We had a nice day around the house yesterday. Nadia and I took the opportunity to do some serious spring cleaning. I stored away all of the winter clothes and organized our basement storage boxes. With a family of five, we have a lot of stuff! We also sorted through drawers, shelves, etc. It is amazing the amount of stuff that piles up during a school year. Nadia did a thorough cleaning of the house.
As you can see from the video above, the kids enjoyed the easter egg hunt. We are not religious but still celebrate the holidays all the same. I started telling the story of the crucifixion of Jesus, but need to re-look at the Biblical accounts to give a proper bedtime story to the kids. We also listened to the storynory.com origin of Easter eggs and the Saxon pagan beliefs where the holiday originates.
The weather continues to be perfect, cool temperatures and blue skies. The neighbors brought colored eggs to our children. Eastern Europeans are really into decorative eggs, which I’ll blog about more later.
As with Christmas, the Serbs exchange phrases when greeting each other on Easter.
Ollie Attempts to Throw His Popsicle Stick in the Danube
Yesterday afternoon the sun came out and so we took advantage of this and went for a bike ride in the Park of Friendship in New Belgrade. This is the park that world leaders used to plant a tree when they came and visited Tito during the Communist years. It is also the park that Milosevic used to hold mass rallies during the turbulent times of his presidency. More recently, Madonna held a concert last August there for over 40,000 people. There is a nice bike trail that runs along the Danube River. There were lots of people walking along the river as well as sitting in the cafes located on barges in the river. You can see a couple of the “splavs” behind Owen in the photo below.
We stopped for an ice cream before turning around and heading back to the car.
Last week Partizan defeated Maccabi Electra 3 games to 1 in a best-of-five quarterfinal series in the Euroleague Basketball playoffs. They now qualify for the Final Four tourney to be held in Paris in early May. Maccabi is from Tel Aviv, Israel and for those readers not knowledgeable about basketball, the Euroleague is the equivalent of the Champions League in soccer. It is the premier professional club basketball league in Europe.
Logo of Partizan Basketball Club
Above is the logo of club. On top it says шампиони which translated from the Serbian Cyrillic means champion. In the Serbian Latin alphabet, is reads a bit easier for English speakers – Šampioni. On the bottom, KK stands for košarkaški klub. Košarka is “basketball” in English. The name Partizan in the cyrillic script then follows. The team is named after Tito’s resistance army in World War II, hence the Red Star in the middle. The club was founded right after WWII in 1945 as part of a youth sports association in the People’s Army of Jugoslavia (JNA).
I’ve been thinking about the Euroleague and Partizan. I wonder how Partizan would do in America’s National Basketball Association (NBA) or in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). One point I want to make, the Euroleague should study the nba.com and espn.com web sites on how to market and cover its league. The Euroleague website really could do a lot more in promoting the teams and players. There is little in-depth information and commentary on the games or match-ups. They do not highlight star players at all. If I was running the Euroleague, I would make it a lot better. I know that basketball is not as popular in Europe and it needs to compete with soccer, but a David Stern-like commissioner could really raise its level of popularity and money earning. They need an American sense of marketing sports entertainment.
When I arrived to Serbia last year, I picked Red Star as my team. (note – I just read an article that describes how Red Star basketball is facing bankruptcy.) But this year, I have admired the Partizan basketball team and now am a big fan. Two of our students at the international school have parents on the management board and another two play for the youth teams. I have a connection to the team and hope they can win it all. Unlike most European countries, basketball is a bit more popular in Serbia than soccer, although the Serbian national soccer team is in this year’ s World Cup and Red Star won a Champions League title in 1991. This gives Partizan an advantage in that it has access to a big pool of good young players and the packed arenas with knowledgeable and rabid fans, makes them tough to beat at home. Other arenas are much quieter. Serbs are also tall, active, and tough generally as a culture and this also translates to good basketball teams.
Partizan plays an exciting, fundamentally sound style of basketball. A big factor is their coach, Duško Vujoševic. The guy began coaching at age 17 and spent most of his career in Italy. He must not have been much of a player. He is currently the coach of the national team of Montenegro besides Partizan.
