High Cholesterol - November 3, 2020

 High Cholesterol
By, Michael Earnshaw
@MikeREarnshaw
November 3, 2020

“I’m sorry man, I know how hard you worked to lower it,” was the text that came through from my brother-in-law. I thought about it for a while before responding. 

I turned 40 in March of 2020. The day before my birthday I visited my doctor. I’m not one to visit regularly, I know, I’ve already heard it from my wife, but this visit was warranted. Something came up I needed to get it checked out (and since this blog isn’t about that situation I’ll let you know everything for the visit came out fine). Being as I hadn’t been to the doctor in about three years he wanted me to get some bloodwork done, especially since I was turning 40. I wasn’t expecting anything out of the ordinary, I’ve always been a healthy guy. 

My watch started vibrating, alerting me that I had a call coming in. A name didn’t pop up, but I knew the number was the doctor’s office. I stealthily exited the class I was hanging out in and made my way to the nearest door to step outside on our playground and take the call. I answered just shy of making it to the door so I didn’t lose it. We went through the formalities and then I heard something I never could have expected. 

“Your cholesterol levels are very high and the doctor wants to speak with you about treatments.” 

A few days later I was back in his office being explained all of the differences between LDL, HDL, triglycerides, and how I had a lot of bad cholesterol but just enough good cholesterol that I wouldn’t drop dead any time soon. That’s good news I guess. 

“You’ve got two options, Michael, one, start medication and we test you in 6 months and see where your levels are at. Or two, you say you’re going to change your diet, limit alcohol, workout more, and then when you come back in six months, if your levels haven’t changed, you’re going on medication. No discussion,” were the choices my doctor handed me. 

I have never been a fan of medication, so I chose option two. 

Six months flew by. I got my labs redone, anxiously awaiting to hear the results. I felt that familiar vibration on my left wrist on a Friday while solving the World’s problems with my assistant principal. 

“So your LDL levels were higher than before. You’re going on 40 mg of Lipitor. We’ll have an order for your labs to be checked again in March.” This was spoken by my doctor’s nurse. My doctor didn’t even give me a call, no opportunity for a conversation, just like he promised. 

Now I’m not going to lie, I was a little upset by this news. I had made some adjustments to my diet, worked out as I usually did, and hoped the levels would lower and I could stay off meds. But as I reflected on the past six months I realized I could have done so much more. Instead of truly making the changes I knew I needed to make I found myself putting blame on “The Pandemic.” It was the pandemic’s fault I snacked on Flaming Hot Munchies each night. It was the pandemics fault I skipped a workout because of staying up later than I should have the night before. It was the pandemic’s fault I couldn’t get my cholesterol lowered by partaking all of the new healthy lifestyle changes I planned out in my head.

Excuses. That’s all it is. Too many times, when goals aren’t reached, I find myself blaming someone or something else. It makes it much easier to live with knowing the undesired result was out of my hands. But now I realize that is no way to live. That is not the message I want to send to my kids, my wife, staff, or students. I want to model that hard work pays off and we need to work towards our goals. And if the result isn’t what we hoped for we own it, make adjustments, and start again. 

I texted my brother-in-law back, “Haha, thanx man, but honestly, I could have done so much better. Luckily, it’s not too late. Time to make those changes now and hopefully get off the meds in 6 months. I’d rather rely on myself.” 

Dreams Vs. Goals: Rd. 2 - June 19, 2019

Dreams Vs. Goals Rd. 2 

June 19, 2019  

By. Michael Earnshaw 

@mearnshaw158 

If you’ve read my last blog on Dreams Vs. Goals Rd. 1, you understand that I'm not saying we need to abandon dreams, but instead transform them into goals. By setting goals, creating action plans, and doing whatever it takes to reach that goal builds our character. It gives us strength and the ability to inspire others. Goals would not be possible without first having dreams.  

A key characteristic we must remember while climbing that ladder to a goal is to stay true to our word. Displaying action behind what we say shows so much more about our character than the actual words we speak. Keeping true to our word shows ourselves, others, and the enemy mind that we will not be stopped on our mission for betterment.  

