As true as Rock-Paper-Scissors, I’m reminded of an earlier one of my posts which ends with a Bruce Lee aphorism: “…the stiffest tree is most easily cracked, while the bamboo or willow survives by bending with the wind.”

I’ve been reading more articles on engineering topics lately in large part because like most parents my interests are influenced by my kids’ interests.  I suspect teachers employ the same tactics in relating to their students.  I came across an article that describes the world’s skinniest skyscraper – Steinway Tower.  It sits in Manhattan and provides 60 rental units, ranging from $18M to $EvenMoreBerzerko.  If you land an upper floor unit, and the wind ramps up on a given day, you could be swaying to the left or swaying to the right some 3 feet. 

Reading the article made me think of Danielle Bradbery.  She’s a native Texan who won season four of NBC’s The Voice in 2013, becoming the youngest artist to win the competition at age 16.  Four years later she released “Sway” which became an instant chart topper.  It’s equal parts smooth and swagger and features many student performers which is a great use of her platform.  She’s relatable in this song because she acknowledges the rough days we all have:

Hey, we’re all in the same boat

Life can really suck sometimes

But hey, can’t live in a shadow

So here’s a little piece of advice

Start by kicking off your shoes, leave ’em right by the door

Then you call a couple friends and you call a few more

In Texas (and basically any place you call elsewhere), public education is teetering.  A quarter of superintendents are leaving, half of school leaders are considering leaving the profession, and I had to personally sway a bit before processing this latest study.  The Texas State Teachers Association polled its members and the representative sample of some 700 respondents would suggest that 70% are seriously considering leaving the profession.  I’m a psychologist by formal education and I’m smart enough to know if a quarter of CEOs are quitting, half of mid-management is out, and nearly three quarters of the essential workforce is seriously uncertain, you’ve got big problems.  I should remind readers here that over 50M American students go to public school – some 90% of school-attending kids.

Late yesterday afternoon my wife scrambled over to the post office because our mail had been held well past its end date after we traveled to corn country for our first college bound kid delivery.  When she arrived she was greeted by a child who swung his car door open too quickly and left a lasting mark on my wife’s driver’s side door.  The child was cruising with his grandmother and as my wife tried to call attention to the grandmother, things ramped up quickly.  What followed was not ideal – grandmother became agitated and aggressive when presented with the fact that vehicle damage had occurred.  Profanity followed along with name calling (not by my wife).  I’m sure my wife was rattled by this exchange (who wouldn’t be?) so she went into full teacher mode and apologized to the kids (there were two grandkids for the ride along) and said they should not have to hear that type of language.  A few more F bombs followed by grandma and then one of the children agreed with my wife that the language was potty mouth.  Grandma eventually cooled her jets long enough to move on.

I have a theory based on my earlier days studying human behavior – folks show their worst selves with those they trust the most.  If 90% of children are directly impacted by public education teachers why can’t we extend that fact and then assume 90% of families are also impacted?  I’m angry my wife was confronted yesterday but I’m proud of how she handled the situation and especially proud of how she redirected the exchange to making sure the kids involved were recognized and respected.  I have no doubt this grandma loved her grandkids but she crossed some lines that thankfully a teacher was patiently willingly to retrace.  We’re slowly losing that luxury folks – if 70% of our shepherds to young people are considering a different calling who will fill that role?

Sway Beats Stiff.  Teachers everyday make adjustments in real time and without prior preparation – they improvise daily like no other industry.  If you are a person of influence reading this blog, do your part please and remind those you influence the value of an educated society and the most likely way we will get there and maintain that outcome.

Be your best self!  We’re less than two weeks away from welcoming well over 23K students into our buildings and they deserve our A game.

Back in December I wrote about Jim Valvano, aka Jimmy V, and shared his 1993 acceptance speech as he received the sports world’s pinnacle award for perseverance.  Jimmy V was a sports guy through and through and in his later years held seat next to Dick Vitale as they arguably were the dynamic duo covering college basketball.  Jimmy V succumbed to cancer shortly after his acceptance speech in 1993 and in a bit of discouraging irony Dick Vitale was just honored with the same award for his lifetime accomplishments including his own battle with cancer.  If you have some time, watch this clip.  During his speech, Vitale asked all those that had been personally impacted by cancer to stand up and it became a standing room only.  He ends his speech with this gem of inspiration: 

“Perseverance plus Passion plus Pride equals Winning.”

