Random quotes

Energy is like love: the more we use, the more we find we have!!

the importance of our telephone

Research indicates that 52% of callers hang up when placed on hold and experience one minute of silence; 13 % hang up when music is played; 2% when there is a spoken message. Those who had music felt they were on hold for a shorter time, but those in silence felt the minute was more like five minutes. The British Henley Centre research report concluded: "During our research, we found that 86% of people said if they experienced one badly handled call, they would rather not deal with that organization again.

A thought for us all:

Lord, thou knowest better than I know myself that I am growing older and will someday be old. Keep me from the fatal habit of thinking that I must say something on every subject and on every occasion. Release me from craving to straighten out everybody’s affairs. Make me thoughtful but not moody, helpful but not bossy. With my vast store of wisdom, it seems a pity not to use it all, but Thou knowest, Lord, that I want a few friends at the end.

Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details; give me wings to get to the point. Seal my lips on my aches and pains. They are increasing, and love of rehearsing them is becoming sweeter as the years go by. I dare not ask for grace enough to enjoy the tales of other’s pains, but help me to endure them with patience.

I dare not ask for improved memory but for growing humility and a lessening cocksureness when my memory seems to clash with the memories of others. Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be mistaken.

Keep me reasonably sweet; I do not want to be a saint – some of them are so hard to live with – but a sour old person is one of the crowning works of the devil. Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places and talents in inexpert people. And give me, Lord, the grace to tell them so.

Amen.

It could be a small world

If we could shrink the Earth's population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all the human ratio's remaining the same, it would look something like the following:

THERE WOULD BE:

57 Asians
21 Europeans
14 from the Western Hemisphere, both North & South
8 Africans
52 would be female
48 would be male
70 would be non-white
30 would be white
70 would be non-Christian
30 would be Christian
89 would be heterosexual
11 would be homosexual
6 people would possess 59% of the entire world'swealth and all 6 would be from the US
80 would be living in substandard housing
70 would be unable to read
50 would suffer from malnutrition
1 would be near death - 1 would be near birth
1 (yes, only 1) would have a college education
1 would own a computer

When one considers our world from such a compressed perspective, the need for acceptance, understanding, and education becomes glaringly apparent.

I just liked it

Trust

We cannot afford to ignore the emotional fallout from our own inappropriate behaviour and/or poor management practices and policies, nor those of our organisation. People get hurt. When it becomes chronic, it is an enormous distraction and makes people sick. They become de-motivated. Job satisfaction and productivity suffer. There are significant economic costs to the organization.

The healing process needs the understanding of honesty in dealing with each other, knowing the difference between right and wrong, having courage to do what is right, and caring about relationships.

Employees don’t trust information unless they know it has meaning for them. It is not enough to communicate the information with talks and memos; employees need to be able to question directives, and managers need to be open about their reasoning, why they made their decisions. Creating trust requires interactive communication, dialogue based on values of respect and continual learning. Employees need also to trust that management will not punish mistakes or criticism but will use them as a basis for learning.

Get the red rose

A woman saw a little rose
It bloomed there in bright heights
She asked her man
if he could fetch it for her
She wants it and that's fine
So it was and so it will always be
She wants it and that's the custom
Whatever she wants she gets
Deep wells must be dug
if you want clear water
Get the red rose
Deep waters don't run still
The man climbs the mountain in torment
He doesn't really care about the view
Only the little rose is on his mind
He brings it to his sweetheart
She wants it and that's fine
So it was and so it will always be
She wants it and that's the custom
Whatever she wants she gets
Deep wells must be dug
if you want clear water
Get the red rose
Deep waters don't run still
At his boots, a stone breaks
Doesn't want to be on the cliff anymore
And a scream lets everyone know
Both are falling to the ground

Merry Kitchmas

Looking for that perfect gift?

Try the twelve days of kitchmas!


http://ship-of-fools.com/kitschmas/index.html

IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER by Erma Bombeck (Written after she found out she was dying from cancer)

I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day.
I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.
I would have talked less and listened more.
I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained, or the sofa faded.
I would have eaten the popcorn in the 'good' living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.
I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.
I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.
I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.
I would have sat on the lawn with my children and not worried about grass stains.I would have cried and laughed less while watching television and more while watching life.
I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil, or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.
Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.
When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, "Later. Now go get washed up for dinner."
There would have been more "I love you's."
More "I'm sorry's."
But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute...look at it and really see it ... live it ... and never give it back.
Stop sweating the small stuff.
Don't worry about who doesn't like you, who has more, or who's doing what.
Instead, let's cherish the relationships we have with those who do love us.
Let's think about what God has blessed us with.
And what we are doing each day to promote ourselves mentally, physically, emotionally, as well as spiritually.
Life is too short to let it pass you by.
We only have one shot at this and then it's gone.
I hope you all have a blessed day.

