On what escalator are you stuck?

I discovered this video a few years ago when I was teaching the "7 Habits" lessons to my elementary school students.  I used this video to demonstrate two very "reactive" people - the non-example of being proactive (i.e. Habit #1).

Video: Stuck on an Escalator - Take Action!

We all have our "escalators" on which we get "stuck!"  We can choose to remain on the escalator and ruminate or complain, but doing nothing to resolve our situation, or we can take a stand, draw from our resources, to solve our dilemma or choose our attitude toward the situation.  I think as I work with students to help them develop more of a growth mindset, this will be a great video to share.  

I will be working with high school students this next school year, and more specifically, with students who are above-average academically.  I believe growth mindset education is particularly important for this population of students, who (like me when I was a teenager/young adult), tend to think intellect is fixed- that we are defined by our talents and we must be successful, lest we look like failures.  As a consequence of this fixed mindset thinking, individuals are fearful to take chances, afraid to stretch themselves and risk failure.  In the end, they limit themselves.  For example, a fixed mindset student will get stuck on an escalator (e.g. AP calculus class that is incredibly challenging) and give up (e.g. drop the class and take an easier math class to ensure an A).  A growth mindset student in the same situation will embrace the challenge, not consider the difficulty a reflection of her intellect, and draw upon her resources to conquer the material, even if it risks not obtaining an A.

With that in mind, what escalators are you stuck on?  What personal resources can you draw upon to become unstuck?

This is Water - by David Foster Wallace

I have probably listened to the late David Foster Wallace's 2005 Kenyon College commencement speech over 20 times (including again today as I was driving around town).  The title of this 23-minute speech is "This is Water," where DFW addresses,among other things, our power or freedom to choose how and what we think about.    

Would love to show this video to my high school students - it addresses the Franklian concepts of freedom of will (in particular of one's attitude) and self-transcendence.  A couple of my favorite lines are as follows:

(His explanation of the point of the "fish parable" at the beginning of his speech):  "The most obvious, important realities are often the ones that are hardest to see and talk about."

(And toward the end of the speech):  "The really important kind of freedom involves attention and awareness and discipline, and being able truly to care about other people and to sacrifice for them over and over in myriad petty, unsexy ways every day. That is real freedom. That is being educated, and understanding how to think."

And finally, perhaps my favorite ......"The capital-T Truth is about life BEFORE death. It is about the real value of a real education, which has almost nothing to do with knowledge, and everything to do with simple awareness; awareness of what is so real and essential, so hidden in plain sight all around us, all the time, that we have to keep reminding ourselves over and over: "This is water." "This is water."

Here is the link:

Would love to hear other's comments about this speech :)

"How's the water, boys?"  

Logotherapy and education

Once again, I am trying to resurrect this blog!  It's been over 7 years since I first read Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning,where Dr. Frankl, a Viennese psychiatrist, recounts his experiences as a Jewish prisoner in the Nazi concentration camps during World War 2 (for a timeline of his life, check out Viktor Frankl Institute - Official Website of the Viktor Frankl Institute Vienna)

Since that time, I have read several books and articles about Frankl and his counseling modality/theory/philosophy called logotherapy (therapy through meaning).  Frankl's belief, which is a fundamental basis for his theory, was that people are not driven by the pursuit of pleasure, as proposed by Freud, or by the pursuit of power, as proposed by Adler.  Instead, human beings are motivated to find purpose and meaning in their lives - it is through this pursuit of meaning and purpose in one's life that true happiness can ensue. This, as well as the other assumptions and tenets of logotherapy continue to resonate with me, since it speaks to my own life so clearly.  I have had a few diverse careers and experiences in my life, and yet it is school counseling where I feel I have discovered true meaning in my life (and thus deep joy and satisfaction).

When asked about the meaning of his own life, Frankl would respond, not surprisingly, that it is to help others find meaning in their lives.  Similarly, I believe my life's purpose is to help students become capable and purposeful human beings, and there is perhaps no better forum than education. In fact, I strongly believe that the three fundamental tenets or assumptions of logotherapy (freedom of will, will to meaning, and meaning of life) are particularly applicable in education at all grade levels, although the focus on career/college readiness at the high school level makes logotherapy especially conducive to this older grade level.  I strongly believe that when students make connections between their academics and interests/goals, they will become more engaged in school, which translates into better attendance, grades, and attitude/behavior.

My motivation for creating this blog a few years ago was, and still is, to provide a forum where school counselors, educators, as well as other education stakeholders can discuss the application of Franklian psychology in the education of our youth.  I have not posted much, probably due to time constraints as well as being intimidated by the "blank page" - that is,what do I write? There is so much.

So I'll start out small - I'll post from time to time articles of f interest.  I am currently taking my third course from the Viktor Institute of Logotherapy titled "Meaning-Centered Interventions" where I am required to draft a reflection at the end of each unit - so  perhaps I'll post some of those reflections.  My hope is that others might read my posts, ask questions, and contribute their own thoughts.  For those new to logotherapy, I highly recommend Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning.  Another useful website is from the U.S. Viktor Frankl Institute of Logotherapy headquartered in Texas   The links at the top of the page provide an excellent summary of Frankl's life as well as logotherapy.

Thank you for reading!

Gratitude

The topic of "gratitude" or "gratefulness" is a fairly popular one these days.  Just "google" one of these two words, and you will find a plethora of sites directed to this topic.