He was a 6^th grade teacher in 1970 and then coaching in the NBA in 1978.  As a bit of sidebar, Dick Vitale’s speech delivered during his induction into the basketball hall of fame is also a game changer – I promise you’ll be inspired if you watch it.  And if you missed the original Jimmy V clip, check it out as well.  Dick Vitale  makes frequent reference to his wife Lorraine, a redhead, and for readers of this blog my world is also anchored by a strong redhead (officially 25 years come Tuesday).

I ordered a cookbook recently entitled Plated Stories – it arrived this past week and I took some time to review.

I came across the cookbook after reading this article – I was curious enough so I emailed the lead creator and she promptly responded back to my pleasant surprise.  We had a couple of exchanges and then I started to process the magnitude of this simple collection.  The book represents more story than seasoning or spice and it hopefully generates some questions.  If you read through the contents, you meet doctors now working convenience stores, dentists working Uber, and countless other skilled individuals underemployed.  For those who “made it” elsewhere the foundation proved too unstable.  But the narration, if you give it a chance, personalizes the stories in a way you feel connected in human kindness, or maybe simply as kindred spirits.    

My oldest and I often engage in a debate that Plato already weighed in on – “those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber.” These debates often end unresolved and I imagine some of the individuals profiled in Plated Stories can relate. But another Plato quote I find comfort and strength in is:

“There is no harm in repeating a good thing.”

This school year, like all school years, we need our teachers to bring their very best.  In turn, we need to honor their work.  As an insider, I’m amazed at how much time they spend preparing for their students long before that first day and subsequently the continuous support that follows. They might not give their best selves all the time but they give the best of themselves at any given moment.

I wish I was quoting Walt Whitman here and some readers may already be guessing Ted Lasso.  The former, and famed literary legend, coined the expression and it then was borrowed for a sit com.

Be Curious, Not Judgmental

Fourth of July gave us many reasons once again to reflect on being curious and not judgmental.  A dear friend of mine lives just north of Chicago with his wife and two school age kids – I sent a text to him about ten minutes after news had broke about a shooter in Highland Park, IL.  He responded back quickly, (thankfully), that his troupe was safe, but it was terrible stuff.  He said the whole place was on lockdown (shelter in place) and the shooter was still at large.  The rest of us later learned what a tragic event unfolded on Independence Day.

For those less familiar with Walt Whitman, he’s the Leaves of Grass author and also penned a personal favorite of mine, O Captain!  My Captain!  He was a burly dude from Long Island and a quick Wikipedia read will ramble off one controversy after another.  What readers may not know is he began his career as a teacher in the one-room schoolhouses of Long Island. He continued to teach until 1841, when he turned to journalism as a full-time career.  Along with Emily Dickinson, he is considered one of America’s most important poets.

Ted Lasso is a longer conversation for likely a part 2 and another day.  It’s a series on Apple TV that follows an American college football coach who is hired to coach an English soccer team despite not knowing anything about the new sport.  I should point out here I never would have watched the show, even after my wife was well into it, had it not been for a slow tv option night.  As it turns out, Ted Lasso’s first season was nominated for 20 Primetime Emmy Awards, becoming the most nominated freshman comedy in Emmy Award history.  Lasso the character is from the Midwest and has an approachable, self-deprecating charm.  His Lasso-isms are being embraced as societal gems; plain talk morals for you and me to consider:

“Back where I’m from, you try to end a game in a tie; well, that might as well be the first sign of the apocalypse.”

“If the internet has taught us anything, it’s that sometimes it’s easier to speak our minds anonymously.”

“Jamie, I think that you might be so sure that you’re one in a million, that sometimes you forget that out there, you’re just 1 of 11.”

“For me, success is not about the wins and losses. It’s about helping these young fellas be the best versions of themselves on and off the field.”

“You know what the happiest animal on Earth is? It’s a goldfish. Y’know why? It’s got a 10-second memory. Be a goldfish.”

“You say impossible, but all I hear is ‘I’m possible.’”

And the capstone I wrestle with on most days:

“It’s the hope that kills you.’ Y’all know that? I disagree, you know. I think it’s the lack of hope that comes and gets you. See, I believe in hope. I believe in belief.”

