What’s Wrong With This Picture: Why is Bruce Willis Smiling?

1. What’s Wrong With This Picture:Why is Bruce Willis Smiling? Julius Zuke New Teacher Institute II June 20, 2011

2. Every Teacher’s Hero! • More about Bruce later… "What Would Bruce Do? | Men’s Journal." Men’s Journal | . Web. 06 July 2010. <http://www.mensjournal.com/what-would-bruce-do>.

3. In case you never noticed, life is messy.

4. What’s wrong with this picture?

5. Problems Surface Issues Foundational Issues Are here to stay Have complex solutions Just living with the problem doesn’t work Won’t go away if the solution is inadequate • Come and go • Usually have fairly easy solutions—including just living with the problem • Can be addressed differently if the first solution does not work

6. Know the difference between surface issues and foundational issues at your job site. Be flexible concerning surface issues. Know thyself—and know what the foundational issues are.

7. Pick your battles carefully in 2011-2012. You’ll need the energy.

8. Look at things in perspective…

9. With no offense intended to anyone, here is a brief look at 5,000 years of recorded history. In the beginning, everything was perfect… 6 July 2010. <http://www.desktopscenes.com/Autumn%20Scenes%20from%20Southern%20Vermont%20(2003)/The%20Garden%20of%20Eden.jpg>

10. …until the first snake showed up.

11. Next were the first siblings…

12. …and the first murder.

13. Things got worse from there, until eight fairly good people and a bunch of animals were put on a big boat while the rest of “civilization” was washed away. "Welcome to the Black Sea Journey - History and Culture Page." College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment | The College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment. Web. 06 July 2010. <http://www.ceoe.udel.edu/blacksea/history/noah.html>.

14. After things dried out a bit, things fell back into the same old groove until, finally, a whole nation had a cloud follow them around for guidance every day, and a pillar of fire followed them and guided them every night. Food literally fell from the sky. How’s that for micromanaging society to make it better? But guess what?

15. The people started hoarding the food. • Even with a divine presence literally hanging around day and night, right in their faces, people simply couldn’t do the right thing.

16. People griped—a lot. • So they were given judges to guide them. • But the people wanted kings. They got dozens and dozens of kings. Only two of them were good. • Next came the prophets. Few people wanted to hear all that. • So there were 400 years of silence.

17. At this point, there was a lot of disagreement. • Some people, to this day, are still waiting for salvation. • Some people found salvation, but have to wait until the end of time for salvation to be complete. Even then, it’s not going to be a human solution. • Some people started making T-shirts which said, “It is what it is.” English majors and philosophers call that existentialism. The police call it gangs.

18. The literary Romantics of the 1800’s were convinced that society would come close to perfection if we could be like nature and have the innocence of childhood. Campers and parents quickly dropped a wet blanket on the Romantics.

19. The tycoons of the nineteenth century lured family after family from the tranquility and self-sufficiency of farms to find a “better” life in cities crowded with state-of-the-art factories and kindly managers. And that is why everyone loves going to their jobs to this very day. "Human Rights Cartoon (119): Sweatshops « P.A.P. Blog – Human Rights Etc." P.A.P. Blog – Human Rights Etc. Web. 06 July 2010. <http://filipspagnoli.wordpress.com/2009/02/02/human-rights-cartoon-119-sweatshops/>.

20. In 1965, President Lyndon Baynes Johnson declared war on poverty and ushered in the start of the Great Society. "BBC NEWS | Programmes | Daily Politics | My Favourite President." BBC NEWS | News Front Page. Web. 06 July 2010. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/the_daily_politics/7559254.stm>.

21. A decade later, President Gerald R. Ford kick- started his Whip Inflation Now campaign, thus rescuing the economy for generations to come. "Gerald Ford "Whip Inflation Now" T-Shirt - Retro Campaigns." Retro Campaigns - Classic Political T-Shirts. Web. 06 July 2010. <http://www.retrocampaigns.com/win.html>.

22. President George W. Bush promised world class education to all with his No Child Left Behind legislation. "No Child Left Behind « Taylor George Poore." Taylor George Poore. Web. 06 July 2010. <http://tpoor9.wordpress.com/2008/07/16/no-child-left-behind/>.

23. President Barack H. Obama today continues the legacy of educational excellence with his Race to the Top intiative. "Schools Sprinting to Win Obama's Race to the Top Billions - CSMonitor.com." The Christian Science Monitor - CSMonitor.com. Web. 06 July 2010. <http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2009/1104/schools-sprinting-to-win-obamas-race-to-the-top-billions>.

