Will It Still Matter in 50 Years?
What have you done today that will still matter in 50 years? That is a question I once wrote in the center of a poster I made at a leadership course. The facilitator asked us to draw our life on the page. Our personal life. Our professional life. Our goals. Our priorities. Our responsibilities. The page was full. Life was sometimes too full. The question in the middle reminded me that I didn’t have to do it all. I hung the poster on my office whiteboard with a new determination to go home at a decent time each day. The people at home were far more important than work deadlines. Yet my career fed my insatiable appetite for approval, so I often stayed at the trough late in the day. One day a colleague stopped in my office as she was leaving and pointed to the center of my poster. “Are you doing something that will still matter in 50 years? If not, go home.” It was an accountability check that didn’t feel good. But it made me get out of my chair and drive home. Later I began to use a version of the question when I laid my […]
Once Said, Forever Preserved
When I was a young boy my family had a furniture console that occupied much of our small living room. It looked like a big chest with doors and fake drawers. It housed an AM radio, a record player that queued three long playing vinyl albums, and a little black and white Zenith television that got three fuzzy channels fourteen hours a day. Tubes glowed like eerie light bulbs buzzing loudly in the cavity behind drawers that wouldn’t open. I chuckled when I saw one on the Internet recently. Everything is preserved on the Internet. For kicks, I searched and found a number of old programs I used to watch as a kid. Some have been digitally colored. It was an amazing adventure that brought back great memories. Art Linkletter’s House Party was a thirty-minute weekly TV program with a segment called, “Kids Say the Darnedest Things”. It’s incredible that we can pull up interviews that were staged fifty years ago. The children featured had no idea what they were doing. Their words came from an unfiltered immature heart. It made me ponder some of the things my grandkids spout off. And that led me to recall things my own […]
I Wish I Would Have Met You a Couple of Years Ago
“ I wish I had met you a couple of years ago” This is probably the most common statement that I hear consistently from the parents that attend one of my workshops. It Seems like most parents ask me the same questions during and after the workshops. For this reason I would like to share with you, my top 10 list. The Top 10 Most Common Pitfalls! Assuming They are Not Eligible for Funding. Although some financial aid is designed to help the financial needy students and parents, there is also an abundance of aid available for other students with families of all income and asset levels. It is important to remember that students may receive financial aid based on their high school achievements (academics, athletics, or other talents) regardless of their parent’s income and/or assets. “Financial aid is only for the poor” is the biggest misconception among students and parents searching for college money. Not Considering a College Due to Cost. It is vital to remember that the family will probably not pay the schools published cost of attendance, or what we refer to as the “sticker price.” In fact, less than thirty-five percent (35%) of all students attending college in the […]
It’s Great to be a Grandfather
I use to joke that I wasn’t old enough to be a grandfather little did I know all the fun I was missing out on. Janice and I had been married for ten years when our first daughter was born and four year later we were blessed with our second daughter. Being forty when the last daughter arrived I knew there wasn’t going to be any grandchildren until I was around sixty. My dad had always said, “If you could have the grandkids first you would just skip over the kids”. I wasn’t sure how to take that because I didn’t see how I could possibly love my grandkids more than my daughters. I know he was just joking, but I had heard others say the same thing. Then I had to stop and think, do I love one daughter more than the other? No, that is not conceivable for a loving parent. You may have to discipline one different than the other because of their personality, but they are part of my life and will always be important to me. When our first grandchild was born I didn’t even think, “Now I am old enough to be a grandparent”. All […]
Share Your Vision for 21st-Century Students with Humble ISD
By Dr. Elizabeth Fagen Superintendent of Schools What’s your vision? As Humble ISD’s new superintendent, I have received that question many times. However, from years of experiences, I learned that the vision for a school district must come from the entire community, not just one person. Each community is unique and there is no one-size-fits-all for every student in America. That’s why I need your help! This winter, Humble ISD wants to hear your thoughts as we set goals for another 100 years of success for our current students and generations to come. Please consider going on to the district website – www.humbleisd.net – and participating in an online engagement in January. There, you’ll be able to views ideas have been generated by a committee we’re calling The Dream Team. The Dream Team – representative of the entire community — consists of approximately 80 students, parents, educators, business representatives, and community members who are dreaming about what schools should focus on — going above and beyond basic academic expectations. The Dream Team needs everyone’s input regarding the needs of 21st-century students. When you go online, you will be able to digitally place stars by the thoughts you like best, as […]
Jesse H Jones Park And Nature Center
Jesse H. Jones Park and Nature Center, a premier Harris County Precinct 4 nature preserve of over 300 acres, is open daily to visitors, free of charge. The park features a variety of plant and wildlife species, white sand beaches along Spring Creek, swamps and sloughs with century-old cypress trees, and a pristine floodplain hardwood and pine forest. All features are accessible by over six miles of all-weather, wheelchair-friendly pedestrian trails and several unpaved primitive trails. BICYCLING. The Jones-Bender, Judy Overby Bell, and Spring Creek Greenway trails are open daily for bicycling. Children 12 and under must be accompanied by an adult. T’AI CHI. Wednesdays, 8:30 a.m. Meet in the outdoor classroom near the Nature Center for a one-hour beginner class with JJPV member Doug Ebeling, 3rd degree black belt. HOMESTEAD OPEN HOUSE. Wednesdays and Saturdays, 1-4 p.m. Enjoy an open house at the Redbud Hill Homestead and Akokisa Indian Village Fishing in Jones Park is permitted on the banks of Spring Creek only, and compliance with state fishing laws is enforced by game wardens. Late winter and early spring are successful times for catching white bass and crappie; catfish can be caught year-round. Homestead Open House every Saturday in […]