President Teddy Roosevelt was the epitome of a tough guy. Born into a wealthy family, he might have had it easy, but his path was a difficult one. Teddy lost his wife and mother on the same day, helped dig the Panama Canal, and rode with the Rough Riders in Cuba. He even cheated death on more than one occasion by beating Malaria and surviving an assassination attempt while in office. Dwayne, "the Rock" Johnson, ain't got nothing on our 26th President.

President Roosevelt (Teddy) was well-known for his love of fisticuffs. On occasions, he would ask professional pugilists to hit him in the jaw as hard as they could, frequently immediately returning the favor. His passion for pugilism continued into his Presidency, where he was known to spar anyone and everyone in the White House gym. In one such fight, Teddy got walloped so hard in the right temple; that he permanently lost his sight. A fact he would not publicly reveal until after he left office.

He indeed was our nation's first cage fighters, considering he was proficient in jiu-jitsu, wrestling, and, of course, boxing.

In addition to being a fine physical specimen, Teddy Roosevelt was a considerable intellectual. He was the father of the modern U.S. Navy, was the first President to win a Nobel Peace Prize, had a photographic memory and was a prolific writer. He is also the author of one of my favorite quotes of all time.

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."

― President Theodore Roosevelt

I would share this quote with my students in some format every single year. One such student took the quote to heart, wrote it down, taped it to her bathroom mirror, and she read it every day. She ended up framing it and giving it to me as a gift upon her graduation. It has hung on my office wall through for over twenty-five years. That young lady is the founder of United Sound.

In politics and life, it is easy to point out where the strong man has stumbled. It's easy to point out where the doer of deeds did wrong or fell short of expectations. It's even easier when the object of your venom is unlikely to fight back. And schools, NEVER fight back.

During the pandemic, our schools have become a public punching bag. They get hit from all sides by all opponents in all ways. They take verbal jabs, hooked from the right, uppercuts from the left, and knock blows from the press. At the end of the crisis, we look like Sylvester Stallone, and at the end of the movie Rocky; still standing but badly damaged.

Opinions are easy, and blog posts (like this) and never short on criticism. Our "Yelp" culture provides a type of anonymity and protection that emboldens the critic and fuels the vitriol, often leaving a defenseless "victim" in their wake. But know that often, these WWE-Esque takedowns are not rooted in educational philosophy, but in fear and pain. Fear of the virus, for their jobs and the uncertainty of their child's future. The school is just the vessel of vitriol, and the bag that is easiest to punch. It is not right, but it is real. The problem is that itwe trivializes and disregards those who are "fighting the good fight."

Teddy reminds us that "the credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming."

But he also reminds us the that when someone punches you in the jaw, sometimes you have to punch back!

Something to think about.

Have a great week.

- Scott