Playing for "Tomorrow"

As you may know, I am a life-long San Francisco 49ers fan.  That was AWESOME when I was a kid.  My Niners were good almost every year, and won 3 Super Bowls that I can remember watching over and over again on VHS (students, you may have to ask your parents what VHS was).  Anyway, it hasn't been that way lately.  For the last few years, Mrs. Lisa Yearling and I have commiserated our fanhood on a weekly basis throughout the fall.  As loss after loss piles up, we've often just had to shrug our shoulders and eventually just say "there's always next year".  This year, that's been as evident as ever.  The coaches, management, and even some of the players are quick to point out that the 49ers are now building for the future.  They're certainly trying to win each game, but they're also playing a lot of inexperienced players in the process.  That doesn't always lead to wins in the short term.  What it does add up to, is more experienced players for future games.  More experience often leads to more success. 
Ok, so by now you're probably wondering what that has to do with Vantage Career Center?  Well, this time of year, when I ask kids how they're doing each morning, I tend to get a few more responses in the "I've been better" or "It's been a tough day/week" realm.  When I hear these responses, I like to say "there's always tomorrow".  For our students, that can certainly mean that the day after today will be better; but it can also mean that there's a bigger picture for every single student at Vantage.  "Tomorrow" also represents the future opportunities and experiences they are preparing for in their labs and academic classrooms.  Right now, many are facing challenges they've never been confronted with before.  Those challenges can bring frustrations, but each one also brings experience and a chance to gain new insight.  Even if what we learn is simply how to ask for help from the correct people, that's an invaluable skill I hope all Vantage students graduate with. 
Every time a student in Precision Machining writes a program that causes a "glitch" in the simulator, they get a step closer to writing the one that won't cause a glitch, and get them the part they're aspiring for.  Or (if you're like me), every struggle with a new concept in Algebra 1 (or 2, take your pick) is a chance to ask for help, see which step we're missing, and try something different to get it right.  I also realize that some of our students are facing real problems outside of school, as well.  These struggles are no different.  When we make a tough/possibly wrong decision (which we all will at some point), or something bad happens in our lives; there is ALWAYS something we can learn from it. 
As a quick example, one student recently came in and said he was "already having a terrible day".   Weather-wise, it was almost perfect outside, and being so early in the morning I had to ask what could possibly be going so badly already.  He told me had had gotten a speeding ticket on the way to school because he hadn't realized the change in speed limit in an area he wasn't totally familiar with.  While I tried to let him know that didn't have to ruin his entire day, it seemed like he had a tough time letting it go.  However, I've talked with this same student multiple mornings in the months since that speeding ticket.  Each time, when asked how his day is going, he's always had much more positive answers.  He says he still drives the same route to school each day, but he's learned his lesson and now pays closer attention to avoid that type of frustration in the future.  The result?  More good days!  Sounds simple, but it's a great example of learning.
My point is, like my beloved 49ers, we will all have our good days and our bad days.  No matter how hard we try, frustrations will creep into our lives from time-to-time.  We may not always "Win" in that moment.  However, as long as we work hard to replicate the good days, and make improvements to try and avoid the bad ones; we can learn a lot from both.
Hope to see you back in a few weeks for Christmas.  In the meantime, don't forget to enjoy the plethora of Christmas movies that have already started playing on many TV stations.  Have an awesome day and a great rest of the week! 

It's Been Awhile

As I woke up this morning, I thought about how long it has been since my last blog post.  I couldn't remember, but just knew it had been longer than my original goal of at least twice a month.  This afternoon, I was reminded (in a very friendly way) that it had actually been since August!  That's way too long.
Then I thought: "Well, it's been a crazy busy year so far!"  But that shouldn't be an excuse.  It actually should be more of a reason to keep everyone up to date on all of the amazing things our kids have been up to.  So I thought I'd share a little time-line of the events we're proud of since the last time I wrote an entry here.
We had a LOT of fog in September, including on Student Appreciation Day, when we delayed 2 hours.  Undeterred, our staff and students put together one of the most successful Student Appreciation Days I can remember.  We had dozens of amazing vehicles in the car show, dancing, and a giant football/bowling hybrid game that I was legitimately terrible at.  My awful display of arm "strength and accuracy" was much to the delight of all the students around the game who, despite what they may say, were just as bad as I was!  But that didn't matter, it was perfect weather and our staff got to get out and show our appreciation for all of our students (even more so than they do every day).
Then, on September 29, Vantage once again hosted the United Way Day of Caring Food Drive in our bus barn.  Over 38,000 food items were sorted and quickly sent to the Van Wert food bank for distribution to those in need around our area.  Well over 50 of our students got to participate and contribute to an amazing experience which was "eye-opener" for many.
Then, just a few days later (on October 3), we hosted an induction ceremony for over 30 students into the Vantage Chapter of the National Technical Honor Society.  It was one of our biggest inductions ever!  Each of those students honored that night earned their place by maintaining over 95% attendance, good standing with zero discipline incidents, and over a 3.5 GPA throughout their time here at Vantage (not to mention a rigorous application process after being nominated).  You may see them in your communities throughout the coming months volunteering their time and sharing what Vantage and NTHS are all about.  If you need volunteers for an event in your community, please don't hesitate to call or e-mail me.  We will be more than happy to help!
Finally, our student ambassadors once again led the selling and placing of miniature American flags into a flag field (constructed by our carpentry and auto body labs) in honor of Veteran's Day.  100% of this year's proceeds will go to the Ottoville VFW, and we plan on continuing this tradition and donating to another Veteran's organization in one of our communities next year.
Which brings me to one of the coolest things I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing in my time in education.  Earlier this week, two of our Ag juniors approached me about the possibility of flying the American flag today (November 10) on their vehicles, in honor of Veterans and active duty military men and women.  My response was simple: as long as it is "street legal", we will never have a problem with students supporting our country and our flag in that way.  These young men then took it upon themselves to organize well over a dozen trucks, cars, and SUVs who could legally fly an American flag to school today.  Many of these vehicles met in the Wal-Mart parking lot here in Van Wert (thank you!), then proceeded as a group (almost like a parade formation) to drive to Vantage and park together along our back row.  It was, quite frankly, an AWESOME display of support for our Veterans.  The best part is that our students deserve all of the credit for putting it together.
Please watch for the video of all these flags leaving our parking lot on social media.  You will surely be impressed!

There has been so much more going on here at Vantage, it would be impossible to list everything (like our Network Systems team's 1st place finish in the Network Design competition at Makerfest). We also greatly appreciate your support in the recent election, and will continue to strive to maintain the Vantage Will (#vantagewill)!  Thank you for your time, and have a great weekend!