Humility

Today's Inspiration:
"The true way to be humble is not to stoop until you are smaller than yourself, but to stand at your real height against someone higher who will show you what the real smallness of your greatness is." - Phillips Brooks

Humility is a concept often misinterpreted. When we here that the meek will inherit the earth, that we are called to be humble, and that we should turn the other cheek we often think that we are called upon to be a carpet. We begin to think that we should allow others to treat us in any way that they choose and that we should smile and thank them for their time. I am not convinced that this is the humility, and meekness that Jesus spoke of.

Our fear of God and humility come from nothing more or less then an understanding of who God is. Our minds are incapable of understanding him in whole, but even glimpsing the small fraction of his being that our fragile selves can comprehend we see that he is sovereign, omnipotent, omnipresent, righteous. He created the world by simply speaking, and brought about life through his very breath. He could crush the entire planet between his fingers, or rain down fire with a mere though. And yet, he doesn't He is love and grace, and His deepest desire is to know you and for you to know Him. If that isn't enough to make you humble, then I do not know what is.

Now, once again, this not groveling, 'I am worthless,' sort of humility. Through this relationship that we are called to aspire to, God gifts us with talents that he expects us to use. Of what use could we be in sharing God's love if we spend our days being a Cheshire cat? or a carpet? We are called to serve, to love, to preach, to teach, to heal, to lead, and to live as Christ lived. In looking at Christ's life we find that most of the time turning the other cheek and smiling through the pain was a valid option. We also see that righteous indignation and powerful demonstrations were part of the package as well. All about motivation. When it was Jesus himself being taunted he bore it meekly. When it was his Heavenly Father being disrespected he spoke out, stood up, and unceremoniously threw the money changers from the temple gates. He called the religious elite vipers, and claimed his inheritance as God's Son.

So, yes, be forgiving, be meek, but carry the fire of God's Spirit within you and don't be afraid to let it show now and then. And above all, don't forget who you are to measure yourself against. With God as the measuring stick our successes and failures get put into a more proper perspective.

Love ... again.

I just want to encourage any/all of you to take a couple of minutes to watch the following video.

Sex, Love, & Fairytales

A young artist points out rather poiniently the misconceptions based around the ideas of love and marriage.

I don't have a lot to say about it except that I appreciate his fresh way of saying ancient truths. The truth is not always popular, and it is not always the easiest choice to make, but as this young man points out, it is the way that leads to true peace, love, and happiness. Enjoy.

Hellicopter Parents

I read an article today that was INCREDIBLY applicable to my day. Had several meetings with parents today about something that really was not a big deal. A girl said something unkind about a classmate (called him a baby). I spoke with her about it. She promised to apologize. End of story. Or so I thought.

This morning the mother came to my classroom. Then the father went to the principal. Then a meeting was set for myself, the principal, the assistant, and the counselor to discuss options. Over something that small? The counselor then met with the 3 students (yes, it was two and now it three and the boy that was hurt by her behavior was not in this group). The day ended with one of those three children sobbing and no one wanting to even speak to the girl who yesterday would have been welcomed if not with open arms at least with a smile. I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that is not exactly the outcome the parents were looking for? That's what you get when you encourage your daughter to blame her shortcomings on others. No Friends. Think about that for a few seconds before you storm my classroom or the principals office next time.

Here is the article. No obligations to read it, but It summed up my thoughts (possibly more dramatically then even I would have said them) and makes some valid points.

Ron Clark, author of "The End of Molasses Classes: Getting Our Kids Unstuck -- 101 Extraordinary Solutions for Parents and Teachers," has been named "American Teacher of the Year" by Disney and was Oprah Winfrey's pick as her "Phenomenal Man." He founded The Ron Clark Academy, which educators from around the world have visited to learn.

