Light the Fire

Education is not the filling of a pail,

but the lighting of a fire.

~William Butler Yeats, Irish Poet

Happy Birthday, Kari!

Happy Birthday to

my dear, and brave

friend, Kari. I have

known you my whole

life, and am proud

to call you, friend.

Actually, I believe time

has made us "sisters!"

Kari is battling an illness, Fibromuscular Dysplasia, and is raising money for

research, and education.... please

donate, if you are able. Thank you!!

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.firstgiving.com%2Fkariulrich&h=8b9745a488183a91bbc675b74e94e6cf

Kari... How ironic--- The Vintage Art of the Day, is the Chat Noir, that you like so much! In honor of YOUR birthday, I guess! Cheers to you!

God Bless the Freedom Riders

I wanted to remind you of some very brave heroes. Thank you, Freedom Riders, from the bottom of my heart. May we never forget...

(Please click on "very brave heroes")

Hope

This is one of the most beautiful quotes I have ever read. It really hits home for me right now. Let me tell you why...

I am substitute teaching in a Middle School that happens to be in a poverty stricken area. It is by far the most challenging job I have ever had. I don't think the differences I have seen in behavior are due to the difference in culture, because the culture in this area teaches respect and honor... their true culture and teachings are beautiful; I think the differences are due to poverty. After just eight days of teaching, I have realized that there are extreme highs, and extreme lows. No day ever seems to be without its drama, but there are days that are exciting and incredibly joyful; days that make me feel like I'm on top of the world. And then there are days that bring me to tears; days when I feel like my spirit is being crushed. I must say, a lot of wonderful things have happened in this classroom. Chaos is gone, order is in place, and respect is slowly showing its beautiful face.

Each day I post a quote of the day on the chalkboard. I stumbled across this one, and it immediately took my breath away. It is what I want so badly for the kids in the classes I am teaching. I want them to find their hope...

The very least you can do in your life is to figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance but live right in it, under its roof.

~ Barbara Kingsolver, American Novelist , 1955-

Go ahead...build your house of hope... I dare you. ~Lisa

Conquer Fear

"Knowledge

is an

antidote

to

fear."

—Ralph Waldo Emerson, American Poet,

1803-0882

Educating Girls

"If you really want to change a culture, to empower women, improve basic hygiene and health care, and fight high rates of infant mortality, the answer is to educate girls."

~Greg Mortenson, director of the Central Asia Institute, former mountaineer and military veteran, who spends several months each year building schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan

(Taken from Three Cups of Tea One Man's Mission to Promote Peace... One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin)

A Seat in the Dare Chair

I got to sit in the Dare Chair yesterday.

It was mighty

uncomfortable.

You might say I was thrown out... way out... of my comfort zone, that is.

Let me tell you the story...

At 8:15 I was called to substitute teach. Turned out that I was to be a sub for the sub. Yep, the substitute teacher was sick, and needed the calvary.

"Sure, I can come in. I can be in in an hour."

"Great!," was the reply.

"Which class is it?"

"High School History."

"Okay... I'll see you soon."

High school history??!! Aahh! I've never taught high schoolers before. I make it a point to be taller than the children in my care; it gives me a false sense of control. High school??!! Well, I like history. I can do this. I've been rock climbing before, which in my mind means I can do anything! (Can you hear my roar?) As long as it's not Civics---anything but Civics. I truly do not remember a thing about my high school government class. Did I even have one?

One hour. Sixty short minutes. Great. I needed to shower, get ready, get the little ones to preschool, cancel an appointment, make an appointment, get my son's skis to the Middle School, and get to the High School in one itty-bitty hour.

I was shaking the principal's hand an hour later, trying not to show my shortness of breath from running from my car to the school. He kindly gave me my assignment... Civics Class. I hope he did not sense the wave of sheer panic that rushed through me like a tidal wave. I remained calm with the sense that surely the kids would be in the middle of a project.. some sort of project, any project!

Now remember... I was already out of my comfort zone. Well, I was now catapulted into an entirely different state, let alone zone! Yep, you guessed it... I was to give a lecture on Congress!!! A lecture?! I am sure my face lost color at this point.

I was talking myself into the fact that I could do this. I had to do this. I had no choice. My saving grace was a prep hour. Thank God for prep hours! I took out their Civics book, read chapter 6, took many notes, and read the teacher's notes time and time again.

I am very happy to say that I was able to give a heck of a lecture about Congress! I can tell you about the House of Representatives, districts, how many people make up a district, Speaker of the House, the Senate, who the jury is during an impeachment trial, their salaries, and many more facts. I actually had a lot of fun!

