DWD - Part 2

One of the things that Tony Dungy talks about in "The Mentor Leader" is how when he first came to the Buccaneers, his most immediate and important goal was to get the organization to embrace a culture of winning. He did this through encouragement and emphasizing the positive. My fourth goal for the 2012 - 13 school year is to ENCOURAGE.

I have tried throughout the course of the year to encourage our teachers. I have tried to be more conscious and aware of showing my appreciation for all that they do. I have tried to emphasize, highlight and celebrate the heroic efforts of our teachers. I've encouraged teachers to offer a note of praise after completing FOCUS group walk and talk thrus (FOCUS group walk and talk thrus are when I travel with a group of 3 - 4 teachers and conduct short, pop-in observations and then conduct dialogue with the group about what was just observed in the classroom). I've acknowledged noteworthy efforts by our teachers in my weekly bulletin to faculty and staff. I've tried to continue to recognize students for living out our schools mission statement during monthly morning assemblies. This year, I've even started to invite parents to come and witness the presentation of this Incarnation Inspiration award at our assemblies. I have tried to remain positive and promote that positive energy to the various groups within our school community.

I'm going to continue to try my best with encouraging people!

My fifth goal for the 2012 - 13 school year is to EMPOWER. I have asked students to help with the planning and execution of prayer services (Advent and Grandparents Day). I've had students being the DJ's at two of our school events this year (Family Fun Run and Spring Picnic). I've asked teachers to work in professional learning communities to assist in our efforts to incorporate Understanding by Design into our planning, instruction and assessment. I have attempted to have teachers maintain power and control of their classrooms and/or students by helping to guide them through various issues and problems, as appropriate, instead of solving it for them. I have given our still relatively new Dads Club a bit more autonomy this year. Our School Advisory Board is working toward an alumni event at the end of the school year. People, as a general rule, are reluctant to take on leadership positions. I have tried, though, to offer smaller tasks and more confined time frames to help people feel more empowered.

The sixth goal that I am trying to accomplish this school year is to ENERGIZE. I'd like to think of myself as an energetic and enthusiastic person. I hope that even doing something as silly as trying to compose 40 blogs throughout Lent is somehow energizing. If nothing else, maybe some of the songs that I post are uplifting.

(Cue upbeat jam):

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, I have hoped to ELEVATE all that we do at ICS to a level worthy of being a Catholic School. I have tried to stay focused on Christ, realizing that He is the Reason for our school. It is my goal to ensure that always use our mission to inspire life-long learners, challenge individuals to be disciples of Christ and strive to serve others as the lens through which we make decisions, interact, speak, behave and even exist.

If we can't make incarnate His teachings, actions and life then our work is nothing more than toil and our goals are nothing more than earthly.

And all of the other goals I hope to accomplish this year are for nothing, if I don't have love and I don't make real Christ's love to my teachers, my students, their parents and families and our Incarnation community.

It's time to being.

Dreams with Deadlines

Goals are dreams with deadlines.

Similarly, I have heard that the likelihood that you will accomplish a goal increases if you not only write down the goal, but also if you mark out the steps you will follow to attain it. Furthermore, telling someone else about your goals, especially someone you trust, can help hold you accountable, especially when you would rather ease up and give up in pursuit of your goal.

In addition to the strategies mentioned in yesterday's post, I also formed a list of goals for myself throughout the 2012 - 13 school year. They are not as specific or measurable as I would like for them to be. Furthermore, I have not been very successful in remaining faithful to any of them. I wrote them down over the summer, and I offered up some specific steps for each one. The final piece, making them public, happens now.

This past spring and summer I read Tony Dungy's book, "The Mentor Leader". Having read both "Quiet Strength" and "Uncommon" I was excited to read more from one of my models in education. I'm not one to get wrapped up in celebrity sightings. Seeing Tony Dungy at a local breakfast place, though, made me giddy. Emily had to practically hold me back to keep me from ruining the man's breakfast. Even now, I've digressed too far from the point: Tony's newest book outlines 7 things that a mentor leader should do. I adopted them this year as things that I would aspire to incorporate into my tenure.

Today, I share numbers 1, 2 and 3 (I am trying to compose 40 blogs, after all!).

1. Engage. One of the things that I've tried to do this year is be more visible to the school community. I have tried to spend more time engaging our parents, our students, and our teachers. I have sponsored monthly coffees with the principal as a way to engage parents. For the first part of the school year I worked lunch and recess duties. I continue to volunteer my time as a sub and enjoy visiting our pre-morning gathering as well as our carlines. I have tried to spend more time in classrooms and less time in my office.