(CNN) -- This summer, I met a principal who was recently named as the administrator of the year in her state. She was loved and adored by all, but she told me she was leaving the profession.
I screamed, "You can't leave us," and she quite bluntly replied, "Look, if I get an offer to lead a school system of orphans, I will be all over it, but I just can't deal with parents anymore; they are killing us."
Unfortunately, this sentiment seems to be becoming more and more prevalent. Today, new teachers remain in our profession an average of just 4.5 years, and many of them list "issues with parents" as one of their reasons for throwing in the towel. Word is spreading, and the more negativity teachers receive from parents, the harder it becomes to recruit the best and the brightest out of colleges.
So, what can we do to stem the tide? What do teachers really need parents to understand?
For starters, we are educators, not nannies. We are educated professionals who work with kids every day and often see your child in a different light than you do. If we give you advice, don't fight it. Take it, and digest it in the same way you would consider advice from a doctor or lawyer. I have become used to some parents who just don't want to hear anything negative about their child, but sometimes if you're willing to take early warning advice to heart, it can help you head off an issue that could become much greater in the future.
Trust us. At times when I tell parents that their child has been a behavior problem, I can almost see the hairs rise on their backs. They are ready to fight and defend their child, and it is exhausting. One of my biggest pet peeves is when I tell a mom something her son did and she turns, looks at him and asks, "Is that true?" Well, of course it's true. I just told you. And please don't ask whether a classmate can confirm what happened or whether another teacher might have been present. It only demeans teachers and weakens the partnership between teacher and parent.
Please quit with all the excuses

The truth is, a lot of times it's the bad teachers who give the easiest grades, because they know by giving good grades everyone will leave them alone.
Ron Clark

And if you really want to help your children be successful, stop making excuses for them. I was talking with a parent and her son about his summer reading assignments. He told me he hadn't started, and I let him know I was extremely disappointed because school starts in two weeks.
His mother chimed in and told me that it had been a horrible summer for them because of family issues they'd been through in July. I said I was so sorry, but I couldn't help but point out that the assignments were given in May. She quickly added that she was allowing her child some "fun time" during the summer before getting back to work in July and that it wasn't his fault the work wasn't complete.
Can you feel my pain?
Some parents will make excuses regardless of the situation, and they are raising children who will grow into adults who turn toward excuses and do not create a strong work ethic. If you don't want your child to end up 25 and jobless, sitting on your couch eating potato chips, then stop making excuses for why they aren't succeeding. Instead, focus on finding solutions.
Parents, be a partner instead of a prosecutor
And parents, you know, it's OK for your child to get in trouble sometimes. It builds character and teaches life lessons. As teachers, we are vexed by those parents who stand in the way of those lessons; we call them helicopter parents because they want to swoop in and save their child every time something goes wrong. If we give a child a 79 on a project, then that is what the child deserves. Don't set up a time to meet with me to negotiate extra credit for an 80. It's a 79, regardless of whether you think it should be a B+.
This one may be hard to accept, but you shouldn't assume that because your child makes straight A's that he/she is getting a good education. The truth is, a lot of times it's the bad teachers who give the easiest grades, because they know by giving good grades everyone will leave them alone. Parents will say, "My child has a great teacher! He made all A's this year!"
Wow. Come on now. In all honesty, it's usually the best teachers who are giving the lowest grades, because they are raising expectations. Yet, when your children receive low scores you want to complain and head to the principal's office.
Please, take a step back and get a good look at the landscape. Before you challenge those low grades you feel the teacher has "given" your child, you might need to realize your child "earned" those grades and that the teacher you are complaining about is actually the one that is providing the best education.
And please, be a partner instead of a prosecutor. I had a child cheat on a test, and his parents threatened to call a lawyer because I was labeling him a criminal. I know that sounds crazy, but principals all across the country are telling me that more and more lawyers are accompanying parents for school meetings dealing with their children.
Teachers walking on eggshells
I feel so sorry for administrators and teachers these days whose hands are completely tied. In many ways, we live in fear of what will happen next. We walk on eggshells in a watered-down education system where teachers lack the courage to be honest and speak their minds. If they make a slight mistake, it can become a major disaster.
My mom just told me a child at a local school wrote on his face with a permanent marker. The teacher tried to get it off with a wash cloth, and it left a red mark on the side of his face. The parent called the media, and the teacher lost her job. My mom, my very own mother, said, "Can you believe that woman did that?"
I felt hit in the gut. I honestly would have probably tried to get the mark off as well. To think that we might lose our jobs over something so minor is scary. Why would anyone want to enter our profession? If our teachers continue to feel threatened and scared, you will rob our schools of our best and handcuff our efforts to recruit tomorrow's outstanding educators.
Finally, deal with negative situations in a professional manner.
If your child said something happened in the classroom that concerns you, ask to meet with the teacher and approach the situation by saying, "I wanted to let you know something my child said took place in your class, because I know that children can exaggerate and that there are always two sides to every story. I was hoping you could shed some light for me." If you aren't happy with the result, then take your concerns to the principal, but above all else, never talk negatively about a teacher in front of your child. If he knows you don't respect her, he won't either, and that will lead to a whole host of new problems.
We know you love your children. We love them, too. We just ask -- and beg of you -- to trust us, support us and work with the system, not against it. We need you to have our backs, and we need you to give us the respect we deserve. Lift us up and make us feel appreciated, and we will work even harder to give your child the best education possible.
That's a teacher's promise, from me to you.

