In a few days the new year will begin! The chance to wipe clean life's white-board and start over again. The chance to reflect on what was...cherishing the good, and learning from the bad. Speaking of the bad...no matter how troublesome or heartbreaking...it is in the darkest hour that our true selves are revealed. Sounds very dramatic, but it is true. I wish no ill will to anyone, let's get that straight before I continue.
In the darkest hour, when our backs are against the wall...it isn't our abilities that save us. It is the choices we make! Conjugate the verb...to survive! Fight or flight...give in or fight...sit still or move forward. It is at these times that our true strength (More than just the physical) must be tapped into. It is from these dark places that heroes are born...the ones who chose (Even against insurmountable odds) to fight or move forward when everyone around them, and everything within them said to do nothing. These heroes moved through the fear, or the hurt to emerge the better for it.
I guess I am on this blog today because I just watched a video that has recently gone viral. the video was made by a young man named Ben who had a very serious heart condition. Throughout his life he was always a breath away from death. On three different occasions he DID die between the ages of 11 and 18, but was brought back. Each experience left him changed. He no longer feared what most of us fear (Our own mortality)...he lived life, and enjoyed every moment. Ben cheated death on three different occasions, and made this video...a lasting legacy. Last week...on Christmas Day...Ben died at the age of 18.
I am humbled by this young man, and I am so grateful for what he left behind. No matter how bad things are or how bad I THINK they are...I am a fighter! I am a mover! I may be up against the wall at times, but I will figure out a way to get off that wall. Thank you Ben for reminding me that no matter how bad I think it is at times...get off my ass and fix it, and that so many others have REAL worries, problems, or concerns!
I digress...sorry. The title of this Blog entry is New Year Resolutions! Though I am long winded what I wrote above has everything to do with me, the coming new year, and what I vow to do. Many of you (The very few who actually read my ramblings) don't really know me. What I will reveal to you is that my resolutions this year, are the same resolutions I have made every year (Most of them...some are new this year!). Not every year of my life, but every year since my life had true meaning. The following resolutions have been my credo since September 18, 1996. Believe it or not...these changes, these vows to myself came all at once. They all rushed in at exactly 4:27 pm. I know this sounds odd, accept it or not...it is absolutely the truth.
NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS
1. Never take yourself too seriously.
2. Laugh at yourself.
3. Lie only when you have thought it over...then think again!
4. Love is too powerful a thing to be given freely, but when you do...go for the gold!
5. Be honest in all things...no matter how hard it can be at times.
6. Learn from your mistakes.
7. Never make the same mistake twice!
8. Do not rely on others to make you happy...you will always be disappointed.
9. Expect from others what you put out!
10. Never give a zero to a child...anything a child does is worth something.
11. Failure is not an option in my classroom!
12. My son comes first above all!
13. Never be afraid to say...I am wrong. (You'd better prove it, though...Haha)
14. Have fun, joke, laugh...with those who are in your life.
15. Do not accept a liar, a fake, or a phony...just tolerate them if you must.
16. Take nothing for granted.
17. Give no credence to the Mayan calendar!
18. Encourage, and enrich...never belittle a child.
19. Respect your students...don't think they are less just because they are young.
20. Show respect to all...even those who don't deserve it.
21. Say I love you to everyone I love.
22. Never reveal anything to anyone who doesn't have your trust.
23. Never be a fake or a phony...be yourself!
24. Remember the past, but never live in it. I was already there!
25. The love for your students must be unconditional...kids don't learn until they have made MANY mistakes!
26. Let kids BE kids!
27. Set rules, be consistent, bulid structure...glue it all together with respect.
28. Never talk behind someone's back.
29. Eat, live, be merry!
30. When you see a child fall, help them up. When they fall again, offer your hand. When they fall yet again...encourage them to stand on their own. If they fall again...Snarl, growl, and bellow then start the whole process over again!
31. Never give up...never give in. UNLESS...it is something without substance, or not worthy of your effort.
Well...there ya go! Happy New Year friends! I have a strong feeling that this is going to be a stellar year! I am always excited about what is around the next bend, or further down the road. Hope you all are also!
Mr. Mac
A Classroom is a Community
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Keep Humbug Out of the Classroom!
I love this time of year! For me there truly is such a thing as the Christmas spirit. It fills me the day after Thanksgiving, and remains constant until the New Year. That is to say...as January moves forward into February, then into March, the Christmas Spirit moves back. By April it has tucked itself away into a place deep within me; the same place that houses my most cherished memories and best emotions. From April until the following November it sleeps there, undisturbed...no doubt charging itself up for the next Great Awakening.
I wish I could lie and tell you...The Christmas Spirit lives within me now, and all the year through! How Ebenezer in the final act that would be! No...I won't tell you that. Christmas sleeps while other spirits arise. By spring I am possessed by a new awakening, by summer yet another...then there is the fall! The Great Pumpkin rises from his patch and enters my soul. Just after, the familiar stirrings of the Christmas Spirit. A constant, never ending cycle. I love it!
During this time of year (Especially the month of December) in my classroom it is an especially warm, and delightful time for me. I see and feel the excitement my kids are feeling about the coming holiday, and days off from school. Each new day the kids get a bit more fidgety. A bit more chatty. A bit more animated! Being an educator that places Classroom Management at the top of the list of an effective teacher...I certainly maintain a sense of calm in my classroom...a stable, and structured environment. I also allow the Christmas Spirit to set up residence! This is not to say that I am any more lenient when it comes to the rules, or student conduct...it simply means that I remember. I know how each of my kids are feeling, and at times...deemed appropriate by me...I allow my kids to be kids and let their excitement out.
