Mawi Asgedom's Blog, page 8
June 12, 2012
No Expiration Date on the Difference You Make
I was at a wedding on Saturday and ran into a man named Henry. Henry used to tutor kids in the low-income neighborhood where I lived during high school – Henry’s specialty was math.
Henry and I started talking about Mike, one of the kids I grew up with. Mike had dropped out of high school and gone in and out of jail for five years. By the time he was 24, most people had long given up on Mike.
Several years ago, Henry received an unexpected phone call from Mike. Mike had gotten out of jail and was trying to turn his life around. But Mike had one problem: Mike couldn’t pass the math section of the GED. (passing the GED is considered equivalent to earning a high school diploma.)
After not talking to him for years, Mike called Henry and said, “You are the only person I know who understands math. Can you help me pass the GED?” Henry worked with Mike. Mike passed the GED.
I find this story moving and inspiring because so often in life, we cannot see that we are having an impact.
But here was Mike, going in and out of jail for years, getting into all sorts of trouble, but in the back of his head, never forgetting that there was a guy named Henry who cared about him.
June 5, 2012
A Kid Named Brian
His mother had died of cancer when he was twelve. His two older brothers had already left the house. When I met Brian, he was a rising high school senior, thinking about going to college, but also contemplating working as a mechanic. His ACT score was 33.
Brian lived with his father in a small town in Colorado. I was twenty-two years old – I had not written any books or started my speaking career.
Brian and I were attending a College Summit weekend, where low-income kids could work with volunteers who would help them write their college essay. I still have Brian’s college essay in a folder I call Inspiration.
Why did I keep his essay? Because Brian wrote about his challenges. About the challenges of missing his mother. And his father, who as Brian described in his essay had “gotten off the horse of life” – Brian had to help his father put his shoes on every day.
I kept Brian’s essay because Brian made a choice. Like so many kids in our country, Brian faced challenges that have no easy answers: a loved one passing away, financial hardship, the struggle to care for a father who can no longer care for himself.
And Brian chose to look those challenges in the eye and say, I will not feel sorry for myself. I will not give up. I will take life on with everything I have – even if everything I have feels inadequate in the face of challenges that have no easy answers.
March 14, 2012
7 Upcoming Speaking Engagements
Here's a snapshot of seven speeches I'm giving this April and May:
1) Ontario Ministry of Education – Toronto: This daylong event will bring in leaders from all 72 boards (Canadian term for district) in the state of Ontario. It's a "leadership congress" where the Ministry will articulate the leadership framework that school leaders and board leaders use. I'm giving the keynote speech but frankly am much more interested in learning from the attendees.
2) Orange Conference: I'll be presenting at Orange's annual conference to a crowd of about 5,000 youth group pastors and church leaders. Check out this photo – last year I did a small presentation and got to chat for a bit with Jeffrey Canada, legendary founder of the Harlem Children's Zone, and Orange founder Reggie Joiner.
3) North Middle School and South Middle School, TN: Students at both these schools have read Of Beetles and Angels. Two fun tidbits: a student at South Middle School was the impetus for these presentations because he kept emailing us; and Tennessee is just one of eight states I have not spoken in – Wyoming, Alaska, New Mexico, Alabama, Mississippi, North Dakota, and South Dakota are the others.
4) Lutheran and Immigrant Services (LIRS) National Conference: LIRS is an umbrella organization for a network of affiliates who resettle refugees like myself. Really excited to meet these wonderful people.
5) Waimei Middle School, Hawaii: This school does an incredible job with Mental Karate and I'll have the honor of attending the Blue Belt Ceremony for the students. Bonus: I'm bringing my wife and kids and staying for a few days.
6) Florida Literacy Council Annual Conference: FLC is an umbrella adult literacy organization in the state of Florida. I'm giving the keynote and also doing a workshop on the new online leadership course Mawi Learning is creating with Florida Virtual School, the largest online high school in North America with over 125,00 students. The online course goes live in less than 100 days – more on that soon.