2. Educate. Part of being the chief educational officer of a school means that I am charged with teaching teachers about new teaching techniques, programs and/or initiatives. Since arriving at ICS two and a half years ago, I have challenged teachers to utilize Bloom's taxonomy; I've asked teachers to be purposeful with student-centered, specific and measurable objectives for each class period; I introduced Understanding by Design, which has now become a diocesan effort as well as a way that we will prepare for the Common Core. This year, ICS faculty has spent much time on assessments and rubrics. They have done a great job with all of these various projects and ICS teachers continue to impress me with their commitment to the school and its students.

3. Equip. Unfortunately, equipping people costs money and money is something that many schools do not have in abundant supply. I have tried to ensure that teachers and students have the necessary tools to do the tasks required of them. I hope to be able to continue to provide my team with more and more equipment to more successfully compete in the game of academics. I've tried to loosen the belt strap of our budget this year while still being a good steward of the school's and church's resources. It is a delicate balance.

Even as I make public only the first three goals that I had for this school year, I feel my stomach fill with humble pie. I have so much good work to do to accomplish my goals. I have fallen so short in so many ways. My deadline is quickly approaching - the third quarter is already half over.

To paraphrase Mother Theresa, yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come (but will soon!). Today is as good a day as any to recommit to making these dreams a reality.

Let me begin.

The Gateway to Knowledge

As a former yet still 6-12 certified English teacher I am quite fascinated by the language development of my children. At this point, I am amazed at the number of words Elizabeth knows - mustache, snow flake, chap stick, and speed boat are a few that I know I never incorporated into her daily vocabulary lessons. I thoroughly enjoy grammar; therefore, I have thoroughly enjoyed Elizabeth's progress with standard English grammar. It is adorable that she refers to herself as "you". It also makes complete sense. Just as we call her Elizabeth, we also use the pronoun you when speaking with her. Similar to her vocabulary progression, most of her development with grammar has been the result of her own independent study. Her pronoun confusion is diminishing. The fact that I still find adorable her attempts to use pronouns correctly is not.

Back track to 3 month old Catherine, and my fascination with language development soars. Some of her happiest times are when she has the undivided attention of a face who mimics, answers and responds to her coos, goos, gahs, and bubs. I know that she's still trying to gain greater control of her CNS, so I'm sure that some of her noises are uncontrollable. Others, though, reflect her foray into language and I know that my incoherent face time with her is paving the way for her acquisition and understanding of words.

Entering elementary (PreK to Grade 8) education after beginning my career in high school opened my eyes and gave me an appreciation for the importance and difficulty of teaching students how to read. Having children of my own has furthered this awakening to include the importance and difficulty of developing emergent literacy skills in younger-than-school-aged children.

As our Diocese has prepared for the upcoming shift to the Common Core State Standards, the role that reading plays in these new benchmarks is readily apparent. Reading is to span across all subjects. Furthermore, the CCSS focuses on reading non-fiction texts instead of fiction. In the CCSS, students must develop decoding, fluency, and comprehension skills sooner and with much more depth than before. All teachers, regardless of grade level, content area or comfort level, will have a hand in helping students gain familiarity with and skill at comprehending non-fictional texts. All subjects in all grade levels should be text dependent and driven.

Most students enter school and then learn how to read. The first few years, especially Kindergarten, are geared toward teaching students how to read. Around 4th grade, the emphasis shifts to using reading as a way to learn. By Middle School, students use reading as the primary mechanism by which they continue to learn.

Reading is the gateway to knowledge. Regardless of future advances along the information super highway - eReaders, tablets, apps, touch screen, Siri - being able to read will be your ticket to ride. Without it you are stuck. With it you have knowledge, power and freedom to go wherever your mind and the words you know can take you.

The more you read, the more you'll know and the more places you'll be able to go.

Oh, the places you'll go...

Dumbo's Feather

As a way to help ensure this school year at ICS was different than the previous two, I spent a lot of time over the summer reconnecting with and tapping into things that I find inspirational (see any of my posts from the Summer of 2012). At the same time, I sought out parts of my prayer life that have been meaningful to me, but that had, unfortunately, been replaced, ignored, or forgotten over the years. Just like an athlete preparing to be his / her best, I sought after some sort of edge that would give me, even if just from a psychological standpoint, the grit, enthusiasm, optimism and faith to ensure a successful year.

In some ways, these things are no more than Dumbo's feathers. The grace of God is no less with me without these things than It is with them.

