Thank you, Goodreads

I am reluctant user of most social media. I look at Facebook primarily to keep up with family and a few close friends. Twitter I use to let people know that I've created a blog post. Same with LinkedIn. I've never used Instagram or any of the other tools that seem to be more popular with younger demographics.

But I do like Goodreads very much. And for a variety of reasons...

1. It's an easy way of tracking the books you have read. More importantly, it's a convenient way to keep track of the books you might want to read. Paper lists don't do it for me. 
2. It gives me suggestions of new reading materials. Yes, you do get blasted with promotions for "a new book by an author you have read" but primarily I enjoy seeing what my friends are reading and recommending. Although some have horrible tastes in reading materials (and I am sure they think the same of me), it's fun to see how their ratings and reviews compare to my own. I do wish more people wrote reviews - even if only a sentence or two. Some must have had a bad experience writing book reports as a child.
3. I enjoy the book challenge, "Year in Books" summary, and my reading statistics that chart how much I've read over the years. (I read more than twice the number of books in 2020 than I did in 2016. Hmmmm, I wonder why.) The "Year in Books" lists some interesting factoids - longest and shortest books, most popular and least popular books, and your average review score. I am not a believer in extrinsic motivation for encouraging reading, but somehow this is rewarding.
4. Finally, Goodreads keeps me quite humble. Most of my Goodread friends are educators - librarians, teachers, and professors. (I heard once that an administrator read a book but I don't have a reliable source for that claim.) Anyway, many of these folks tear through so many books, it makes me feel I am still in kindergarten. And most do not enjoy the luxury of spare time afforded by retirement. Are they just fast readers or have they stopped doing things like cooking, bathing, and exercising to make more time?

 Anyway, even if you are not a big social media fan, give Goodreads a try. An added bonus is that it seems pretty free of nut-job political rants. But then, maybe I've just been really good at choosing my friends.

BFTP: Principles over rules

from Burn Your Rule Book and Unlock the Power of Principles

I've long advocated for principles over rules; for guidelines over directives; for asking students to think about their actions and behaviors over simply following directions.

I have found that library users need three behavioral guidelines (Beating the Study Hall Syndrome, 1995):

•  be doing something productive
•  be doing it in a way that allows others to be productive
•  be respectful of other people and their property.

Technology users need to follow three ethical guidelines: 

• Privacy - I will protect my privacy and respect the privacy of others.
• Property - I will protect my property and respect the property of others.
• a(P)propriate Use - I will use technology in constructive ways and in ways which do not break the rules of my family, church, school, or government. 

 I have three commandments for a successful library program:

• Thou shall develop shared ownership of the library and all it contains.
• Thou shall have written annual objectives tied directly to school and curriculum goals and bend all thy efforts toward achieving them.
• Thou shall take thy light out from under thy damn bushel and share with others all the wonders thou doest perform.

To maintain a "radical center of education" philosophy, I have ten guidelines:

1. Adopt an “and” not “or” mindset.
2. Look for truth and value in all beliefs and practices.
3. Respect the perspective of the individual. 
4. Recognize one size does not fit all (kids or teachers).
5. Attend to attitudes.
6. Understand that the elephant can only be eaten one bite at a time.
7. Make sure everyone is moving forward, not just the early adopters.
8. Don’t be afraid to say, “I don’t know.”
9. Believe measurement is good, but that not everything can be measured.
10. Know and keep your core values.

The primary difference between rules and principles, of course, is that those following principles must actually think about their actions. They must interpret both the guideline and their own behaviors. 

Like all interpretations, there can be disagreement. In the first set of principles, what one student or teacher might consider "productive" might not be considered productive by the librarian or principal. I have found that simply asking why an activity could be considered productive helps clarify the situation and resolved any conflict that the ambiguity might create.

A world in which we all consider our behaviors and actions rather than simply follow rules allows for thoughtfulness, empathy, equity, and creativity. Let's give all our students the gift of good decision-making by stressing principles rather than rules.

 Original post 12/30/17

Grateful for a life of adventure - but I want more

I've given a number Zoom talks to the ForeverWell 55+ Hiking Club at the local YMCA. Earlier this month the topic was my hike of the Inca Trail back in 2006. I'm not sure how much the dozen or so attendees got out of my 30 minutes of sharing photos, facts, and stories, but I sure had fun reliving the adventure.

And an adventure is what it was. One of the great blessings of my life has been the opportunity  to travel and explore new places, especially through hiking and bicycling. Since this blog started in 2005, I've tried to summarize some of those outings in posts. Here are a few:

• The Inca Trail (2006)
•  Rim to Rim Grand Canyon (2009)
• Kilimanjaro (2010)
• Abel Tasman NZ (2010)
• Bike Northwoods WI 2011
• Rice Terrace Hiking Philippines (2012)
• KATY Trail Bike Ride MO (2014)
• QUETICO canoe trip with Boy Scouts (2015)
• Ciudad Perdida, Columbia (2016)
• Biking in the Czech Republic (2017) 
• Rocky Mountain National Park with Boy Scouts (2018)
• Mount Pinatubo, Philippines (2019)
• Adventure Touring in Costa Rica (2019)
• Biking Holland (2019)
• Isle Royale (2019)
• Hiking Montenegro (2019)
• Sapa Vallley VIetnam (2020)

Some of these experiences were more adventurous than others, but all had their own challenges and pleasures. (See Rating my hikes.). 

So where next? I already (optimistically) have signed up for a boat/bike trip along the Danube River this spring and a hiking trip in Arcadia National Park this fall. Third time may be a charm for hiking with one of my grandsons at the Philmont Scout Ranch this summer.  Let's hope the vaccine comes quickly and proves effective.

I have a long. long bucket list of hikes as well. These include:

•  El Mirador, Guatemala
•  Copper Canyon, Mexico
• Blue Mountains, Jamaica
• Cinque Terre National Park, Italy
• (North) Pindos Horseshoe, Greece
• Kumano Kodo pilgrimage, Japan (alternative to Camino de Santiago)
• Carstensz Pyramid, Indonesia
• Royal Trek, Annapurna, Nepal
• Mountains of the Moon, Uganda
• Toubkal Circuit, Morocco
• Torres del Paine, Chile 

Hoping to find less popular, less crowded venues to explore. Information about these hikes come from about a dozen "best hikes of the world" books gathering dust on my office book shelves. Can't wait start actually using them.

I feel my biological clock ticking. I can still carry a pack and do a pretty easy ten mile day of hills. But I am slowing down, starting to appreciate guides and lodges over tents. A cold beer at the end of the day. But I might be good for at least a few more years...