As I reread my previous blog, it feels as if it were so long ago. In reality, it was only seven days ago. Things are changing by the hour. The virus is spreading and so is fear. I find myself gravitating toward the news, and then recoiling from it as if I had touched aContinue reading “A New Norm”
Author Archives: Elizabeth Ihle
Uncharted Territory
Let’s start with last Friday, March 13, 2020. Friday the 13th. Full moon. All kinds of crazy last week… at least that was what I thought until this week. Coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to march across our world and now into our community. Schools are closing. Health-care workers are scrambling. Businesses are bracing. Life as weContinue reading “Uncharted Territory”
Space To Breathe
Our lives are so full. What a privilege! For one to be able to try new things and explore new places – all are potentially life-changing opportunities. Our experiences and choices are many; and, that in itself can be exciting, promising, and overwhelming. Tonya Dalton, author of The Joy of Missing Out devotes a wholeContinue reading “Space To Breathe”
The North Star
The North Star represents our direction. It guides us. Sometimes it is referred to as our “why” – the reason we do what we do, the fuel behind our choices, the motivation and promise that push us to risk our comfort zone in search of greater meaning and purpose in our lives. According to astronomy,Continue reading “The North Star”
The One Word
This picture was taken from the top of Blood Mountain. In the distance you can see Lake Lanier. Thanks to Jon Gordon and his book One Word, each year many of my colleagues choose one word to be their focus for the year. I’ve been thinking about this word over winter break and as weContinue reading “The One Word”
Week 17 – Braving Bias
“We are all implicated when we allow other people to be mistreated. An absence of compassion can corrupt the decency of a community, a state, a nation. Fear and anger can make us vindictive and abusive, unjust and unfair. We all suffer from the absence of mercy and we condemn ourselves as much as weContinue reading “Week 17 – Braving Bias”
Week 16 – New Perspectives
Birds of a feather, flock together. You are who your friends are. Two peas in a pod. Cut from the same cloth. If everyone jumped off the bridge would you, too? These sayings we all have heard to essentially imply that who you spend time with is a reflection of who you are and theContinue reading “Week 16 – New Perspectives”
Week 15 – Leadership Mindset: Grace, Grit, and Gratitude
“So what are you going to do about this situation? Your decision can’t be only about how you feel,” my mother asked me on a sunny morning. I believe she had asked me this question many times because my initial reaction was to roll my eyes even though we were talking on the phone and she couldn’t actually see my response.
Week 14 – Facing Challenges
My principal always reminds me that the challenges inherent in schools are merely microcosms of our society at large. The struggles students face within the context of schools and social groups mirror the same struggles adults face in the context of their lives. When our country and those in power lead with fear, as educators,Continue reading “Week 14 – Facing Challenges”
Week 13 – The Art of Self-Discipline
All of us have the experience of quitting an activity because it was too time-consuming, too costly in either effort or money, or because we were just over it. I remember when my children took Tae-kwon-do. We got involved initially because my youngest needed an activity. My oldest liked the class too, so we signedContinue reading “Week 13 – The Art of Self-Discipline”
