I was carrying the banner for my family.  I was the first one in a blue collar family with parents who had very little education and even less money.  I was crushed, disappointed, and faced with a monumental decision.  Should I become bitter and quit or should I become better and win.  I chose the latter.       

            What quality allows us to succeed in spite of adversity such as injustice, violence, and socio economic background?  There are some who face much greater challenges such as parental neglect, abuse, physical handicaps, and mental illness.  I believe the quality we need to beat all odds is resiliency.  One way to define resiliency is doing better than should be expected.  Resilient children beat the odds. According to research cited by Thomas Lickona, author of Character Matters, resilient children overcome obstacles in their life by exhibiting strength in social competence, problem solving skills, a sense of identity, and hope for the future.  When resilient children were asked how they acquired their strengths, they pointed to inspiring role models – particularly teachers.

            Some may argue that children are born resilient, but there is a body of evidence that indicates resilience can be learned.  At Prairie View School, we have a Social Skills for Success program that teaches students social competencies such as listening, responding to a request, ignoring distractions, self control, following directions, accepting consequences, and problem solving.  We try to develop a sense of positive identity by providing opportunities for children to become involved in drama, athletics, academics, visual arts, and other clubs.  Furthermore, we try to send the message: you are a good person with gifts, talents, and abilities that can be used to make the world a better place.

Our motto of C.A.R.E. (Courtesy, Appreciation, Respect, and Enthusiasm) emphasizes the common identity we aspire toward. 

            On the issue of hope for the future, Dr. Robert Brooks, child psychologist, offers some advice on building resilience and hope in children.  He advises that we teach children to distinguish the things they can control and the things they cannot control.  Resilient children should learn how to think before they act rather than acting on impulse.  They must also know that mistakes are an opportunity to learn.  Moreover, children must know their strengths and build upon them.  Likewise, they should acknowledge their weaknesses, but not dwell on them.  Finally, resilient children should know how to seek assistance from others in a comfortable way.

             I heard a little known allegory that tells of two fishermen who discovered a child floating face down in the water just below a bridge.  The older fisherman took the child on board and resuscitated him.  Immediately, they discovered another drowning child and a third so they saved the second and third children.  The younger fisherman spotted a fourth child floating face down, but the old fisherman was heading for shore.  The young fisherman said, “Aren’t you going to save him?”

            The old fisherman replied, “Not right now because I am going to go up and find out who is throwing children off the bridge.”

            In the same way, teaching children to be resilient is as important as removing the attacking the challenges faced by children in today’s society.  I know there are government programs to eliminate child poverty, mental health programs, task forces dealing with gangs, anti-bullying campaigns, and a many other worthwhile efforts, but until all the world’s problems have been solved the school, home, and community must teach children to be resilient.  By fostering caring relationships and providing wise counsel, we can keep even the most challenged children “out of the water”.