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I wrote about success story Ashley Qualls back in April, the teenager turned millionaire. (NOTE: See the new Archive tab to look it up!) I think it is one of the most commented posts to date. Leo Bloom (creatively named after a character in the movie The Producers) wrote a rather strong response. He makes many points that I think many relate to.

— I had quite the head start on Ashley when it came to graphics design and website building, yet I have not made any money from it, much less millions. I have put ALOT of work into what I did, but it has not translated into dollars no matter how hard I tried and worked — I cant stand success stories like these. Honestly, I WISH I could pump my fist in the air, and say something like “Yeah! Good for you Ashley!” but I can’t — All the while, I TRIED (God knows I’ve tried!) to make just a few bucks at the very least over the internet, but it all came to nothing — Have you ever seen the 1968 comedy movie “The Producers” starring Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder? Considering all the years of hard work I’ve put into graphics and website design, among other internet enterprises, and having nothing, not a cent, to show for it, I feel just like Leo when he cries out: WHERE’S MY SHARE???? WHERE’S LEO BLOOM’S SHARE???? I sure would like to know the answer to that question. —

I had a hard time finding the movie but finally did through NETFLIX. I will say that the movie itself was not one I found to be a great one (can two actors have worse hair that Gene and Zero?) The movie does raise a thoughtful point. The first being that the answer to where a person’s share is to be found would not be in the love of money. The characters chose to compromise their values by taking advantage of others and ended up in jail.

So for so many of us, myself included, who’s ships have not come in so to speak, what do we do, especially when our lives have been filled with struggle? And struggle that has up to the present time often has produced little or nothing? Even what many would call failure.

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If we want to improve schools and education, why is it the powers that be listen to everyone’s opinion except those that know best — the classroom teacher. Geeez, do you think the one on the front line seeing and dealing with the real problems might have something to suggest as to what would make the classroom more effective immediately? I’m not really talking about strategies for instruction as that is another ballgame. I’m talking about things right now that would improve a teacher’s classroom. Today!

Here’s a list of things off the top of my head that if you walked into a classroom today I think would help that classroom become better immediately. No million dollar study needed. Just ask them.

1. Hold parents accountable. Parents are just as important to their student’s success as the teacher. Really.
2. Do not expect square pegs to fit in round holes. Nothing exemplifies this more than the standardized test. If there is one area more than any other that must be brought into modern day education and out from the dark ages, it is the area of evaluation.
3. ***This is my number one suggestion *** Keep class sizes at 15 or less — proof the government has NO IDEA what they are doing nor willing to put the money where it would help the most.
4. Create an environment/atmosphere of SUPPORT and respect for the classroom teacher. This starts in the community.
5. Create administrations that celebrate the good in their staff. Start spending time on what they are doing right/well and get off all the time spent on what they could be doing better.
6. Year round schedules. (The 9 month school year is a thing of the past…literally!)
7. Setting an expectation of behavior from students that is nothing short of respectful. And here is from where it is set — from the top. I am sorry, but students do not have the right to set the standards of behavior. This is a bunch of liberal  mess. The core set of expectations should be set and modeled by the adults. Think of this like a business model. The CEO should be able to run his/her company as they see fit. Participation by the workers is fine, but the decisions as to the expectations must ultimately come from those that are in charge. There are always problems when the subordinates think they are the cog that turns the wheel.
8. Those that repeatedly disrupt the classroom must be removed and not allowed to return without a demonstrated commitment to do better.
9. New does not necessarily mean improved. Sometimes the best things are proven from past experience. While change is very important, there are some foundational types of things that keep their value. These are best learned from those we often neglect, the veteran teacher. I always respected those that had survived and had 20, 30, even 40 years of experience behind them. Yes, many needed to retire, but they still had valuable lessons they could share and we would benefit.

There’s nine starting points off the cuff, any one of which would have a positive impact immediately. Three of my most rewarding years of teaching were spent in an environment that attempted most of the above in various levels. While money helps, it is the little things that would make significant differences.

The next time you hear someone spouting off about what the schools need, ask them the last time THEY spent in the classroom teaching. Then ask HOW MUCH time was spent the LAST time they were in the classroom teaching. That will pretty much sum it up.

I was a classroom teacher for almost twenty years. Eighth grade Language Arts. A very common question I hear is, “Why aren’t you teaching anymore?” It is not an easy question to answer because it is one of those things that if you haven’t been there, the answer often doesn’t make sense to the questioner. And if you have been there, you understand that.

