AWARD WINNING CULTURE

Lesson #4: The Leaf Pile

7/14/2019

Written by: Jennifer Appel
Based on the stories told by: Paul Dowdy

During the winter we'd occasionally have extreme cold and snowy mornings. On one icy morning, the wind chill temperature was 20 below freezing and thus the school district decided to cancel school.

As the principal, my dad always made a COMMITMENT to be at school even if the schools were closed. On this particular day he arrived at about 6:30am to make sure everything was ok with the school and so he could greet any school employees or parents in case they had missed the announcement [this was long before the internet...when you had to listen to the radio to hear about delays and closures]. In an Award Winning Culture you you make a COMMITMENT to serve your school community even when the school day has been cancelled. This form of altruism can help provide an igloo of safety in the harsh reality of a frozen campus.

Whenever school was cancelled, he would go outside prior to the bell ringing for school to begin and walk the outside perimeter of the school to check and see if any students were arriving who may have missed the announcement about school being cancelled. On this particular morning it was so cold that he had several layers of clothes, a hat, gloves and warm boots.

He always started at the front door to check if parents were dropping their kids off and then moved to the side of the building where the older students would be gathering. He then moved to the side of the building where the lower grades would be waiting for their door to open.
As he came around the corner by the 2nd grade doors he noticed a large pile of leaves up against one of the 2nd grade teacher’s door. It seemed rather unusual because there was no wind to blow them against the door and it was the only area that had leaves.

He decided he should probably check it out just in case. As he approached the pile of leaves he could see a small pant leg sticking out of the leaves. He quickly approached the leaves, brushed them away and discovered a small second grade boy who had covered himself with leaves to keep warm. Due to the below zero wind chill that day, the tiny frail boy would have been in serious danger had my dad not discovered him. He quickly grabbed the little boy and hurried to find the closest door to get him inside. He was lucky that the little boy wasn’t outside very long, but he was still cold to the bones. My father made him some hot cocoa and got him a blanket to warm up while he called his parents to come and pick him up.

How long might the boy have stayed clinging to warmth under the leaf pile had my dad no been committed to ensuring student safety?

Award Winning Cultures makes a COMMITMENT to the students, staff and community even on snow days.

Do you always check the perimeter of your school on a snow day?

How can you make sure all of your students are safe when they are at school?

How might you demonstrate commitment to your school community...even on a day off?

About the Authors

Jennifer Appel is a teacher at Enterprise Middle School. She has been teaching for 20 years. Her passion for education comes from growing up in at education driven family (4th generation) and wanting to help and serve others. She is now driven to create an environment where all students are able to learn and become passionate about serving others. Jennifer can be contacted through email at awardwinningculture@gmail.com. You can follow her on twitter at @jennifermappel. Follow AWC @awculture on instagram @awardwinningculture. Follow Wildcat Nation on instagram @emsleadership. #WildcatNation #AwardWinningCulture

Paul Dowdy is a retired elementary school teacher and principal. Paul was in education for more than 40 years. Paul created cultures of excellence at every school he taught at or lead. Paul was also an adjunct professor at 3 different universities in the state of Washington and a regional director for Heritage University. Paul has shared his stories all around the state of Washington in the form of presentations. He's passionate about children and that reflected in all of his work as a reading specialist and his study of the brain and how that drives instruction. Paul is not on social media...but can be reached near any body of water that's conducive to shadow casting! #FlyFishing

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Lesson #3: The Lost Shoe

7/7/2019

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Written by: Jennifer Appel
Based on the stories told by: Paul Dowdy

"The Strength of the TEam is each individual Member. The strength of Each Member is the team."

-Phil Jackson

This has been a crazy week on our summer vacation in southern California, we had a major earthquake and then experienced even more intense after shocks, over the past couple days. It really got me thinking about the environment and how it can affect so many people, while causing a great deal of damage and harm. This week reminded me of a unlikely story that my dad shared from one of his elementary students.

One day a tiny 1st grader came running in from recess to talk with my dad’s lead secretary. The little boy started yelling with a very anxious voice that he had lost his shoe in a hole on the playground. The secretary told him it was alright and tried her best, to calm him down. When he was finally able to explain, he said it fell in this giant hole. She asked him why he didn’t simply reach down and grab it (thinking it was just a little hole in the grass). The little boy said that he wasn’t able to get his shoe.

As a true servant leader, my dad had established an environment of honesty with his students, staff, and community. In fact this culture of honesty permeated to relationships all over the school community Thus, despite the tall tale, the secretary decided to believe the overwhelmed young man and go outside with him. In a lot of cases students would be brushed off and told to try harder, or they would deal with it later. But in an award winning culture of trust, educators believe in their students and support them, despite long odds.

