I'm back!

It's been too long but with an exchange student, a new baby, an adopted teenager, and a new high school, there have been a bunch of things to do.

We had a wonderful trip in March to Senegal. There were 13 high school students and we worked on a micro garden for AIDS patients. I believe that teenagers really want to be challenged. It's clear that they want excitement and some danger. Programs that combine these elements are essential.

EMT training, community fitness instructors, microenterprise advisers, and English tutors are just some of the things I've got lined up for them.

Nice people

I just wanted to say "hi" to Bud Jeffries and his wife and Jason Ferrugia. Not only were they kind enough to take time to check out my blog but they also put out excellent fitness materials that are helping me fight off middle age.

High School Reality

We're now up to 48 students! They are refugees from different places and different things. There was an interesting study in Britain that linked increased truancy with an increase in bullying. Our students know that they will be safe and respected. It's tough for me to turn anyone away - even the 16yr. old with five credits. I know that I should maybe counsel them to get their GED but might it not also be true that with even a year of "real" school under their belts they are more likely to complete some kind of degree program? The 16-24yr. old age group is now the one that many people are concerned about as far as dropping out.

I didn't feel like working out yesterday but I did a bodyweight circuit of burpees (with a pullup), jumping jacks, grasshoppers, and mountain climbers. It worked my muscular AND cardio systems. then I finished with yoga. Who needs running!

A new school year

We've got another group of 18 students. We're up to 36 for our second year and it's a good mix of young people. This will not be a school where we worry only about what's "covered" - we're interested in depth more than breadth. This will not be a school where our major focus is on "student achievement" - because those of us in the game know that this only means higher scores on standardized tests. Our mission is to create an elite. They will not only save themselves but they will do their best to save the world. Our motto is "To Know, To Care, To Act."

World Travel

They're here!! Our international students are arriving. Alexandre is from Brazil and Ka Ho Cheung ("call me Kenneth") is from Hong Kong. Nine months is now beginning to seem like a long time. There will definitely be no vacation and food costs get doubled. There will be a lack of privacy and I'll have to be more sociable than I'm normally used to. The payoff is that we'll be learning about two new places, picking up some foreign language, my children will have begun building their international network at a very early age, and we can have at least a couple of people out in the world with an even more positive impression of Americans and America.

Counter Terrorism

James Fallows makes the argument that the United States should declare victory in the"War on Terror." He says that this wouldn't change the new reality facing us but that it would allow us to change our focus away from paranoia and knee jerk spending on security. Without a strong liberal arts education and an emphasis on leadership, our "victory" will be short-lived. Our schools need to prepare young people to direct their own personal growth throughout their lives; they need to prepare them to be active participants in a democracy; they need to prepare them for the world of work. Even if all students do not go to college, it needs to make them college-ready. There need to be a focus on leadership - few entities outside the military do a good job of training for this. There needs to be an affirmation and desire for physical and mental toughness.

"The best education for the best is the best education for all."

Rebuilding

I do a pretty thorough review of reference materials that I hope will help me do my job better - Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Harvard Business Review, Stanford Social Innovation Review, etc. I read Peter Drucker, Tom Peters, Malcolm Gladwell, Seth Godin, and others. I didn't think I would get a great lead from a strength coach - but I did! The lead was "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team" by Patrick Lencioni. I had a tough week confronting some dysfunction in my organization and I'll be using the book as a roadmap for providing a new direction with the management people here.