Author Archives: David Truss

That BS kid

I was one of those kids. You know the type, every report card my marks were somewhere between average and good, with comments about me not meeting my potential… The ‘BS’ grade of ‘B’ but only a ‘S’atisfactory for effort, rather than ‘G’ood. With a few exceptions the marks could have been ‘A’s. It got worse in university where my marks became further divergent, with me getting ‘A’s in the courses I liked and ‘C’s in the ones I didn’t.

It took my Teacher Ed degree at 29 years old before my marks started to actually represent my abilities, and even then it was partially because I surrounded myself with people who pushed me. I can still hear Anna-Christana’s voice, “Dave, look at our calendar, we have 3 big things due, one on Thursday, two on Friday next week, so you need to start at least one of them this weekend, ok?”

It took me almost two decades of schooling to figure it out on my own before starting my Masters. And now, despite knowing these kind of students, despite being one of these students, I still don’t know a magic formula to move a ‘BS’ to a ‘BG’ or an ‘AG’. As a side note, it’s not as much about the ‘A’ mark as the ‘G’ for effort, that I’m really interested in seeing… change the effort, grades will eventually follow.

In high school, favourite teachers of mine could get me to put more effort into things, but they didn’t decide to be a favourite teacher, I decided. That speaks a lot to the importance of relationships in teaching, but kids don’t always meet you there. Yes, we can excite these students about a project that are in their areas of interest. Yes, we can give them more choice in assignments and ways to demonstrate learning, but at some point they need to step up too.

I wish there was a secret I could reveal. I wish I could look back in time and say, ‘If only I had done this‘, or i’If only someone had provided me with that‘, well then things would have been different. Maybe there is something, but for me it was my age and my willingness to put the effort in. Until then, learning on someone else’s agenda was pretty much BS to me.

Back to it

After a very restful March break, I’m back at it tomorrow. While the break was wonderful, and a part of me wants to just curl up in bed for another week, another part of me is excited for some busy normalcy.

It’s interesting, but I seem to get more of what I want done when I’ve got more on my plate… the very times that I wish I had more time, are the times when I get stuff done.

I’m looking forward to seeing staff and students. I’m looking forward to getting back into my morning workout routines. I’m looking forward to thinking about education in ways that I haven’t been too thoughtful about over the break.

The end of the year will come quickly now, and I know that in a few short months I’ll wonder where the time went. But for tomorrow, the focus will be catching up and connecting with my community, and then the ‘To Do’ list can officially start on Wednesday.

A whole-lot-a noth’n

I didn’t think I’d spend the last days of my March break coasting, but I have. Usually a break for me is a time to refocus on fitness and really push myself. Not this break. Yesterday and today involved long naps and very little done.

I had some fun shooting arrows, and I had a lovely walk with my wife… and I did a whole lot of nothing else. It’s a bit anti-climatic, but I also realize something interesting. Usually I need to get a lot of exercise in, and push myself on my breaks, because I’ve been a sloth during the time that I’m at work. But until last week, I’ve had at least 5 workouts a week all year. I’ve been pushing myself since January 2019, and I’m in great shape. Sure the past 2 weeks have slid me off of my new fitness goal, but so what? I’ll get right on that tomorrow, or Tuesday at the latest.

I’m going to chalk this up as a needed break. I’m going to blame covid. I’m going to write it off and start anew. But for now, I’m going to squeeze this daily post in after 11pm for the second night I’m a row. I’m going to forgive myself for missing my first meditation in about 140 days, last Thursday, and I’m going to count my 5k walk with my wife as my exercise for today.

I’m also going to shoot some more arrows tomorrow, and skip the email catchup until I get to work on Tuesday. I’m going to ride out tomorrow as my last lazy day of holidays, and hopefully hit Tuesday morning with a whole lot more energy. But tomorrow, I’m giving myself full permission to do a whole lot of not much, and feel good about this as a choice I’m making to end my break.

The paradox of tolerance

This is a brilliant 1-minute TikTok on The Paradox of Tolerance by user @TheHistoryWizard.

Here is the key part, “We must be intolerant of intolerance… racists, sexists, etc. are intolerant of people.” As opposed to being “intolerant of ideas that are intolerant of people“.

This is an important distinction. These two things are not on an equal footing. Being intolerant of intolerance holds a moral high ground that intolerant, ignorant people do not hold.

Limbo

I was in our local drug store yesterday and they were taking walk-ins for the covid-19 vaccine. People just needed to be 55 years old or older to get it. I’m a year and a half too young and so I couldn’t get mine. It was wonderful to see, but also so frustrating that I still have to wait. I know it’s not a quick fix, I know I work in schools where students will not be vaccinated for quite some time. I know we will have strict protocols right through the end of June, and potentially when we start up in September again. I know all this, but I feel like I’m in perpetual limbo waiting for my turn to get the vaccine.

I also wonder about all the people choosing not to take the vaccine. Vaccines are not perfect, but neither are countless over the counter drugs that people use every day. For instance, ibuprofen is a drug many people take way too frequently and can be very bad for you.  Here is some information about ibuprofen:

“Regular use of ibuprofen may eventually cause:

  • kidney and liver damage
  • bleeding in the stomach and bowels
  • increased risk of heart attack.”

And, “NSAIDs such ibuprofen can increase the risk of heart attack or stroke in people with or without heart disease or the risk factors for heart disease.”