As the secretary and student approached the area where the child said they lost their shoe, they discovered a hole that appeared to be getting larger as they got closer. Noticing this strange movement in the earth, the secretary decided that she needed to go back in the building and have someone look into this geological impossibility. In the meantime, she was able to find the little boy a new pair of shoes that they had on hand, for students in need. She assured him that they would get his shoe soon humanly possible.

My dad quickly called the grounds crew and they immediately came out to help him investigate the situation. To the surprise of everyone the hole had become much larger, it was at least 6 feet across. As they were able to look into the hole , they found the shoe down at the bottom of an approximately 20 foot sinkhole. The crazy part is that you could see it was an old boiler room. Upon further inquiry, they found out that it was from the old elementary school that had been torn down to build the new school. For some reason as construction was being done in the demolition of the old building they neglected to find the floorboards above the basement that contained the boiler room and had covered the area with dirt to have a nice playground. With several years of the ground cover over the wood floorboards, they eventually rotted away and caused a huge sinkhole in the middle of the playground. Over time, they were able to remove all of the old floor boards and properly fill in the old structure so that it was once again safe for children. What if no one had bothered to listen to the student's outrageous story? Would someone have fallen in the hole? Perhaps, a student might have been hurt...

When we establish an Award Winning Culture, children are given the respect of trust. As educators we must be honest with ourselves but we must also have faith in the HONESTY of others.

Have you had a student that had a crazy story you didn’t believe that turned out to be true?

How will you create a culture where honesty is the norm?

How does TRUST play a role in relationships with our students?

About the authors

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Lesson #2: Bronco II

6/30/2019

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Written by: Jennifer Appel
Based on the stories told by: Paul Dowdy

“Forgiveness is the greatest gift you can give yourself.”

Maya Angelou

When I was growing up my dad drove a Bronco II, we bought it brand new, so we thought it was the coolest car! It had a wheel on the back that you had to move to open the back door, so cool! We loved that car, BUT it had some bad luck!

One summer day my father was working at school. Everyone else was done for the summer, but he was hard at work getting everything ready for the next school year. He was sitting in the office by himself when he heard someone coming in the building. He looked and a fireman burst into the office area. My dad was the principal of the only school in our small town at the time (we now have 3 elementary schools, and 2 middle schools) and he had a close relationship with all of the officers both fire and police in the area. They were constantly at the school and volunteering with the kids, so he was used to them being in the building or just stopping in. Thus, he didn’t really think much about one of the officers stopping by...

But then the fireman asked whose maroon Ford Bronco II was in the parking lot. My dad nervously answered that it was his, and because it was summer, it was the ONLY car in the parking lot. The fireman said that he had just crashed into the side of the Bronco. My dad laughed thinking that he was getting pranked by the fireman, they were always joking with him and he just thought he was being funny! The fireman then looked him in the eye and stated again that it wasn’t a joke, they had really run into the side of the Bronco that was in the parking lot.

My dad hurried out to the parking lot and sure enough his beloved Bronco was smashed on one side. The crazy part was that you could see that the Bronco had been moved about 4 feet from where he originally parked it. There was a huge dent in the side of the car, approximately the length of the front of a fire engine.

Apparently, the firemen were practicing in the parking lot of the school (there fire station was just down the street from the school) and the fireman had set up the cones around my dad’s Bronco to practice. The officer that was practicing had tried to hit the brakes and then his foot slipped and he hit the gas by accident and rammed into the side of my dad’s car. My dad just stood there in shock listening to the story, he couldn’t believe what had happened.

The fireman was apologizing profusely the entire time he was explaining the situation. He said many times that he would pay for the repairs and his Bronco would be as good as new. Now, in a situation like this most people would fly off the handle or not treat the officer with respect and FORGIVENESS. Obviously, my dad was upset about his car being smashed, but he was also understanding that they were just doing their jobs and practicing to save lives.

My dad was able to handle the situation with FORGIVENESS instead of anger.

Educators with an AWARD WINNING CULTURE mindset handle tough situations with respect and forgiveness instead of anger.

What role does forgiveness play in overcoming adversity?

How does empathy support demonstrating respect?

Will you create an Award Winning Culture that that's capable of forgiving students, staff, and community...even on their worst day?

About the Author

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lesson #1: The Crow

6/23/2019

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Written by: Jennifer Appel
Based on the stories told by: Paul Dowdy

“Students are inherently the most important people entering our
school building”
-- Jimmy Casas, author of Culturize

One of the best character lessons I learned from my father is that you need to interact with your students in an environment outside of the classroom.

Coach for my 4th grade basketball team.