This year, more than any other, I have gone through cycles of facial hair. While not tapping into the trend that is the purposefully unshaven look (I do not have style and do not care enough to be trendy), I have used facial hair in my adult life to help me through things like finals in college and other times of trial and intense effort. In the same spirit as athletes growing a playoff beard, I have used facial hair as a way to make periods of time seem separate, special or different from times of being clean shaven. Facial hair denotes toughness. It harkens to figures like John the Baptist or Ignatius of Loyola and speaks of times like Advent and Lent. This year, without intending for this to be one of the purposes, my beards have helped me to feel closer to my dad, who had a beard for about 99% of the almost 34 years that I knew him. Even in grieving his passing, it has given me an edge.

Another, less emotional way that I have sought after an edge this year is by wearing something on my right wrist / arm. As an athlete, I would typically wear a sweat band on my arm for games and competitions. As I haven't played organized competitive sports consistently since college, my workouts can get stale and I've gone through times of being uninspired to exercise. In those times, I've turned to wristbands to help make the workout seem as if I'm preparing for something or to simulate game day itself. Even though it does not help me to jump higher, lift more weight or run faster or farther, it has given me the mental push needed to push physically. This year, I have tried to carry this concept over to my work, as well. Underneath my work shirts, I started the year by concealing sweatbands. Now, I have transitioned into wearing a rubber bracelet with the words "Catholic Education Providing Hope" on it. These small right arm accessories have helped to supply hope to me. In turn, I hope that it has helped me to bring hope to others.

Finally, and perhaps most effectively and/or importantly, I have recommitted myself to prayer. I begin each day, before getting out of bed, with the Prayer of Release:

Dear Lord, please give me a faith that expects greater things. Whatever I do, let me give it my best. Anxious in nothing, at peace with the promise that when I've done that I can that You'll take care of the rest. Amen.

Furthermore, in my back pocket I carry a prayer card with the poem Desiderata on it. It has always been one of my favorite poems and I use its message as a prayer. It has reminded me that my focus must be on God and that I must take time to feed myself spiritually if I hope to have anything worthwhile to feed to others. I have prayed more this year than I have in quite some time, which is probably the reason that anything else I've tried has seemed to be successful.

The thing about feathers isn't that they actually make you fly. It's that you actually believe they do.

And I believe (and) that is why I have found the edge.

In the Name of the Father

Catherine will get baptized tomorrow morning. I am so happy for her and so excited to officially welcome her into the Christian family. I am proud to bring her into the Catholic Church and am honored that God has gifted me with a faith that has inspired me to desire baptism for my daughters. I cherish my family - its traditions, history, members, flaws, shortcomings, love, humor, joy - both in a human and faith based sense.

I love being a Zelenka. I love being a Catholic. I love being a part of these families and all of their respective traditions, history, members, flaws, shortcomings, love, humor, joy.

My last name means "little green" in Slovak. Some of my grandfather's siblings, in immigrating from Slovakia, decided to spell their name "Za" instead of "Ze". As a certified Language Arts instructor, I embrace being unphonetic; English is such a beautifully complicated language. I revel in the fact that instead of potentially being called Junior, my dad decided to name me Michael Robert instead of after him as Robert Michael. It means so much to me to bear his name yet still have one of my own. My sister was named after my grandmothers, my brother after my grandfathers. I am humbled that my wife and my two daughters share my last name. I love that, for now, it is our last name. I love being a Zelenka.

Similarly, I love that my parents not only instilled in me a sense of family but also a sense of the importance of my faith. As I strive to more dutifully live out the tenants of the faith in which I profess every weekend to believe, I take very seriously my various roles within the Catholic Church. As a Catholic man, I hope to imitate the manhood of Christ - meek yet strong, firm yet understanding, patient yet passionate, selfless to the point of death.

As a Catholic husband, I so desperately desire a strong marriage. I am incredibly blessed to have married my best friend. I thank God every day for the gift of Emily and every day I hope that I adequately convey how grateful I am for her love, support, humor, and companionship. I love her so much.

As a Catholic father, I want my children to recognize the gift of faith. I want to present to them, as my parents did for me, the importance of a life of faith and then I want to get out of the way. I pray that I will be wise enough to know how and when to allow God to use me as His instrument and when to let Him speak directly to their hearts. I pray that I am worthy to be called the name we also use to address Jesus - father. It means so much to me to bear His name albeit in such a drastically inferior sense.

Lastly, I feel that my role as a Catholic educator allows me to combine both what I do and who I am. I would hope that even in the secular world I would still have the conviction to live out my faith. I fully appreciate, though, that my opportunities to do so would be so different in number, degree and kind. I hope and pray that I am further establishing God's kingdom here on earth. I hope and pray that the school I lead is above all else truly Catholic.

