I first think of the line “Watch out for that first step - it’s a doozy” as another smart aleck jab delivered by that ‘wascally wabbit’ Bugs Bunny to his hapless pursuer Elmer Fudd. Bugs opens a door on the edge of a cliff sending Fudd to yet another untimely cartoon demise. It later passed into pop culture when uttered by annoying insurance salesman Ned Ryerson to Bill Murray’s character Phil Connors in the time-loop comedy “Groundhog Day” as Phil steps off the curb into a deep puddle of slush.
The phrase came back to me as I pondered what to share in my first blog post. It’s not that I couldn’t think of what to share. I have lots to share on building community, the importance of relationships, servant leadership, being part of something bigger than yourself, longing for belonging, how to move people from where they are to where they could be, how the Blue Jays should invest their free agent money this off-season, and more. It is my hope that my thoughts on these topics might be helpful whether you are seeking to invigorate a school, service club, public organization, corporate environment; or perhaps you are just looking for some perspective that will help you be a better friend, leader, educator, spouse, parent, or community member. The question remained not what to write about, but what to write about first. “I am probably overthinking what to share first”, I told myself. I was stuck in paralysis from analysis. But in my mind this first step was still a doozy. So I decided to start with a simple message that can serve as a touchstone for a series of subsequent posts. In my years as a Student Activities Council Advisor (SAC) and Leadership teacher we have had the size of our group grow from 25 students when I began in the role to well over 200 full time SAC members, Leadership students and elected Homeroom Reps today. This growth, and more importantly the magnitude of the difference we are able to make in our school community, is built on three foundational principles:
On the surface these three foundational principles seem simple enough. The first two are cliches; the third one I authored myself. But taken together and grown into a group’s DNA over time they have tremendous power to transform any group looking to increase their numbers and the positive impact they can have, individually and collectively, on others. Each of these principles are worthy of a blog post of their own and I will certainly expand on them moving forward. There is lots of truth and nuance to explain in each of them. As to my remembrance of how the title phrase was uttered in the cartoon world, I consulted Google to learn the phrase is indeed from a Bugs Bunny cartoon ‘Jack Wabbit and the Beanstalk’ (1943). It turns out it wasn’t said by Bugs to Fudd, but rather by the Giant (of Beanstalk fame) after Bugs directs him away from an elevator at the top of the beanstalk to a fake sign showing stairs. The Giant says the line “Watch out for that first step - it’s a lulu” emerging from the crater he creates after taking the bait and plunging thousands of feet to earth. The line in its title form was indeed said by Ned to Phil on the slushy streets of Punxsutawney, PA in “Groundhog Day”. The lesson here is that the internet can be a great place to fine-tune and revisit one’s own experience and improve it moving forward. I hope that this blog might be become part of that for you: a place to fine-tune and revisit your experience as a friend, leader, educator, spouse, parent, or community member, and improve it moving forward.
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October 2017
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Texas Association of Student Councils - Feb 9-11, 2024