Thinking about proving our word brought me back to a time five years ago when I took my role as Principal. I had served as an AP for 2 years and was trusted by my Superintendent and School Board to lead Oak Glen Elementary to amazing opportunities.  

I took up my Principalship at the end of July. At the August School Board meeting all the district’s Principals were presenting on, at the time, our local STAR assessment data from the previous school year. When looking at all three of our elementary school’s next to one another, the one I had just inherited was below the others and did not show the same level of growth or achievement. One of the points all the principal’s needed to make was our plan of action for the next school year: How were we going to show improvements?  

I had no nerves about presenting our plan. After I explained what we would do as a school, our action plan, I finished up my presentation by stating, “I guarantee that next year that our scores will improve.” 

The Board President responded, “Did you just guarantee your scores will improve?” A few of the other Board members chuckled. I began hearing those voices in my head, “Dude, did you just say guarantee?” “What is wrong with you?” “Oh my God, I meant to say I guarantee that we will work hard to raise scores, not guarantee that they for sure will go up!” 

“Are those mics on?”, I replied. “Yes, I did. I guarantee when I present to you next year our scores will have improved.”  

That was it, my portion of the presentation was over. The next day my Superintendent had a laugh over my comment, but I had said it, now it was time to prove it.  

I spent the remainder of the year learning my building, staff, and families. I always had what I proclaimed in the back of my mind, tucked away in that old trunk not shut with the latch, but it wasn’t the driving force behind my leadership. I knew that by building relationships, being visible, and being active we would come through on my word.  

August rolled around again. I crept up to the District Office, mentally preparing for our annual data presentation. My wife must have secretly fed my caterpillar cocoons that hatched during the commute because I now had a butterfly conservatory housed in my belly. When my turn came up to present Oak Glen’s STAR data, I showed our charts, explained the data, and concluded with, “If you remember last year, I guaranteed our scores would improve. Well, there you have it!”  

Our scores did in fact improve that first year, and I’m proud to say have continued to since then. Some years better than others, but still growth.  

To show your true character, others are looking at your actions behind your words, not the words themselves.  

Take your dreams, put them into goals, get an action plan behind them, and then be sure your actions stay true to what you said you would accomplish.  

Popeye was Plant Powered - 5/29/19

Popeye was a Plant Powered 

By, Michael Earnshaw 

May 29, 2019 

@mearnshaw158 

This morning I participated in my first #RunandRant. During my 6 miler I pondered this week’s question, “What is strength?” I finished my run, bathed in sweat, and punched “Record” on my phone. I filmed myself ranting for 40 seconds on what strength means to me. The question is still lingering in my brain and I figured why not go into a little more detail, a written rant.  

Strength to me has nothing to do about being physically strong. I’ve met many people who can run faster and farther than me, squat, deadlift, and bench more, but they are some of the weakest people I've come across. True strength is found in the mind and heart. How we hold ourselves, how we present ourselves, and how we treat others show how truly strong we are.  

I’ve been working on a multi-blog post about the differences between dreams vs. goals. Everyone has dreams, but not everyone takes the next step and transforms those dreams into goals. The strongest individuals are those that set goals. They see what they want for their lives, what is going to better themselves, and create a plan of action to get there. Not every goal is reached with the first attempt, or second for that matter. Those with strength learn from their failures, stand back up, pick up their chin, and go after it again and again and again. Once their goal is finally met, they evaluate and set another.  

True strength is also found by how we treat others. In society today, so many are self-absorbed in their own world and will lie, cheat, and steal to get what they want. Just scroll through any social media site and you will be inundated with many individuals looking out for only themselves and how others perceive this lavish, luxurious life they lead. This portrayal just shows their true weakness and insecurities. I want to follow those that not only are goal setters, but also know that once they take care of themselves they are here to serve others. We all have differences of opinions and beliefs. That does not make anyone better than the next. The strongest live to serve others, to help them in need, to encourage and motivate them, to have their back and pick them up when they fall. The strongest individuals see the good in others and display appreciation, kindness, and empathy.  