These days reserving judgement seems fanciful – I’m more worried about us racing to conclusions than waiting for too close area answers. To my buddy Brett who lived this most recent scare, I’m selfishly glad you answered my text because it told me you and yours were alright. That wasn’t me being curious (per se) or judgmental; that was me being me and making sure a buddy I see sparingly was alright some 900 miles away along with his wife and two kids. I’m sure Ted Lasso would agree people should always come first…

So I have to append my last entry and clarify a few matters. My oldest indeed turned in his two week notice as instructed, he did so in a manner that left the door open, and apparently that door became about as wide open as this trick play by Nebraska when upsetting #1 Oklahoma in 2001. The win at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln snapped the Sooners’ 20-game winning streak and pushed the Huskers to 9-0 and the top of the Bowl Championship Series rankings at the open of November. We’ll be checking out Memorial Stadium from the spectator seats here soon.

High School Graduation – CHECK

College Enrollment Deposit – CHECK

All Shots Up To Date – CHECK

Final Transcript Sent – CHECK

Wisdom Teeth Pulled – CHECK (as of this morning)

Take Younger Son to Sketchy Concert – PENDING

I am by all accounts the helicopter dad and it’s a slur I likely will never shake.  To further highlight, and back to my opening appendage, my kid didn’t quit his job despite my directive.  As it turned out, a few days before he was set to leave for good he was offered a promotion with conciliatory flexibility in scheduling.  My little friend did not consult me before quickly accepting this new offer and I’m starting to realize my little friend isn’t so little.

His first-time work experience has been great by my estimates and he’s gotten to see the young to old working the daily grind to improve their situations.  He’s learning how to banter and bicker with a variety of folks and while their personal struggles may differ, their work place and uniform make them the most blended of families.  He’s learning these lessons on his own from a fast-food restaurant.

Two-thirds of men think they’re ‘naturally healthier than most people,’ according to a new study. Read the article and if you’re a male like me, it’s probably time to wise up and pay attention to those wiser. “It is statistically impossible for the majority of men to be healthier than the majority of men,” says Dr. Thomas Kelley. For those less math focused, Dr. Kelley just said guys get with the program because you can’t all be as you wish you could be. So maybe eat more chicken…

That last bit credits to me, not Dr. Kelley. I’ve learned a lot these past couple of weeks. I learned a 27% pay increase is substantial and who am I judge when that means $11 an hour up to $14. I re-learned the power of promotion and the affirmation it affords the hard workers. And I learned that I may need to eat more chicken, but more importantly I probably need to check in with the likes of Dr. Kelley. If memory serves, that was the same namesake as my childhood pediatrician.

The rest of that main refrain for all country music fans is recited like the pledge of allegiance in chorus – “and I wouldn’t change it for the world.”  Credits to Thomas Rhett and his hit single.

This anthem resonates with me.  The track was released 2 years before COVID but subsequently became a pandemic battle cry.

Today was a day that had me in lock step with Thomas…

After my son got home way too late from work, so much so I was drafting his 2 week notice letter while he was driving home, I told him to get to bed and he could deliver said notice when he woke up (the time stamp on that exchange was around 12:30 this morning).  He did just that and then we were off to a professional golf tournament with a dear family friend.

We walked around for a bit and my son said this could have been you – maybe on my best day – if I managed to string together many, many best days for a remarkable period of time.  Between the three of us, you had one stand out college football player, one walk on college golf player, and one tennis player who had opportunities to keep going. I have not swung a club in over three years because life changes and I mostly wouldn’t change it for the world.  If I did take a swing, it would only be with a PING (inside golf talk).  At any rate, we had a crew standing next to us on one green and they were hustling a wager amongst themselves.  The golden ticket centered on one of the pros making a long putt.  My son’s looking at me during this jaw fest so I finally said “fellas none of them [pros] are going to make their putts because they aren’t going to chase it when they don’t have to.”  I would have won if I wagered.

After the tournament, I checked in with some other dear friends of ours.  I was mostly interested in seeing the brand new car they had purchased!  The scary part was they needed to purchase a new ride after an accident so I was thankful I was only talking new cars with them. 

I love autos and I’m just now realizing my son drives the newest vehicle in our family?!  Wow life does change…

In one week my oldest will effectively drive the newest vehicle we own off into the sunset.  Well that’s not entirely true since I made him quit his job and gas isn’t free!  One of my buddies as it turns out now leads an innovative branch where my son will soon attend so I’ve still got eyes on him! Life is changing and for the most part I agree with Thomas Rhett.  Through tragedy and triumph and all the in between where most of us spend our time, the daily adjustments are just that.

