April 2006

The Zax

One day, making tracks in the prairie of Prax,
Came a North-Going Zax and a South-Going Zax.

And it happened that both of them came to a place
Where they bumped. There they stood.
Foot to foot. Face to face.

"Look here, now!" the North-Going Zax said, "I say!
You are blocking my path. You are right in my way.
I'm a North-Going Zax and I always go north.
Get out of my way, now, and let me go forth!"

"Who's in whose way?" snapped the South-Going Zax.
"I always go south, making south-going tracks.
So you're in MY way! And I ask you to move
And let me go south in my south-going groove."

Then the North-Going Zax puffed his chest up with pride.
"I never," he said, "take a step to one side.
And I'll prove to you that I won't change my ways
If I have to keep standing here fifty-nine days!"

"And I'll prove to YOU," yelled the South-Going Zax,
"That I can stand here in the prairie of Prax
For fifty-nine years! For I live by a rule
That I learned as a boy back in South-Going School.
Never budge! That's my rule. Never budge in the least!
Not an inch to the west! Not an inch to the east!
I'll stay here, not budging! I can and I will
If it makes you and me and the whole world stand still!"

Well...
Of course the world didn't stand still. The world grew.
In a couple of years, the new highway came through
And they built it right over those two stubborn Zax
And left them there, standing un-budged in their tracks.

Don't let your current way of thinking blind you to possible improvements. Test other ideas, and try something new. Move down the highway of life instead of becoming an impediment.

Making It Work

In business and life, you will occasionally run out of ideas, exhaust your resources, and face less-than-ideal circumstances, but you will still have to find a solution!

We often associate creativity with artists or inventors, but creativity is much bigger than that. Creativity involves approaching each situation constructively, with the goal of making it better.

Get ideas from others. One person's thoughts can spawn innovative ideas in others' minds. When brainstorming, generate as many ideas as possible. Then select and sharpen the ideas that will work.

Think beyond the "status quo." No matter how successful your ideas are today, tomorrow's situations might call for something different! Do not fear change.

Test new ideas. Do not discard proven methods just for the sake of change. Learn the weaknesses and strengths of an idea and improve upon the concept.

Stay on the cutting edge, and become an industry leader. Develop the creativity for constructive innovation.

Character Community Forum!

Participants responded enthusiastically to the Character Community Network meetings, and IACC has now developed a forum to facilitate further information sharing.

The new Character Community Forum allows members to view past CCN Updates, review CCN meetings, and connect with other members through discussion boards or e-mail.

The next meeting will occur on April 13, at 12 p.m., CST. Visit the Character Community Forum for registration information.

Parent Power

Whether or not families emphasize character in connection with a school, parents can make good character a habit by focusing on the following areas.

Emphasize character by explaining particular qualities and relating them to daily life. This approach helps parents define what they mean to communicate, and it helps children see integrity as something workable in everyday life.
Require character by correcting children for violating specific qualities. Parents must also require the same level of integrity from themselves, and this practice might include apologizing to children for injustice, anger, or insensitivity.
Recognize character by celebrating the good things other family members do. Express direct appreciation for the qualities demonstrated in specific choices and actions. This provides positive reinforcement and helps children form their own understanding of integrity.

Schools can encourage parental support for a character emphasis by communicating the concepts to parents through student handouts, objects in the classroom, or contact with teachers. As the end of a school year approaches, a school can also consider organizing a Parent Presentation.

Elementary students could recite a Character First! poem or sing a character song. Other options include reading essays students have written about a character quality or the animal illustrating a quality.

As parents and teachers work together, they can inspire students to exemplify good character in every area of life.

City Teacher Receives 'Grand Surprise'

Jill Rumbaugh's Monday began rather inauspiciously. The Cheyenne Middle School assembly had been billed as a celebration of the Character First! program.

Sandy Garrett, the Oklahoma state school superintendent, was there to launch a character initiative. Other dignitaries attended, including Edmond Public Schools administrators, school board members, Edmond's mayor, state legislators, and several officials with the State Department of Education.

Garrett said a Cheyenne educator was about to receive a prestigious national award. The teacher would get a $25,000 cash award and a free trip to a conference in Washington, D.C. Students illustrated the amount by holding up the numbers one at a time. Then Garrett made the announcement.

Rumbaugh will be one of two Oklahoma educators to receive the $25,000 Milken Educator Award, part of the largest national teacher recognition program in the United States.

Oklahoma's first lady Kim Henry handed a visibly stunned Rumbaugh an oversized check. Henry, herself a former middle school teacher, told the Cheyenne students that whatever happens to them in their lives, they can be sure a teacher had something to do with it. That is why it is important to reward and honor excellent teachers, Henry said.
"Jill, congratulations, we are very, very proud of you."

Rumbaugh said she was sure the winner was going to be someone else. "I am just so fortunate to be one of many teachers, so many of them that I look up to and admire because they are a perfect example of what a teacher is supposed to be," Rumbaugh said.

Edmond Public Schools Superintendent David Goin said Rumbaugh is a deserving recipient devoted to her students and highly capable in all areas.

"It's overwhelming to be recognized and honored because I still have so far to go as a teacher and a professional," Rumbaugh said. "This is amazing."

Rumbaugh is a hard-working teacher who spends more time helping her students at their desks than she does behind hers, said Debbie Bendick, Rumbaugh's principal. Rumbaugh understands the value of collaborating with her peers, Bendick said. "She will give me about any time I need except for when she steps aside to work with her co-teacher," she said. "That's how important collaboration is to her."

A founding teacher at Cheyenne, Rumbaugh teaches sixth-grade math. She has spent a total of 14 years in the field of education.

The Milken National Educator Awards were created by Milken Family Foundation Chairman and co-founder Lowell Milken in 1985 to celebrate, elevate and activate the highest-caliber educators.

Former Summit Middle School sixth- and eighth-grade Spanish teacher Suzanne Giordano Craig received the award in 2000. In all, 17 state educators have received the award since the program began in Oklahoma.

By Mark Schlachtenhaufen, reprinted with permission from The Edmond Sun, November 1, 2005