There are too many things to list about what I am grateful for from this past summer. We’ve done a lot of work on the farm and had a lot of fun hanging out as well. We’ve had new arrivals to the farm and had to say goodbye to others.
I guess the only thing I can think of to be thankful for while keeping this short (because I have to go season some cheese) is to say that I’m grateful for all that a person can learn in a season.
Check out the original Thankful Thursday.
If we’re brave enough to not be victims.
–Must Be This Tall To Ride
I’ve had a lot happen to me in my life. I’ve had a lot happen to my family and not just me, but when I read the blog post this morning called How To Never Have Bad Days, the above quote just jumped out at me.
I’ve never thought of it that way. Things are going to happen to you, to me. Life is going to happen.
It’s something that my family always says when we end up being the one having to wait any amount of time for something. An hour’s wait for an appointment because the doctor got called away that morning to an emergency? Life happens. Friend and/or family had to cancel at the last minute plans that were months in the making because of something else? Life happens.
I am a firm believer that Life is going to happen at the most inconvenient time whenever it feels like it, because no matter what we try the simple truth is that we are not in control. So Life is going to happen and you just have to roll with it (or not, it’s up to you.)
But having things happen and being a victim of circumstance is not really the same thing. You are only a victim if you allow yourself to be. This does not mean that nothing bad will ever happen to you because of the actions or inaction of someone else.
You don’t have to be a victim.
It is your choice.
So today, I am grateful for the blogs of others and the things that they teach me because there are some things that I’m not going to think of, but that doesn’t mean someone else won’t.
Make sure to read the original Thankful Thursday as well.
Written when I became curious about what Wikipedia would bring up when I typed in ‘May 10.’ It was a surprising read through and I only skimmed a little of what has happened today in the past.
I’ve read a lot recently about education in the news lately. How teachers are stepping up in the classroom to make a difference in the lives of their students. These people may or may not be parents themselves, but even if they have no children of their own, they are just as important in the lives of their students and the lives of the parents of those students.
A teacher in Utah several decades ago saw that one of her students was having some difficulties at home and with kind words helped to teach her things that the child’s mother wasn’t able to at the time. Something simple like how to take a bath and wash your clothes as well as knowing that there was an adult who was able to be there for her to rely on. This teacher had helped other students with their self-confidence by being a generous grader with their homework when she realized that the student would do better once she had a little faith in herself.
Another teacher, in Texas, changed the life of her former student so much that when the now grown-up student found out that her former choir teacher was suffering from Lewy body dementia, she took the now elderly woman into her home. The student had been in contact with her teacher for several years before that and would often come over and help with something should the teacher call. The teacher, Martha Hayes, had no children and no family left by the time she was no longer a teacher, but Carolyn James, her student, was quoted as saying that ‘her students were her children.’
At a middle school in Utah recently, when football coaches found out that some of their football players were taking part in less than stellar activities (cyberbullying and skipping classes, some even failing classes) they decided to make a stand about it. They disbanded the football team and told their players that they would have to ‘earn the privilege to play’ back. They were very open about why they were taking this course of action and the team reacted. Within one week, many of them had earned their jerseys and the right to play on the school football team. The team was told that they would need to do community service, attend their classes and take a class on character development. Those that weren’t doing so well in their classes were told that they needed to improve their grades.
The students, the football players, they took what their coaches had been saying and made it a reality. They responded positively to being told that they needed to straighten their acts. Within one week all but 9 of the original 41 players had earned their privilege to play on the field back.
I’d mention everything that I have read about, but then this entry would be twice as long as it already is. So I will leave off with a few experiences that I can’t place a a link to about because they didn’t make the news. But these teachers still deserve some recognition, because they have mad teaching skillz.
When I was in the first grade, I was always late to class. It wasn’t because I was actually late to the school, but because I was easily distracted and didn’t want to leave what I was doing just because the bell rang. My teacher, Mrs. Beers offered me a deal: if I arrived on time to class every day for a week, I would win a small prize. A pencil or eraser that wasn’t the normal school issue, maybe a new notebook to write in (I was always running out of paper after writing). If I was able to come on time to class every day for a month, I earned a candy bar. I haven’t been late to any class if I could help it since then even though none of my other teachers had a reward system. I learned that I liked being on time because of her.
And that brings us to today and why I started writing this post at all. I had spent the morning trying to find something that I could get into my head enough to write about, but I was coming up blank on most everything. What prompted this entry wasn’t because of all the awesome teachers in the news this month, though if they hadn’t also been mentioned I likely wouldn’t have remembered to write this at all. My eldest nephew got a 95% on his math test today and was the second highest score in his class. We found out about this because his teacher took the time to call and let his mother know in order to let Chris know just how important a feat that was. After learning of this, all of the other articles and instances jumped from the back of my head into the front and I knew what I had to write about.
We often hear about the lame teachers when talking to students, but maybe we should pay more attention to the ones with mad skillz instead.
Research:
Teach to clean: http://www.ksl.com/?sid=27091871&nid=1010&title=woman-reconnects-with-teacher-who-changed-her-life&fm=home_page&s_cid=featured-5 and http://www.ksl.com/index.php?sid=26890135&nid=1010&title=35-years-later-woman-searches-for-teacher-who-changed-her-life
Choir teacher: http://www.today.com/news/full-circle-woman-cares-beloved-childhood-teacher-8C11299078
Football team: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865587020/Taking-a-stand-Union-High-coach-suspends-entire-football-team-in-lesson-about-character.html?pg=all#cxrecs_s and http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865587112/National-attention-support-overwhelm-Union-High-coaches-administrators.html
Breathing In 