Teach Different

How do we create systems so that individuals can be successful? Success comes from a confluence of forces. Sometimes, it is the sheer will of the individual who, when faced with difficulty and challenge, rises to meet the moment. Riding alongside individual will is the system in which that individual operates. But no individual effort can overcome a dysfunctional system. The challenge here is to b...

What makes a great leader? Great leadership is about having influence. To get that influence, leaders use whatever tools they have. For some leaders, it's the moral choices they make which have the most enduring impact on followers. For others, it's their positional authority that commands people'srespect. Great leaders must find a creative way to use both of these tools to maximize their effectiv...

What is the best way to respond to hard times? Tough times greet all of us in varying degrees. The challenge is how to figure out exactly how we should behave when those tough times arrive. One plan is to push through the difficulties and emerge stronger at the other end. That way, our pain can be short-lived. We can also stop the pain and change direction so that we can avoid the hardship and dis...

What is perfection? Motivation looks different to different people. For some, striving towards perfection is the greatest motivator for excellence. For others, who take a more incremental approach, just getting better in little chunks and seeing improvement provide enough incentive to move forward. To live well, we must all strike that middle ground-- have aspirational big-picture goals but also b...

Which problems are worth solving? We are often told to be mindful of each other, our surroundings and ourselves. Implicit in this concept of mindfulness is the imperative to accept life as it is and try to the best of our abilities to enjoy our experiences and not spend time trying to fix things. The other way of seeing life is to think of our limited time on earth as an opportunity to solve probl...

Is it possible to get buy in to a vision if there isn’t buy in to the leader? There's a familiar saying "You can't teach kids until you reach kids." The idea here is that you have to develop a rapport with the people you lead; otherwise, they won't buy into your vision. It's all about the personal relationship. Yet, it is also true that if a leader doesn't communicate the 'why' behind their ideas,...

How do we support others without instilling a sense of dependency? Everybody has bad days. At those times what we all need is to have somebody pay a little attention to us and pick up our spirits so we can gain strength to move forward. Being a good teacher, friend and partner means supporting them in times of need. Help too much, though, and we instill feelings of dependency on others, which ends...

How do we recognize our power to live in the moment? Living in the moment is hard. There are forces acting against us. There’s the past which weighs us down and often causes depression and fear. And then there’s the future, which leads to anxiety and a different sort of fear - of the unknown. Living in the moment requires acceptance of what is and the courage to act based on our best knowledge of...

We are all individuals, yet we are all also part of families, schools, teams and peer groups. Our identities are shaped by what we think of ourselves and the groups we are a part of. The value of interdependence is hard to appreciate because we often want to focus on our own accomplishments and struggle to give others credit for helping us get them. Yet acknowledging the role others play in our su...

How do you know when to speak up? We're always telling kids to listen and to speak their mind. What we rarely do is help them discern when it is appropriate to listen and when it makes more sense to speak. Some suggest that listening to everyone is always a better way to go, because you learn more that way. Others say speaking your mind is the more courageous action, because then people know where...

Justice is often defined as a sense of fairness and equality which society has a natural obligation to bring about. Seen in this way, justice is a first priority that when met will yield all other benefits to citizens. Others may argue that there are other, more pressing responsibilities like public safety or peace which are more important duties. Different views on society's duties makes it hard...

Can you motivate people who are reluctant to learn? Motivating people to do things is exhausting, and many times futile. It happens in the classroom with students who are reluctant to do work. Sometimes the reluctance comes from the fact that they don't have the skills to succeed. Other times, the students have the skills, but are creating the impression that they don't care. Teachers must figure...

When should you have empathy for others? Sometimes it's important to follow rational thinking to solve problems. In those cases, turning off our own emotions helps lead to a solution. When dealing with others, however, the opposite is often true. We need to turn off rational thinking so we can listen and empathize. It's also the case that acting on one's feelings helps us make better decisions, an...

When should you put others' needs above your own? When we come to the aid of others, we also become happy ourselves by virtue of doing the right thing. It makes us feel worthwhile when we serve others. But happiness can come to us through a different path, where we focus just on ourselves and what we really want. Helping other people often drains us of our life energy and prevents us from becoming...

Should you fear mistakes? We all know what it feels like to be afraid of doing something. We hesitate, delay and ultimately choose to do nothing and then devise elaborate justifications for our inaction. Fear overcomes our courage. Yet, we also know the feeling of making quick decisions that lead to embarrassing mistakes. In those cases, a little fear would have encouraged us to slow down and make...

How do we know when cooperation is the best strategy for success? Working with other people is hard if you like to work fast. You have to slow down, compromise and wait for people to catch up to your pace. On class projects this can be a brutal experience. Going alone is so much faster and you're judged by your own efforts, not the efforts of others. Yet, cooperating with others brings a measure o...

Is it brave to do the right thing? Thinking about the right way to act requires patient and careful thought. Acting from a good conscience in this way conveys strength and confidence. But our conscience also makes us feel weak; oftentimes we don't know what the right choices are and so we are plagued by indecision and fear. Doing the right thing becomes a burden too great to bear and we turn to ou...

Should we look to the future or past for guidance? Finding our purpose in life is a confusing journey with competing forces acting against us. On the one hand, there's the force of our family background and history telling us who we should be.  And then there's our hopes and dreams which force us to look ahead and consider new opportunities. It's hard to know where to look for guidance. Join...

Should we be a role model for others? When we are being watched by others, we are compelled to do the right thing and that benefits the world. Being a role model has inherent value, but it is a difficult job that comes with significant sacrifice. It means that sometimes we can't be ourselves and do what we really want. We must forgo our own needs to make other people happy. It's hard to know when...

Should you always try to get what you want? We tell our minds to speed up, make decisions, satisfy our desires and create quick solutions to our problems. An active mind gets us places but sometimes leads to hasty choices and long-term unhappiness.  If we discipline our mind to slow down, we can think more clearly and make smarter decisions. By resisting the impulse to control the universe, w...

Is love more powerful than hate? Love is a powerful force in the universe. That much is true. What's unclear is just how powerful love is and whether it can and should be used as a tool to combat hate. Some say hate must be met with more of the same and that confrontation is the onlly reliable strategy to change human behavior for the better. Others take the kinder, softer approach and let love do...

How do you know when to adapt your goals? Rarely to we achieve our goals by following the exact path we set at the beginning. Instead, we experience twists and turns that we must learn to adapt along the way. These unexpected events inspire us to refocus and change our goals. Other times, however, we push through and continue along the path with the original goal firmly fixed in our mind. We maint...

What is the best way to respond to hard times? Tough times greet all of us in varying degrees. The challenge is how to figure out exactly how we should behave when those tough times arrive. One plan is to push through the difficulties and emerge stronger at the other end. That way, our pain can be short-lived. We can also stop the pain and change direction so that we can avoid the hardship and dis...

How hard should we try to be accepted by others? Being excluded for unpopular opinions hurts. Being excluded because of race, gender, ethnicity or sexual orientation is devastating. Exclusion devalues our humanity, which can make us bitter, resentful and angry. At these unpleasant moments we face crucial moral decisions. We can walk away and create space to preserve our dignity or we can stubbornl...

How do we know if we should change our goals? Setting goals forces us to picture success before it happens. If we are able to create a picture of what success looks like, then we are more likely to achieve it. Seeing the end motivates the beginning of the journey. But it is often the case that journeys take unexpected turns and force us to redirect our plans towards goals different than what we ha...