Back to Work! And Some Encouragement.

It has been a very discombobulated start for me, thanks to construction and a new course to teach. It's US Government and Economics; showing news clips of the Occupy Wall Street folks has already resulted in a parent phone call saying his daughter had come home sounding like a miniature Hugo Chavez. Great. I showed news clips of several Republican debates too. She forgot to mention that, I guess.

Teachers of the world, unite.

The school year is well under way, the bloom is off the rose, and perhaps you, like me, need some encouragement now.

You are a torchbearer, an enlightener, attempting to lead people to be more competent adults composing an enlightened society. Often it feels like remediation, trying to undo lack of parenting and a culture of loud stupidity.

Take heart.

"We cannot hold a torch to light another's path without brightening our own."  ~ Ben Sweetland

Gone fishin'.

I've been on vacation from posting, what with the end of the school year. I hadn't announced it, though, so I thought I better make it overt.

While I have you here . . . I'm looking into how to publicize this blog much more widely. Advertising in the NEA magazine is what initially comes to mind.  Any ideas? Drop a comment or email.  See you mid-August.

Remember to celebrate the positives!

"The more you find broken, the more you need to fix.  The more you find whole, the more you need to celebrate."  ~ Alan Cohen

It's not for nothing you do what you do.

Had a sub yesterday. One of the things for the kids to do was read an information sheet about Sandra Day O'Connor and journal about her.

Today I checked with the kids about their day, and a girl -- totally unsolicited -- said, "I thought that was really interesting."

How nice. And unexpected. A normal, run-of-the-mill school activity, and it clicked with her.

Keep fighting the good fight, colleague. It's not for nothing we do this.

Keep holding fast to what is important.

I am now, after 21 years, "that" teacher who has seen countless fads be the Next Great Thing in education, only to disappear in two years.  It's happening again.

I'll not name our Next Great Thing here, so that you may fill in that blank with whatever "it" is in your own district.

In addition to this unnamed fad (which will of course make more work!), there's the ever-present "tyranny of the urgent" over what is deeply important.

So, here, a little reminder from Gen. Omar Bradley:

"We need to learn to set our course by the stars, not by the lights of every passing ship."


Colleague, keep holding true to what is truly important, as best you can.

Love now! Miracles await!

"Let God's Holy Spirit breathe new life into you, and then let that love uplift you and uplift your students! Hurry! Classroom miracles await!"  

~ Wendy Byard,

in Teach and Reach for Classroom Miracles 

You can help someone discover inner riches.

"The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches, but to reveal to him his own.

~ Disraeli