Tag Archives: thinking skills

Big Brains, Books by Walter, Learning, Personal Growth, Small People, Substitute Teaching, Teaching

Here Comes the Judge! Again!

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The first time was about six years ago in my book . In Chapter 13 I touched on the occasions when the kids at school try to enlist me as judge and jury to settle a dispute. I offer one example and admit that my solution to it was based on “a bit of laziness and lack of desire to don a judge’s robe.”

The kids tell me I have a pretty effective “teacher look.” I’m now working on my “judge’s look.”

Handing the case (problem or question) over to the judge can be alluring for many reasons and it’s not just the kids who do it. When I teach real estate courses I am often barraged with questions that start with “What if…?” With kids and adults, there are some obvious undercurrents. The kids’ questions are usually relative to what’s fair and sometimes are instructions. “Make her stop!” “He’s not playing fair!” The adults are looking for the right answer–usually to a subtle and sometimes legal question.

For at least as many years as the book’s been published, I have deflected many legal questions in real estate classes by including the observation, “If anyone finds a reasonably priced judge’s robe, buy it for me. I’ll reimburse you for it. Then I can slip it on when I’m asked these sort of questions and act all-knowing and certain while I pronounce my verdict.”

Well, it finally happened. At a recent Associate Broker Workshop a student showed up with a “surprise” for me, proudly presenting me with a black robe–and no expectation of reimbursement. I of course modeled it at the beginning of the workshop. It got a lot of laughs. It also reminded me of how thoughtful students often are. Most importantly, I now carry it in my “teaching kit” and plan to make it a visual aid.

See, I think acting as judge and teacher are actually often a conflict of interest. In a learning environment, when students give the teacher too much authority they may not think and all they really learn is the judge’s (teacher’s) opinion. I also have a rule in my adult classes that you’re not allowed to use the phrase “Walter said in class…” For one thing, I find I’m often misquoted. For another, you are suggesting you only learned what I said. I’d rather hear you say, “I learned in class…” I want to teach you to think, not quote the teacher.

The fact that things seem complicated or complex doesn’t mean we should let someone else do our thinking for us. I’m reasonably certain the world is round–or at least approximately so. But if a kid asks me I’m likely to reply with questions. “What do you think? How can we find out? What have you learned about that so far?”

While the power that goes with the judge’s robe is tempting, another thing I like about not wearing it is I can teach subjects I know almost nothing about. I once substituted for a second-year high school Spanish class. The kids knew me. As they were getting seated one called out, “Mr. Boomsma, do you even know Spanish?”

There was no hesitation when I answered, “No I do not. But I do know how to teach it. Let’s get started.”

So while I am profoundly grateful to Carole Scott Gartley of Brad Carter Real Estate for the robe and her thoughtfulness, I probably won’t be wearing it too much–just to get some laughs and make a point.

“You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself 
any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go… “


― Dr. Seuss, Oh, The Places You’ll Go!
Mental Health, Mental Hygiene, Personal Growth

Got Milk? Got bread?

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On Friday, I assured the cashier at the grocery store I was there just to pick up a few things, not because of the storm forecast. Things were busy so we couldn’t have a long conversation but it would have been an interesting one.

Folks started worrying about the storm coming on Sunday nearly a week before it was predicted. I’d started receiving emails from students of adult courses starting a week after the storm. “What happens when it snows?” I was tempted to reply, “The ground turns white.”

Maybe age creates perspective or at least some relative “mellowness.” I tend not to worry too much about some things. I’m not bragging. Some might say I’m apathetic. But worrying about a forecasted snowstorm isn’t a priority for me. I like the idea that we each have a worry box that will only hold so much. So when something gets added something else gets taken out.

That’s meant to demonstrate that worrying is ultimately about choices and priorities. If I’m going to worry about this storm, I’ll need to stop worrying about something else… or at least move that something else down the priority list while I run to the store for bread and milk.

While considering this, it was strangely ironic that Seth Godin’s daily blog post included the observation, “Run out of chocolate, and that’s a shame. Run out of oxygen and you’re doomed.”


“Run out of chocolate, and that’s a shame. Run out of oxygen and you’re doomed.”