This can be as simple as greeting them at the door, playing outside at recess, eating lunch with them, going to sporting events, or coaching. All of these establish relationships on a different level than just in the classroom.

One particular story that I vividly remember is when dad came home one day and said that he was attacked by two crows! We had to hear this one! My father believed strongly in going to recess every single day, he ran a kickball game, basketball game, football, and even on special occasions he brought his fly fishing rod and taught students about the art of casting. Many times, he would even tell his bosses that he was not available for meetings during the middle of the day because he was needed in his building.

Recess Supervision EVERY DAY!

AWARD WINNING PRINCIPALS always put their students first.

He was more than just a principal to his students, a lot of them didn’t have male role models and he always willingly stepped into that role.

Principal Dowdy in the early 1980's!

One day, he was going outside at the start of recess like he did everyday and saw a group of students that were gathering near a tree on the playground. He said that the kids seemed a little scared and then he saw that two birds were circling the students. As he approached the area he saw that it was two crows that were paying very close attention to the students. He was trying to figure out what was happening and realized that another crow was hurt and on the ground, so his friends were watching over and trying to protect him.

He decided that he needed to protect the students and the crow by removing the injured crow from the area and to safety while having the students play in another area of the playground. He had a feeling that the crows were not going to be very receptive to him moving their friend, so he went back inside in search of protective gear! He grabbed his baseball cap he always wore, a thick winter coat, and borrowed some heavy duty gloves from the custodian. Armed with makeshift safety gear, he then went back outside and carefully moved the crow to an isolated location so that he could heal and fly again. All while he was doing this, the two crow friends were “dive bombing” him. The students were grateful to go back to the area without being watched by the two crows. But it was a different story for my dad, he was attacked every single recess for the next two weeks...crows have an amazing memory. A reality my dad learned the hard way!

When you craft an Award Winning Culture filled with SELFLESSNESS, you establish an environment where your students are your first priority!

By relating to students in their natural environments, educators model character, service, and sacrifice toward their students while overcoming adversity.

Even if we suffer the occasional attack by some angry feathered friends...for nearly TWO WEEKS...it is absolutely WORTH IT! Our kids deserve it! #CatchingCharacter

ABout the author

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Catching Character

6/16/2019

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Written by: Jennifer Appel
Based on the stories told by: Paul Dowdy

Leadership is a choice, not a position.
-Stephen Covey

I was born into a family of SERVANT LEADERS. My great-grandfather was a teacher/principal/superintendent...my paternal grandfather was a minister...my maternal grandfather was an auto mechanic...my paternal grandmother owned the Wedding Haus in Leavenworth and was one of the first to perform same sex marriages for couples...my maternal grandmother was a cook in the schools...my father (Paul Dowdy) was an elementary teacher/principal and my mom was a paraprofessional. And of course my brother and I were both in school; thus, our life has pretty much always revolved around serving others and education.

Telegram offering my Great Grandfather his first principalship in 1927!

My parents were adamant when we
were growing up that we must eat
dinner together EVERY night to
maximize family time.

This was easy, as it was before cell phones and we lived in a tiny town with no cable TV. We were able to sit at our little 4 person table as a family, just about every night and discuss our day. As children of the 60’s, my parents strongly believed in having open discussions with us about life. So we had lots of fun family conversations about what was happening at our schools. My brother and I were lucky enough to have my father as our own principal through elementary school so the educational learnings happened 24-7. My parents would share these enriching stories over Mac and cheese, flankstank or roast beast. We would sometimes laugh, discuss, or just take in what was happening. My parents instilled in us the love for education and that every story was filled with a message to teach us. After all, everything happens for a reason!

My Dad and I in 1981, I am 4 years old and my dad has been in education for 7 years.

I wanted to be a teacher ever since I can remember, and I think the reason can be directly connected back to my parents educational stories. They spoke about their life's passion with such pleasure and admiration for how they were impacting the world. Not surprisingly, my brother and I both grew up to become educators. I am a teacher and my brother is a principal. Additionally, we also decided to marry educators, Hans my husband is a school counselor and my sister-in-law is a middle school science teacher.

The Whole Family, my brother and his wife with their two children, my mom and dad, and Hans and I with our two girls!

Following in his grandfather footsteps, dad ventured into his grandpa's two loves: education and fly-fishing (occasionally interweaving the two in a master class of learning). He graduated from college as a reading specialist and started out teaching 5th grade. In 1977, he became the youngest head principal in the state of Washington at the age of 27.

My dad in his first year of teaching 1974! Love the 70's mustache!

