A Couple of Rants

Why do people walk over or around small items of trash? How hard is it to just pick something up as you go by so that it is done and the ground or hallway looks better? It is not someone else's job to be thoughtful.

How is it that people feel they have a right to be late for everything, yet they complain when you start without them? Starting times are starting times. They are not guides or suggestive.

Why is so much of what we eat tan colored?

On that note, how can the FDA even think about justifying the decision to make adding enough ketchup to your tan food as a means of getting in your required fruits and vegetables? Really?

How can people listen to someone like Craig Scott and his message pf hope and action and then take away the idea that he puts down schools and teachers? Where is he delivering his message? He is speaking about a system and a culture not individual schools or teachers.

We can send space craft to the ends of the solar system. We can unwrap the secrets of our DNA. We can create really cool phones that do a whole bunch of applications. Why can't we develop razor blades that least more than a week?

I don't get having Christmas songs on the radio before at least December 1. I guess we just need to develop some catchy Halloween and Thanksgiving songs to fill the air in the fall.

New Drug and Alcohol Policy

At Monday evening's meeting, the School Committee approved a new policy regarding drug and alcohol use outside of school by students. The new policy will give students the consequence of no extracurricular activity involvement for thirty days if they are caught outside of school using drugs or drinking alcohol. We hope this new policy will serve as a deterrent rather than as a form of punishment.

A little background. Currently, all athletes are held to a standard by the MIAA where they are expected to be alcohol and drug free 24/7/365. Should they violate this requirement, they are to lose 25% of their season, whether the season is in progress or whether is is 9 months from now. Should they be caught twice in the same school year, they lose 50% of their season, and the penalties grow. Thus, they are already faced with a fairly strong deterrent.

In order to hold all students to the same standards, we needed a policy in place that hold perils for every student. They are now faced with the possibility of being taken out of a play, being held out of an activity in which they participate, losing out on a dance, the prom or even graduation. We hope this gives pause to a lot of students so that they understand that a call to us from the police or from another school will mean consequences here. We already have even stronger consequences in place for drug or alcohol use in school, but there is a need to address issues outside of school.

Be clear, alcohol and drug use are against the law. They are dangerous to students and their development. As a community, Norton is trying to marginalize those who make poor decisions. We read regularly about students who die through poor decision making or who hurt others. Norton and other area communities have been deeply affected by the deaths of teenagers, and this needs to stop. Alcohol and drug use are not rites of passage. They are practices that are illegal, escapist and potentially deadly, and we cannot look the other way when it occurs.

For a few years, I have worked with Dr. Ansay and other members of the Norton community (public safety, schools, parents, community members, elected officials) on the Tri-Town Drug and Alcohol Awareness Task Force. We meet with people from Foxborough and Mansfield to look at how we can reduce teenage at-risk behaviors and also find positive alternatives for them. As we work on this, I ask parents to step up and join us as we try to make Norton better and safer for our kids. The next Task Force meeting is December 7 at Norton Middle School at 6:30. Please be there.

Rachel's Challenge at NHS

Yesterday we were fortunate enough to host Craig Scott at Norton High School. Craig is one of the main speakers for Rachel's Challenge and a survivor himself of the Columbine killings ten years ago. As part of Rachel's Challenge, Craig spoke about his sister, Rachel Scott, and gave a lot of background about what happened at Columbine High School in 1999. We learned about the violence of that day. But, most of all, we learned about what a terrific human being Rachel Scott was and how she wanted to change the world for the better by starting a chain reaction of compassion and kindness. We learned about this through stories of Rachel's life and her reaching out to others and through her journals, letters and even school papers. The goodness of this teenager came right through and it was easy to see why Rachel's Challenge has taken off as a movement. The idea that we can make the world better through individual acts of kindness resonates with what we already know about ourselves and the world.

So that you know, the five facets of Rachel's Challenge are:

1. Choose positive influences in your life

2. Dream: and keep a journal and write your goals down

3. Little things make a big difference

4. Look for the best in others

5. Tell people about how much you care for them

These are all things that we can do (and should do) in our daily lives.

After the school presentations, Craig met with students and teacehrs interested in forming a Friends of Rachel Club at Norton High School. This is what really appeals to me about the program because, unlike other speakers/motivational stories, this program can be sustained and grown so that it is part of a school's culture. The club will work on the five goals of Rachel's Challenge, but it will also work to do a lot more in planning activities in and around Norton to make a difference, fundraising to help others around the world, and focusing on students making changes in themselves first and foremost. Sometimes we get so carried away in a moment and try to help others that we forget to take some time to improve ourselves.

Finally, last night Craig presented to the general public of Norton at Norton Middle School. Craig gave a similar presentation to parents, students and community members that he gave to the student assemblies, but he did throw in a few differences geared at an older crowd. I was extremely happy with the turnout for this evening presentation because it meant that the word got out from the student presentations that day. Overall, this was a very good experience for us, and I hope to be able to write a whole lot more about the Friends of Rachel Club for a long time.

Blood Drive

Thanks to the SADD group for today's blood drive. The climate of the whole day was very positive and supportive for everyone involved. I enjoyed the chance to donate blood. I enjoyed more watching our students and staff take the time to make a difference in people's lives. Giving blood is a simple act, but it does involve time and some effort, so it is generally hard for people to give as often as they could. The nice thing about a blood drive at school is that people have an excuse to do the right thing and promote this behavior in others by their own example. Today, we were able to give around 60 pints of blood. Hopefully we can top this number with our spring drive in April. Good habits like dontaing blood and voting can really be cultivated in one's high school years, and I am proud of the SADD group for its efforts in making this happen so well today.

Parent Teacher Conferences

Parent Teacher Conference Night is Monday, November 23 from 6-8. This is an excellent opportunity for parents to get to know the teachers better, get a real sense of their expectations, and find out ways to help their children do better in their classes. The structure of the high school night is different from other schools in the district in that there are not designated times for the parents to meet with particular teachers. There is some waiting in line involved and some suffling around the gym and the cafeteria, but it is a good way to see a number of teachers in a short period of time. It is also a good time to check on Edline concerns and see what is going on woth the parent board.

What the Dog Saw Part II

I finished Malcolm Gladwell's new book, "What the Dog Saw". I have to re-state that it is not as good as his other works I have read. That being said, it does make some really strong points about salesmanship, pets, the hiring of teachers, interviewing and the myth of "talent". I could see the beginnings of his ideas for "Blink", "Outliers", and "The Tipping Point" in some of these chapters.
Of huge importance to me was the Chapter dealing with teachers. Of note is how hard it is to predict how good a teacher candidate will be. It usually has little to do with grades, college program or anything detectable on a resume. Intangibles are huge in whether or not someone will be an effective teacher. Gladwell notes that you would probably have to hire four people and winnow them out to get one truly effective teacher. Then, he says, you would have to pay a lot in order to keep them. It is like, he says, trying to decide which college quarterbacks will be good professional quarterbacks. Hard to tell.
Because I am a Gladwell fan, I was ultimately convinced to finish the book and be satisfied with it. However, I do believe that you are better off with any of the three books I mention above. They are superior. This is merely good.

Girls Soccer 2

The girls soccer team lost last night 2-1 in overtime versus Holliston. I was impressed by both teams. I was most impressed by the tenacity of our defensive players and goalie against enormous pressure all night. I think that the true measure of someone is how they deal with adversity, and the girls really handled things well. Either team could have won this one, and Holliston took full advantage of a couple of breaks, so congrats to them.