Just to clarify, I am in no way considering leaving the profession. I even enjoyed several minutes of my teaching day today, and in general love my job. I just wish more parents read and followed such advice of respected educators and treated us with the same level of respect that other professionals receive. 

Love Languages

Last night some of my friends and I were sitting around taking the '5 Love Languages' quiz. No worries, I'll give you the link to it (http://www.5lovelanguages.com/assessments/love/). This was prompted by a sermon discussion of ways in which we feel blessed or valued. One of the friends who was over is a newly married woman who is living half way around the world from her husband. Their situation is obviously not to be envied. They handle it like pros though, talking as often as possible through Skype and phone calls and spending every break from school together. They seem to be developing a very good understanding of each-others strengths and weaknesses and, the physical separation forces them to be more intimate in conversation, consequently they are discussing things that may have waited years to come up in a more traditional marriage.
So... back on topic. The three of us thought it would be really cool for her to take the quiz and see what ways she feels most valued by her husband. And so, the quiz began. At the conclusion there was of course that 20-20 hindsight vision where everything makes perfect sense and you probably could have guessed from the beginning. ;) It did bring up some really good conversation about how she feels undervalued by family members or friends when some of her top scoring love languages are not used.
The next step, I believe, was for her to forward the results to her husband who could then have a leg up when trying to make her feel loved. She also really wanted him to take the quiz so she would know how best to show him her love. All in all, an adorable success.
The rather amusing part was that this all happened right after another friend and I watched the movie 'Enchanted' and discussed the relationship advice offered throughout the movie. Yes, I know, relationship advice from a cartoon seems a tad scary, but bear with me. In the movie Giselle is of the naive 'true loves kiss' persuasion. The cynical divorce lawyer Robert gives the first bit of relationship advice.'How can you talk about loving someone you don't even know?' Touche. In relationships the whirlwind of emotions often carries the romantic through the first several stages of the relationship and drops them off confused and unhappy on the other end with a complete stranger that they don't know and don't understand how they ever could have loved. The big issue, it was never love. Love is not a fleeting emotion. Infatuation, like, lust, desire, these are fleeting emotions that we often mistakenly interpret as love.
Giselle drops the next big advice in the song 'How Does She Know' when she questions Robert on how his girlfriend (Nancy) knows that she is loved. Robert, like many others assumes that because they are still in a relationship Nancy must know that she is loved. It is a topic that they don't need to talk about. Giselle persists in asking how she is supposed to really know. The song goes on to list many (and often rediculous) ways to show someone you care, but the point remains that you must do things to show your love and affection whether it be by saying the words 'I love you,' spending quality time with the person, doing nice things for them, giving them meaningful gifts, etc... Back to the coincidence... These ways of showing someone you care just happen to be the love languages previously discussed. Go figure huh?
From the ever wise soap opera one of the characters is watching comes this thought...'How could I love a person who doesn't even like himself?' Valid point. Self respect is important in a relationship. If you don't believe you deserve to be treated well, respected, and loved, why on earth would someone take the time to treat you well? This of course doesn't excuse peoples poor behavior, but psychological studies into self fulfilling prophesies could give you whole textbooks of data on this topic. If you believe that you should be treated well, you act in a manner that often causes others to treat you well.
Many other little relationship ideas and advices are mentioned including a discussion of disappointed love, people changing over time, and lovy dovy love being a fantasy from which you will eventually wake up. Only relationships built on something more substantial can survive this rude awakening.
Enough on relationships for now!

