motivation
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A Leap of Faith
This is not the first time I have taken a huge leap of faith, stepped out, trusted what I was told, and took the chance. It is, however, the first time that leap of faith has risked upsetting the delicate apple cart of my children and meant Mike would leave the job (and vested retirement)… Continue reading
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Measuring Growth: Personal Journeys in Education and Life
In education, we often talk about growth being measurable. We assign numbers to the growth we want students to achieve so we can track if the student is reaching their goals. “Student will raise their hand 4 of 5 times and wait to be called on.” Personally, I am not a fan of Continue reading
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Keep The Character: When Teaching Children or Refinishing Furniture, Look For Individuality
For many teachers, the summer is a time of rest, to vacation with or without family, and perhaps, a time to reflect. For me, summer is a time to work with my hands, to get splinters, to get dirty in a garden, and to see the fruits of my labor as I work with a Continue reading
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The Gift in the Thorn
One day, a student asked me if Johnny would make the book, too. My response was, “Johnny will have his own chapter. I will call it, ‘Little Johnny’, and the first sentence will read, ‘His name really was Johnny, but he was not little. He was tall, athletic, and notorious for speaking before he thought.’” Continue reading
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Happy Graduation Season: Let’s Celebrate
It is the time of year when we celebrate the accomplishments of completing an educational journey, when lunches and dinners are had in honor of diplomas and degrees. This is also the time when other people provide unsolicited advice on what the graduates should do with their lives now that they have been educated and… Continue reading
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A Rose By Any Other Name
When you respectfully ask another individual to help you understand why their name is so important to them, you are not only gaining understanding and participating in a human-to-human activity, but you are also telling that person that you see them, you hear them, and you are trying to learn to support them. If you… Continue reading
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The Motivating Power of Rejection
I had never been an all-A student or admitted into any kind of honor anything, so these were huge accomplishments for me. I must say, I credit the advisor who first rejected me for the motivation I needed to push myself to my academic best. Maybe I will send her a thank you note. Continue reading
Education, etc. 