Insane in the membrane, insane in the brain (Cypress Hill)

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Most days, I wake at 4.30am after roughly seven hours of sleep (I never hit snooze), and go to bed by 9.30pm. That's 16 hours of awake time - which is about right, apparently.

According to the research I read, 'Your brain starts losing its edge after about 16 hours of continuous wakefulness. At that point, reaction times slow, attention drifts, and decision-making quality drops'. 

On days like yesterday, I think that process is exacerbated by a full teaching day and the effects kick in well before the 16 hours is up. Yesterday, I had seven contact points - five teaching periods plus two tutor meetings. 

When I was a Principal, my brain was mush by about 4pm. Too many micro-decisions. I couldn't function well by the late afternoon.

We're all different, but, as a teacher, with the day regime as outlined above, I'm certainly pushing that brain-is-mush time back to about 5pm-ish. By that stage, when I get back home, overload eventuates. Five days of that and I'm clinging on by Friday afternoon.

My Year 9 classes have been doing persuasive speeches for a few weeks and a few topics - starting the school day a few hours later to accommodate teenage brains, and four day weeks, make a lot of sense to me.

Above all, challenge yourself (Cecile Springer)

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Cecile Springer's full quote:

Above all, challenge yourself. You may well surprise yourself at what strengths you have, what you can accomplish.

My working life has been dominated by the need to challenge myself. Because I needed to move locations to meet those next challenges, it meant some collateral impact on my family that I do regret.

Serendipitously, in 1983 my path led from Auckland to New Plymouth. All of my initial job applications in 1982 had been to schools in Auckland because of my mother's health condition, and none were successful. Eventually, that lack of success meant widening my reach to include all of New Zealand. New Plymouth picked me, and I had to pick New Plymouth.

While there seismic events (marriage, a baby, my mother's death) eventually led me back to Auckland. By so doing, a pattern was established.

I have accomplished a lot via the challenges I've met along my path, but I sometimes wonder 'what if I'd stayed in New Plymouth and met challenges there for the last 40 odd years'. Cecile stayed in Pittsburgh all her life (she passed away last year) and managed it admirably.

Food for thought.

The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity (Amelia Earhart)

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Artificial Intelligence is reshaping our world in subtle, and not so subtle ways.

Currently, I am noticing how my students are using AI more as a tool, rather than as a quick fix to meet a deadline.

They'll use ChatGPT to reshape instructions (so that they can understand them better), provide images, generate ideas, and use Grammarly and other AI platforms like Gemini to improve or check work. 

AI is continually in the news as well. Recently, there was a well publicised story of an experimental AI model breaking out of a supposedly secure digital enclosure to launch a hacking attack on another AI company.

An autonomous machine world is a scary proposition, but that's the way we're heading (there's a 50% chance of that happening in the next five years). What will the world look like in ten years' time, I wonder.

The U.S. and China are the world leaders in AI research and it's hard to know which country is the lesser of two evils.

Trump's chaotic, vindictive leadership gives me little hope that reason and common sense with prevail in the U.S. in the short term, and China already has a totalitarian regime.

Help us, Obi-Wan. You're our only hope.

You can only milk a cow so long, then you're left holding the pail (Hank Aaron)

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If I were to apply this quote by the famous baseball player, Hank Aaron, to an educational context it would be - you can only exploit the good will of teachers for so long before you will reap the rewards of that exploitation - an empty pail. The consequences of that exploitation will be dire ones for my cherished profession.

The myriad changes to grading student work are doing my head in, and I am someone who has taught School Certificate, Sixth Form Certificate, University Bursaries, NCEA Levels One to Three, GCSE and A Levels while in the UK.

Recently, I graded some analytical essays by my current (quite frankly freaking awesome) Year 10 class using the NZ Government's new progressions that go from Emerging > Developing > Consolidating > Proficient > Exceeding. Cool. Okay. I actually like the progressions model with its need to articulate the student's next steps. This makes sense as I want students to move up those progressions during the year, right? Growth over time and value added are key measures of achievement,

However, next year (yes - next year) this class will be graded using the current NCEA Level One standards-based system - from Not Achieve > Achieve > Merit > Excellence. According to the government, this is a failed system.