I usually respond jokingly that TWENTY years is long enough for ANYTHING! The fact that I was working with 8th graders almost all those years (yes, by choice) I was acting more and more like a 14 year old with each passing year! Which explains why my first inclination when asked the question why I am not teaching anymore was to blurt out, “That’s a STUPID question!!” LOL (Stupid is a fact of life to an 8th grader.)

Teaching is truly a wonderful job. I enjoyed that each day was so unique. I currently consult and advise those enrolled in teacher preparation degree programs. Their enthusiasm and energy is the key to their success in the classroom. I heard recently that the average career of a classroom teacher is just THREE years now. The challenge of longevity will be how they are able to deal with the very thing that took me out of it.

Politics.

Now I know there are politics in every profession, but the state of affairs challenging the classroom teacher today is oppressive. The educator is slammed on all sides from the parents, administration, school boards, government, kids, and the worse of all, the general public. The teacher is at the mercy of the standardized test score of their kids, which are now published in the local newspaper each year for all to judge them. Those results, let me only mention at this time, often are not the sole result of the classroom teacher, meaning if they are great or low, there are many factors involved in their determination. Yet, it is the teacher that gets either way too much credit or undeserved criticism.

I got the following announcement in an email awhile back. What do you think?

Next Season’s Survivor: School Classroom Island

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The sun is rising this morning here in Phoenix, and the United States is another year older. I normally don’t give it a lot of thought. This year is a little different. The country has a problem that is getting worse.

Hundreds of years ago, the world from one year to the next looked pretty much the same, year after year after year. Not so any more. Thanks to technology, this world changes at the speed of light, so to speak, year to year. There are significant changes from just last year, let alone from just 5 years ago.

What is the change that, I believe is threatening this country more than any other? WHAT HAD BETTER CHANGE OR ELSE?

Our allegiance to the United States of America. Where has it gone? Where is it?! Where is the expectation of the citizens and any desiring to come to the United States that one will pledge allegiance to the flag and the Republic for which it stands? If not, no acceptance. Period.

The blessings of living in this country come and have come with a price. That price was lives. They come and have come with an expectation. The expectation is allegiance.

Expecting allegiance to THIS country, above all others, is now politically incorrect. Unbelievable. Where is the politician, teacher, business (there are a few I’ve seen and they have been scrutinized), that are speaking to this? Just after 9-11, President Bush made a defining statement. Standing at “ground zero” and with emotion, he said, “If you are not for us, you are against us.” That is as clear as it gets. And it is that simple.

Few schools begin the day anymore having the students recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Mine did. Everyday for seven years (kindergarten - 6th grade), we started the day at school with the pledge. And our teachers expected we did it reverently with understanding.

Freedom of speech, debate, disagreement, diversity all are afforded under the most unique constitution the world has seen. Under all of it, though, is the foundation of allegiance to the country. That is the glue. We are seeing what happens when allegiance is lost.

Today, I want to remind you of the Pledge of Allegiance. Not so much the Pledge itself as much as its important message, that of loyalty to your country. This country deserves it. And those who would not recite it with conviction, are not for us.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America,

and to the republic for which it stands,

one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Flailing — not Failing! Flailing is a cool word and I think describes my blog at the four month mark. When something is said to be flailing, it is thought to be kind of moving, swinging, or beating in a wild manner. It’s movement that is less than productive, but the movement has intention. If the flailing object were to find its groove and the energy being expended focused, there would be big results.

I think flailing is a good choice here. In many ways, I have been all over the board with this. I have had days where I really felt like I was finding that groove and then, like recently, days (maybe even weeks) where the focus wasn’t happening.

I started this with the intention that it would take at least one year of commitment to see where it goes and what it does. My struggle has been in a couple of areas. I am challenged in being transparent and unpretentious because doing so risks opening myself up maybe more than I would like to. Although the way I see it, putting it out there honestly is probably the key to what I ultimately see the key the development of the blog.

And then there are the developing themes I have for the blog. Right now I see those being my perspectives of life at 50, Arizona living, and personal achievement in others that I personally find very inspiring.

In the four months of blogging, it has been amazing the reach it has and the search rankings some of the posts are getting, sometimes immediately! Visitors from every continent except Antarctica have found their way here. Some of the posts that get the most hits include the ones on Camelback Mountain, the house in Colorado that is being given away in an essay contest, and a couple of the personal achievement stories.

