And it all began with a teacher...

I have a calendar on my desk with a quote or saying about teaching and education for each day,

The following was the excerpt from November 21st.  This piece was given to me, my first year as an educator, by my mentor teacher. Unfortunately, in moving from school to school it somehow was misplaced.  When I read this again yesterday, it brought back a lot of the memories of those first few years of learning to become a teacher and the inspiration I recieved from so many educators, that I have worked with.

Teachers are the reason why airplanes fly,

computers program, ballets are danced,

novels are written, cancers are researched,

lawsuits won, skyscrapers built, and

“art” decorates refrigerator doors.

Life’s biggest, boldest, brightest ideas

--- life’s honors, achievements and

accomplishments --- occur because

somewhere, sometime, someone touched

our lives --- and it all began with a

TEACHER

Thank you to all who have touched my life as an educator.

Happy Thanksgiving

Thank-you and Goodbye, Brother Donald Mansir FSC

Brother Donald Mansir FSC, passed away this weekend.

He was my mentor, teacher and friend and the main reason I became an educator. 

Brother Donald, you lived the 12 Virtues of a Good Teacher

and in doing so touched my life in so many ways.

Gravity (Seriousness)
You allowed me to enjoy my years in high school but made sure I understood my responsibilities and how to meet expectations.  You provided a balance of the importance of appreciating all of my talents, even the ones I had not yet discovered.

Silence
You had a special way of drawing out my thoughts and allowing me to express myself by simply waiting silently with that look of “wanting more”.

Humility
You enjoyed the finer things in life but lived in simplicity.  You enjoyed each and every person for who we were.  

Prudence
You provided me ample opportunity to explore myself and my world with a sense of safety and security without impinging my freedom to be me.

Wisdom
You lived a life of education, your passion for learning and the value of knowledge was a gift that I was fortunate to witness and learn from.

Patience
You very seldom showed anger or frustration even though I may not have always been the most cooperative of individuals.  You were always a model of restraint and calm.

Reserve (Self-control)
You knew your limits and you knew my limits and you always found a way to work within those parameters to find success for each of us.

Gentleness
You were one of the most gentle men I ever knew.  Your quiet voice spoke volumes to me loud and clear.  

Zeal
You brought an energy to all you did through your passion for excellence. I look back on ‘Man of La Mancha” and realize that is the life an educator leads, but only with a zeal for the value of an education.  

Vigilance
You brought an air of safety and security to a very awkward time in my life. I knew always that when I was in your presence that all would be well.

Piety
You are the main reason I am an Educator today. Your example goes far beyond anything I could have learned from a book or in a classroom.  

Generosity
You were the model of generosity, in giving of yourself in time, energy and knowledge that I may be the person I am today.    

Thank-you and Goodbye

Brother Donald

I Will Miss You

   

It's The Teacher - John Wooden

From John Woodens' book "My Personal Best"...

No written word nor spoken plea,

Can teach our youth what they should be.

Not all the books on all the shelves,

It's what the teachers are themselves.

No matter what comes about: curriculum, textbooks, technology, media, methodology, it will always come down to that relationship created by a teacher who cares enough to demand the most from the talents of each student. Both those talents they may be aware of and those that are discovered along the learning path.    

Sharing Roles with Parents

12 Steps to Raisng a

Juvenile Delinquent

1. Begin with infancy to give the child everything he wants. In this way he will grow up to believe the world owes him a living.
2. When he picks up bad words, laugh at him. This will make him think he’s cute.
3. Never give him any spiritual training. Wait until he is twenty-one and then let “him decide for himself”.
4. Avoid the use of “wrong”. He may develop a guilt complex. This will condition him to believe later, when he is arrested, that society is against him and he is being persecuted.
5. Pick up everything he leaves lying around. Do everything for him so that he will be experienced in throwing all responsibility on others.
6. Take his part against neighbors, teachers, and policemen. They are all prejudiced against your child.
7. Quarrel frequently in the presence of your children. In this way they won’t be so shocked when the home is broken up later.
8. Give the child all the spending money he wants. Never let him earn his own.
9. Satisfy his every craving for food, drink, and comfort. See that his every sensual desire is gratified.
10. Let him read any printed material, and listen to any music he can get his hands on. Be careful that the silverware and drinking glasses are sterilized, but let his mind feast on garbage.
11. When he gets into real trouble, apologize to yourself by saying, “I could never do anything with him.”
12. Prepare for a life of grief. You will likely have it.

Taken from the pamphlet entitled Twelve Rules for Raising Delinquent Children

Distributed by the Houston Police Department.

I recieved a copy of this from a colleague about three years ago.

I share this with parents on Back to School nights.

More and more parents are more concerned with remining buddies with their adolescent children rather than defining clear expectations in the development of character and integrity.

This places an ever increasing burden on the roles of teachers as educator, mentor, role model, disciplinarian and guide through this very trying time in a teenagers life.

The role of teacher becomes more powerful as most students entrusted to our care, will spend more waking hours in our classrooms than with their parents throughout their high school years.

The Role of Mentor

This is a copy of the original from John Wooden.  This copy was given to me by another teacher in my Master's cohort at Concordia University.

I am reminded of the importance of being a mentor, whether we are a parents, siblings, teachers or coaches.

The values we live are going to be mirrored by the people in our life.  Many of the students we teach spend more time with us as educators in the classroom than they do with their own parents. 

How invaluable is the job we do, as older brothers and sisters to the students entrusted to our care.