And then I pause on these lyrics…

I remember the day I told my Daddy and Mama

You’re gonna have a grandkid, yep

From Uganda, that’s right, we’re adopting

And she is the cutest little girl that you’ve ever seen

Well I was wrapping my head around being a dad

A big wrench got thrown in the plans we thought we had

Now Lauren’s showing, got one on the way

Yeah that’s two under two, hey, what can I say?

Life changes and I mostly wouldn’t change it for the world.

As full disclosure, I am primarily a Calibri guy when it comes to note applications like Word and Docs but lean more towards Arial when using Excel or Sheets. And I’m partial to 11 as my font size.

According to Shaun Wallace, a doctoral candidate in computer science at Brown University, my font style and size are likely the reasons this blog has not gone viral :-).  For the majority of my older readers, that is, those over 35, my typeface apparently is why you read so slowly.  Here is the link to the research study, aptly titled “Towards Individuated Reading Experiences.”  The basic metric for the study was words per minutes, or WPM, and each study participant was measured on 5 different fonts.  In all, 16 different fonts were used, with appropriate experimental controls for things like order effects.  The variance in WPM was huge, observing some 35% faster reading speed in a participant’s fastest font (314 WPM) compared to that same person’s slowest font (232 WPM, on average).  Here are the 16 typefaces measured in the study:

The findings were conclusively inconclusive – there is no BEST font and reading habits and preferences are fairly personalized – font optimization was not demonstrated.

There is a new push in public education for what is called the Science of Reading.  In the state of Texas, all kindergarten through third grade teachers are expected to complete required training related to this new initiative.  My wife and I attended an awards ceremony on Thursday night for seniors who stood out for curricular and/or extracurricular accomplishments and each honoree was invited to share remarks on an inspirational teacher.  A prevailing theme from these testimonials was the belief that, for these talented high schoolers, their teachers taught them as students yet talked to them as thought partners.  It was a great evening, and quite honestly, the antithesis of what easily could have defaulted to a hubristic ho hum affair.  The recognized teachers were prideful for sure but it was obvious this was a cup-filling event for them.  Many have said you can’t pour from an empty cup and this night was special in witnessing the fill up.     

Tonight is prom night for my oldest and my wife and I are taking turns waking each other up.  I suspect this senior dance is practice for what lies ahead for us with our college bound first-born.  I’m thankful for all the teachers that have influenced his path as well as so many others.  I’m thankful for all these same teachers that “talked” to him because more often my speeches fell on deaf ears I suspect.  And most importantly, now that I know a bit more about the science of reading and typeface impact, I need to get my younger son to crack the code so I can text with various font!  My first note in Garamond will be “It’s time to get home son!”

Happy Mother’s Day to all you matriarchs and caregivers!

I read an article this week that I just kept coming back to and rereading. It retells the friendship that formed between Gilnet Sainvil, a Haitian-born immigrant working at a Publix Super Market in Fort Myers, FL, and Fiona Smith, still in a stroller when her mom and maternal grandparents took her grocery shopping every Saturday. Sainvil, who worked in the produce section, made his warm introduction to Fiona with the universal high-five gesture. Practice makes perfect and by the time she was two Fiona was bee-lining her way to the produce section with her little hand held up ready for a clap back. And so it came to be that Gilnet was “High Five” to Fiona. There is a lot more to the story including a precious short clip of the little girl giving her Saturday friend a card after they hadn’t seen each other in a while because Sainvil was reassigned to a different store location. If you read the article it will make more sense but Fiona’s mom has since launched a website called “Who’s Your High Five?”

This week Bill V. in Omaha, NE, is my High Five.  I’ve never met Bill but back in the fall, I borrowed his car.  Several years ago I stumbled upon the Turo app and was fascinated by the concept.  In a nutshell, it’s the car rental version of Airbnb or Vrbo or RVshare (for you campers); basically a peer-to-peer website for connecting those who own to those who want to borrow.  With Turo, you can rent anything from a hooptie to a Humvee, plus just about any other type of vehicle you can imagine.  If somebody owns it and is willing to loan it, then it’s a matter of how much and who’s willing.  So last fall I finally got the opportunity to use Turo, in large part because of the current rental car industry shortage situation and soaring costs.  My oldest and I were college shopping (readers may recall my younger son attended his first concert with a buddy of mine that same weekend for his 16^th birthday), and so I was envisioning going bananas and renting a yellow Lambo.  I should mention here that Turo does not offer a layaway option so I scaled down my search but landed on a pretty cool car in its own right – a Mini Cooper Paceman limited release John Cooper Works edition.

