COVID NEW YEAR

On Friday, March 13, 2020 we were told that we would not be going back to school on Monday. It's been a year and a lot has happened. A lot of bad things happened. A lot of bad things. 

I'm exhausted from all the bad things.
Death, sickness, bankruptcy, etc.

I made the choice a few days ago to reflect on the GOOD things that have gone on in the past year. In some ways, the lockdowns and quarantines have forced me to improve some aspects of my educational life.  That's what this post is all about. Some of these things might have happened, and others most definitely would not.

Here are some of the good things as I reflect on the COVID New Year.

I Wrote (finished writing) a book: When I got back from Afghanistan, I was working full-time for the Michigan Army National Guard. I opened up a Google Doc titled, "Leadership" and every once and a while, I would open it up and write a few sentences about something I have been dealing with. After I left the full-time gig I would check on it every few months, reminiscing about all the great times and great friends I met while doing that job. When we closed school, I opened up that document and realized I had a lot of content! I organized that content and it will become a book this spring! Thank you to Darrin Peppard and Road to Aweome LLC for taking a chance on me!

Watch for, "LESSON 1: Leveraging Leadership in Everyday Life" coming in May 2021.

It will be available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
You will be able to order an autographed copy at www.johnvandusen.com

Blog Series: When we closed down, we weren't supposed to cover any new material with our students. We had gone from the Proclamation of 1763, through the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, War of 1812, Westward expansion, Mexican/American War, and were just about ready to start in on the Civil war. I had a lot of material to go back over, but I also wanted to do something that would help in the following years.  So, I wrote a five-part series on the Declaration of Independence and a 10 part series on the Consitution. I put them in a Wakelet along with a podcast to go with it (See below). If you ever wanted to know the down and dirty of those two founding documents, check them out.
Declaration 
Consitution

America's Start Podcast: Along with the blog series on the Declaration and Constitution, I basically did an "audio blog" where I read them aloud. Again, if you want to know more about our founding documents, you can listen on your favorite podcasting app! America's Start Podcast

YouTube playlist: I am not good at relaxing. While I was quarantined for 24 days (Close contact....10 days +14) I started a Youtube Playlist called, "Teacher PD" with fast lessons for busy teachers. I did short videos on:

- Rocketbook
- Socrative
- Pear Deck
- Getting more steps at work
- Making better lists
- Growth Mindset

It was a lot of fun..and A LOT of work! But, I had the time. Check out the entire playlist HERE.

Pear Deck: This has been an AMAZING tool to help engage students, especially while we were virtual. Basically, it's a way for students and teachers to interact with Google Slides in real-time. I have used it A LOT in the last year, and 366 days ago, I didn't even really know what it did. Now I do and I use it all the time. I even use it when I'm teaching for the Army. I will never get to meet my Army students, our course will conclude before we will be allowed to be face to face. I know it's EXTRA hard to be a virtual student. I also know that Pear Deck makes it better.

Socrative: This is a fast and easy tool for making online quizzes. Again...watch my video above! You can make multiple-choice, true/false, and short answer questions. Students take it online and it's graded automatically. It's very user-friendly. 

Head Freshman Football Coach: This year's football season was a complete mess. We had two solid weeks of practice, followed by two weeks of not being able to see our players, followed by games, cancelations, and uncertainty. My team was able to play three games (two were against the same team, back to back with a week in-between). 

In our first game, we were down 20-0 at one point, and we looked like Freshmen who were playing in their first game. It was rough, to say the least. However, we caught some good luck (and recovered a fumble) and ended up winning the game 22-20. My players were ecstatic! We lost game two 12-0, and then headed off for game three against a JV team. 

We grew up A LOT as a team that night, and as young men. If you would have watched the first offensive series, you would have thought we were going to get beat 70-0. But we didn't. We dug deep and found a way to complete.  With the last play of the 3rd quarter, we went up 13-12. We had the other team in a 4th and 2. If we stopped them we would be able to run a few plays and run out the clock. 