What Makes A Good Teacher?

This was the heading on part of a major article on boys in schooling, published in The Australian on 6 January. The points made by the boys were:

Listens to what you have to say.
Respects you as a person; treats you like a friend and adult.
Is relaxed, enjoys their day, and is able to laugh, especially at mistakes.
Is flexible, adjusts rules and expectations to meet the needs of individuals and particular circumstances.
Explains the work. Makes the work interesting. Finds interesting things to do.
Does not humiliate you in front of the class.
Does not write slabs of work on the board to be copied.
Lets you talk and move about in the classroom.
Does not favour girls, or boys who do what they are told.
Does not keep picking on people who have a reputation, pushing them to retaliate.
Does not mark you down because of your behaviour.
Gives you a chance to muck up and learn from it.
does not keep telling you that you're no good and should leave school.
In most schools, fewer than 10% of their teachers were thought to meet the above criteria.

Generosity

"Real generosity is doing something nice for someone who will never find it out."

What we can learn from dogs

Things that we can all learn from a dog...
When loved ones come home, always run to greet them
Run, romp and play daily
Eat with gusto and enthusiasm
Be loyal
Never pretend to be something you are not
Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride
Allow the experience of the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy
When it's in your best interest, practice obedience
Let others know when they've invaded your territory
Take naps and stretch before rising
If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it
When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by and nuzzle them gently
Thrive on attention and let people touch you
Avoid biting when a simple growl will do
On hot days, drink lots of water and lay under a shady tree
When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body
No matter how often you're scolded, don't buy into the guilt thing and pout...run right back and make friends
Delight in the simple joy of a long walk

No matter what you may think of Rudy Giuliani's accomplishments as mayor of New York City, no one disputes that he stepped up to the challenge of leading the city in the aftermath of September 11. Now on the lecture circuit, Giuliani gave the following leadership tips at a recent seminar:

Have a set of beliefs. "You can't still be wondering who you are and where you're going," he says, "because you'll get confused and go in all kinds of directions. Ronald Reagan was the same Ronald Reagan he was as governor, as president and when he left office. You may not have agreed with him, but you knew what his beliefs were."

Become an expert. "When people come to you to ask for advice and information because you know more about a subject than they do, that's a sign of great leadership," Giuliani says.

Be respectful. "People know when you're talking down to them, and they will not respect you," he says. "Be forceful and honest but plain-spoken and respectful," he adds.

Discourage yes-men. "Create a team that complements your strengths and weaknesses rather than mimicking them," Giuliani says.

Understand good leaders, not good leadership. "read biographies of leaders you admire," he says. "That will tell you more about leadership than any leadership book."

An Anecdote

A ‘crossed wires’ conversation between a Yr7 student and myself in class the other day brings tears to my eyes about the idiosyncratic nature of language. (This Yr 7 does have Learning Difficulties). If you feel it is suitable and you can use for a little light humour for teachers………..

"It had been the usual hectic morning in the multi-aged Yr4-7 classroom when I found myself at the end of my fuse concerning the continual verbal barrage I was receiving from Mr Off-task Yr7 who had just thrown another question out into the ether. As soon as my sarcastic reply was uttered I was sincerely apologetic and offered him my apologies for such a put-down.
Bewildered he looked at me and asked…."What! Are you taking me to the vet?’

It truly took effort on my behalf to stop from laughing out loud and totally defused me….
I decided it was one of those stories to keep for the memoirs.

