Had a fascinating convo with a colleague this afternoon about time management. Subconsciously, I have done a bit of an audit of my time in an effort to maximize every waking hour. People ask how I have done so much in my career. Here's how... #JoesLifeLessons
There are 24 hours a day. 8 hours sleeping & 8 hours working. That leaves 8 hours of _____. That's why it was easy for me to say yes to hosting @WHLHitmen & @calstampeders games or helping start up @ABDugoutStories. #JoesLifeLessons
These audits are always ongoing. Family & friends will always come first. When I started my relationship with Erin, I knew I would have to recalibrate. Same when we bought a house, got married & I will do it again if/when we have kids. #JoesLifeLessons
I have a lot of empathy for people who are hustling & doing everything to provide for their families. I will also always question those who claim there aren't enough hours in the day for a #SideHustle. Have you done a time audit? #JoesLifeLessons
Maybe there is an hour a day where you can sell some stuff sitting in boxes in your basement on Marketplace or eBay. Maybe there is an hour a day to cut grass for a neighbour willing to pay. The opportunities are there for those looking for $$$. #JoesLifeLessons
But again, it all depends on the lifestyle you wanna live. If you have big aspirations, you gotta work for it. If you are content, then cheers! Time is the asset. Happiness is the legacy (like that, @FaisalKarmali?) #JoesLifeLessons
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It's been a while since I've gone on a lengthy Twitter 🧵 about #ABleg & #education, but I've been thinking a lot about the debate about the new curriculum & certain pundits who believe our kids' grades in English language arts are cratering. Before I begin, lemme preface...
...that yes, my wife is a teacher. But that doesn't preclude me from being able to articulate my opinion, which is based off my own life experiences + what I hear from her + what I've witnessed in her classroom as a volunteer in the pre-COVID days. Okay...here we go. #ABleg
Something that has bothered me about the select few who are trying to treat our illiteracy issues as a "curriculum" issue are either being wilfully ignorant or are being misleading. Does that mean the curriculum shouldn't change? Of course not. But it's not the silver bullet.
It's been a while since I've written an #ABleg 🧵. To be honest, I've just grown tired of it all. After a while, it starts to feel like yelling into the abyss. Realistically, it's all noise in what's become a really noisy space, where nuance & reason are foreign ideas. #Alberta
That being said, I did wanna put pen to paper on something that I've been thinking a lot about lately. I hate that we've reached the point where it feels like we're cheering against ourselves. Even when good news comes, it feels like it's bad. And that's not healthy. #ABleg
This has been going on for a while. I remember how Alison Redford could say the sky was blue & Danielle Smith would hold a news conference to say the sky was red. That's how ridiculous the divide in this province seemed to be. It continued with the NDP & now continues with UCP.
Looking back, 7 different people sat in #Alberta's highest office while I was in radio (Klein, Stelmach, Redford, Hancock, Prentice, Notley, Kenney). Interviewed all but one while they were in that office (Kenney, despite numerous attempts). Also interviewed numerous opposition.
I don't recall a time where a leader, a cabinet & a party had such contempt for anyone who wasn't an active cheerleader for them. I don't recall a time where asking tough questions of a leader or cabinet minster led to demonization of any member of media. #ABleg
I also don't recall a time where so many backroom people within government acted like children. Granted, never before has social media been used like it is. But can you imagine Rod Love taking to Twitter to troll Albertans who didn't agree with Ralph's decisions? #ABleg
Time for another patented #ABleg thread from yours truly. I went down a bit of a rabbit hole this morning, as it irritates me that @jkenney & @AdrianaLaGrange are painting people who aren't in favour of their proposed curriculum as "leftist activists." This isn't about politics.
This is about what my child will have to learn in a few years if this curriculum is implemented. As a parent, I have wanted to do my research because, at some point, I will be asked to help my child with their homework. So I went down a rabbit hole. #ABleg
If you head to the province's curriculum website, you can sort each subject by grade. Then each outcome is sorted by "knowledge", "understanding" & "skills & procedures." The latter is essentially what each child is expected to be able to do by the end of the year. #ABleg
I don't know what it is but there seems to be a belief that if we could only slay the beast known as "discovery math", all will be good in the world. For anyone who has actually been in a classroom in the last decade, they know its more complex than that. #ABleg#education
Full disclosure (again because people tend to claim I have some sort of hidden agenda): my wife is a grade 3 teacher. I volunteer in her school fairly often. I've also covered education as a reporter & I'm a product of small town public schools. So I have observations & opinions.
Alrighty, my friends, time for another world-famous #JoeTwitterThread. I wanna give a little more background on this #ABleg curriculum review & rewrite. Firstly, yes my wife is a teacher. I volunteered in her classroom often & have seen all of the work her kids do. #Education
Secondly, I have a son who will be entering the system in a few short years. So yeah, I have pecuniary interests in how this all shakes down. Thirdly, I spent a lot of time reporting on #education issues in this province as a reporter & news director. And there's a fourthly...
And that is I have been involved in #education myself. A few years ago, I approached @JoyBowenEyre to get a pilot program going, aimed at teaching kids about game-day presentation, sports & public speaking. I ended up running it for 2 years before taking a break. #ABleg