Mo-Ranch Assembly, Hunt TX Texas Association of Student Councils - Jan 27-29, 2024 Lakeview Conference Centre, Palestine TX Nova Scotia Teachers Union - Oct 27, 2023 Halifax, NS Canadian Student Leadership Conference - Oct 14-17, 2023 Saint John, NB Lucas Secondary School - Sept. 28, 2023 London, ON West Shamokin Jr/Sr High - Sept 15, 2023 Rural Valley, PA Armstrong Jr/Sr High - Sept 14, 2023 Kittanning, PA Mount Boucherie SS - Sept 12, 2023 Kelowna, BC Richland School District - Aug 22,23 2023 Richland, WA* Greene County & Fort Madison Schools - Aug 16,17 2023 Jefferson & Fort Madison, IA* Smoky Mountain High School - Aug 10, 2023 Sylva, NC* The Village School - Aug 4, 2023 Houston, TX* Los Fresnos High School - Aug 2, 2023 Los Fresnos, TX* Geneseo Central School District - June 21, 2023 Geneseo, NY* Channelview ISD - June 6, 2023 Channelview, TX* Chaffey High School District - May 30, 2023 San Bernardino County, CA* Southern Alberta Interscholastic Leaders Conference - May 9,10 Lethbridge, AB Digby Regional High School - May 4, 2023 Digby, NS Lockview HS - May 3, 2023 Fall River, NS Three Oaks High School - May 2, 2023 Summerside, PEI Global Student Leadership Summit - May 1, 2023 London, ON Waterloo Collegiate Institute - April 27, 2023 Waterloo, ON Swope Middle School - April 14, 2023 Reno, NV Horizons Tour - April 2-4, 2023 Edmonton, Lloydminster, Vermillion AB Clayton Heights Secondary School - Mar 8, 2023 Surrey, BC Fleetwood Secondary School - Mar 7, 2023 Surrey, BC Rutland Senior Secondary School - Mar 6, 2023 Kelowna, BC California Association of Directors of Activities (CADA) - Mar 3, 2023 San Diego, CA Western University Education Conference - Feb 22, 2023 London, ON Solon Middle School - Feb 20, 2023 Solon, IA* Cameron Heights Collegiate Institute - Feb 9, 2023 Kitchener, ON Geneseo Central School District - Feb 1, 2023 Geneseo, NY* Armstrong School District - Jan 16, 2023 Kittanning, PA* Bridgeport School - Nov 16, 2022 Kitchener, ON Ontario Student Leadership Conference - Nov 6-8, 2022 Niagara Falls, ON Hole in the Wall Gang Camp Staff Training - Nov 2, 2022 Virtual Talk |
Stonewall Collegiate- Oct 14, 2022
Stonewall, MB MacGregor Collegiate - Oct. 13, 2022 MacGregor, MB Beaver Brae Secondary School - Oct 12, 2022 Kenora, ON River Falls School District - Oct. 10, 2022 River Falls, WI* Canadian Student Leadership Conference - Oct 6-8, 2022 Virbela Virtual Campus AB Lucas Secondary School - Sep 21, 2022 London, ON Campbell County School District - Aug 15, 2022 Gillette, WY* Shasta County Office of Education - Aug 12, 2022 Redding, CA* Livingston High School - Aug 9, 2022 Livingston, CA* Ripon Unified School District - Aug 8, 2022 Ripon, CA* Rockport-Fulton MS/HS - Aug 4, 2022 Rockport, TX* KIPP St Louis - Aug 3, 2022 St. Louis, MO* Oak Ridge Schools - Jul 20, 2022 Oak Ridge, TN* Arkansas City Public Schools - Jul 18, 2022 Arkansas City, KS* Horizons Leadership Conference - May 24, 2022 Lockview HS, Fall River NS CSLA Student Leadership MasterClass - May 12, 2022 MacLean Memorial School - May 2, 2022 Chibougamau, QC Horizons Leadership Conference - Mar 8, 2022 Virtual Western University Education Conference - Feb. 22-25, 2022 London, ON (Virtual) Avon Maitland DSB Remote Learning School - Jan 25, 2022 Canadian Student Leadership Conference - Oct 21-23, 2021 Virtual Campus Global Student Leadership Days - May 18-19, 2021 Everywhere! Brock Student Leadership Summit - Mar 26, 2021 Brock University (Virtual) Brant County Rec Staff Training, Dec. 21, 2020 High Performing Educator Podcast - Nov. 9, 2020 Global Student Leadership Days -May 6-7, 2020 Brock University ConEd, St Catherines ON - Mar 7, 2020 Saugeen DSS, Port Elgin, ON - Feb 18, 2020 CharacterStrong Podcast - Feb 3, 2020 Ridge High School, Basking Ridge, NJ - Jan 29, 2020* CharacterStrong Podcast - Nov. 19, 2019 Decatur Public Schools, Decatur, IL - Nov. 6, 2019* Ontario Student Leadership Conference, Niagara Falls, ON - Nov. 4, 2019 Ephrata High School, Ephrata WA - Oct. 11, 2019* Canadian Student Leadership Conference - Sep 24-28, 2019 Camp Belwood Staff Training - Jun 26, 2019 Camp Wabanaki Leadership Staff Training - Jun 23, 2019 City of Kitchener Neighbourhood Camps Staff - Jun 9, 2019 Nova Scotia SSA, Antigonish, NS - May 17, 2019 Bluefield HS, North Wiltshire PEI - May 16, 2019 McKinnon Park SS, Caledonia ON - May 10, 2019 John G. Diefenbaker High School, Calgary AB - May 6, 2019 Cochrane High School, Cochrane AB - May 6, 2019 Columbia Basin Hospital - Ephrata, WA - TBA reschedule Ephrata High School - Ephrata, WA- TBA reschedule Thomas Jefferson High School - Auburn, WA - TBA reschedule John Rennie High School -Point Claire, QC - TBA reschedule *CharacterStrong presentations |