I also really appreciate the comments many of you have left and am committing to doing a better job responding. Blogging is supposed to be about developing conversations. I haven’t done a very good job participating in those. But I do read every one of them and keep them in mind. Example, Leo made a very powerful comment in response to the post I wrote about the teenager that had developed an online business that was producing a killer income. He suggested I watch the movie The Producers. Well, it has taken me quite some time to get this done and Leo probably thought I would never get around to it as I commented to him that I would be watching it soon. THAT was months ago. BUT! I have it arriving tomorrow through Netflix! Can’t wait to talk about it.

I also have some very deep subjects suggested by Steve, who was the guy that successfully rode his bike across America. He is presently writing about it and actually plans to attempt to have a book written by end of summer. Hey Steve, maybe I can be one of the first to review it. The topics he has suggested to me are a great base focusing on some good stuff.

Anyway, it’s been four months. We’re flailing. But I think that’s a good thing.

I’ve been trying to catch a sunset lately but they haven’t been up to Arizona standards. I just missed probably the most impressive part of tonight’s sunset, although here are the final minutes. This was taken from the Lookout Mountain park just off of Greenway.

The wind had been blowing and some drops of rain were short lived. I thought between the dust in the air and the smoke from the river bed fire that has been burning this past week, the colors would be good.

My Carnival’s Eastern Caribbean Glory Cruise Part 5

After living in Colorado for over 38 years, I find myself often thinking about the friends, places, and scenery there. Waking up on the first morning on the Carnival Glory, look at what was on the morning news!

This was a kick. It was 47 in Colorado Springs. It was about 80 in the Caribbean that morning. All week we enjoyed the satellite feed of the Denver television stations.

Leaving the beach on St. Thomas I was waiting for a cab. I shared the ride back to the ship with a friendly couple. I asked them if they were on the ship and they said yes. I asked them if they were enjoying it and they kind of looked at each other. The young woman said that actually, they worked on the ship. I thought cool. I asked what they did and found that he (Scotty) ran sound and lights for the shows and was from New York City. She, (Adriane), was the lead entertainer/singer/dancer for the main show room, the Glory Dancers.

Talking further, Adriane asks if I had seen any shows, and I hadn’t! So she invites me to her Thursday evening show as it was the main one of the week. She must have sensed my hesitation as I am not a big show goer. So she says, “Phil, it will only be 45 minutes out of your life!” I had to laugh and of course, went. It was a great show with fantastic props and songs, sung by her and a lead guy, whose name I can’t remember!

Adriane is the one second from the left in this picture in the floor length dress, which was taken after the show Thursday night. She has been doing this for a number of years, and I hope to be able to share her story in the future. Both her and Scotty were some of the nicest people I met on the cruise.

Anyone who has cruised looks forward to the towel animals found in your room each evening. It’s a fun touch. I have to note that the cabin stewards we had were outstanding. Sentana knew both Beth’s and my name by the end of the first day and was there to take care of anything we needed. It was like having a butler, much like some cruise lines offer in their suites, for additional cost.

I had asked Scotty and Adriane where the best beach to visit on St. Maarten would be. (Pointer: Ask the crew for recommendations on things like this as they know the best spots to check out.) They said Bikini Beach, which is on the French side would be perfect, and it was. The whole group went there and it was beautiful. I overdid it in the sun that day and the peeling on my shoulders is only now stopping!

Here’s a shot of the area we hung out in that day. Two chairs and an umbrella was $18 bucks. I sat ON the beach that day or was in the water. That $18 went toward a few Presidente’s! a beer from Santa Dominica. They are only sold in the Caribbean, from what I understand. Julian introduced me to them.

For those of you who missed me, I did try to call as I was thinking about all of you, especially those back in cold Colorado. From the beautiful Bikini Beach. By the way, you didn’t find many bikini’s to the far left or right of where we were. Up the beach a ways was topless and down aways was — . Noooo, I can not confirm that, but other’s did. I’m just sayin’ I stayed where I belonged! (Look at the color of that water — it really is that stunning.)

I can’t say my kids don’t have a sense of humor. Beth took this picture. I couldn’t put the side view up — this kiddo had a gut that would put a summo to shame. I think maybe that Ginger beer might have just been taken from him and he was looking for it.

Lastly, we said our goodbye’s at the pier. My kids headed out for a long drive back to Louisville and I to the Orlando airport for a flight that would take me to Charleston and then on to Phoenix.

It was a fantastic trip.