Like all the Euroleague teams, Partizan does have several imported players and three start for Partizan. This also gives a good chance to compare Euroleague basketball to the NBA or NCAA. The type of American players that end up playing in Europe are those guys that had excellent university careers, but couldn’t stick with an NBA team. So considering they are a bit older than the current college players in the US and they had strong careers in the NCAA, I think that they would do well in the “March Madness’ tourney, but not so well in the NBA. The two Americans players for Partizan are 6-8 center Lawrence Roberts and 6 foot point guard Bo Maccalebb. Roberts used to play for Red Star so I have followed him for over a year. He was an All-American and the SEC Player of the Year for Mississippi State. Maccalebb was the Sun Belt Conference player of the year for the University of New Orleans. Both guys first played in Turkey or Greece before coming to Serbia. I would like to interview them to see how they like living in Belgrade. The other import is 6-11 Czech forward, Jan Vesely. He is very thin and more of a small forward than a power forward. The other two starters are Serbian. Dušan Kecman is a solid 6-5 shooting guard and Aleks Marić is a 6-11 center that is a force inside, averaging 17 points and 9 boards in Euroleague play this year. Marić is a Serb that grew up in Australia (many Serbs left during the war) and then had a good career at the University of Nebraska, being named to the All Big-12 team as a senior.
They also have a strong bench of young local talent. Slavko Vraneš is a 7-6 giant Montenegrin. He played one game for the New York Knicks. He is a bit slow, but he takes up a lot of space near the basket. Aleksandar Rasić is a good back up point guard. Partizan puts a lot of effort into its youth program and they produce many great players. Unfortunately, many of them eventually leave for more money on other European club teams.
I’ll be watching the Final Four in Paris. Partizan faces some stiff competition with three giants of Euroleague basketball also qualifying for the final four. Barcelona (with Minnesota Timberwolf prospect Ricky Rubio), CKSA Moscow (last year’s runner up), and Athens Olympiacos (also in Final Four last year). The format is knock-out, just like the NCAA Final Four, and they play Olympiacos on May 7th. I don’t understand the delay, perhaps the national leagues are finishing first.
This afternoon we went over to New Belgrade to see the World Cup Soccer trophy. FIFA is sponsoring a tour of the World Cup trophy and soccer “experience” literally around the world. Coca Cola is advertising big time with the tour. The trophy was in a large hall. There was a lot going on that was frightening for the young Kralovecs. Between two bands of African drummers, an electronic soccer carpet, aerobic dancers, etc. the experience was a bit overwhelming for them as you can see by the look on their faces.
Ollie Jumps Right In!
The workers were nice and they let us cut to the front because of the kids. We got our picture, free cokes, and then headed out. Serbia is in the World Cup and the country is excited for June. I can’t wait to watch the games. Thanks to Eric for letting me know it was in town.
We have lots of great times as a family in our garden (back yard in American English). Above is a video I took last Saturday morning. Yesterday Nadia, Ivana, and I started to plant in the garden. We planted tulip bulbs, freesias, and basil. We are expanding the garden this year and I’ll be hard at work with it over the holiday, which begins tomorrow evening!
Ollie Enjoys The Magnolia Bloom!
Two of the Magnolias bloomed in our yard. Ocean loves taking a flower each day and putting it in our garden. As some of you may know from my blogs I love trees and it is about the only thing I believe is sacred. The magnificent and ancient Magnolia! I love magnolias!!!
Last week Belgrade commemorated the 11th anniversary of the 1999 NATO bombing that began in March of that year. Most of the buildings and bridges destroyed have been repaired or replaced. There are two large buildings left from the bombing, however, that have not been repaired. The building above is the one that is not often photographed by tourists. The other building, the former defense ministry headquarters, is often photographed and discussed because it is closer to the central, downtown area. I guess more tourists see it than this one.
The building was the federal police headquarters. It is a huge building and there are three large holes where obvious bombs were dropped. The building is located on the same street as the defense ministry, Knez Milosa, but further from the downtown. It is not far from our house in Senjak, just to the other side of the main freeway going through Belgrade. I think it is good that at least one of these buildings remains destroyed. It is a physical memory that is striking. It is similar to the ruins of the national library that was destroyed by the Germans in World War II. I’ll blog about that sight next month as the anniversary of that event is coming up in April.
Entrepreneurs Sell Advertising On the Building
Recently, two large billboards have been erected on the building. I wonder how long these sites will remain? Serbia marked the occasion with a minute of silence at noon followed by the sounding of the air raid sirens.
We had a great time Saturday at the annual ISB Easter Picnic. Ocean is shown above with the Easter Bunny and his helper. It was a beautiful day and the volunteers from the PTSA and US Steel did a wonderful job in making it a fantastic and fun event. Despite the economic recession, US Steel still does have a significant presence at the school and it was nice for them to run this event for the kids.
Owen is really enjoying the teen spy Alex Rider book series. We read the first one, Stormbreaker, together and he is reading the second, Point Blanc. They are really reinvigorated his reading and writing in school. The books are basically James Bond novels with a teenage antagonist. Plenty of action and gadgets to hold young boys’ attention.
The weather is fantastic this week. Spring has sprung and I’ll try to get some photos today before the rain comes this weekend.
