I just read Princess Academy, a young adult novel, recommended by one of my youth. As a teacher, I read it through different eyes and I was amazed at the way it described literacy development in a mountain village. The desire and passion in one student then transfered to the rest of the village. Literacy might …
I can’t say that I’ve caught the wave of Pinterest pandemonium. Maybe it’s the facebook posts repeating so many of the same things found on Pinterest that make me feel like I am already experiencing what it’s like or maybe it’s the suspicion that Pinterest, like Branded, is using woman for marketing research…well, actually it’s not …
And yet another podcast on the same idea: Confidence is knowing you can do something well. Courage is trying something that you aren’t sure what the outcome will be. If the Cowardly Lion can sing in a costume with curls and ribbons, then surely I can face the possibility of the uncertainty of what lies …
Wow the second article in a week that reminds me to be comfortable being different, being me: He said “Stop worrying about what you’re bad at. Focus on what you’re good at and do more of that. Swim downstream. That’s how you become successful. Play to your strengths.” I’ve never forgotten that conversation. It still took …
I don’t write about the issues surrounding being a woman much…wait actually, I don’t think I ever had. I’m hesitant to even explain why I feel the need to write this now, but here we go. One of my dear friends sent me this article and I so identified with the way she feels like …
I needed this reminder this morning. Thanks to Michael Smith, for posting it on his blog so that others like me who are heading into the second month of summer wondering and waiting for something to break for next school year. I needed the reminder that it’s not impossible to change. I needed the reminder …
It does seem that teaching is a secret clubhouse of experiences that you can only understand if you have lived them. I am shocked by the number of people who say things like, “I think I’ll go into teaching because those students could certainly use my experiences in business.” Teaching isn’t something you can pick …
There’s something extremely fulfilling about being exhausted after giving yourself to service for a week. Whether that service is in giving yourself to hard work digging ditches or painting or moving for someone else, the fatigue of straining your physical body and mental capacity results in an tiredness that you just can’t get any other …
There came a point as we were digging the ditch for the power line to go in that there really was no better way to get dirt out unless you got on your stomach and dug with your hands. The red clay earth covered you as you dug deeper. It wasn’t until after the day’s …
I spent most of today in a 21 inch ditch running the length of a camp where we are working on a mission trip. The purpose of the ditch is to run a power line to a chapel that hasn’t had power in 40 years. As I looked at my clay-covered hands and the crew …