While working as a principal he also had a second job to support two children and worked as an adjunct professor at Heritage University, Eastern Washington University and Central Washington University. [Fun Fact: Fast forward a bunch of years--my dad and I actually co-taught numerous education courses at Heritage for about 10 years. I really loved being able to share that experience with my dad and we were able to give our students two unique perspectives (elementary principal and middle school teacher)]. After retirement from public education he went on to be the Regional Director for Heritage University and continued to teach future educators! Beyond being an amazing father, he was an AWARD WINNING PRINCIPAL. His recognitions included: Washington State Distinguished Principal of the Year, Phi Delta Kappa Educator of the Year, Golden Acorn Award (twice), Washington School Counselor Association Award winner, and the Masonic Lodge’s Outstanding Educator Award. But, I just knew him as DAD and he was the principal that everyone in our community loved!

During the summer, we are going to feature an
8 part series
called
“CATCHING CHARACTER”.

In the series, I'll share some funny, sad, and inspirational stories from my award winning principal father and how
that helped ignite a burning desire in me to create an
AWARD WINNING CULTURE within my
own sphere of influence.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Paul Dowdy is a retired elementary school teacher and principal. Paul was in education for more than 40 years. Paul created cultures of excellence at every school he taught at or lead. Paul was also an adjunct professor at 3 different universities in the state of Washington and a regional director for Heritage University. Paul has shared his stories all around the state of Washington in the form of presentations. He's passionate about children and that reflected in all of his work as a reading specialist and his study of the brain and how that drives instruction. Paul is not on social media...but can be reached near any body of water that's conducive to shadow casting! #FlyFishing

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AWC-tv

6/3/2019

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Written By: Hans Appel

If we want to create the leaders of tomorrow, there is no better time to develop our students as leaders than TODAY.

--George Couros

Last May, I announced to the educational world that we were launching a student-led leadership podcast without any expertise, equipment, or know-how. Indeed, this was a HUGE professional risk and prior to launching I certainly had my fair share of haters and naysayers telling us all the reasons why it wouldn’t work. However, 35 episodes recorded, overcoming countless failures and hurdles, and nearly a year later, our students have proven that empowering student voice is a sure fire winner in the land of school culture and climate.

From the very beginning students embraced a growth mindset for risk-taking and a desire to create exceptional content for an authentic audience. Award Winning Culture has become a recognized beacon of hope for what passion-project based learning can look like in #FutureDriven schools. The benefits to both our podcasters AND the Wildcat Nation community are overwhelming! However, it’s become clear that our students influence has had a ripple effect across K-12 education around the world. Students, educators, and parents download our inspiring conversations. Our students presented, wrote, and shared their experiences with people all over the world. Some of the brightest leadership minds around have cited their podcast in their own professional work. Furthermore, they’ve been approached by multiple sponsors before finally agreeing to terms with a company THEY truly believe in. It’s been quite a ride…

This past weekend, we had our first annual AWC Podcast Retreat. As we celebrated student content through reflection, team-building, and planning, this year’s podcasters taught new podcasters the art of interviewing, listening, and researching their guests. [A special shoutout to Morgane Michael from KindSight 101 for the incredible feedback, interviewing tips, and encouragement]. Such a joy to see these amazing students influencing through their own personal successes and failures. A highlight for me was watching a veteran 7th grade podcaster teaching a new 6th grader perfect mic posture to maximize voice quality. The level of attention to detail was so INTENTIONAL!

One of our BIG surprises was a video we created from listeners, supporters, and fans all around the world. Such a POWERFUL message to show our students the far reach of their words and actions. Knowing that they’ve inspired students to try podcasting, had authors use their work in writing projects, and impacted educators views on leadership and learning----LIFE CHANGING!!

THANK-YOU to EVERYONE who shared video content and/or written reviews with us!!

Next year, we have dozens of memorable guests already lined up to be on the podcast including several big surprises. While we’ll continue to produce regular podcasts, our students are pushing for a bigger influence...a bigger voice...a BIGGER CHALLENGE! They’ve felt the impact their words and their work have had and now they want to E X P A N D !

Coming this fall, we’ll be launching AWC-tv.

In a similar vein as our podcast, AWC-tv is a student-led exploration focusing on Character, Excellence, and Community within the video lens of a middle school student. They’ll be funny, informative, and inspiring segments and dialogue geared toward raising the bar on meaningful streaming, from the heart. Our students have laid down the gauntlet for the creation of this new student-led medium and Wildcat Nation educators are committed to "Take the L.E.A.P: Ignite a Culture of Innovation" [Shout-out to Elisabeth Bostwick!!] Just like the podcast, there will undoubtedly be a steep learning curve and countless failures but if I’ve learned anything the past 15 months, kids these days are capable of accomplishing anything!

I officially invite you to tune-in to our next experiential Wildcat Nation journey by following #AWCtv

Coming Fall 2019...