In a global pandemic, no vaccine is going to be perfect, but the fear mongering and paranoid opportunists have pushed the anti-vax stupidity to what would be comical levels if the consequences of their stupidity weren’t spreading so quickly. I’m frequently surprised by people sharing concerns about the vaccine who seem to have very limited understanding of what research has been done, people who confuse RNA with DNA, and people who cherry pick their information from biased news sources and spout their bias as ‘facts’.

All this leads me to think that when I finally get the vaccine, while I’ll sigh a little sigh of relief, and while I’ll do a little happy dance… I just might find myself in the same limbo a while longer. I’m not sure it’s going to bring me as much comfort as I would like it to.

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Meanwhile, as a PSA… Keep taking your Vitamin D!  (See ‘Vitamin D and Covid-19‘ and ‘Vitamin D could save your life‘.)

Missed opportunities

Here are some missed opportunities in naming things that are absolutely hilarious. TikTok continues to be a 1/2 hour break in my day that is far better than any TV show I can think of.

This silly minute-long video made me think a bit about some bigger missed opportunities. I wish I travelled more when I was younger. I wish that I took up martial arts when my aunts and uncles did. I wish I learned another language. But then there are many things that I can think of that I ended up doing, like moving to China, starting and sticking with water polo, despite sucking at it to start, and more recently, starting archery, because I’ve just always wanted to do it.

Overall, I like to think of myself as someone who grabs at opportunities rather than letting them go by. That hasn’t always been the case… and maybe it still isn’t in some ways… but I think that believing that I’m someone who seizes rather than misses opportunities is a better belief system to have.

Grab that opportunity that you know you’ll miss later, if you miss it now that it’s here in front of you. What are you waiting for?

Work on the brain

Got an email from the district to send to parents about the new Covid-19 rules in effect when we return to school on Tuesday.

The big changes for our school bolded:

o All students Grades 4-12 are required to wear a mask inside schools both within and outside their learning group.

o All staff K-12 are required to wear a mask inside schools both within and outside their learning group.

Essentially, students and staff will be wearing masks all day, as opposed to having the option of removing them when at their own desks. This is important information, and as instructed, I’ll send it off to parents (and students and staff) tomorrow.

Since reading that email, my brain has been on work, and on the pandemic. Things to do, and things to be concerned about. Sometimes I can’t let things go. I can’t relax. Today feels like it was a work day, even though I didn’t go to work. It’s going to take a bit to get back into holiday mode. I want a few more days of holiday brain before work brain fully takes over.

Restrictions again

As of midnight last night, we can no longer eat in indoor restaurant seating (again). I get why: Coronavirus numbers in BC are high, and greater restrictions need to happen to stop the spread. But these restrictions came with very little notice. I can’t imagine being a waiter now, and finding out shifts will be dropped. I wouldn’t want to be a restaurant owner, knowing that profits are going to take a big hit, and wondering if I could sustain this if the restrictions are extended beyond the scheduled three weeks.

There are also stricter mask rules in schools, with older elementary students needing to wear them, rather than this being optional. And the most hard-hit school district is getting their staff vaccinated first (this is wonderful to see), I hope our district gets the opportunity in the very near future.

I wish we could do a lockdown like New Zealand. That we could just put a chokehold on the spread of this virus and get it under control. This won’t happen in BC. Instead we do this dance of quick ‘fix’ restrictions (with little or no notice), while also flirting with new opportunities to gather in small groups (outdoors). We play this ‘push me pull you’ game of experimentation to see how little we can affect everyone’s lives while trying to curb coronavirus spread.

I keep going back to my survival mantra: Things will start to normalize by January 2022. This keeps me going, keeps me vigilant. I see timelines suggesting that things will happen faster, but I can’t hold on to these false senses of comfort. Promises of normalcy make added restrictions like this feel crushing… small losses with a promise of small gains. I can’t handle the swings if I think things will start to get better sooner. So, while restrictions are being added, I see them as part of the agenda to normalize by the new year. Until then, bring in the restrictions! Maybe make them tougher now, maybe lay out a plan that people can prepare for.

I’d rather do what’s necessary now than reach December and see my timeline that wrote off all of 2021 be seen as unrealistic rather than pessimistic. I want to be pleasantly surprised to see things get better by then, not drastically disappointed because I need to push the date back further.

The ocean calls me

I was born near the ocean and when I hear waves, it soothes me. When I see the horizon over a body of water it calms me. When I walk the beach shore, I feel like I’m home.

I love to bodysurf. I feel exhilarated when a wave lifts me into its crest. I love the surge of speed as my body descends the wave. I even enjoy the feeling of the wave consuming me when it can no longer propel me forward.

The ocean calls me. It speaks to me. It tells me that when I’m near, I’m where I’m supposed to be.

Axe throwing

I went axe throwing for the first time today. It was a lot of fun. It’s the kind of activity where a little coaching and a little practice can go a long way. I really enjoyed throwing one-handed as opposed to with two hands over my head.

https://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/img_7624.mov

One of the coaches showed us an underhanded technique as well. I was far less consistent with most shots going too low, and some too high, but I found the bullseyes a few times with that technique too.

This would be a lot harder if the target distance changed, they set you up at a perfect distance for one full rotation of the exe. But even for archery I do the same thing, shooting again and again from the same distances. I imagine that after 1,000 throws, changing distances would be easy to learn.

For anyone that wants to try a fun activity with an easy entry point, this is a great activity to do with your family.