Go Teach!

Yesterday we attended our oldest daughters "moving up ceremony". She completed middle school and is moving up to high school in the fall. Needless to say, we were very proud of her for this accomplishment.

We heard from the principal, the principal of the high school they will be attending next year, the student body president and a few others. We also heard from their social studies teacher Mr. Mueller who gave the key note speech.

I don't know to much about him. I know that he teaches social studies to thirteen year olds. He's in his early 50's I suspect and he is very lawyerly looking. No surprise, because in a past life he was an attorney.

Most importantly, I know that my daughter adores him. This is huge coming from her. She also likes social studies and has studied hard this semester to get good grades, all because of Mr. Mueller. Mr. Mueller is larger than life to these kids. He kept them engaged and communicated to them on a level that they understood. In return, his students were like sponges and soaked it all in. I realized that there was something special about Mr. Mueller when he was introduced and he stepped up to the podium. The students went crazy, "rock star" crazy with applause.

Through the years, I have had the good fortune of seeing some great speakers and motivators. I have seen Zig Ziggler, Tony Robbins, Bill Clinton, Rudy Guiliani, Colan Powell, Dick Vitale, Mike Ditka. In sales and radio I've seen Brian Tracy, Les Brown, Tom Hopkins, Jim Tazarak, Paul Weyland and many others. I drop these names, not to impress you, but only as a point of reference.

With that said, Mr. James "Jim" Mueller gave one of the most inspirational and powerful speeches I have ever heard. This speech, "Go Teach" was directed to his students but the message resonated throughout the auditorium with the parents as well.

As I was listening to Mr. Mueller speak, I had two thoughts. First, I hope the kids get it and realize what a gift it was to hear such a heartfelt and extraordinary message from someone who is passionate about them and truly cares. Second, I wish all of our associates at the radio station could be there to hear this message!

When we got home last night, I felt compelled to send Mr. Mueller a note complimenting him on his speech and also asking him If I could share his speech with our team and post it here. He was most gracious and has allowed me to share it.

Year End Graduation Speech 2008

Go Teach

May 27th, 2008

By:

Mr. James Mueller
Social Studies Teacher
Cocopah Middle School
Scottsdale, Arizona

Good evening.

Thanks to all of you, but most particularly the class of 2008.

My theme for tonight - GO TEACH! Or is it GO Teach? Or GOOO Teach!

Well, I have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that you haven’t escaped my lectures just yet – the good news is I am not going to try to RAP it for you! Well maybe I could try -

It’s time to be rappin’ so take off your cap an’
Relax in your seat and get off of yo’ feet!
Time to throw down some rhymes ‘bout all our good times.

You know, that’s just not working for me! Some things just don’t rap well.

So let’s talk about teaching. So you’re thinking you don’t want to be a teacher. I asked my classes this year if they would consider teaching as a career, and almost no one raised a hand. They looked at me like – “Yo, dude, you have got to be kidding.”

You know, it’s funny, when I was your age it was all I could imagine doing. I thought it would be so cool to be a teacher and basketball coach. -- By the way, it is.

It’s funny, every year students and parents ask me, “What made a lawyer with a perfectly good career walk away from it and decide to ‘go teach.’” Tonight, I thought I would try to give you a partial answer that question. Answer #1: I obviously, I will never make it as a rapper. Answer #2: As you know, the pay is uninspiring, so it must be something else. Well, the answer is right here in front of me. The answer is you. Terrific kids who are willing to learn (and teach) bring me back year after year. Homeroom! 4th Period! 7th period! And even the ever challenging 6th and 3rd periods. Wow. Terrific classes all. Yes, I’ll be back.

Ah – you are still thinking, “No way I’m going to become a teacher Mr. Mueller,” Well, let me have you rethink that. Tonight, my recommendation to you is still, to well, go teach!

Let me clarify that though. I am not asking you to take up teaching as a way to make a living, I’m asking instead that you to take it up as a way of living. Let me explain.

I want you to think of teaching differently. To view it something you do every day, not just for me, but also for you. Not as a profession, but as a way of life.
Most of you say you don’t want to be teachers. I understand that, but heck, I have some news for you; you already are.

We teach each other every day. You don’t have to teach for a living, but you do have to teach to have a life worth living. When you think about it, teaching really isn’t optional. Life simply gets better when we share knowledge.

So, now that you understand what I am talking about, I say, go teach.
Teach each other to believe in yourselves – it is one of the keys to success.
Teach each other the value of being good people. Remember Edmund Burke’s words, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Yes, girls, that applies to you too.

Teach each other by contributing your ideas and fostering a love for learning.
Teach one another that true friends allow you to be yourself. But don’t forget, teaching isn’t always telling friends or others what they want to hear; sometimes it’s telling them what they need to hear.

Oh, and by the way, teach each other that being over 50 is NOT old!

You know, I see exceptional talent among you so I say teach and encourage each other to use those talents wisely and well. I see brilliant students among you capable of leadership – so I say, teach each other to step forward and lead to solve the problems of the future. Teach each other to forgive. Teach each other decency. Teach each other the value of caring.

My dad was a wonderfully optimistic guy. It was his nature. One of the best lessons he taught me was, “put the best construction on everything.” I can still hear him say those words. By that, he meant assume a positive intent in the actions of those around you. He meant, be confident that people who criticize you mean well – especially parents and teachers. Yelling is a good thing! It means we still care. As I said last year, consider it a loud hug.

He meant – being negative drags you down. Being positive pulls you (and those around you), up. He meant – assume the best. So I say again; go teach. Teach each other as he taught me, to assume the best.

Teach each other to lift one another up.
Teach each other to build a positive culture in high school.
Teach each other to treat one another with respect – and tolerance – it makes you all better.