24. Don’t you just feel great, knowing how all of society’s ills have been fixed, just in time for you to begin your career as a librarian? How easy your job will be! OK—so we’ve had a little fun. But seriously and respectfully, what conclusion can we draw from 5,000 years of recorded history?

25. OOPS! There’s just one more thing we forgot to mention… Diversity! …which is probably why the last 5,000 years of history has been a bit unstable.

26. YOUR STUDENTS • Red • Yellow • Black • White • Straight • Gay • Celibate • Pregnant • Honest • Dishonest • Free • Incarcerated • On probation • Christian • Jewish • Muslim • Atheist • Buddhist • Rich • Poor • Homeless • Pampered • Abused • Speaking 67 different languages • Gifted • Talented • Average • Unmotivated • Mentally challenged • Visually impaired • Limited Mobility • Autistic Do you know how to say, “customize?”

27. So what’s your perspective for the upcoming school year? Are you feeling hopeful? Angry? Confused? Overwhelmed? Cynical?

28. A Recommended Strategy: Professionalism • Bruce Willis, in a March, 2010 interview for Men’s Journal, was asked how he coped with frustration.

29. He replied that anger and frustration are legitimate emotions, but also useless, unproductive emotions. His [very good] advice?

30. He suggests being as angry as you want—for five minutes. Tear up the room, scream, whatever. But when the five minutes are over, move on with your life.

31. S0—in a few days-- • Will you be admiring the problems? • Will you provide the solutions? OR

32. So what if things are complicated? • Bernie Marcus, co-founder of Home Depot in 1979, came from an incredibly poor Jewish Russian immigrant family, and was suddenly fired as CEO of the Handy Dan’s home improvement chain for “improper” business practices. • Bernie Marcus succeeded anyway because he networked with people, knew how to give excellent customer service, and was able to create an environment of excitement and expectation. Let me elaborate… Web. 06 July 2010. <http://www.homedepot.com>. "Bernie Marcus Biography, Founder of Home Depot." Successful People - Company Founder Biographies. Web. 06 July 2010. <http://founderbios.com/bernie-marcus.php>.

33. When he was fired from Handy Dan’s, he hooked up with his former colleagues and investment contacts to create a network that would bring his vision of home improvement to fruition.

34. Customer service was king. His goal was to convince the everyday homeowner, especially women, that they could do it. He provided a level of customer service that kept people coming back over and over again.

35. Bernie Marcus had two million dollars to build and stock his first store. Construction costs ate up so much of that money that there was little money left to stock the store. Undaunted, he ordered lots of empty boxes and paint cans and displayed them to give his initial customers an air of excitement and expectation. People were never so excited to see so much “merchandise!”

36. While many immigrants to this day flee unimaginable life circumstances, only to discover more disappointing life circumstances in America, Bernie Marcus was determined to be successful. • Success is a choice to do battle with the odds of failure. • Life is not perfect. So what?

37. Other Examples of Success • Jerry’s Chevrolet • Valley View Farms • BGE Home • Walt Disney World • State Farm • Baltimore City Public Schools

38. Will you network? With whom? When? • Will you provide outstanding customer service? To whom? How? • Will you provide an environment of expectation? How? When?

39. Why?

40. “Love me when I least deserve it, because that's when I really need it.” ---Swedish proverb

41. “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” ---Oscar Wilde

42.  “And living in a metropolitan area which is … diverse, our lives are very complicated, so our emotional experiences are going to be varied like that. “ …Debbie Harry

43. Being a parent [or teacher] is too complicated and emotional a task for magical techniques and miracle cures. ---Ron Taffell

44. “Everything is complicated; if that were not so, life and poetry and everything else would be a bore.” ---Wallace Stevens

45. “I've discovered as I've grown up that life is far more complicated than you think it is when you're a kid. It isn't just a straightforward fairytale. “ ---Rachel McAdams

46. “In ballet a complicated story is impossible to tell... we can't dance synonyms.” ---George Balanchine

47. “It is just because civilization is ever evolving, changing, and becoming more complicated, that experts find it so difficult to define it in explicit terms.“ ---Arthur Keith

48. The conclusion?

49. “Life is extremely complicated.” ---Robert Ludlum

50. Therefore…