Got to sleep in this morning! The late start provided me with a little extra sleep which gave me some extra gas in the tank for my workout. Now that the students are gone, I'll be able to get down to some business! Report cards, Sudbury presentation and room clean-up are on the priority.

One thing I learned: 

One piece of Motivation: Be the superhero in your own movie. Write things down that you want to eliminate, not add. Doing this helps you cut away the clutter making you more efficient. If your diet is a mess, cut foods out - don't try to add in new ones. 

Three ideas: Put them to work! Have students make art. To really integrate the STEAM into STEM students must be exposed to the option of creation and failure. Inability to fail makes it much more difficult to reach out and grow.

Workout:

22 min run

3 x 500 row

3 x 10 bear complex 95 lb

3 x 10 Sandbag Burpee 

3 x 30 Double Unders

3 x 10 medicine ball 1/2 burpee

3 x 20 medicine ball push-ups

Feels like it’s been a while since I’ve written, but goodness these days get busy. It’s almost over though (I feel like I’ve been saying that for weeks). After today, I won’t have to worry about planning lessons just clean and get ready for my presentation. 

One thing I learned: The Juliard paradox - I really liked how Seth talked about people continuing to practice instead of pushing the envelope and making good art. This is a really good example of why we need to make students create and build and innovate.

One piece of motivation: Being a teacher is about creating change. This job I’m doing is the base of change. It is my job to go out and beyond (like the Apple gig) to institute further change. Keep going!

Three ideas: Bringing computers and Makey Makey’s will help!

Workout:

25 mins on elliptical

Deadlift

Leg press

Tri pulldown

D-day! It was about now that the first battles were underway. Crazy to think that it happened so long ago, but was such a monuments part of modern history. I would argue that it even - on a grand scale - eclipses September 11th. 

Sudbury presentation is coming together nicely. It will be a long session, but hopefully I can fill it with relevant information. I’m stuck with determining if I should give a broad overview or dive deeply into some applications to make them more detailed. I’ll get the base down and hopefully get a better idea as the day approaches.

One thing I learned: It’s OK to make art that isn’t good. When art doesn’t work, you need to learn to see better. Is it the audience that’s not right? Is it bad art? Being able to see properly is just as important as making art itself. Take time daily to focus in on art.

One piece of motivation: Discipline=Freedom. This week is a great opportunity to try and go 5 full days with no alcohol. The challenge is and has always been not only is it the reduction in alcohol but the need to keep my food calories low. It’s as almost like my body is used to the calories from beer and expects them at certain times during the week. Stay disciplined and see how it goes. 

Three ideas: Perhaps it might be necessary to go back and enter my food into myfitnespal in order to get a general idea of how much i’m eating. I’m definitely stuck in a plateau of sorts and need to make a major change to break through. Not sure what that would be yet...

Workout:

HTS gym workout

5 x 5 Deadlift

5 x 20 tri pull downs

5 x 10 pull-ups

5 x 15 leg press

Only have time for a short entry this morning. I was able to workout for over an hour, although I had to cut off a couple of exercises. I was worried that the kids would get up before I was able to shower and get ready. Turned out to work perfectly. The drive was a nightmare, but I expected it to be. 

I loved NDTyson’s idea of not labelling yourself in a religious context. As an educator, it’s important not to lose focus on the goal - to promote science. Religion has done a fabulous job of pinning science down when in fact it’s just a bunch of stories. Nice way to lead into.

Workout:

22 min run

3 x 500 row

3 x 20 KB deadlift

3 x 20 KB 2hand swing

3 x 10 One arm KB clean and press

3 x 15 sandbag burpee

1 x 10 heavy bag lift and attack

June! Here it is. In 16 days I’ll be doing some Apple training and after that - summer. I got some disappointing news about the Quest conference. I’m mostly concerned as to ‘why’ I was not selected. Feedback would be helpful so that I can offer up a better program next year. I also think that perhaps the private school, not marketing myself well enough and the theme of the conference all played into it. I also suspect that ramification is still something that requires a bit of time to develop. 

I’ve been struggling with sleep lately. I admit that it’s getting better and I’m falling into deeper sleep, it’s more concerning about the afternoon fatigue. I seem to get about 8 hours of rest, but it’s either not enough or there’s something else like liver fatigue happening. I’ll keep a close eye on it over the next week. I’m thinking a nice long bus ride to Ottawa and back will help get me some rest!

One thing I learned: Mobility is important for getting older. The idea that you can hold a pose like bruce lee as opposed to being flexible is much more beneficial as you get older. 

One piece of motivation: Learn to see. We automatically assign labels to things, ideas and people because it’ helps us navigate the world a little easier. By taking time to really look at things you can see them. Jocko calls this ‘detachment’ because it forces you away from being in the situation. Practice is the only way to really accomplish this!

Three ideas: It would be fun to create a teacher training session on game-based learning or entrepreneurship in the classroom. Some people seem to be profiting off of this, but don’t really have a clear message. Teachers need to be careful not to project their ideas on others because it worked. Kids are simple - we have a tendency in education to over ‘educate’ teachers when in fact we really have no idea what’s going on!

Workout:

22 min run

3 x 500 row

3 x 10 clean, jerk, press

3 x 12 Romanian bag front squat

3 x max battle rope

3 x 12 DB curl

3 x max (without a rest) DB push-up