In the Locke vs. Hobbes debates in my classes this year most of you figured out that I most assuredly come down on the side of Locke. I believe in the goodness of people. Our country is founded on that principle. So, teach each other that being good is good for yourselves and one another.

As it happens, Ryker Eley taught me this year that the great basketball coach John Wooden believed that winners make the most mistakes. Mistakes come from doing, but so does success. So teach each other not to be afraid of making mistakes, and that making mistakes makes you better and stronger. And, remember of course that Ryker also taught us all about the value of courage and resiliency this year. Don’t forget his example.

Teaching may well be our door to immortality. When the people we teach carry the lessons forward that we taught them, we live on. My dad passed away seventeen years ago, but his philosophy of life lives in me and is here to be shared with you tonight. And, of course, don’t forget Vern Smith who taught many of us important lessons that live on through us tonight.

So I say, from all of us teachers, to all of you – go teach. And keep teaching, whether as a student, teacher, parent, or in any other setting or career. And keep teaching.

I want you to know that you sure taught me a lot this year. And that is absolutely one of the best things about being a teacher. I’ve learned from you. And maybe when you learn to love it as I do, you’ll consider teaching for life and for a living. And then, when you’re over 50, you can teach others that you are not old!!

You are an amazing and talented group of students.
I marvel at your promise. Congratulations.
Thank you, God bless you – teachers all.

Thank You Mr. Mueller!

Get Excited!

We've had a lot of exciting changes at the radio station the past few months.

We increased the power of MEGA (KAJM) to a full class "C" FM station. We have a new transmitter site with a state of the art technical facility. And we now reach more than one-million more listeners than we did previous to our signal upgrade.

On the programming side, Beau Duran takes over as Program Director for both MEGA and ENERGY. Beau is a dedicated radio pro. His passion for radio is endless. He eats, drinks, sleeps and breaths the radio station. Beau Gets It!

Alex Santa Maria moved from afternoons to mornings and he is super-charged, playing more hits and interacting with the listeners!

Angie Gomez has moved from co-hosting duties in morning drive to holding down the fort on her own every mid-day from ten until two.

The newest addition to the on-air line-up is Raul Torres. I don't know where Raul gets his energy from, but he rocks in the afternoon. We keep it cold in the studio and Raul is sweating every time I stop in to say hello. Raul is on fire! Listen to his mix show at five, it's GREAT!

The "Night Princess" Nina Cruz continues to keep nights alive from six to eight with great music and a lot of listener interaction on the phones.

Wrapping it all up every night live from Hollywood is legendary DJ Art Laboe with his Killer Oldies, request and dedication show from eight to midnight. This is "Old School" radio at its best.

On the business side, Jeanette Scott joins us as our new Business Manager and Tarina Lovegrove joined us in sales. Ian Makar who started out as a rookie seller for us five years ago is our new sales manager. Ian has worked hard and deserves the promotion. He has a lot of great ideas and is a man on a mission.

As my friend Michael Crawford says..... "Get Excited!"

I am.

No A**holes Allowed

Through the years I've worked with a lot of talented people. I've also come across my share of jerks as well.

Leadership development coach Paul Anovick reviewed a managment book by Stanford Professor Robert I. Sutton titled The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn’t (Warner Business Books, 2007).

This book is dead on. It details how debilitating a jerk in the workforce can be.

According to Sutton, everyday jerk behaviors include:

1. Personal insults and innuendo's
2. Invading one’s personal space or territory
3. Uninvited physical contact
4. Threats and intimidation, verbal and nonverbal
5. Sarcastic jokes, teasing and disguised insults
6. Email flames
7. Status slaps intended to humiliate
8. Rude interruptions
9. Two-faced attacks
10. Dirty looks, grimaces, eye-rolling
11. Treating people as though they’re invisible, keeping them out of the loop

To qualify as a true jerk, one must display a persistent pattern and a history of episodes that lead others to feel humiliated and disrespected. And a boss who’s a jerk often causes anger, frustration, high turnover, absenteeism and, in extreme cases, violence.

A jerk poisons more than one victim. The damage spreads to coworkers, family members and friends who watch or hear about attacks, creating a larger pool of secondhand sufferers. The result is devastating, zapping people’s energy and causing absenteeism, loss of productivity, high turnover, depression and disengagement.

Top 10 Rules for Enforcing a “No Jerks at Work” Rule

Having all of the right business philosophies and management practices in place to support the “no jerks at work” rule is meaningless unless you treat the person right in front of you, right now, in the right way. It’s the little things that make the big differences:

1. Say the rule, write it down, and act on it. If you have a policy, make sure you act on it.
2. Jerks will hire other jerks. Don’t include them in hiring decisions.
3. Get rid of jerks fast. Organizations generally wait too long to fire jerks.
4. Treat certified jerks as incompetent employees. Even if people perform extraordinarily well and achieve great results, persistent meanness should be equated with incompetence.
5. Power breeds nastiness. Giving people even a little bit of power can turn them into big jerks.
6. Embrace the power-performance paradox. Downplay and reduce unnecessary status differences.
7. Manage moments, not just practices, policies and systems. Change the little things, and big things will follow.
8. Model and teach constructive confrontation. Make sure people know when and how to argue respectfully.
9. Adopt a one-jerk rule. If you permit one jerk to stay, use a reverse role-model approach to remind people of what not to do.
10. The bottom line: Link big policies to small decencies. When people talk to one another and work together with respect, managing jerk behaviors is natural.

This book is a best seller and is getting rave reviews. Read Paul's review. Here.

Sutton has a great Blog too. Here.

Are you a certified asshole? Take the ARSE: The Asshole Rating Self Exam. Here.