**What brave new educational journey will you try this fall?

**What barriers are you willing to breakdown to provide a life-changing platform for your students?

**What role does student voice play in the vision, culture, and planning of YOUR school?

My friend, Darren Ellwein, principal of South Middle School, speaker, blogger and co-author of The Revolution: It’s Time to Empower Change in Our Schools says:

“If you want to start a revolution, it starts by asking kids what THEY need.”

Who’s with us??

About the Author

Hans Appel has worked as a counselor in the Richland School District for the past 18 years and at Enterprise Middle School since it opened. He’s passionate about school culture, servant leadership, and kindness. In 2018, EMS was awarded the ASCD Whole Child Award for the State of Washington and the Global “Class Act Award” for creating a culture of excellence through kindness, service, and empathy. Recently, Hans launched his own blog about School Culture and this fall rolled out a student-led leadership podcast called Award Winning Culture: Hosted by Wildcat Nation, which can be subscribed, listened or reviewed on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify, and Libsyn. He can be contacted at hansappel094@gmail.com. Follow Hans on twitter @hansappel094. Follow AWC on twitter at @awculture or Instagram @awardwinningculture. Wildcat Nation on Instagram @emscounseling #WildcatNation #AwardWinningCulture

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Dreams & Nightmares

5/12/2019

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Written By: Hans Appel

“We all possess the need to dream.”
-David Copperfield

As a magic aficionado growing up in the 80’s and 90’s, there was no bigger attraction than David Copperfield. For years, like millions of fans, I had religiously obsessed over Copperfield’s yearly television specials in between my own pursuits of illusion, legerdemain, and artifice. Throughout my childhood, I DESPERATELY wanted to see his show live. Although he had toured the world for decades, his travels and my availability never coalesced. Finally, after my sophomore year of college, I found myself with planets aligned in a way that would provide me the opportunity to finally attend his current show: "Dreams and Nightmares." My parents purchased tickets for our family and my girlfriend’s family to attend Copperfield, later that summer, at the Paramount Theater in Seattle. I could not have been more excited! I had no idea how applicable the title of his show would become to my life...

On July 20, 1996 I had the privilege of fulfilling one of my bucket list items as I was kept spellbound by a master showman for nearly 2 hours. Seeing Copperfield perform miracles was one of the best moments of my life. The audience was filled with an electric energy throughout the night as people gave love and ovation to a guy literally living out his own childhood dreams on stage. I’ll never forget turning around at intermission to see a newly wed couple, in tuxedo and wedding dress, enjoying this special magical performance. It still cracks me up that a couple would opt to spend, part of their wedding night at a magic show or really any show but I guess Love is Magic. If this remembrance was simply a show review, I’d detail how I witnessed Copperfield flying, appearing, and disappearing. Indeed, the magic that night was so spectacular that one might forget their own life problems for a few hours.

But that warm summer day, doesn’t stand out to me ONLY because of Copperfield’s showmanship, sleight of hand, and legerdemain. In addition, to being one of my fondest memories, it was on the eve of a painful emotional ravine. Just after purchasing tickets to the show, in late June, my parents sat me down and announced that they would be getting a DIVORCE. For those that know my story this materialized after years of painful conflict and trauma. The next month was filled with nasty anger-filled awkwardness that’s challenging to put into words. The decision had been made for my mom to move back home to Texas that summer as her job prospects were promising, as was her family support there. Knowing that I’d be returning to college, at the end of the summer, my mom thought it best to get a jump start on reviving her life. Parents often put their child’s needs and wants in front of their own. Despite their own unease, they decided to follow through on taking me and my girlfriend’s family to the upcoming Copperfield performance. This plan meant that my mom would essentially fly out of Seattle on the morning of July 21. As you can imagine, out of towners attending a show, meant hotel, dinner, etc. The tension and weirdness in the 3 ½ drive to Seattle, family dinner, etc was uncomfortably tragic. Something I had looked forward to for most of my life was being inconveniently entangled with something I had worried about, since my earliest childhood memories.

Ironically, Copperfield's miracles had helped me escape painful conflict growing up...and now...as a young adult, I hoped that he could offer me one more episode of emotional relief. The title of "Dreams and Nightmares" seemed to fit in such a perfectly movie-esque story that the entire experience was quite other worldly. The symbolism of closing a chapter of my childhood and being thrust into a quick trajectory toward adulthood was not lost on me.

But, this story isn’t about feeling sorry for me that my parents divorced or convincing you that David Copperfield is the greatest illusionist of the modern area (he really is though) What I find most compelling about this experience was how incredible Copperfield made me and our entire party feel during those 2 hours. Despite all the emotional angst that I personally was going through, Copperfield created an exceptional cultural environment that allowed me to escape into a land of make believe that evening.