Their sophomore quarterback tried to sneak the ball but was knocked back. He landed on his feet and squirted around the right edge for 4 yards and a first down. They ended up scoring on that drive and we just didn't have enough in the tank to take it back to the endzone. Freshman vs. JV's is a big difference. I am VERY proud of my team. They have that FLIVVER HEART!

With these GOOD THINGS that have happened during a terribly exhausting and precious year, I'm optimistic that 2021 will be full of GREAT THINGS!

www.johnvandusen.com

BOOK REVIEW: To The Edge: Successes and Failures Through Risk-Taking

FULL DISCLAIMER

Kyle Anderson is one of my very

best friends and I have some MASSIVE BIAS!  

Background
I have known Kyle for over 20 years when we first met at Northern Michigan University.
We hit it off right away and became fast friends. We were both into hunting, fishing, football, and having fun! We ended up as roommates for a short time toward the end of our college years, and I have always valued his friendship and that of his family.

Since college, Kyle and I always make a point to hang out whenever the chance arises. Sometimes he is back in Michigan visiting family, and one time my son and I flew out to Nevada to surprise him by standing on his doorstep at 1:30 a.m. while his wonderful wife, Mary, was trying to wake him up without freaking him out!

Kyle and I in Las Vegas 2018

I had the absolute honor of serving as Kyle's best man when he married Mary. I was not the best man, but the stand-in. Cody, Kyle's Brother, was committed to Army training and was not able to make it back for his brother's wedding. The last time I saw Cody was in Kuwait in 2006. We were both heading north into Iraq, me in a few days, him in a week or so. We both made it through deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and talked on the phone maybe half a dozen times before he passed away. I had a real hard time reading Chapter 7, as I know Kyle struggled writing it.

When Kyle told me he was getting ready to publish his first book, I was VERY excited for him!
I couldn't wait for my personalized copy in the mail, so I bought it on Amazon before it was even officially out.

Although I am a slow reader, I made it a point to read his book right away.
If you want to be a better reader: Read.
That also led me to rejuvenate my blog.
If you want to be a better writer: Write.

The Basics
Title: To The Edge: Successes & Failures Through Risk-Taking
Author: Kyle Anderson
Forward: Jayme Rawson
Chapters: 10
Pages: 127 not including notes, acknowledgments, and publisher notes
Publishing Company: EDUMatch Publishing

Overview
Kyle walks you through his life as a student, teacher, administration, friend, husband, and father with a focus on decision making. Some of the decisions had a high-risk/high-reward criteria such as moving to the Nevada desert with his fiance and without a job. Others seemed to be low/risk-low reward, yet proved to be some of the best decisions of his life.

The Good Stuff
The average person can read about Kyle's story, his decisions, and the risks he chose to take or not take, and see themselves in that scenario. We undoubtedly do not have the same decisions placed in front of us, but we definitely have similar ones. We have all experienced the joy, heartache, and anxiety that comes with making important decisions. Kyle has a way of putting us in his, "choose your own adventure" book of life.

The average teacher can read about Kyle's career progression and look back at different opportunist that presented themselves and reflect on why they chose to take or not take those opportunities. The beauty of Kyle's career is the ups and downs. The "easy" route is not often the most rewarding. The "easy" route would make for a boring story. Kyle analyses his decisions on the page and reflects on the outcome in such a way that he makes it "safe" to make a decision, good or bad.

I recommend this book for a few reasons:

1) Kyle is a real person with a  real story that everyone can relate to. If you are an "Average Joe" you will relate to Kyle immediately and will quickly see your decisions with a fresh perspective.

2) His struggles are laid out in the open for everyone to read. Genuine problems are analyzed with respect to the real consequences they will have on him and his family.

3)  This book reads not only as Kyle's journey through life, but also as a guide of how we too can learn how to take risks, celebrate successes, and accept failures with grace, understanding, and lessons learned.

4) Kyle is one of my very best friends and I could not be more proud of him!

TO THE EDGE: SUCCESSES & FAILURES

THROUGH RISK-TAKING

https://www.totheedgeedu.com/
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Kyle on Twitter: @AndersonEdTech

#ToTheEdgeEDU