7) John Witherspoon Middle School, Princeton NJ: I've presented at this school for 10 years in a row – they read my book each year and the biggest highlight comes when I play basketball with their 8th graders after the presentation.
We're still booking my summer and fall calender – all requests can be made on this page:
March 1, 2012
Free-Lance Teachers a Wave of the Future?
I was talking to a private school headmaster in the Atlanta area and he told me about an interesting phenomena. Apparently, a few teachers are starting their own private schools for just the grade level they teach. So if you're an incredible 4th grade teacher, and respected in your community, you will recruit fifteen students a year, charge parents $15,000 each, and then run your own private school on a $225,000 budget. After expenses, you will gross over $125,000 a year. Expenses include rent, insurance, and hiring several contractors to teach areas like music.
If a 4th grade teacher showed you data that they consistently move a child two grade levels ahead, would you put your kid in their school? What do you think? Will private schools run by one teacher, for just one grade level, be a growing trend?
February 20, 2012
English Language Learners (ELL) Guide to Success
As someone who had to learn English in school, I've always felt a special affinity for ELL students. I've created this 12-minute video that shares some of my best tips for ELL student success. I know that some students will not understand everything I say, and that's okay – this video is meant as much for the educators as it is for the students. My assumption of course is that ELL students can achieve at incredibly high levels.
January 30, 2012
Good Enough Parenting?
In this 1-minute video, my good friend Steve Ritter presents an alternative to being the perfect parent. What do you think?
January 24, 2012
Water is to fish what action is to leaders.
It's not the smartest, richest, or best-looking person that succeeds. It's the person who takes action consistently.
I"m reminded of a 7th grade student who was frustrated that his Aunts spoke behind his back in French. What did he do? He taught himself basic French.
Or the teacher who always dreamed of becoming a writer. We asked her what she could do in the coming week. She applied to and was accepted to a writing program.
What one new action could you take this week that would have a significant positive impact on your life?
January 18, 2012
Can you fix this team?
Succeeding on our own is often child's play compared to succeeding as a team. Once you have a team – whether a marriage, sport, or professional setting – you have to resolve competing agendas, balance disparate personalities, and resolve conflict.
If you have five minutes, take a look at this school team. The 24-page diagnostic team report analyzes the school's faculty on four bedrock teaming dimensions:
Investment: What are team members investing and not investing?
Trust: What's the level of trust?
Innovation: Can team members leverage differences to create new solutions?
Distancing: How does the team handle change?
If you had to help this team, how would you do it? Where would you start?
January 10, 2012
Is Sweetness Passing you By?
One of the most amazing things I've ever heard my mother say is, "Sweetness passed me by before I knew it was sweet." Believe it or not, she was referring to her time in a refugee camp, because she was remembering the wonderful friends, really family, that made that otherwise unbearable and terrifying time sweet.
Is sweetness passing you by today, without you realizing it? Are there people in your life who bring so much sweetness to you, yet you don't know it because you're just trying to get through each day, fighting past the unavoidable details, routines, and necessary minutia of life, and in some cases, trying to endure overwhelming challenges?
Regardless of where you are, take a moment and ask yourself: What's sweet in my life? Am I letting it pass by?
December 30, 2011
Right Turn or Left Turn?
About ten years ago, I was stuck at a stop sign and had to make a decison: Right turn to go home. Left turn to someone who would likely reject me.
I turned left and drove to a book store called Andersons Book Shop in Naperville, IL. I asked the woman at the counter if the store would take five copies of my self-published memoir on consignment. All five other book stores I had asked, including Borders, had said no. She said yes.
Her store ended up selling more than 1,000 copies of Of Beetles and Angels. One of the book sellers at Andersons' became my agent, selling my book to Little, Brown and Company (think Twilight) for six figures in a two-book deal.
I wish I could say I've taken the left turn every time in my life. But I haven't. Fear of rejection, fear of trying something new, fear of wasting my time have stopped me.
How about you? What stops you from making your left turns? What left turn will you take in 2012?
Some of your left turns will be dead ends. But some, and you never know which, will be Magical.