Granted he couldn’t make my problems disappear or my parents love for one another reappear...nonetheless, he WAS able to transport me, to an Award Winning Culture that provided me with
peace, inspiration, and hope.

Think about all the ugly, trauma, and pain that our students experience before they arrive with us. Maybe they’ve survived physical, sexual, or emotional abuse. Perhaps, they’ve witnessed domestic violence, substance abuse or mental illness. They may have overcome parent divorce, seperation, or incarceration. Still other kids have dealt with neglect, poverty, or bullying. They may not even have had their basic needs met that day. Some of your students show up to school with all of these challenges.

As you know, our students experience trauma, social unrest, and daily tribulations that would bring the strongest of us, to our knees. Our job as educators is to provide a safe space in our offices, classrooms, and schools to help students let go of the nightmares...even if it’s only temporary.

Award Winning Culture allows students to DREAM by instilling safety, inspiration, and hope...in an enchantingly
magical world called: Curiosity.

Want to foster curiosity? Perhaps, Copperfield offers a blueprint by focusing on DREAMS.

DREAMS: (Dramatic, Relatable, Empowerment, Audience Impact, Misdirection, Suspense)

Dramatic: Master performers like Copperfield know that dramatic effects come about through purposeful passionate perspective. The structure of a teacher-directed lesson (just like an illusion) must be perfectly arranged with beginning, middle, and end. Instruction must have built-in opportunities of attention grabbing openers and show stopping climaxes that leave students wanting to explore, investigate, and create. Does your lesson conclude with a standing ovation? Probably not. But, hopefully, you’ve left your student audience FIRED-UP to learn more about the subject!

Relatable: Copperfield’s props, stories, and ultimately magic are highly relatable. Talented magicians can vanish, float, or disappear a litany of objects. However, they understand that their audience will only care if they can identify with the trick, message, or subtext in some way. What child has not dreamt of creating snow? When Copperfield produces snow on stage and THEN creates the illusion of snow in the entire audience...WOW! Educators can implement relatable content by seeking student feedback, putting students in the driver's seat of personalized learning, and making them co-directors of their own educational show.

Empowerment: Watching Copperfield pull off STEM defying feats of illusion empowers onlookers to believe that THEY THEMSELVES can accomplish incredible feats. Our work with students must include so much hope, positivity, and love that they feel inspired to dig deeper into their learning. Growth is not a painless endeavor. We have a chance each day, to lift kids up with our actions, words, and attitudes about how much we BELIEVE in them. Make it count!

Audience Impact: While many novice magicians frame their trick in terms of magician ease or perspective, Copperfield never loses sight of the audience’s frame of reference. He’s a master of putting himself in the audience’s seat and imagining how they experience the effect. The effect is everything! Educators must intentionally use empathy to view learning through the eyes, mind, and heart of their students. “If I was a student in this class, would this lesson, moment, or learning have a deep impact on me?” If not, is this just filler in my educational repertoire. Educators, just like performers, need to focus on only A-material. If it’s not an AWESOME lesson in the eyes of our students, it’s got to be cut!

Misdirection: Copperfield uses misdirection as a way of doing something secretive, while the audience is looking somewhere else. Misdirection is often defined as the action or process of directing someone to the wrong place or in the wrong direction. Interestingly, magicians have much more sophisticated understanding of the concept. Rather than trying to get you to NOT look at something, they will often make something else so INTERESTING you can’t help but give it your full attention. The following elements adapted from magicians applies perfectly to an educator trying to focus your interest in a classroom: the educators interest, storytelling, novel or newness of piece of content and/or class element, sound, movement, etc. When educators make an aspect of their lesson so inherently interesting, ENGAGEMENT is a natural byproduct. When students are engaged, they have the opportunity to become curious.

Suspense: Have you ever noticed that magicians rarely tell you EXACTLY what they're going to do? Copperfield has several built-in instances of presenting an object, situation, or moment with little to no context. Suspense builds an EXCITED anticipation and fosters a palatable feeling of curiosity. Some educators focus WAY too much on question/answer models. Don’t give them all the answers! Additionally, don’t give all the questions. Learning targets and routines can be helpful but they can also occasionally kill creativity, curiosity, and choice. Leave some mystery. Students are capable of so much more than simply answering problems. They’re capable of finding problems! Sacrificing some clarity can result in encouraging learning-focused risk takers who achieve beyond some canned curriculum.

Does your sphere of influence establish a culture that would lift someone, even on their WORST day?