It's funny how we sometimes kick and scream as we are being pulled out of our comfort zones. Heavy doubt clouds our vision so at times it is impossible to even see the idea of success. I know the Dare Chair is hard and uncomfortable, but I can pretty much guarantee you that you will never regret having a seat in it. Okay, in all honesty, you will probably be mad at yourself for getting into it in the first place; you may even try to get out of it! But after all of you hard work, when you are staring at success in it's beautiful face, you will never regret your decision to push yourself past the obstacles and self doubt. Truly.

Go ahead.

Have a seat.

I dare you.

101%

(Thanks to my cousin, Cathy for sending this to me.)

From a strictly mathematical viewpoint:

What Equals 100%? What does it mean to give MORE than 100%?

Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%?

We have all been in situations where someone wants you to GIVE OVER 100%.

How about ACHIEVING 101%?

What equals 100% in life?

Here's a little mathematical formula that might help answer these questions:

If: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Is represented as: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.

If: H-A-R-D-W-O-R- K = 8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%

And: K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E = 11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = 96%

But: A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E = 1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%

THEN, look how far the love of God will take you:

L-O-V-E-O-F-G-O-D = 12+15+22+5+15+6+7+15+4 = 101%

Therefore, one can conclude with mathematical certainty that:

While Hard Work and Knowledge will get you close, and Attitude will get you there,

It's the Love of God that will put you over the top!

Pretty Good

The following came from Charles Osgood of CBS News...

There once was a pretty good student,

Who sat in a pretty good class;

Who was taught by a pretty good teacher,

Who always let pretty good pass---

He wasn't terrific at reading,

He wasn't a whizbang at math;

But for him education was leading

Straight down a pretty good path.

He didn't find school exciting,

But he wanted to do pretty well;

And he did have some trouble with writing,

And no one had taught him to spell.

When doing arithmetic problems,

Pretty good was regarded as fine---

5 plus 5 needn't always add up to 10

A pretty good answer was 9

The pretty good class that he sat in

Was part of a pretty good school;

And the student was not the exception,

On the contrary, he was the rule.

The pretty good student, in fact, was

Part of a pretty good mob;

And the first time he knew that he lacked was

When he looked for a pretty good job.

It was then, when he sought a position,

He discovered that life would be tough---

And he soon had a sneaking suspicion,

Pretty good might not be enough.

The pretty good town in our story

Was part of a pretty good state,

Which had pretty good aspirations,

And prayed for a pretty good fate.

There once was a pretty good nation,

Pretty proud of the greatness it had,

Which learned much too late, if you want to be great,

Pretty good is, in fact, pretty bad.

Schoolmarm

Here are some interesting facts about female teachers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. I wonder how many would choose the profession if the rules remained the same...

• teachers were often forbidden to marry



• they were not allowed to be in the company of any man but their father or brother



• were not to wear fewer than two petticoats



• forbidden to smoke cigarettes or dye their hair



• they were not allowed to loiter in ice cream parlors

We've come a long way, baby!

(Information taken from We Americans, published by the National Geographic Society)

Freedom Writers

Do you ever read a book, then see the movie, and are disappointed? It seems that your imagination, and the details in the book, never quite measure up to the movie.

Well, I was pleasantly surprised when I watched The Freedom Writers Diary, starring Hilary Swank. I previously posted a bit about the book, The Freedom Writers Diary, and raved about how good it was. Let me tell you... the movie is excellent, and remains true to the story. The actors are so good, I forgot many times that they were actors, and not the true Freedom Writers. I highly recommend the movie. Hilary Swank does a wonderful job portraying Erin Gruwell.

The movie is available in DVD. Please take the time to watch it. It is imperative that we all get a glimpse of what life is like for so many kids in America. May God bless Erin Gruwell, and all of the people like her that are willing to make a difference.

Hero

Recently I read The Freedom Writers Diary by Erin Gruwell and the Freedom Writers. Wow. I was astounded by the war that is going on in our country. Young students are fighting for their lives day in and day out. It's no wonder that they couldn't care less about English and Math class. Erin Gruwell is an amazing teacher who changed the lives of many students. I challenge you to read this book; you'll be glad you did.

We need more teachers like Erin Gruwell. She is a hero, as are many of her students. God bless you, Erin.

Teachers

When we become a really
mature, grown-up, wise society, we will put teachers at the center of the community, where they belong. We don't honor them enough, we don't pay them enough.

~Charles Kuralt

Okay, I may be a bit biased, but I really love this quote! ~Lisa