Random quotes

A learning organisation sees the environment as messy, complex and volatile. It picks and chooses its way, attempting to use certain events as catalysts for action, to turn constraints into opportunities, and to blunt or minimise the impositions that do not make sense...because they know that that is the only way to survive and prosper in a complex environment. Michael Fullan

Spider Kama Sutra

They are playful and romantic and kinky and enthusiastic and ferocious and savage and exotic, and really know how to have a good time. I thought I'd share a few of the pretty pictures and details of the arachnid sex life with the readers of Pharyngula—so if you're mature enough to handle it, exuberant enough to enjoy reading about interesting animals doing fun things, and aren't too squicked out at the idea of closeups of spider genitalia, read on.First, a little anatomy, and we'll start with the female. Here is the underside of a generic spider.


http://pharyngula.org/index/weblog/comments/spider_kama_sutra/

Female Perspective

When I was in my younger days,
I weighed a few pound less.
I needn’t hold my tummy in
To wear a belted dress.
But now that I am older,
I’ve set my body free;
There’s comfort in elastic
Where my waist used to be.
Inventor of those high-heeled shoes
My feet have not forgiven;
I have to wear a nine now,
But used to wear a seven.
And how about those pantyhose…
They’re sized by weight, you see,
So how come when I put them on,
The crotch is at my knee?
I need to wear these glasses
As the print’s been getting smaller:
And it wasn’t very long ago
I know that I was taller.
Though my hair has turned to grey
And my skin no longer fits,
On the inside, I’m the same old me,
The outside’s changed a bit.
But, on a positive note…..
I’ve learned that no matter what happens,
Or how bad it seems today,
Life goes on, and it will get better tomorrow.
I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person
by the way he/she handles these three things:
a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.
I’ve learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents,
You’ll miss Them when they’re gone from your life.
I’ve learned that making a "living" is not the same thing as making a life.
I’ve learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance.
I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands;
You need to be able to throw something back.
I’ve learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart,
I usually make the right decision.
I’ve learned that even when I have pains,
I don’t have to be one.
I’ve learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone.
People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back.
I’ve learned that I still have a lot to learn.
I’ve learned that people will forget what you did,
But people will never forget how you made them feel.

Random quotes

Victor Borge: "Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.".

Waiting

I am waiting for: inspiration, permission, reassurance, my turn, more time, a better time, someone to be watching, an absence of risk, tomorrow, my ship to come in, my youth to return, my suit to come back from the cleaners, my boomerang to come back, the wind to freshen, time to run out……..procrastination….. the thief of time.

Random quotes

There is an Ethiopian proverb which says: "When spider webs unite, they can tie up a lion"

"… if in any doubt, talk it over with your colleagues"

Create your own network:

to exchange information
share problems
find solutions
regain perspective
get advice
give moral support
laugh together
swap stories
lessen paranoia
break the barriers

Attitude

Motivator Norman Vincent Peale says:

It is your attitude at the beginning of a task, more than anything else, that will determine success or failure.
It is your attitude toward life that will determine life’s attitude toward you.
You control your attitude.
Develop the attitude that there are more reasons why you should succeed than reasons why you should fail.
Control your thoughts and you will control your life.

Communication

Dr Kelly Gerling (2000) identifies the following barriers and blockers to organizational communication:

Physical obstacles- distance, different buildings, different staff rooms
Misused authority structures- where the "chain of command" as implied by the typical organizational chart, can inhibit the flow of healthy and necessary information and connections;
Problems of rank when it is used to push particular ideas and demean the thinking of others
Defensive behaviour
Traditional organizational habits – we often need to question why things are as they are- eg when we meet, where we meet, what and how we do things. Are our activities actually achieving the best they can in terms of morale, productivity and problem-solving.

Kelly suggests the following as methods for the promotion of enhanced organizational connection, respect and learning:

Creating group conversations – through circular meetings, establishing a topic for group conversations, using a facilitator, respecting group silences for reflection, exploring assumptions to ensure the creation of new agreed courses of action, appreciate others, to apologise and restore relationships
Telling stories – stories are a great way to convey and reinforce the values, motives, strengths and origins of a community. Stories create a sense of equality among people and help enhance relationships and co-operative behaviour.
Making music, having fun and playing games – everyone within our organization has amazing talent- put them in a group, give them some bells, drums, wooden instruments and presto…. They play great improvisational music. The patterns of interaction in making music are just like the patterns needed for a good group discussion; they include careful listening, allowing pauses, letting each person be a leader at different times, using differences to create a larger, better group performance, and stopping what you are doing when it doesn’t fit with the group needs. Education Queensland at all levels needs all our dance and music to help renew the spirit of our community.
Making presentations – many of the skills of oratory and presentation when learned and used can lead a group to learning together.
Listening and sharing information by managers – leaders, again at all levels in our organization, need to listen with an open mind and heart to the requests that people make. Staff do not necessarily want a "yes" to every request or a solution to every problem; they do want to be heard, to understand and participate in guiding the organization, while being treated with dignity and respect.