Sunday we had some time to kill as our flight out of Estonia didn’t leave until the evening. We went for a long walk around Tallinn and ended up at the Pirita Beach, just outside the city. As you can see, the Baltic Sea in mid-March is not quite ready for a picnic. Tallinn is 59 degrees north.
We had a nice time in Estonia. It was off the beaten path and I got to know a little known place in the world. The Estonians are very similar to the Finns and I think since there are only around 1 million of them, they develop some stronger ties to Finland. They have some definite animosity towards the Russians. We noticed this when we went souvenir shopping. I was looking for “babushkas”, those Russian dolls that have small ones inside each other. The Estonian gift shop vendor pointed out that those were Russian and not Estonian. The Russians had a market outside the Old Town and they were pushed out of the nice areas. I guess after the Russians occupied Estonia, there is still resentment. I wonder how the Russians living in Estonia get along in their daily lives. Do they learn Estonian?
The ISB Gang In Front of the Czar's Former Palace
I am not sure if I’ll ever get back there. It would be a nice place to live, although the long winters would be tough.
Another workshop from the CEESA Conference. The big idea of the workshop is the leader changes as the followers also change. Both leader and participant raise to higher levels of motivation.
Dr. Fran Prolman Led the Workshop
Transformational Leadership can be categorized into three areas.
1) Relationship Building – Getting outside of ourselves and seeing their point of view.
2) Taking a Risk – I can re-invent myself in my work. I can re-invent myself all the time. Always growing.
3) Creating a Culture – I can create a culture of learning, whether it be a hostile environment or nice environment.
Part I. Relationship Building
Fran likes to give us authors and book titles. Margaret Wheatley “Turning to One Another” and “Leadership in a New Science” – Water will always finds its way to the ocean. It has the power to reshape granite. It will always finding a way to the ocean. It is a nice metaphor.
Ways to build transformational leadership and collegiality:
Teaching is an isolating experience. The key is to get teachers to observe one another, sharing expertise at faculty meetings, asking for help,
A nice idea to do is to build collaborative team time built right into the schedule.
Another good book is the “Fred Factor” by Mark Sanborn. “How can I be the best Principal you have ever had?” In this book, he writes about the “B’s”
Be real
Be interested (It is not about me, it is about you as a transformational leader.) Fran Polman interviews people at cocktail parties. Does the person notice they do not know anything about? When this happens, the other person is now ready for a two-way relationship. Another example is when a student comes into your office between classes.
Be a better listener
When someone comes in an asks if they have a minute, I ask them what the topic is. Then I either go for it or ask them to set an appointment.
Be empathic – I want to see things through your lens. 1/3 of any group of adults are dealing with something really hard (illness, divorce) – they need support 1/3 they are healing from the abyss – 1/3 in a state of illusion
Be honest
Be helpful
Reinvent yourself regularly – Increase you Implementation Quotient – increase your capacity
What I am taking from this session in the three categories?
1) I am going to focus on taking the viewpoint of younger teachers.
2) I like the idea of postponing a conversation by setting an appointment, but first asking what the topic is.
This is a strength of mine.
Part II. Risk-Taking
Another good author is Carol Dweck and her book “Mind Set” defines two mindsets, the first being a performance goal versus a learning goal. The first mindset, the people will not take risks because of afraid of failure. An attribute of success after school is to take risks. Michael Fullan wrote in “Implementation Dip” that there will be a big descent after the implementation to the abyss of change and teachers will play out according to their personalities and maturity. When the group hits rock bottom, they begin to think about what exactly support systems they need to get back up to the top. This is “creative tension” is what cranks up the creativity. You as an inspirational leader work the hardest at the bottom to bring them to a higher level. This also applies to new families to the school. It is a big change for them to entrust you with their child and they will struggle at first. The time frame is 3 – 5 years
The degree to which the leader challenges assumptions, seeks feedback from others.
Eric Weihenmayer is a blind mountain climber who leads blind children to high peaks. He used to be a MS teacher, wrestling coach, and the only blind person ever to climb Mnt. Everest.
Another transformational leader is Ben Carson, who was raised in the ghettos of Detroit and a single mother with a third grade education. Her mother made him to read a book a week and write a report on it. He is the Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at John Hopkins Hospital at age 32. He believes in THINK BIG (talent, honesty, Insight, Nice, Knowledge) and then (Books, In-depth learning, God) His most recent book is “Take the Risk: Learning to Identify, Choose, and Live with Acceptable Risk. He uses this decision making process with
What am I taking away from this session?
1) Talk to the teachers about the Michael Fullan descent and ascent change before we do the 1:1 lap top program.
2) Seek feedback AND data from the staff regarding the schedule.
3) Go with the filming of teachers
I would say I am more conservative and less of a risk-taker.
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