School

It's been a while since I posted anything work related, so I thought I'd start by reminding that I teach Grade Four and most of my students are English language learners. Yesterday one of my students told me that for the first time in his life he actually likes a book and is enjoying reading. I was so excited for him I almost did a happy dance on the spot, however, since he would consider that 'way un-cool,' I instead grunted a 'cool' response. This magical book is 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' which, I must say, is not one of my favorites, but, which was deemed enough of a masterpiece that it has a movie made of it. It is a rather humorous and backwards story in which the protagonist is a thieving fox, and the antagonists are the farmers who try to protect their chickens. The author does a masterful job of making the farmers appear stupid and unlovable, and does a reasonably good job of making the fox seem like able. The primary success in the eyes of my particular nine year old book critic is that the book is funny, a tad irreverent, and is short. The pictures are a plus too. If anyone has suggestions of similar books I would love to hear them.
On a completely separate note, scholastic book orders came in. We have now switched over to Scholastic International, and the groaning can still be heard in hallways and break rooms. It's quite silly really, as are most things we complain about. The disappointing part is that by switching to the international version of Scholastic, it is now more difficult for teachers to get books for their classroom. This is not to say we don't still get books, we simply can't order them with the students as we used to and receive them at the same time. It is disappointing, but the real problem is that it is change. Teachers are notoriously against change. I remember having teachers who had taught the EXACT SAME lesson plans for twenty years without alteration. While most of the teachers I work with are not quite that extreme (in fact, in many ways they are quite flexible) any of these little annoyances and changes allows the group to bond as a whole over shared frustrations. Group think really is a rather remarkable thing.
Segueing again, it never ceases to amazing me how often attire comes up during a school year. Some teachers like to dress like they are off to interview every day. I admire these people, but don't own enough suits or pretty skirts and sweaters to risk ruining them at school (sitting on the floor, making bubbles with food coloring, painting, playing soccer, or climbing the furniture to staple the next poster on the wall...). Some teachers dress like they are off to the club, short skirts, tight pants, low necks, and or no sleeves. This group I don't understand at all. Sure, you want to feel pretty, but inevitably at least one of your students is going to know the color of your underwear and/or bra by the end of the day... Some teachers choose function over fashion (I admit, I am one of 'them'). While these teachers may not impress you with their snazzy suits or sexy skirts, they can easily transition from floor to desk, desk to ladder, and ladder to playground without any indecent exposure or fear of damage to expensive clothing items. The down side to this group is that they may not always appear quite as professional as they perhaps should. The final group is the ... beach bum group? The teachers who wear torn khakis, shorts, faded button ups, and slightly ripped polos.These individuals take relaxed professional to a new extreme. The 'sexy' and 'beach bum' groups seem so attached to their clothing choices that several staff meetings a year are not enough to convince them of the necessity of modest and professional dress. As a result, we got to talk about it again this week. Hurray!
Overall, I am still so impressed with my students, my co-workers, and the school in general. There are days that make me laugh (a great many of them) and a few days when I want to cry, but teaching children is such rewarding work (clothing and book orders aside) and I do truly feel lucky to be able to do what I do.
That's all for now. We will see if I can be a little more regular with these updates.

Knoledge and Power

Found this when cleaning out my documents folder. Not sure when I wrote it, but it must have been in the last year or two... It's out of the normally optimistic vein... brace yourself for cynicism.