In my study of logotherapy through the Viktor Frankl Institute of Logotherapy, the topic of "gratitude" was addressed as possibly another avenue of finding meaning.  Viktor Frankl stated that meaning can be discovered through our works (creative values), through our encounters with others as well as through our experiences (experiential values), and finally, by the attitude we take when facing unavoidable suffering (attitudinal values).  Gratitude has been proposed as a fourth path to meaning, or at the very least, part of our attitudinal values.  

I have started talking to my students about gratefulness, not only in my individual meetings, but also during my classroom guidance lessons.  In my middle school class (7th/8th grade students), I am always interjecting logotherapy concepts during my "7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens" lessons and the topic of "gratitude" has been no exception.  Recently, I showed this particular class a TED video about gratefulness, and followed that up with some handouts on ways to express our gratefulness (below I have provided links to both sites).  A question posed was whether happiness causes one to be grateful, or vice versa.  The speaker in the TED talk suggested that gratefulness leads to happiness (and I agree).  And as my instructor, Dr. Cyndi Wimberly, recently mentioned to me:  "You can't be grateful and worried at the same time.  Worry changes nothing, except maybe for the worse. Gratitude impacts our attitude tremendously."  

With the foregoing in mind, I plan on revamping and expanding upon my current presentation of gratitude for my middle school grades.  I would also like to find other suitable videos on this topic that students will find interesting (I admit, the TED talk mentioned above is a bit heady).  

As I find other materials on gratitude that may be useful for the classroom setting, I'll post them.

Here are the links:

Want to be happy? Be grateful - TED talk by David Steindl-Rast

How to Practice Gratitude - Sonja Lyubomirsky

Making high school matter

I just read an interesting article titled "3 Ways to Make High School Matter" by Dr. James R. Stone, III.  The link is below.

Dr. Stone reports that more students are graduating from college, but many are getting jobs that do not require college degrees. He states that 47% of graduates are getting jobs do not require a B.S. or B.A. degree and more than 1/3 of those graduates have jobs that only require a high school diploma.  The "college for all" movement has resulted in more rigorous high school course requirements (for example, 3 or 4 units of math instead of 1 unit) with no real increase in test scores.  Moreover, Dr. Stone submits that we may be pushing our boys out education.  He cites a July 2012 New York Times opinion piece that reports fewer boys than girls are finishing high school, going to college, or graduating from college - they also have 75% of D's and F's.

He contends that we need to make high school matter, since the reality of the job market is demanding more workers with with industry-recognized credentials (e.g. certified technician, welders, machinists).

So Dr. Stone proposes the following to meet the demands of the job market and keep students engaged in their education, which I have simply reproduced here:

1. Schools can engage young people by providing education that is both rigorous and more relevant. Recent research from the National Research Center for Career and Technical Education (NRCCTE) shows that including CTE as part of the high school experience keeps kids in school and is linked to higher rates of high school graduation. As cited in thisEducation Week blog, we found a stronger connection between high school CTE course-taking and graduation for boys when they take three or more CTE classes in a focused program area. Finding meaning in learning is important for all youth, but it may be even more important for boys.**

2. Another way to make high school matter is to provide opportunities to acquire IRCs while in high school as part of a robust CTE program. States like Florida, Kentucky, and many others are expanding these opportunities. If done well, students can start a career pathway built upon stackable credentials beginning in high school that articulate seamlessly with postsecondary credit- and credential-earning opportunities.

3. Finally, if we want high school to matter, youth need to begin the career development process well before high school. Emerging research from the NRCCTE is pointing toward the importance of engaging students in thinking about their future selves no later than 8th grade. Many states now require individualized graduation plans that are predicated on career inventories or other strategies to start the conversation with students and parents in planning their future career pathway.***

http://public.careercruising.com/us/en/blog/bl/2013/03/3-ways-to-make-high-school-matter/

RIP Jacob Tinkoff

Last Saturday a young man in my community, 16 year old Jacob Tinkoff, committed suicide.  My prayers go out to his family.  Below are some links, including a Facebook page dedicated to his memory as well as a powerful video from his father about suicide in teens.

I believe it is vital that each and every school counseling program provide suicide education programs for staff and students.  Students need to know how to recognize the warning signs of suicide and what to do.  And all kids need to know that they are irreplaceable in their family and friend's lives.  I can't help but think if Jacob could have had a glimpse into the future and read these posts on FB, seeing first hand that his life has meaning, he would not have taken his life.

5000 Succeed Each Year

RIP Jacob Tinkoff


Helping a Depressed Person

Tribute

I have to say I have been remiss in blogging the past few weeks.  The flu hit my family hard a couple of weeks ago coupled with the death of my mother-in-law, Delphene Barrow.

I will keep this post short with a tribute to Del.  She was a wonderful wife, mother, and grandmother, and she was always very kind to me for the 25+ years I knew her.  She was a strong person who put her family and friends first in her life.  During the funeral service, some of her friends described their friendships with Del and how she affected their lives.  As I reflected upon the service and the comments made, it reminded me that in our relationships with others in this world, we can have a very profound influence on others' lives, and that we may never know the extent of that impact.  And at the risk of sounding cliche, I was also reminded that life is way too short, and thus we must embrace our purpose for being in this world and live our lives to the fullest.  

Below is a link to Del's obituary:

http://tinyurl.com/akj7uw5