Wolves and Sheepdogs

The 6'3" 250lb. man shouting at my female students - shouting that if they didn't kiss him, he would punch them in the mouth.  My 17 yr.old male student, afraid to come to school because after a physical altercation with his previously absent ex-con father, he was threatened with death.  Bullies flow through the lives of my students.  I'm 51 years old and feel like I may be the only thing standing between them and further chaos.  So I train and pray that when/if these times come to action, I am quicker, more violent, and better.  I hope to go home to my own family and wish that these children break the victim hold and use it as fire for the forge that can harden them into warriors who will one day fight for the children coming after them.

Chicago Hope Academy

Providing under-served children with real school choice is something I am passionate about.  I was fortunate to have a visit last week from a guy named Bob Muzikowski.  He is the founder and head of Chicago Hope Academy.  This Christian-based school has done amazing work in its brief existence.  They are clear in their mission and character education flows naturally through the curriculum.  Their athletic teams are successful and represent what team sports are supposed to develop.

This is a life mission for Muzikowski and he has put his bucket down in a difficult part of the United States. I wish more people did the hard work and looked for the elements that make for a complete education and I wish there were more "workers" like Bob Muzikowski because "the harvest is plenty."

Web 2.0 and Teenagers

I remain concerned about the sad state of public education in this country.  My high school students do not have enough background knowledge.  This is something they will have to work on for the rest of their lives.  We try to build on their non-cognitive strengths - which are often considerable compared to their better off peers.  Well, now I have a new concern.

As a 50+ year-old guy, I have taken on the challenge of moving into "the Cloud," participating in the world of Web 2.0.  My education has been frustrating but addictive.  My parents gave me the incredible gift of curiosity and the belief that I could learn anything.  I don't know too many people my age who can engage in a cutting edge, or any other kind of discussion on this stuff.  I thought my high school students would be the perfect conversational partners.  After all, aren't they incredibly connected?  Unfortunately, the new technology, tools, and territory of social media are lost on them.  They are consumers and not producers.  They are unconcerned with creating community or grabbing hold of this unprecedented opportunity to create content.  I guess this will be just one more thing I will have to evangelize about.  But I really wish I was ten years younger.

Police and work/life integration

Last week, I was fortunate to be able to do some work with a group of sergeants from the Baltimore Police Department.  I was helping them put together training in the areas of coaching, motivation, and leadership.  These were veterans who had 10, 15, and 20 years in the Department.  They worked on homicides, robberies, gangs, and on the SWAT team.

We talked about various coaching methods and their frustration with the lack of motivation on the part of a younger generation of police officers.  What surprised me was how they moved into talking about the need for harmony in their work, family, and community roles.  This is a place I had originally wanted to go to but I thought it would be too "touchy, feely" for police officers.  I look forward to continuing these conversations and helping them to train others to find balance among all their roles.  I think a discussion around developing intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation will also be useful in helping these guardians do their jobs in a way that supports them and the communities they serve.

Crazy Monkey

I have been having some very good conversations with Rodney King, the creator of the Crazy Monkey Defense system.  Our talks have centered around teens and their desire for danger, adventure, and challenge.  If these things are not properly guided by responsible adults, then the young person's behavior will manifest itself in destructive ways.  We are looking into a collaboration on a  Rites of Passage program for young men that pays attention to traditional models that include real challenges for the mind, body, and spirit.
crazymonkeypro.com

Isometrics and over 50

My wife(see the accompanying photo) and I have been experimenting with isometrics. I really do believe that they are underrated. I used to do them as a preteen with the Exergenie that I had begged my mother to buy me. I rediscovered them a year ago during my knee rehab. After doing some more research, I am going to make them a regular part of my workout. They do not put undue stress on the connective tissue and they seem to make significant inroads on the neural system and its role in strength development. If you do the movement in three different positions then you take care of the problem of the 20 degree range of strength improvement. I do deadlifts, military press, and curls - 3 different joint angles for ten seconds each. For three weeks, we have experimented with "long duration isometrics" with holds of approximately three minutes. These work strength, flexibility, focus, and mental toughness. One of the things that also recommends them is that they even out strength imbalances and the resulting compensation patterns.

Life Fitness

The next few posts will be on the topic of "life fitness." This is, in part, an effort to avoid ranting about my current professional situation. More importantly, I want to share some of the strategies that have kept me sane during a tumultuous career.

Flexibility, strength, the ability to reflect, and developing mental toughness, are some of the areas I have had to focus on to be at my best. I will be examining these topics in the next few weeks. I am a master Reiki practitioner, a student of hypnotherapy, trained in Transcendental Meditation, a brown belt in Judo and karate, a practitioner of Guided Chaos, a proud gun owner, a certified Sports Performance Coach under USA Weightlifting, a certified Level 1 USA Boxing Coach, and some things I'm probably forgetting. This is all a part of the preparation. I look forward to sharing.