Giving knowledge is like giving power. The best way to get power over a people is to restrict which knowledge they receive. This must be done subtly as downright denying access to knowledge tends to arouse suspicion and the masses may revolt. However by gradual watering down of the content of the information they receive one can actually appear to offer better education to the masses while rendering them less knowledgeable. By the same gradual process it is also possible to change the content of the information to better suit the purposes of those in power. History can be tweaked and given a certain perspective that puts recent developments in a better light. Psychology, and Biology are great friends to the person in pursuit of knowledge as well. Teach people about the body and minds of others as something to be studied, not as something to be respected or revered. Sciences in general are greatly important in this endeavor as they greatly assist in compartmentalizing and desensitizing of bonds of humanity and morality. By the end of a very short period of time, the pursuit of knowledge can be so molded as to become nothing more than a donkey forever chasing a carrot. Those under your charge will be trained to chase after success without ever gaining anything meaningful from it. They will become compliant workers with low expectations of personal worth. In this way you will not take power, but have it handed to you. People in this situation need a ruler.

To further attain your goals there are more steps to take. The above process will be a great beginning, but there will still be a relatively high chance of a person or persons taking their education into their own hands and thus corrupting your work. It is therefore necessary to pollute the knowledge base so completely that when searching for a book/magazine/article on any given topic there is at least five times the chance of coming across the ideas that you would prefer they believe. Over time slowly weed out those that have contrary messages. It is important not to take them all at the beginning, as once again this would cause alarm and would provide opportunity for rebellion. As the texts are considered obsolete they will be gladly tossed aside. This will be especially easy for texts on science, philosophy, social sciences, and the like. It will be a bit trickier with history and religion since the texts they cling to are so very old and so filled with contrary ideas. These, rather than attempting to pry from rebellious fingers (which always provides far to much attention and commendation to the person troubling you), simply make irrelevant, outdated, unwanted. Slowly poison the minds of those learning.

This can be achieved most easily through popular culture and the media. Flippant remarks about the irrelevance of these subjects to their lives will work well, but even better is the demonizing of those who hold to these beliefs. Movies in which religious fanatics torture and kill will serve your purpose well. News of historians cracking and going on maniacal rampages (someone must get hurt badly as well) will help as well in making people who cling to these ideas seem the outsiders that they are. The best however, will be parodies. Simply mock them. Make them appear backward and behind. No one wants to appear behind.  This will be more easily achieved through comedy shows, sitcoms, late night news anchors, comic strips, etc… Make sure not to directly insult, however, as once again this gets the insulted to much attention and might bring them sympathizers. The objective is to make it as unattractive as possible while giving as little information as possible.

Now that I have briefly covered some basic strategies for the control of knowledge, let us move on to motivation.

It is incredibly difficult to motivate a person who is content. Thus contentedness is one of your most powerful weapons. This requires food, work hours that are long enough to leave them with little free time, but short enough to make them feel lucky to be in their position, stable lifestyles, money, ways to squander the money, and a sense of freedom. Let people believe they can do whatever they want and more times then not they will chose to do nothing. Look at a college student’s idea of a day off. They sleep till noon, spend two hours preparing themselves for the day, refuse to better their mind or body, eat too much, drink till they are ready to puke, and then collapse back into bed. This is their idea of freedom. Use this against them. Tell them they are free to make their own decisions. Insist that you will not interfere in their business except to improve their working conditions, increase their pay, lower their taxes, reform their health care, and revitalize their education. All of the above, you will do. This is important. The people are not quite stupid enough not to notice a lack of change. Therefore you must change things continually until they lose track of what changes have been made. Start with education. Insist on more testing. Testing encourages mindless repetition. It keeps students busy, gives the illusion of learning, and promotes an unhealthy focus on arbitrary number assignments. This is what you want. Once you have parental permission to sort students by ‘knowledge’ or ‘ability’ then they have given you the right to do with their children as you will. They will seldom again bug you about what you teach their child as long as his/her test scores show him/her to be smarter than the average child.