The Year after that (yes - the year after that), as Year 12 students they and their parents will have to get their head around a third system that seems modelled on the UK's GCSE grades - E>D>C>B>A>A*.

Ssshhheeeeeesssssshhh!!! As a National Party flunky said recently on a different matter - What a shitshow!

My prediction? I can see a lot of teachers, including me, holding empty pails!

Daydreaming through branches (The Cowsills)

Teach Them To Write is Dr. Ian Hunter's latest book. It's brimming with good advice about how to solve the problems settling around student writing.

Basically, we need to return to The Composition period: 1800 -1920. 'Composition' meaning training in the principles that govern sound writing - which Dr. Ian Hunter can help with via his Writers' Toolbox (Write That Essay) ideas.

Along the way he busts a few myths. The biggest shock for me was that reading a lot doesn't improve writing. Shock, horror, probe! He puts up a good myth-busting case and concludes with 'Reading ability and writing skills are not connected'.

The takeaway: Good readers practise reading. Good writers practise writing.

If you're worried that I've summarised the book, and you don't need a copy - think again!

You need to buy it! If only for the chapter on boys' writing which had me laughing out loud. He knows boys! And writing!

Positive thoughts bring positive outcomes (Raisa Jimenez)

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One of the Pirate Code guidelines in my classroom is to remain positive at all times (accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, don't mess with Mr. Inbetween).

Some of my students (and colleagues actually) struggle with this concept. 

I get it: it's easy to complain, to throw the hate word around willy nilly, to vent your negative feelings. On occasion, when I ask them to reframe their negative comment into a positive comment/ thought they really struggle.

I'll keep at it, because positivity is the only way forward in my classroom.

Work like you don't need the money (Satchel Paige)

Leroy 'Satchel' Paige

That's good advice from Satchel Paige. His full quote is:

Work like you don't need the money. Love like you've never been hurt. Dance like nobody's watching.

It's a vast generalisation, but I would say that nobody went into teaching to make a lot of money. Actually, I don't even think teachers are motivated by money. Yes, a fair pay is important to pay the bills, but I'm glad it's a salaried position rather than being paid by the hour, even though I'd probably get more money that way.

That helps me to work like I don't need the money.

Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people (Eleanor Roosevelt)

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Advice from Purdzilla #364: as much as possible - avoid 'office politics' and gossip. It will do you no good.

Going places (Herb Alpert)

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Currently, my Year 11 students are writing a piece on a trip or a journey they've undertaken as part of a Going Places unit. They could fictionalise their story, but only one student has followed that path.

So many of them have struggled with this activity, even though they have been on incredible overseas trips. For various reasons they struggle to commit to even a tentative start.

Surprisingly, their memory of even quite recent events is often vague.  I asked a few students if they have ever kept a travel diary/journal, or if their parents did and they looked at me with a blank expression. When I said I did and that I could easily find notes on various trips I've made they looked at me as if I was clearly mad - like this was the most perplexing thing they'd ever heard.

Given the amount of money their parents have paid for these foreign trips, I find it quite sad that they have little to no memory of them.

Plenty of lessons to be learned.

I'm reading Dr. Ian Hunter's latest book on fixing the problem of student writing. Hopefully, he slips me the answer.

Today a reader, tomorrow a leader (Margaret Fuller)

Currently reading

It's really as simple as that. Read and you shall prosper.

Whatever you do, do it with passion. The rest comes by itself (Fabiola Haro)

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What a great quote with which to kick off term three. Monday morning! I'm ready!

We think as we write

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Ryan Holiday provides a good argument against using AI or ghostwriters in his book Wisdom Takes Work.

We think as we write. Indeed, we cannot finish a sentence until we have carried the thought all the way through. We ponder opposing ideas as we pause between keystroke, the pen becomes our third eye. It doesn't even need to be prose - a drawing can help, a diagram lets you see the problem in a new way. 

