Principles of Principals

That people make up afterwards. I hear people say this all the time, and it just makes my moral and ethical skin crawl. Everything happens for a reason. Everything? Really? Bullcrap.  What reason would that be? Folks who say this have no idea what they are saying. However, when an event confirms their belief in that statement, the verbal diarrhea resumes. "See! I told you there was a reason. It is/isn't meant to be! Things happen for a reason." No they do not.  Things happen.  The reasons that get propped up happen after and do not relate except in your feeble mind. Stop saying this to people. Stop saying it to yourself.   Child abuse doesn't "happen for a reason". Genocide doesn't "happen for a reason". I lost my wallet because I'm an idiot. Good and evil are real. They exist in my heart, and in the hearts of us all. We do dumb things, for no reason. We do great things for no reason. We are humans BEING.  Attributing some random illogical ...

While serving in the military, I was introduced to the terms force multiplier and force mitigation. Permit me, dear reader, an explanation. I served as a Forward Observer, 13Foxtrot, or FISTr. FO's are fire support specialists who have the ability to arrange for extra artillery, close air, mortar or naval gun ship ordinance when things get really dicey. We do this job with one tool, a radio. That radio has two critical  parts necessary to it's function, without which nothing will happen. Antennae and batteries. With those two accessories, the radio is a force multiplier .  In other words, when compared to a weapon (pistol, rifle, tank), it has nearly limitless capacity to incapacitate the enemy. A weapon is limited by the number of bullets in a magazine (clip) and the number of bullets one soldier can carry. It's not an efficient nor is it, in my opinion, a very effective tool of war. Even more effective than a radio in war is an outward mindset - or that ...

Yesterday we had a fight in the cafeteria.  7th graders.  I use the word typical in the sense that these things can happen in a school setting.  At my school, in all honesty, we've had 3 fights in three years, so this was an atypical occasion. Atypical has so many layers.  A boy was verbally harassing a girl.  She'd had enough, so she took matters into her own fists.  They're both African Refugees, familiar with the consequences of hatred, violence, fear, and malice. Our entire First Grade saw the fight.  "Why does this have to happen Dr. Sharp?"  "Why wouldn't that boy leave her alone?"  "What is going to happen to them?" were just some of the questions. Typical disciplinary action calls for immediate suspension, depending on district policy and number of previous offenses. This was not a typical situation. Today Seraphine visited each 1st Grade classroom and taught a 10 minute lesson on two of our school's CHOICES (Choosin...