Watching my childhood fear of parental divorce, mom leaving, and dad settling in to a place of emotional indifference play out, should have been the only memories from late July. Instead, thanks to a much needed emotional break by Copperfield, support from friends and eventual in-laws, and a little perspective, I was armed with a self assured HOPE that I was capable of working through this family pain. Indeed, if Copperfield could move objects with his mind, I somehow believed that I could harness my inner strength to move past my own family challenges.

Obviously, I don’t want to understate the need for our students to receive professional help in dealing with Adverse Childhood Experiences. Award Winning Culture isn’t enough to solve complicated issues or social inequalities. However, as educators we rarely find ourselves in a position to fix other people's problems.

Rather, often times it's about empowering others to chase their DREAMS through a consistent approach to Character, Excellence, and Community...and sidestep those NIGHTMARES.

Who will you magically inspire TODAY?

About the Author

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carmichael hill

4/27/2019

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Written By: Hans Appel

“It is the supreme art of the teacher
to awaken JOY in creative
expression and knowledge.”

-Albert Einstein

During my 4th grade year, on a cold snowy day in December, I went sled riding on Carmichael hill. In the Tri-cities, Carmichael hill is well known at providing kids a steep and slippery adventure, to race down. Like many bundled up 10 year olds, I was a mix of anticipation and intrepidness as I ventured up and down this legendary wintery spot. After multiple runs on tires and makeshift plastic mats, I moved my attention to a red wooden sled. It had the ability to turn with smooth precision to expertly manaevue around the snow. During one unlucky run, I found myself positioned a little outside my normal target zone. After several quick turns to narrowly avoid kids walking back up the hill, I abruptly ran smack into a long metal fence on the far right outskirts, of the hill. Immediately after the collision, I knew things were not right. My leg hurt and I couldn’t stand up. My dad quickly raced down the hill and then slowly carried me back up, to get in the car to venture to our local hospital.

Upon arrival at the hospital’s ER, nurses and doctors quickly cut my pants off to get a look at my injured leg. I had suffered a broken tibia during the sled riding accident and would need a cast and 6 weeks to recover. Interestingly, we found out that afternoon that 2 other injured adults were brought to the hospital that same day: one with a broken back and the other with a broken neck. While all three injuries occured in almost the same spot on the hill (running into the fence), I was the most fortunate as my injuries would require a comparatively shorter recovery.

[Out of towners might be intrigued to know that while Carmichael hill was shut down for a very brief period of time, it’s been back open for years and is still a dangerous yet heavily sought out location for would be snow enthusiasts.]

"Carmichael Hill"

This inconvenient accident coincided with an important assignment in Mrs. Nussbaum’s class. Mrs. Nussbaum was one of my all time favorite teachers! She was a perfect blend of challenging and supportive. We knew she LOVED us and yet fostered a joy of learning through high standards.

A couple days prior to the injury, she had assigned us a research project on a country of our choosing, which I had been working on diligently. We were expected to include, notecards, illustrations, rough draft, final copy, and then present our research in front of the class. I recall feeling a bundle of nerves and nausea, at the thought of presenting this project to the class. Truly, I think every kid in that class was worried about sharing their work in such a visible and vulnerable way. I believe it was our first full oral presentation at Sacy Elementary School. With this ready made opt out option, I briefly considered bailing on the project. How would I finish my research and writing on time? How could I be expected to stand up and maneuver around the front of the room presenting to my classmates on crutches? No one would blame me for simply starting my winter break a couple days early to aide my recovery...RIGHT??

Despite pain and discomfort from a broken leg, I managed to finish the entire project ON TIME!

I remember feeling so compelled to get everything finalized to present my project to the class. Mrs. Nussbaum would have surely given me a grace period on completing my Germany project...she even told my parents not to have me worry about completing it at all. As I recovered for a couple days, at home, they informed me that I was under no obligation to make it back to present on time and that she’d actually excused me from the project, given the timing of my injury. That being said, I was determined to deliver. Ultimately, I presented it without incident to Mrs. Nussbaum and my class of peers. In addition to meeting the expectations, my presentation included food, props, a demonstration of German Language, and an ere of unbridled passion.

You might not be surprised to know, that I still have this research project. While it's housed in a dusty box in the garage, I can't bare the thought of throwing it away. Why did this project matter so much to me? I can tell you...since then I’ve had plenty of other due dates that I missed or generally cared less about. Three things really stand out from the 30+ years removed from my crutch-filled presentation, on essentially one good leg.

First of all, I had already spent a lot of time researching, writing, drawing, etc about Germany. While there were parameters to fulfill, I was given a lot of autonomy, to pursue a country I was interested in and the time and support to tell that country’s story. Sharing your learning can be an incredible catalyst to overcoming discomfort. In my mind, I was the class expert on Germany and I believed I had some interesting insights, facts, and anecdotes to share.