On the page we see the pattern. Transcribing the passage or a quote, we get to feel real genius and insight pass through our mind and our fingers, processing each word, weighing and understanding the wisdom.

Every misconception is a poison, there are no harmless misconceptions (Tolstoy, paraphrasing Schopenhauer)

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Ryan Holiday uses the above quote in his book Wisdom Takes Work.

Interestingly, when I searched up the quote it emerged as 'Every lie is a poison; there are no harmless lies. Only the truth is safe'.

A lie and misconception are not the same thing, but I see why Holiday uses it. It's the truth that he's wanting to promote. Plus, a life-long pursuit of the truth, despite our many pre-conceptions, opinions and misconceptions.

As we age, the tendency is to get wrapped up in all of those things, but even my young students can get fixated on their own versions of events.

Part of my job as a teacher is to work towards them finding the truth away from their biases.

Positive thoughts bring positive outcomes (Raisa Jimenez)

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The school holidays have kicked in, which means a change of pace and routine.

The alarms on my phone have been put on hold for two weeks, the family time has already begun with the Denver and Melbourne branches joining us at Maple Grove, and the school work is put away until the second week.

The FIFA World Cup, Joan Didion and Ryan Holiday books, and my records all beckon and jostle for attention as we look to visit family in New Plymouth, Palmerston North and Wellington in the first week.

Raisa's message will be front and centre during this time.

The secret to a rich life is to have more beginnings than endings (Dave Weinbaum)

 

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Right from birth, life is a series of both things. Along the way are milestones and a succession of various starts and finishes.

Iona College, where I teach, goes from Year 7 to 13. Many girls start at Year 7 and go on to leave, seven years later, at Year 13. My senior students are all heading for an exit and a new start somewhere doing something. That's exciting, and scary, for them.

Watching the NZ football team exit the World Cup after the group stage's three games was difficult, but so many nations (like Italy) failed to even get to this 2026 version.

I'm sure they'll immediately start thinking about 2030 and begin a new campaign. 

Only two teams will be playing in the final match of the FIFA World Cup. All of the others will have their own dramatic endings along the way. Food for thought.

The results you achieve will be in direct proportion to the effort you apply (Denis Waitley)

 

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I'm not sure about that. I just watched the Democratic Republic of Congo lose one nil to Colombia in the FIFA World Cup.

The effort they all put in was immense, yet they lost the game.

That hardly seems fair, Denis.

So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone.

The FIFA World Cup 2026 edition has started and with it a host of great lessons to be learned for educational leaders, coaches, football players, and spectators.

Spain are one of the favourites to win the World Cup but the small African Island nation of Cabo Verde held them to a scoreless draw. It was a totally engrossing game that showed a really well organised team holding the line against a team of superstars.

Yesterday, Sweden and Germany had big wins against much lower ranked nations but that doesn't mean much at this stage. In fact, I can remember plenty of examples of teams winning big at previous cups, but not building and sustaining that success.

I'm definitely not writing off Spain, and you can never write off the Germans. It should be a really interesting tournament. I'm loving it!

Be bold - and mighty forces will come to your aid (Basil King)

Some weeks zip by, others are a slog to get through. This week has felt like wading through molasses.

I can put this down to a few things - it's week eight in an eleven-week term; Monday was a long day with online parent interviews; Wednesday was a Jammies for June fundraiser; that meant I had two days to go.

The Jammies for June day was stressful in that the students dressed in their pjs and dressing gowns for the day, and staff were expected to participate. Well, expected is over egging it, but I did feel pressure to join in with the other staff. Which I did. It's a worthy cause - to supply pjs to needy kids, but I felt really out of my comfort zone all day.

Luckily, no photos were taken (to my knowledge). In the end it wasn't too bad now that I think of it. Basically, I shouldn't have thought too much about it on Monday and Tuesday.

Anyway, it's now Thursday (a five-period day) and Friday has the FIFA World Cup opening ceremony - that will gee me up for the weekend.

Seek the lofty by reading, hearing and seeing great work at some moment every day (Thornton Wilder)

A trendy, new agey approach to Thornton Wilder's idea may be 'Nourish the soul'.  