A few weeks ago, and now that our son has dialed in a clear frontrunner, I made plans (in haste) for my wife and him to make a trip and tour the campus and area.  I was working the airfare prices pretty hard on Google Flights and when there was a price drop one evening and I got the alert, I locked in the savings!  Nonrefundable of course and when I texted my wife the next morning, she responded back “Easter?”  So I’m going to just skip right over that small oversight and get back to Bill V. in Omaha.  I reached out to him again and secured his Mini Cooper, and asked if he would do me a small favor.  I asked if I could email him a pdf to print out and leave in the passenger seat.  He obliged and then I got this pic from my wife earlier today after they landed…

When I sent him a message of deep thanks this afternoon, he said he was glad they enjoyed it and it was fun for him too.  Bill’s a pretty common name yet Bill V. did a fairly uncommon thing.  He answered my musings on what if and then why not.  My wife reminded me today (some 600 miles away albeit thanks to her booking agent) about this season of renewal and new beginnings.  Today was a good day as witness to living testimony.  To paraphrase an Easter saying, “no winter lasts forever” unless you’re in Omaha!

PS – Hurry home sweetheart and sorry about the free breakfast buffet not working out – the online coupon site said it had a 62% like rating so I guess you beat the odds. 🙂

I read this article this evening and spent a fair amount of time wondering how we got to this point.  I don’t agree with all the author’s sentiments but I was moved by his candor and concerned by his computation.  If, by this teacher’s estimation in how things add up is true, then we as administrators haven’t run nearly enough interference to preserve the work.  While it would be easiest to dismiss this posting as a one-off anti-establishment rant, the fact is many of the author’s claims are facts.  Teachers are leaving in record numbers, funding is shrinking, eggshells seem to be scattered throughout classroom debate.  Recently, higher ed weighed in and said uh oh, as they sounded their own alarms.

At dinner tonight, we had a great conversation with our college-bound son whom we’ve allowed to have a job in his final semester of high school.  He works for the busiest fast food restaurant chain in the world despite being closed one day a week.  Their AVERAGE store does thirteen thousand three hundred and fifty dollars a day in sales. Read that again and let it sink in. To top it all off, they have one of the quickest drive thru times in the industry.  However, our dinner conversation was more about the unvarnished details of working hourly alongside the hourly employed.  It was neat to see my own son step through daily workplace struggles and advocate for team members.  It’s messy and complicated and conflicting and yet he made arguments worth defending and to be honest ones he could likely successfully defend if he ever got called to the hot seat by the owner.

And then I watched the latter half of the Oscars and I’m still not sure what to make of the Chris Rock – Will Smith exchange.  If you missed it, do a simple internet search to be brought up to speed.  Later in the show Will Smith won an Oscar and had a tearful acceptance speech.  As he spoke during his acceptance speech, he shared he was at a point in his life where he was being called upon to protect the people in his life he loved.  If you watched the show, some things he said weren’t shared, so I’m going to reserve judgement but in all honesty I would have anyway.  I’m old enough and have been taught enough lessons to know rush judgements are a fool’s endeavor.

As I mentioned, I was proud to hear my oldest advocate for co-workers this evening.  Admittedly, there was some teenage drama I had to wade through which was facilitated by the glare (stink eye) of a 1^st grade teacher, but on most points I agreed with my son’s assessment.  The easy part is identifying the problem – the hard part is negotiating a solution to a problem that can never exist publicly.  I hate that teachers feel like they are marginalized; I hate that our librarians (I’m using a common term here) have similar feelings.

I saw a Luna moth this morning and the symbolism is whatever you are willing to believe I suppose.  According to National Geographic Kids, they aren’t around for very long (like a week) but the publication cleverly describes their wingspan as about the size of an iPhone.  Rumor has it they are associated with new beginnings.  And I should point out the cool green bug that latched on next to our garage was simply a cool green bug until my first grade teacher wife looked it up and made a teachable moment for the entire family.  For those looking to nay say on teachers, I say bring it but be forewarned.  They collectively are a salty troupe and one fiercely united on schooling all kids.