Lastly, strength comes when challenging the status quo and never accepting mediocrity. It is so easy to follow the herd and not follow through on what you know is right when nobody is standing by your side. Speak your voice, stand up for the less fortunate, and fight for what you know is the right thing to do even if you’re alone. I’d rather live my life knowing I stood for what I believed in my heart, what was for the good of others and this world, than following lemmings off a cliff.  

There you have it, my extended version of this morning’s #RunandRant. True strength comes from first taking care of yourself mentally, physically, & spiritually. It’s then followed by how we help others find their true strength. Finally, listening to your heart and following through on what you know will benefit our world. Take care of yourself, others, and this world and experience the beauty available.  

Schools are the Perfect Venue for a Circle Pit - 4/17/19

Schools are the Perfect Venue for a Circle Pit 

By, Michael Earnshaw 

April 17, 2019 

@mearnshaw158 

 

“You are not punk anymore!” is what my wife yelled laughingly, hands at her side, palms facing the skies, torso bent slightly forward, and her beautiful eyes cutting through me! “Yes, I am. Punks not about the look, it’s a mindset babe!” “No, you’re not. Please stop calling yourself punk!” Then her body straightened, eyebrows raised, and I knew the conversation was over.  

If you’ve read through some of my older blogs you know that I grew up listening to punk rock, skateboarding, and styling my hair with Elmer’s Glue. While yes, these are the traditional “signs” of a punk, it’s much more than that.  

Punk rock is not just a bunch of young, lost, frustrated adolescents setting out to cause havoc every day. Punk rock is a mindset, and one that has a place, and needs to be, in our schools today.  

Punk rock to me has not just been about expressing oneself, but about challenging the status quo, not accepting mediocrity. When one looks at a stereotypical punk, they see kids with growing pains (thanks Lagwagon!) The outsider gets uncomfortable. They begin clamming up, palms sweating yet body freezing. Sometimes their face forms as if they are looking at molded roadkill, nostrils inflamed from the rancid smell. Punk rockers are not a pleasant sight for those that aren’t familiar with their beliefs and ideals, and that needs to change, especially in our schools.  

Too many of our schools are still delivering kids with antiquated methods. There are far too many trees being cut down for worksheets kids do not care about nor connect with. Much of the delivery students are receiving is how you and I may have gotten our education years and years ago. Today’s student is much different than when we were. Today, students have education literally at their fingertips every second of every day. The world you and I originated from is a myth to them. Kids will never understand what it meant to plan a road trip by studying maps, getting lost, sucking in your pride and asking a gas station attendant for directions. Kids will never understand why it was essential to study spelling words every week, when now everything they type auto corrects their misspellings. Kids will never comprehend the hours we put into a research paper, scouring World Book Encyclopedias, knowing and taking full advantage of the Dewey Decimal System to locate backups of our claims.  

And this is all OK.  

The world has changed, education has changed. What took us hours, days, and weeks to learn is now literally seconds away in our students' pockets. We need to accept that fact and make our classrooms and lessons more engaging, more hands on, more collaborative and exploratory. We need to ensure our students are prepared to work with others, rely on others’ strengths and accept their own weaknesses, and build empathy for all. This approach to education will ensure success for tomorrow. Our job is to prepare students to become successful and productive members of society. We must prepare students to solve today’s problems, and those of the future.  

If we want to prepare our students for life, we need to get away from the suit and tie model of education. We must throw on our bomber jackets, get our liberty spikes sticking up with glue, and challenge the system. It’s time to take a different approach, one that is not popular or stereotypical. The alarm is going off to get punk rock again.  

I will never agree with my wife that I’m not punk rock. My coat my sport a Northface logo instead of an Operation Ivy patch. No longer are my feet housed in Dr. Marten’s with plaid laces, but now reside in a pair of comfy Steve Madden’s. The hair on my head may be showing signs of gray, thinning and not sticking straight up in a mohawk. None of that matters.  

With all of my heart I'm challenging the traditional belief of education, and it doesn’t get much more punk than that.