I love being a Zelenka. I love being a Catholic. I love that tomorrow I will welcome a member of my family into my family. I will welcome my daughter, who bears the last name of my father, into the Catholic Church in the name of our Father.

May God bless you, Catherine Rose, and welcome, once again, to the family.      

Hunger

"Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over he was hungry."

-Luke 4:1-2

 

I love the simplicity in the last line of this passage. Jesus did not eat for 40 days and afterwards he was hungry. I also love what seems like a contradiction that occurs at the conclusion of Jesus's time in the desert: Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news of him spread throughout the whole region (4:14). Jesus spends 40 days in the desert. He does not eat a thing. He is tempted by the devil and He emerges from that experience in the "power of the Spirit."

 

If we are made full in our hunger, than put a fork in me.

 

I was hungry after what amounted to a 9 and 1/2 hour fast on Ash Wednesday. At about 9:30 a.m., as we finished the Eucharistic Celebration, my stomach growled. I was hungry. I'm not sure it was because of a lack of sustenance in my belly. Instead, I feel that the psychosomatics of knowing that I wasn't going to be able to eat in between meals played a trick on my body. All day long I felt hungry. Even throughout the course of Thursday and Friday, I have felt hungry.

 

Jesus made it 40 days. In the desert. With the devil tempting Him.

I had a hard time making it through day one.

 

Furthermore, I set out before the beginning of Lent to try to compose 40 blogs throughout these 40 days. I didn't even make it to day two with this one. I went to bed last night tired, empty and worn.

 

And hungry.

 

This hunger, though, is precisely what God wants us to feel. He wants our physical, temporal and earthly hungers to lead us to Him. He wants us to hand Him our yoke and burden for with Him it will be easy and light. He wants us to come to Him when we are worn. He wants to make us anew.

 

The Psalmist (51:12) writes, "A clean heart create for me, God; renew within me a steadfast spirit."

 

May this be our prayer of Lent. May our hunger remind us that we do not live on bread alone. May our tiredness amplify our desire to rest in His peace. May our emptiness allow us to recognize our incompleteness without Him. May our struggle invoke the perseverance of our Lord on His way up Calvary. Finally, may our striving humbly attempt to mimic God's intense pursuit of our hearts, and may we, this year, finally allow ourselves to be caught...and loved...and saved...and fed.   

They'll Know We Are Christians

Ash Wednesday is no longer a Holy Day of obligation. It remains, however, one of the most heavily attended Masses throughout the course of the year in Catholic Churches. Like Palm Sunday, the Church gives something in addition to the Eucharist on Ash Wednesday. Attendees process in the same fashion as Communion and receive ashes, made from the palm branches from last Palm Sunday, in the shape of a cross on their foreheads. While receiving this sign of faith, the minister of ashes says one of the following phrases:

"Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return."

"Repent and believe in the Gospel."

The readings taken from the Mass speak of returning to God with our whole hearts. They encourage us to rend our hearts and not our garments. We are to proclaim a fast and gather the assembly of people. Reconcile. Do not perform deeds so that others can see you. Give alms but don't blow your trumpet. Don't even let your right hand know what your left is doing. Go and pray by yourself. Fast in such a way that those around you would think you've had your fill. Wash your face and anoint your head.

And walk around all day with ashes on your forehead.

The message seems to be a bit mixed. Do all of these things in secret but write your commitment to Christ literally across your forehead. Don't let anyone know that you're fasting and doing penance but everyone that you see today will notice the smudge on your forehead.

Our faith is filled with contradictions, though. Be in the world but not of the world. Love your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you. Be strong in your weaknesses. Die so that you may have life.

Perhaps the ashes on our foreheads help us to remember that our true focus should be on Jesus. Perhaps they are a way to humble us, knowing that maybe we'll give up chocolate to hopefully lose a few pounds or that we'll be nicer to people to gain potentially some sort of social advantage. These are noble reasons, but like the pharisees, we will gain earthly rewards if we have an earthly focus. Instead, our purpose in submitting ourselves to prayer, fasting and almsgiving should be to return to Jesus with our whole hearts, not just the part that has something else to gain.

Perhaps this Lent we will recognize the temporal nature of our bodies and the eternal heritage of our souls. Perhaps this Lent we will repent and believe in the Gospel.

Perhaps the ashes are a challenge for us to get outsiders to know that we are Christians not by the crosses on our foreheads but by the love in our hearts.

By our love, not ashes on our foreheads. By our love.