Seth Godin

Perspective—there are times when it needs to rise to a level of consciousness. As the storm started, one Facebook post that caught my eye was by a mom who had picked up her kids from an activity. She was announcing how bad the roads were. A friend commented, “Be careful but get home quickly before it gets worse.” She replied that she and the kids were headed home but needed to stop at the store first. I wondered why. Was it for bread and milk?

While it’s become a joke, people do try to make sure they don’t run out of bread and milk by “stocking up” when a storm is predicted.  

While it makes sense to plan and prevent, Abraham Lincoln is alleged to have observed that he’d crossed a lot of bridges in his life but he never crossed one before he came to it. I wonder, if he was alive today, would he rush to the store for bread and milk if a storm was forecast?

If we’re stuck in the house and can’t get to the store for a day or two how bad will life be if we run out of bread and milk? If we do, it will be a shame. But we won’t be doomed.

Worry can be positive because it protects us as long as we keep our worry in perspective. But we do well when we understand that worry is an emotion or feeling. Our feelings can affect how we think. But how we think also can affect how we feel.

There’s a third component to consider. The “doing” component. We are perfectly imperfect human beings so the thinking, feeling, doing stuff tends to overlap and can get complicated. One of my fundamental beliefs is that because we are human beings we have the magnificent ability to get the three components working together.

At school, when we want the kids to engage in what’s called “higher levels of thinking,” we’ll sometimes say, “Let’s put our thinking caps on.” The kids then join the teacher in placing an imaginary hat firmly on their heads, then pretending to buckle the chin strap. Unfortunately, we seem to stop using the technique after second or third grade.

When we start running it’s easy to forget to think. We might end up letting our emotions get the best of us. That will impact how we think and what we do. You’ve heard of people being paralyzed by fear. How far are the emotions of worry and fear separated?

So today is Sunday and the weather outside is frightful. Most of the churches have announced no services today. Emergency services folks are encouraging us to stay home. Even the local McDonald’s is closed—is that scary? I’ll bet it will be even more difficult than usual to order a pizza to be delivered.

But it might just be a good day to spend some time considering how you think, feel, and do about things. I hope you’ll discover the possibilities. There are a lot of things we can’t do because of this storm. But there are a lot of things we can do, too. We could worry about tomorrow, particularly if we’re low on bread and milk. Just remember, that’s a choice.

Just for Fun, Maine Life, Mental Health, Personal Growth

In the Air There’s a Spirit of… Panic?

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I have to tell a little story on myself if only because it is, in retrospect, a bit funny. The experience also serves as evidence of the mind’s ability to process information quickly. Quickly is not the same as accurately.

I was shopping in Staples. Office supply stores are a personal weakness and I often allow myself some wandering time by rationalizing that there’s probably something I need that I’m going to forget. I was near the front of the store, noting there was already some Christmas spirit in the air.

Noticing things is important. I’ve always prided myself on being “situationally aware” — a skill that’s helped me avoid trouble on more than one occasion. In addition to the Christmas spirit, I noticed another shopper  standing about six feet away. She seemed distracted and was gazing about the area.

Suddenly a dot of light appeared in the center of her chest. Just as quickly it disappeared. But in what must have been a second or two I saw it re-appear, moving from the left back to the center of her chest. It was like a scene in a movie.

For a split second I considered yelling, “Gun!” and tackling her to the floor.

Except there was no gun.

A quick look around yielded no shooter but did reveal more dots, some on me. And they weren’t just red. Some were green!

So it turns out there was actually a laser light attached to the ceiling of the store. Similar to the disco balls that were popular a few years ago, it was rotating and sending random dots of red and green light throughout the front of the store’s featured gift area. The intent was, of course, to contribute to the holiday spirit and not to create momentary panic for those familiar with laser gun sights.

Since I try to find lessons in life events, I’ve replayed this several times in my mind. But instead of finding a moral in the story I tend to get chuckling over the prospect of how it might have turned out if I had reacted by leaping forward and tackling my fellow shopper. I’m sure it would have frightened her at first. So one version of the story has us both getting back up laughing.  But another considers the panic that could have resulted, not to mention someone deciding I needed a psychological evaluation.

We think of  “situational awareness” as being attuned to our environment–sensitive to what is taking place around us. But it also includes a need to be aware of how we are responding to the events and conditions going on around us. Overreacting may be as dangerous as not noticing.