After you have ‘reformed’ education, move on to health care. Health care is essential. Only after taking over health care can you neutralize the growing debt that you face. People will pay anything when they feel that their health and safety are on the line.  Therefore offer cheap healthcare that is inconvenient, in order to prove to the masses that you have lowered the cost of healthcare. Then offer alternatives to this healthcare that are substantially more expansive. Rather than waiting in line for two months for treatment of a condition and paying X amount of money, a person will, if the means are attainable, pay 4X for immediate treatment, especially if this treatment is from a ‘prestigious’ clinic, or a ‘respected’ doctor.  Therefore, in order to ‘encourage the use of this new and innovative medical system,’ tax doctors and clinics that choose to remain outside of its control. This will drive their costs up, thus driving their prices up, and thus providing you with more tax dollars through their practice. This alone will be able to fuel a large amount of the ‘medical reform’ cheap healthcare. However it will not be enough. It is essential to decrease your population base. You must decrease the amount of elderly. The elderly will give you the most problems with all these changes anyway, so their loss will be minimal to your success. However they take up a huge amount of the medical spending on the exorbitant amount of prescriptions that they take and procedures that they require just to keep them going. This will be most easily remedied by the moving of the elderly population into ‘care centers.’ Any psychologist will tell you that they will die in a very brief period of time when shut away from all that was meaningful to them. They also have minimal contact with, and control over the outside world when removed to these centers. They will no longer pass on their wisdom to the younger generations, and will be seen us 'unwell.' in fact, the younger generations will seem to think that their old age and infirmity are contagious and keep well clear of such places.
Keep the public eye elsewhere. Never underestimate a good bit of drama and gossip to get them through the day: celebrity scandals, religious fanatics, well publicized murders, coverage of court cases, love lives of politicians, etc... Scape goats will often get you out of a pickle. If the populace gets restless stir up a good bit of drama and then come in and clean it up. You will be applauded the hero no matter if you started the mischief or not.

The media will be incredibly important to have on your side; flatter them, pay them if necessary, they are crucial to your success. A well publicized scandal has ruined many a promising politician. If it becomes necessary, find more extreme ways to keep your secrets, however if you give the media no reason to distrust you or dislike you and give them plenty of stories on your positive side you may be able to keep them from looking at all. As every powerful politician in history has learned, there are those who seek, and they often find. Bury your secrets deep, and bury the secret keepers with them. Place yourself in the media spotlight whenever the occasion requires with a smile on your face and some well practiced compliments and you will win their hearts. However much you may want to disagree with me here, trust me that appearance is everything. This most definitely includes your physical appearance. Makeovers are your friend. Get well tailored clothing. Cover the grey, at least at first, and practice that smile in front of the mirror. If you cannot convince your wait staff then you will not convince the media. You may think that getting rid of media all together would be an easier course of action but trust me when I say that this is a mistake. The established media is so eager to win your favor that with time and patience you will have them eating out of your hand and they will almost singlehandedly convince your entire populace of your good intentions and of their desire to back you in your every efforts. Get rid of the media and you will have sniper media on call and at the ready. They will come out of the woodwork and fade back into it with impossible cunning and speed, they will be unplacateable, they will find the skeletons in your closet and unearth and bring them to light. They will counter your every move with malcontent and will stir up the populace and make them untrusting. As with knowledge, if you make it appear easy for them to access then they will stop looking so hard. Make sure to appear whenever possible in the company of animals, women, and children (at the beginning) to make yourself seem relatable and attractive. The media will suck it up. They will follow you around like puppies as long as you continue to give them stories. As you progress, however, you must abandon the façade of the family man and take up the mantel of the true leader. Everyone loves the family man, but they revere the strong leader. Once you have the media completely hooked, move towards the more powerful, lone, figure that inspires obedience.

You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down. You cannot further t...he brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred. You cannot build character and courage by taking away people's initiative and independence. -Quote incorrectly attributed to Abraham Lincoln