What’s Wrong With This Picture:
Why is Bruce Willis Smiling?
Julius Zuke
New Teacher Institute II
June 20, 2011
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>.
What’s wrong with this picture?
Problems
Surface Issues
• 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
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
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.
Pick your battles carefully in 20112012. You’ll need the energy.
Look at things in perspective…
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>
…until the first snake showed up.
Next were the first siblings…
…and the first murder.
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>.
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?
• 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.
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.
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.
• 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.
• 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-rightscartoon-119-sweatshops/>.
• 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>.
• A decade later, President Gerald R. Ford kickstarted 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>.
• 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/>.
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-winobamas-race-to-the-top-billions>.
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?
There’s just one more thing we forgot to
mention…
…which is probably why the last 5,000 years of history has been a bit
unstable.
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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
So what’s your perspective for the upcoming school
year? Are you feeling hopeful? Angry? Confused?
Overwhelmed? Cynical?
A Recommended Strategy:
Professionalism
• Bruce Willis, in a March, 2010 interview for
Men’s Journal, was asked how he coped with
frustration.
He replied that anger and frustration are
legitimate emotions, but also useless,
unproductive emotions.
His [very good] advice?
He suggests being as angry as you want—for five
minutes. Tear up the room, scream, whatever.
But when the five minutes are over,
• Will you be admiring the problems?
• Will you provide the solutions?
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>.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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!”
• 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?
Other Examples of Success
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•
•
Jerry’s Chevrolet
Valley View Farms
BGE Home
Walt Disney World
State Farm
• Baltimore City Public Schools
• Will you network? With whom? When?
• Will you provide outstanding customer
service? To whom? How?
• Will you provide an environment of
expectation? How? When?
“Love me when I least deserve it, because
that's when I really need it.”
---Swedish proverb
“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”
---Oscar Wilde
“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
Being a parent [or teacher] is too complicated
and emotional a task for magical techniques
and miracle cures.
---Ron Taffell
“Everything is complicated; if that were not so,
life and poetry and everything else would be a
bore.”
---Wallace Stevens
“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
“In ballet a complicated story is impossible to
tell... we can't dance synonyms.”
---George Balanchine
“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
“Life is extremely complicated.”
---Robert Ludlum
“And be ye kind to one another, tender hearted
and forgiving…” [to principals, co-workers,
students, parents…]
"Ephesians 4:32 And Be Ye Kind One to Another, Tenderhearted, Forgiving
One Another, Even as God for Christ's Sake Hath Forgiven You."
Scripturetext.com: Online Multilingual Bible. Web. 06 July 2010.
<http://scripturetext.com/ephesians/4-32.htm>.
The BIG To-Do List:
• Network
• Provide outstanding service
• Provide an environment of
excitement and expectation
Works Cited
"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>.
"Bernie Marcus Biography, Founder of Home Depot." Successful People - Company Founder Biographies. Web.
06 July 2010. <http://founderbios.com/bernie-marcus.php>.
"Ephesians 4:32 And Be Ye Kind One to Another, Tenderhearted, Forgiving One Another, Even as God for
Christ's Sake Hath Forgiven You." Scripturetext.com: Online Multilingual Bible. Web. 06 July 2010.
<http://scripturetext.com/ephesians/4-32.htm>.
"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>.
"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-119sweatshops/>.
"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/>.
"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/schoolssprinting-to-win-obamas-race-to-the-top-billions>.
Web. 06 July 2010. <http://www.homedepot.com>.
"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>.
"What Would Bruce Do? | Men’s Journal." Men’s Journal | . Web. 06 July 2010.
<http://www.mensjournal.com/what-would-bruce-do>.