Random quotes

Entrepreneur Mark H McCormack in Success Secrets says:

" I love making lists but not because I need to remind myself how busy I am. I simply get a keen satisfaction and tactile thrill out of scratching out tasks that are done. To me the true sign of an organized executive is not just how many projects he or she can enumerate on a "to-do" list at the start – as if it is a legitimate symbol of their importance – but rather how many are crossed off at the close. My ideal "to do" list is unreadable at day’s end.

Random quotes

Jeffrey J Fox in How to become CEO said:

Make your staff feel;
Asked, not questioned;
Measured, not monitored;
People, not personnel;
Instrumental, not instruments;
Contributors, not costs;
Needed and heeded.

HOW WE TREAT PEOPLE

Five (5) lessons to make you think about the way we treat people.
1 - First Important Lesson - Cleaning Lady. During my second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions until I read the last one: "What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?" Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade. "Absolutely," said the professor. "In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say "hello".

I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.

2 - Second Important Lesson - Pickup in the Rain One night, at 11.30 p.m., an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rainstorm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car. A young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960s. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxicab. She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked him. Seven days went by and a knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a giant console colour TV was delivered to his home. A special note was attached.. It read: "Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband's bedside just before he passed away. God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others" Sincerely, Mrs. Nat King Cole.

3 - Third Important Lesson - Always remember those who serve. In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him. "How much is an ice cream sundae?" he asked. "Fifty cents," replied the waitress. The little boy pulled is hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it. "Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?" he inquired. By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient. "Thirty-five cents," she brusquely replied. The little boy again counted his coins. "I'll have the plain ice cream," he said. The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table, there, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies.. You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.

4 - Fourth Important Lesson. - The obstacle in Our Path. In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way. Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the King indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many of us never understand! Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.

5 - Fifth Important Lesson - Giving When it Counts. Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare & serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister. I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a
deep breath and saying, "Yes I'll do it if it will save her." As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the colour returning to her cheek. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded. He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, "Will I start to die right away". Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her.

What Makes A Good Teacher

This was the heading on part of a major article on boys in schooling, published in The Australian on 6 January. The points made by the boys were:

Listens to what you have to say.
Respects you as a person; treats you like a friend and adult.
Is relaxed, enjoys their day, and is able to laugh, especially at mistakes.
Is flexible, adjusting rules and expectations to meet the needs of individuals and particular circumstances.
Explains the work. Makes the work interesting. Finds interesting things to do.
Does not humiliate you in front of the class.
Does not write slabs of work on the board to be copied.
Lets you talk and move about in the classroom.
Does not favour girls, or boys who do what they are told.
Does not keep picking on people who have a reputation, pushing them to retaliate.
Does not mark you down because of your behaviour.
Gives you a chance to muck up and learn from it.
does not keep telling you that you're no good and should leave school.

In most schools, fewer than 10% of their teachers were thought to meet the above criteria.

Hug

There is something in a simple hug
that alway warms the heart;
it welcomes us back home
and makes it easier to part."-Jill Wolf

Success is almost totally dependant upon drive, focus and persistence. The extra energy required to make an extra effort, to try another approach, to concentrate on the desired outcome, is the secret.

Integrity:

integrity means that one’s thoughts and feelings are completely integrated with one’s actions. It is the quality of being true to one’s self. As school leaders, dishonesty of any sought will slowly erode our integrity, and once shattered, it is very slow to be repaired. With integrity, we can inspire our staff into action; they will follow us because they understand and trust us. Errors in competency can be overcome, but errors in integrity cannot- we cannot hide the truth.

The Middle Wife

by an Anonymous 2nd grade teacher

I've been teaching now for about fifteen years. I have two kids myself, but the best birth story I know is the one I saw in my own second-grade classroom a few years back.

When I was a kid, I loved show-and-tell. So I always have a few sessions with my students. It helps them get over shyness and usually, show-and-tell is pretty tame. Kids bring in pet turtles, model airplanes, pictures of fish they catch, stuff like that. And I never, ever place any boundaries or limitations on them. If they want to lug it to school and talk about it, they're welcome.
Well, one day this little girl, Erica, a very bright, very outgoing kid, takes her turn and waddles up to the front of the class with a pillow stuffed under her sweater. She holds up a snapshot of an infant. "This is Luke, my baby brother, and I'm going to tell you about his birthday."