Sealing a lid on a boiling pot of water is going to cause a big explosion, right? Sealing a lid on a kid is going to have the same affect! At least once a day during December I make time in my classroom for the kids to cut loose, to have some fun, to sing, to dance...to be joyous! What I know is...allowing the kids to blow off steam will always create excellent students! a student sitting prim and proper all day long simply does not make logical sense to me...not at this time of year! When your kids have something to look forward to...they will work effectively, they will listen more attentively, they will move mountains! Dancing to Jingle-bell Rock takes only 3.12 minutes. Singing Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer takes only 4 minutes. That is enough time for the kids to get there excitement out in the open and validated. Do it at the beginning of the day...at the end...just before a test, or just after....makes a world of difference! Plan your classroom Christmas party...let the kids know it is coming, allow them to help plan it! LET THE EXCITEMENT HAPPEN!
Whoever reads this will probably think that this kind of thing is good for Grade five on down to pre-school. I say Crusty-Christmas balls to that...and here is why. Last week we (The teachers at JBM) had our annual Christmas party...food, drink and good cheer. School districts and companies around the nation are doing the same thing. Families have Christmas parties, hell even the SPCA has a Christmas party for the animals in the shelter! What I am getting at here is...every year I hear from my past students who tell me that they are not having a classroom Christmas party because according to their teacher they (The students) are too old for that kind of thing. If adults can frolic the night away under the mistletoe, and allow their Christmas Spirit to rock-out...why are sixth graders too old for a party? Why is it not appropriate for eighth graders to share some fruit-cake during Algebra instead of battling algorithms? Why can't a tenth grade ELA class haul out the holly for one day before break? I have no answers to these questions. I can only state that nurturing a young person towards adulthood takes more than just academics, rules and regulations. More than anything it takes heart, truth and the validation that what a person feels...excitement for the holiday say...is just as important as anything else worth learning.
To the teachers who get frustrated at this time of year with the excessive talking, fidgetiness, and over exuberant personalities in their classrooms...get a clue. Take a pill if you have to. Find the Christmas Spirit, hell fake it if you have to! Take a step back and allow your kids to feel it! It eases the tension, and allows for more productivity. Sixth graders are too old for a Christmas party? Hum-freaking-bug!
I wish I could lie and tell you...The Christmas Spirit lives within me now, and all the year through! How Ebenezer in the final act that would be! No...I won't tell you that. Christmas sleeps while other spirits arise. By spring I am possessed by a new awakening, by summer yet another...then there is the fall! The Great Pumpkin rises from his patch and enters my soul. Just after, the familiar stirrings of the Christmas Spirit. A constant, never ending cycle. I love it!
During this time of year (Especially the month of December) in my classroom it is an especially warm, and delightful time for me. I see and feel the excitement my kids are feeling about the coming holiday, and days off from school. Each new day the kids get a bit more fidgety. A bit more chatty. A bit more animated! Being an educator that places Classroom Management at the top of the list of an effective teacher...I certainly maintain a sense of calm in my classroom...a stable, and structured environment. I also allow the Christmas Spirit to set up residence! This is not to say that I am any more lenient when it comes to the rules, or student conduct...it simply means that I remember. I know how each of my kids are feeling, and at times...deemed appropriate by me...I allow my kids to be kids and let their excitement out.
Sealing a lid on a boiling pot of water is going to cause a big explosion, right? Sealing a lid on a kid is going to have the same affect! At least once a day during December I make time in my classroom for the kids to cut loose, to have some fun, to sing, to dance...to be joyous! What I know is...allowing the kids to blow off steam will always create excellent students! a student sitting prim and proper all day long simply does not make logical sense to me...not at this time of year! When your kids have something to look forward to...they will work effectively, they will listen more attentively, they will move mountains! Dancing to Jingle-bell Rock takes only 3.12 minutes. Singing Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer takes only 4 minutes. That is enough time for the kids to get there excitement out in the open and validated. Do it at the beginning of the day...at the end...just before a test, or just after....makes a world of difference! Plan your classroom Christmas party...let the kids know it is coming, allow them to help plan it! LET THE EXCITEMENT HAPPEN!
Whoever reads this will probably think that this kind of thing is good for Grade five on down to pre-school. I say Crusty-Christmas balls to that...and here is why. Last week we (The teachers at JBM) had our annual Christmas party...food, drink and good cheer. School districts and companies around the nation are doing the same thing. Families have Christmas parties, hell even the SPCA has a Christmas party for the animals in the shelter! What I am getting at here is...every year I hear from my past students who tell me that they are not having a classroom Christmas party because according to their teacher they (The students) are too old for that kind of thing. If adults can frolic the night away under the mistletoe, and allow their Christmas Spirit to rock-out...why are sixth graders too old for a party? Why is it not appropriate for eighth graders to share some fruit-cake during Algebra instead of battling algorithms? Why can't a tenth grade ELA class haul out the holly for one day before break? I have no answers to these questions. I can only state that nurturing a young person towards adulthood takes more than just academics, rules and regulations. More than anything it takes heart, truth and the validation that what a person feels...excitement for the holiday say...is just as important as anything else worth learning.
To the teachers who get frustrated at this time of year with the excessive talking, fidgetiness, and over exuberant personalities in their classrooms...get a clue. Take a pill if you have to. Find the Christmas Spirit, hell fake it if you have to! Take a step back and allow your kids to feel it! It eases the tension, and allows for more productivity. Sixth graders are too old for a Christmas party? Hum-freaking-bug!
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