We all need to be inspired by something each day. It's pretty easy for me to do that because I read every day, listen to music every day and I'm often inspired by things I see.

The recent Guardian Weekly had an excellent article by Jonathan Freedland - Arsenal's title win should be studied by politicians everywhere.

He explains why in the article, via ideas like vision, stability, perseverance, patience and cheering success.

That approach by Mikel Arteta and the Arsenal board applies to education as well.

If you have knowledge, let others light their candle in it (Margaret Fuller)

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Recently, I attended a well-run professional development workshop for English teachers on the Scholarship programme. It was a heartening experience in many ways.

Scholarship is intended for the top Year 13 students and is largely an unchanged concept that has been around since I started teaching in the 1980s.

Other Year 13 qualifications like Higher School Certificate, University Bursaries, and soon NCEA level 3, have come and gone, but Scholarship keeps on ticking.

It's an add-on for those top students - not a timetabled class in most schools. Interestingly, I've never participated in it because I've always had more qualified or more interested people leading the charge.

My current Head of English suggested I attend the PD workshop, so I did.

Along the way, the experts taking the workshop made the startling, revolutionary statement that we could learn from the experience of those who have taught Scholarship before - that this was a valuable exercise.

What a breath of fresh air!

When you go out of your comfort zone and it works there's nothing more satisfying (Kirsten Wiig)

Kirsten is a comedian, an actor, a screenwriter and a producer. So, she knows a thing or two about going out of her comfort zone. She's right - that's where the sweet spot is. Her caveat (and it works) is important. Although, if it doesn't work there's a pay off after the failure but that's a different, longer-term kind of satisfaction.

For a short-term adrenalin rush though, a leap into the unknown for a teacher in a classroom, and it works, is pretty intoxicating.

It's a daily crapshoot for a teacher - I'm not sure of the percentage payoff to crash and burn but I'd say roughly it's around 50%, remembering that 75% of all statistics are made up.

Those are pretty good odds, and there are oodles of learning moments in the crash and burns as well.

Oh, and the picture of the Walter Mitty film isn't random. Aside from it being one of my favourite films, Kirsten Wiig appears in it with Ben Stiller and it's always good to be reminded of the Life magazine quote:

To see the world, things dangerous to come to, to see behind walls, draw closer, to find each other, and to feel. That is the purpose of life.

Giant steps are what you take, walking on the moon (Police)

It is often the small steps, not the giant leaps, that bring about the most lasting change - Queen Elizabeth II.

Once you know it's the Queen, you can certainly hear her voice.

She certainly lived her life following that maxim. Small steps.

Lao Tzu says a similar thing in his Tao Te Ching - A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

That, in turn, reminds me of Neil Armstrong's, 'One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind' as he walked on the moon (yes, he did).

I'm sensing a theme...

You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don't try (Beverly Sills)

One of the main reasons for changing schools this year was student mindset. As in, my growing frustration with students who had the ability to study but decided not to.

That's a complicated thing. There are many reasons why someone won't commit to study. Nevertheless, the change has worked from that point of view. My expectations haven't changed but the collective mindset of the students in front of me is very different in my new school.

Again, it's a complicated set of reasons why that is so, and while I know from experience that educational utopias are a white whale, I am appreciating the difference.

Achievement results from work realising ambition (Adam Ant)

I'm struggling a little to believe Adam Ant came up with that snappy aphorism (was hard for me to take him seriously in his early eighties poptastic years).

Nevertheless, the quote is a nifty combo of hard work and ambition (goals) equaling success. True that!

Musicians wanting to sell shed loads of records and gain public adoration need that combo as much as students slogging away to pass an Achievement Standard do.

Light tomorrow with today (Elizabeth Barrett Browning)

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Just a quick post, thanks to a week of senior reports and Year 13 marking.

My professional development mini goal for the term centres on my interest in school culture. 

Specifically, I'm keen to construct a best practice document for dining room duties at my school (Iona College). To that end, I've arranged to shadow a colleague who is a bit of a stickler, even though she thinks she's quite liberal with her interpretations of protocols.