And to the teacher who feels he went from being a hero and essential worker during the spring of 2020 to being viewed as a babysitter by politicians around the country, not so and not a pervasive sentiment. Some folks might say as much but their numbers are small and their insight skewed. I don’t personally know David Stieber but I hope he continues his crusade as a teacher and I pledge to do my part in turn to support similar teacher efforts.

I found a funny looking bug/insect latched onto our garage threshold this morning – I now know what a Luna moth is because of a teacher.

For my non-school folks that read this blog (hi mom), HB 4545 is a piece of Texas legislation.  House Bill 4545 became effective in June 2021 and mandated additional tutoring for all students who did not pass the state mandated tests.

On the surface most folks would likely agree with the intent of the policy – its practicality has been a completely separate matter. One of the most challenging components of this legislation is providing this accelerated instruction in addition to all the other academic areas that still must be covered.

My title this time was a not so subtle nod to Amazon Prime – I suspect teachers are feeling that overnight rush of results that need to be delivered daily.  As an administrative team, we’ve been visiting with individual campus leadership as a status check.  Arguably, our highest performing elementary campus proved to be our most knuckles drawn.  They clearly took heed of the adage to never bring a knife to a gunfight and their delivery was impactful.  Their response was we need more time but since that’s not plentiful we’ll continue to create and innovate because our students and their families expect nothing less.  Their principal is a leader who will go far and she’s paving the way for future leaders while she’s at it.  Their candor was welcomed yet reminding – if our highest performing campuses are having these mind thoughts then why would it be any different across the board?  This particular principal made a great example when she said if you can’t provide follow-up support on something, don’t attempt to initially train on it.  That’s not quite what she said but the idea was provide support with full fidelity.

On Thursday evening I wrote a note to one of our younger son’s teachers thanking him for his patience and flexibility.  Our kiddo hit a patch where compromise was sorely needed and it ultimately worked itself out.  In the end my kid worked hard, his teacher worked hard, and we landed in the best of shape.

I have to admit it is a challenge for me not to respond when public education is questioned or challenged.  All I can do is reference my last entry and remind readers 9 out of 10 school-aged kids benefit from public education.  Happy Spring Break everyone – rest up and store up so you can finish this last quarter strong.

If we get public education right, everything else will follow. But if we get it wrong, not much else will matter.

~Steve Kagan

I received an email alert from my bank soon after the above transaction occurred.  For proper context, here is the text message exchange that would have provided me more clarity had I reviewed it first…

I’m sure all the adults that read this and are shepherding rising adults can relate – adulting has even become vernacular.  So let’s cut to the chase if we’re being honest – adults in general think kids need to have more focus (and if this argument doesn’t have merit then maybe my wife isn’t doing a Venmo transfer of $33).  For all the concerned parents out there I can fully attest the $33 has been repaid.  For those, myself included, who question the reimbursement, just go with it for now.  $33 men’s haircuts most likely will impact future meal opportunities for said men with $33 haircuts. 

Continuing, I am not sure I’ve ever spent $33 on a haircut but since COVID I suspect my cost averages come in well under a buck based on DIY and frequency.  And man buns continue to confuse me because I just don’t get the necessity for the stowaway stash but it’s a thing.  You can read more here on Why Do Man Buns Inspire Instant Vitriol. 

So let’s play the hypothetical – you have $33.  How would you spend it?  If you’re watching the news here lately you may be spending it on avocados.  The important thing is not to panic like what we saw with toilet paper and paper towels.

$33 in 1934 inflates to $692.38 these days – it’s too bad my kid’s haircut couldn’t have worked its value backwards because then I might have only been paying a $1.65!  As it is, he would have had to work 3 hours at his new job to cover the cost (well actually 3.5 hours if taxes were withheld).  In a nod to my younger son, 33 is the speed most commercially available vinyl records spin (more precisely, 33 RPMs or rotations per minute).  33 also pops up in numerology and spirituality and is associated with promises made.

On that note, and a slightly different number of 37:04 – an American skater gives her Olympic spot to her friend – watch this video as it unfolds (she goes on to win the gold).  What struck me during the commentary was the reference to having individual goals and team goals. 

In the state of Texas, the average daily aid allocated to educate its students isn’t much more than $33 per student (about 4.5 hours worth of pay at my son’s new job).  Do your own Google search – “what percent of students go to public education” – here is your answer.  Well your answer wasn’t quite in that link but it gave you the data to do some clever math – over 50M American students go to public school – some 90% of school-attending kids.  Helping 9 out of every 10 kids achieve their goals makes for our goals.