4th grade research paper in one hand and German beer stein in the other.

Additionally, I loved Mrs. Nussbaum and I knew she thought very highly of me. I couldn’t bare the thought of possibly letting her down by taking the easy way out. Incidentally, I got a 96% on the research project. She deducted points for sloppy penmanship and uninspired illustrations [two skills I never mastered despite Mrs. Nussbaum and other educator's countless best efforts].

Lastly, I imagined what my peers might have thought if I was simply excused from the assignment. Would they think less of me? Would they be envious that I hadn’t had to stand up in front of the class? Would they have failed to learn about Germany; since no one else had researched that country. In my mind, we were all nervous and I respected them enough to be part of this experience.

Looking back at a challenging elementary injury, I recall less and less about the slippery slope of Carmichael Hill or the pain of my first broken bone. These days I remember with great pride the completion of my first research project. More to the point, I'm filled with pride and an internal reminder that I persevered through a challenging time, to produce quality content for myself and my learning community. How ironic that the classroom culture that Mrs. Nussbaum established filled me with self belief, mastery, and a joy of learning despite what could have been a negative and physically painful memory...

Award Winning Culture inspires students to achieve MORE than they think they’re capable of by relying on the 4 E’s of Excellence: Engagement, Empowerment, Experiential, and EPIC while fostering a sense of Character and Community through a relationship driven attitude.

How might YOU foster relationships, learning, and school community in such a profound way as to create a culture of excellence?

My challenge to educators is to create an environment of inspired learning where students feel COMPELLED to complete exceptional work for their peers, adult educators, and most importantly...FOR THEMSELVES!

About the Author

Hans Appel has worked as a counselor in the Richland School District for the past 18 years and at Enterprise Middle School since it opened. He’s passionate about school culture, servant leadership, and kindness. In 2018, EMS was awarded the ASCD Whole Child Award for the State of Washington and the Global “Class Act Award” for creating a culture of excellence through kindness, service, and empathy. Recently, Hans launched his own blog about School Culture and this fall rolled out a student-led leadership podcast called Award Winning Culture: Hosted by Wildcat Nation, which can be subscribed, listened or reviewed on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify, and Libsyn. He can be contacted at hansappel094@gmail.com. Follow Hans on twitter @hansappel094. Follow AWC on twitter at @awculture or Instagram @awardwinningculture. Wildcat Nation at @emswildcats1 and Instagram @emscounseling #WildcatNation #AwardWinningCulture

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A DOG'S CHARACTER

4/3/2019

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Written By: Hans Appel

“The more I learn about PEOPLE,
the more I like my DOG”
-Mark Twain

I’m a dog lover! I’ve had dogs my entire life. I’m that guy who enjoys seeing pictures of other people’s baby puppies. I make no apologies...

There’s nothing I enjoy more than coming home to my baby Sheltie (similar to miniature Collies for those non-dog people). Shelties come from a long line of worker dogs who are very smart and originally were trained to herd sheep. They require lots of exercise, attention, and time. And that’s fine by me, because I love them unconditionally. My 6 year old Maya loves to go on daily walks. Each day, my wife and I take Maya for at least a 3 mile walk. Sometimes we go 5-6 miles and on occasion we take her 10+ miles...she’ll walk as long and as far as we choose to go. Sometimes we both take her while other days, it's only one of us. But Maya walks EVERYDAY, rain or shine!

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Dr. Jurenka

3/24/2019

1 Comment

Written By: Jennifer Appel

“I think the teaching profession contributes more to the future of our society than any other single profession.”
-John Wooden

From the time I can remember, I desperately wanted to be a teacher. Thus, when I deciding on colleges, I was focused exclusively on the schools with stellar education programs. After a pros/cons list and careful reflection, I decided on Central Washington University. While I had some struggles in college at the beginning (a blog post for another time), I was able to get into the education program and was so overjoyed to finally be on my way to realizing my dream of becoming a teacher. I always wanted to teach little ones (2nd grade was my dream) maybe willing to teach 3rd grade (Ironically, I’ve ended up spending most of my career working with middle school kids and loved every minute of it). Reading was a strong passion and I believed I had something unique to offer future students...

With this decision a new course of classes in reading came my way. In one of my early courses, I was introduced to my first professor in the reading department, Dr. Jurenka. She was a cute little older woman in her early 60’s that had been in education for years and seemed to know EVERYTHING about KIDS and READING. I was a little intimidated on the very first day of class, but also believed this is where I was supposed to be so elected to try and hide any feelings of intimidation. She was not like other professors I’d encountered; she didn’t start out with the syllabus, or lecture, she came right in and asked our college class a direct question:

“What is the most popular book for 5th grade boys?”

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