That's happening this week. I'll collate some notes as I observe how she goes about her work. Should be cool and a practical way in to understanding some crucial school culture.

I also want to have the espoused theory at my fingertips, so I need to do some research as a precursor.

Wahoo! This sort of stuff excites me/ lights my fire.

Baila mi hermana (Santana)

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School socials are a ritual that I'd almost forgotten about. 

Hastings Boys' High School didn't bother with them and they were certainly never an option at OneSchool Global. So my last school social would have been ten years ago at Woodford House where three schools (WH, Iona College and Lindisfarne) united.

Ironically, that's where I experienced the latest version. Nothing too much had changed. Same three schools, it was still very loud, the Year 9 girls are still taller than the Year 9 boys, the Year 13 students still appear to have the most fun, the music still doesn't quite hit the mark for Year 9's and only a few students actually dance.

My favourite moments from last night were when I caught up with my old colleagues at Woodford. Hugs and smiles and a shared history are elements that are hard to beat.

Yes indeed, some things don't change.

See much, study much, suffer much, that is the path to wisdom (Celtic saying)

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The focus for this post will be on the 'study much/ suffer much' part of that Celtic saying.

During my varsity days at both Auckland University and especially at UNITEC doing a thesis for a Masters degree in Educational Management, I did a lot of suffering as I studied. A lot!

It was really hard work at times, especially given I was working full time as a Deputy Principal and we had four young children at home, but I pushed through. 

Yes, I know. We had it tough in our day! No pain - no gain.

That thesis experience was good for me - built some resilience, even if I didn't exactly enjoy the discomforting process.

Am I wrong or is there a trend these days for students to shy away from the study much/ suffer much regime. Often students seem to want things handed to them on a plate. 

That is not the path to true wisdom.

Those who know do not speak. Those who speak do not know (Lao Tzu)

Ryan Holiday's book Ego is the Enemy has some brilliant passages that have provoked a lot of reflection for me and my practice as a teacher.

In the chapter Always Stay a Student, he makes the point that as we succeed in our chosen career, we continually find ourselves in new situations. 

When I started teaching in 1983, I had to learn how to teach. At the start, I knew nothing. Holiday quotes physicist John Wheeler, who said, "as our island of knowledge grows, so does the shore of our ignorance".

In other words, each advancement in teaching that improved my practice also brought with it new situations and challenges that I had never come across before. So, my ignorance grew. I knew less, even as I progressed with my teaching.

The thing is, this never stops! I am still coming across stuff in 2026 that I am completely ignorant about. Like the uses for AI.

The more I learn about it, the less I know and so on ad infinitum.

The temptation is to pretend I know, when really I don't. Again though, the thing is - this applies to everyone!

The list of things I don't know about at Iona College, and the world of teenage girls is vast. 

• I don't know about the music they like.
• I haven't read the books they are reading.
• As an Anglican, I don't know anything about   Presbyterianism.
• I have little idea about who does what at school outside of   my role in the English department.
• I don't know the nuances of teenage girl language.
• I don't know the nuances of teenage girls.

I could go on and on but you get the gist. I'm ignorant of a lot of things.

The risk is of thinking I am set and secure, when in reality understanding and mastery is a fluid, continued process (Holiday).

So, hence the chapter title - Always Stay a Student!

Regardless of whatever I do, I know what my purpose in life is: to make a difference in people's lives (Tim Tebow)

Although Tim is speaking from an athlete's perspective he is delivering a deep truth that applies to many people.

Ryan Holiday in Ego is the Enemy asks two fundamental questions (What is your purpose? What are you on Earth to do?) and I find myself using the word/concept a lot to justify my decision not to retire from teaching any time soon.

I know what my purpose in life is. I know what I am on Earth to do.

There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind (C.S. Lewis)

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I have observed that those who have accomplished the greatest results are those who 'keep under the body'; are those who never grow excited or lose self-control, but are always calm, self-possessed, patient, and polite.

Booker T. Washington

Do you know the enemy? (Green Day)

Ryan Holiday's Ego is the Enemy forms part of my reading for the study break.

I love his work because he writes about things that make me reflect on my life as a teacher and as a leader, and life in general.

To be or to do? Which way will you go? That was a question posed by American military strategist and teacher, John Boyd.

Ryan indicates that it is a crucial question. At its heart is a question around purpose.

What is your purpose? What are you on Earth to do?

To be, or to do?

Thanks to that purpose question, the answer is obvious.

During my career (now in its 43rd year) my purpose has been reasonably consistent during those years - to do.

But, yes, there have been times when I may have chased promotion, salary and titles like Principal (Stratford High School) or District Principal (OneSchool Global).

When I applied for the Stratford job, I was desperate to return to NZ from England for family reasons. When I applied for the District Principal job, I was keen to challenge myself by helping my colleagues. 

In the end I stepped away from those kinds of high-status positions because I wanted to accomplish something else or prove something to myself.

For instance, it was an easy decision to return to classroom teaching in 2024, because that's my purpose. 

Easy because I knew what I had to do and what was important to me. To quote Joni Mitchell, "No regrets, coyote".

Late last year, that thinking (to do) meant moving to a different school as an English teacher because I wanted to improve my teaching. I still have a lot to learn about this job.

Recently at Iona College we had Browse Week. Teachers were asked to visit a couple of teachers informally during the week and observe the class and teacher for a few minutes. While there the idea was to note a couple of takeaways.

I visited three classes and instantly found things I could do to improve my own practice. That's exactly what I need.

Feel the breeze, take the weight off your feet (The Pineapple Thief)

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A two-week study break at the end of the first term has kicked off with Easter weekend. Some Year 10 creative writing assignments need to be marked, and I want to plan out the next term's programmes more thoroughly than I did last term's.

The marking I want to get done asap so it doesn't hang around in my brain, but the planning can wait until the end of the break.

Aside from that - it's a case of outside chores when the autumn days allow and regular walks to get some fitness back. There are a pile of books to dip into and my turntable has been repaired so I'm energised to find some fresh vinyl to play.

Attitude is the 'little' thing that makes a big difference (Winston Churchill)

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Iona College had an open day recently. I was stationed in an English department classroom natch.

One of the DPs who was doing a walk around during the morning said to me something like - "this will be old hat for you, having been a Principal".

I laughed and agreed with him, because by that stage I'd warmed up. "Yes", I said, "I can do shmoozing".

It had taken me a while to warm up because I'm a little rusty at this sort of thing now.

By the time the afternoon shift had kicked in (and we'd got used to the flow of tour groups), I was getting into my hail-fellow-well-met stride.

Funnily enough one family remembered me from last year's open day at Hastings' Boys! I laughed and said, "Yes, I'm working the Open Day circuit."

I love it here! I love my school! It’s full of wonderful people! (Miss Honey)

Miss Jennifer Honey is an archetypal character from Roald Dahl's novel Matilda.

I've often wondered where the inspiration for this kind and nurturing character came from. Apparently, it's from Roald Dahl's own experiences and observations of his children. To have such a person as Miss Honey as your teacher is a true blessing.

How many Miss Honeys have I come across? Well, only one stands out in my memory from my own schooling. Mrs. Alexander at Royal Oak Primary was fantastic. Sadly though, I can't now picture her.

In terms of how many I've met during my own teaching career - there have been many more (but somehow, not enough).

Luckily for the girls at Iona College, there are a couple of Miss Honeys on the staff. I'm in awe at their genuine niceness, kindness, compassion and empathy. 

They certainly inspire me, and I'm sure they inspire the girls.

I discovered I always have choices and sometimes it's only a choice of attitude (Judith M. Knowlton)

Watching the Formula 1 show on Netflix, Drive to Survive, is always interesting for the contrasting leadership styles of the team principals.

The episode I watched last night (Season 8, episode 2 - Strictly Business) showed the stark contrast between how two teams at the back of the field do their thing.

Flavio Briatore is the Ming the Merciless figure/ team principal at Alpine F1 Team, while Jonathan Wheatley of Kick Sauber is the nice guy who rules via relentless positivity.

Flavio ruthlessly fires Aussie rookie driver Jack Doohan, while Jonathan nurtures and supports his rookie Gabriel Bortoleto. The drivers emerge from their meeting with Flavio grim faced while it's all smiles at Kick Sauber.

Guess which team emerges with a successful result at the end of the episode?

Success doesn't come to you, you go to it (Marva Collins)

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Another duty day has come and gone and as I said to a senior manager today - I'm learning from my earlier whoopsies! 

The lunch duty is a tad stressful - especially if you don't quite know which half of the school is on the first sitting, and which is on the second. That was the situation today. It's fluid, so there's an innate need to adapt and walk towards success. Literally, in my case - as I need to keep walking along the corridor to check progress with kitchen staff.

The girls are delightful - full of energy and good-hearted banter, but they do keep me on my toes.

We're dealing with teenagers, after all, so they are bound to test me out. They've been at the school for years and they know all the wrinkles, I've been there eight weeks. Still, I'm learning.

I gave my colleague, Anna, who was doing her duty in the dining hall (my duty is letting the students into the dining hall in an orderly fashion) a fist pump after we'd finished. Even though it's testing and stressful, it feels like a win when things go according to plan.

Success doesn't come to you, you go to it (Marva Collins).

Maybe all you need is both feet on the ground (The Lemon Twigs)

At 1,000 pages long, it's taken a while, but I have just finished the David McCullough biography of Harry S. Truman, simply called Truman.

What a bargain it was - costing a dollar from that book shop in Santa Rosa (the origin story is here). It's an extraordinary biography that delivers majestically throughout and yes, I misted up during the last three pages as McCullough recounts events of December 26, 1972 - Truman's final days.

The summing up of Truman in these last pages of the biography really affected me. 

Here are some extracts:

He did require to be loved. He did not expect to be followed blindly. Congressional opposition never struck him as subversive, nor did he regard his critics as traitors. He never whined.

He walked around Washington every morning - it was safe then. He met reporters frequently as a matter of course, and did not blame them for his failures. he did not use the office as a club or a shield, or a hiding place.

(Mary McGrory in the Washington Star)

The contrast to the times we now live in, with a narcissistic spoilt child in the White House couldn't be starker.

The last word should go to David McCullough:

Ambitious by nature, he was never torn by ambition, never tried to appear as something he was not. He stood for common sense, common decency. he spoke the common tongue.

He held to the old guidelines: work hard, do your best, speak the truth, assume no airs, trust in God, have no fear.

A dream becomes a goal when action is taken towards its achievement (Bo Bennett)

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Recently, one of my senior students told me she's intending to be a teacher. That's something that always excites me. There is no finer career in my humble opinion. I love being a teacher.

She asked for some advice and I said - don't let anyone, or anything put you off achieving your goal. Even when things get tough - that's when you get tested, but stay on target, don't listen to the doubters.

Energy and persistence conquer all things (Benjamin Franklin)

I'm into the last 100 pages of the epic that is David McCullough's Truman, which has him entering his final phase as President.

Truman, in his mid-sixties is into his seventh and last year of his Presidency and still full of energy and still with a steely commitment to his job.

He's not weighed down by events (the 'limited war' in Korea and Senator McCarthy's poison tongue), still healthy and fit, and still morally upright.

He's an inspiration and a role model for the rest of us in the same age bracket.

Don't assume that anyone has it all figured out. Don't assume that anyone knows better than you (Amanda Gutterman)

The impulse towards the imposter syndrome is a strong one for many, me included on occasions in my life.

That you are not good enough or have risen above your level is a real feeling. I like to keep Amanda Gutterman's quote in mind at such times.

Experience helps, but self-doubt and the anxiety that comes with it can still creep up on you.

Remaining calm, breathing deeply and following advice I give to others (be kind to yourself) helps me when I get those self-doubt pangs.

Some days you eat the bear, some days the bear eats you. Best to own it on the days when you get eaten.