"First, Mum and Dad made him as a symbol of their love, and then Dad put a seed in my Mum's stomach, and Luke grew in there. He ate for nine months through an umbrella cord." She's standing there with her hands on the pillow, and I'm trying not to laugh and wishing I had my camcorder with me. The kids are watching her in amazement. "Then, about two Saturdays ago, my Mum starts saying and going, 'Oh, oh, oh!' Erica puts a hand behind her back and groans. "She walked around the house for like an hour, 'Oh, oh, oh!'"

Now the kid's doing this hysterical duck walk, holding her back and groaning. "My Dad called the middle wife. She delivers babies, but she doesn't have a sign on the car like the Domino's man." "They got my Mum to lie down in bed like this."
Then Erica lies down with her back against the wall. "And then, pop! My Mum had this bag of water she kept in there in case he got thirsty, and it just blew up and spilled all over the bed, like psshhheew!"

This kid has her legs spread and with her little hands are miming water flowing away. It was too much!
"Then the middle wife starts saying 'push, push, and breathe, breathe.'" "They started counting, but never even got past ten." Then, all of a sudden, out comes my brother. He was covered in yucky stuff, they all said it was from Mum's play-centre, so there must be a lot of stuff inside there."

Then Erica stood up, took a big theatrical bow and returned to her seat. I'm sure I applauded the loudest. Ever since then, if it's show-and-tell day, I bring my camcorder, just in case another Erica comes along.

"rules from the male side."

Learn to work the toilet seat. You’re a big girl. If it’s up, put it down. We need it up, you need it down. You don’t hear us complaining about you leaving it down.

Saturday= sports. It’s like the full moon or the changing of the tides. Let it be.

Shopping is not a sport. And NO, we are never going to think of it that way.

Crying is blackmail.

Ask for what you want. Let us be clear on this one. Subtle hints do not work! Strong hints do not work! Obvious hints do not work! JUST SAY IT.

"Yes" and "No" are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question.

Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it. That’s what we do. Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.

A headache that lasts for 17 months is a problem See a doctor.

Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument. In fact, all comments become null and void after 7 days.

If you think you are fat, you probably are. Don’t ask us.

If something we said can be interpreted two ways, and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the other one.

You can either ask us to do something or tell us how you want it done. NOT BOTH. If you already know best how to do it, just do it yourself.

Whenever possible, please say whatever you have to say during commercials.

Christopher Columbus did not need directions and nor do we.

All men see in only 16 colours, like Windows default settings. Peach, for example, is a fruit, not a colour. Pumpkin is also a fruit. We have no idea what mauve is.

If we ask what is wrong and you say "nothing," we will act like nothing’s wrong. We know you are lying, but it is just not worth the hassle.

If you ask a question you don’t want an answer to, expect an answer you don’t want to hear.

When we have to go somewhere, absolutely anything you wear is fine, really.

You have enough clothes and too many shoes.

I am in shape. Round is a shape.

Thank you for reading this. Yes, I know I have to sleep on the couch tonight, but did you know men really don’t mind that, it’s like camping.

Random quotes

You'll always miss 100% of the shots you don't take.~ Wayne Gretzky ~

RISK IT

To laugh is to risk
being a fool.
To weep is to risk
appearing sentimental.
To reach out to another
is to risk involvement.
To express feelings is to risk
exposing your true self.
To place your ideas, your dreams, before the crowd
Is to risk their loss.
To love is to risk
not being loved in return.
To live is to risk
dying.
To hope is to risk
despair.To try is to risk
failure.
The person who risks nothing,
Does nothing,
Has nothing
and is nothing.
They may avoid suffering and sorrow,
But they simply cannot learn,
Feel,
change,
grow,
love or live.
Risks must be taken because,
the greatest hazard in life
is to risk nothing.
Only a person who risks is free." ~Leo Buscalia

The Missing Assignment

(by Art Stiles - The Reading Teacher Vol.48, no.6 March 1995 )

Yes, ma'am;I'm sorry,
I fell asleep.
No, ma'am,
I ain't had nothing to eat

Yes, ma'am.
I know that
I should eat good,
and stay awake.

I know I should.
Well, last night
there was lots of noise,
'cause someone shot
the neighbour's boys.

And Mum came home
with a boyfriend,a
nd he got drunk
and beat her up again.

And he made me
go out and play
while the neighbours tried
to wash the blood away.

And I went in
about two o'clock
after the police asked me
why the boys was shot.

And when I got up
there wasn't no food;
and my Mum cussed me out.
She was in a bad mood.

But I'll stay awake;
and I'll pay attention.
No, ma'am. I don't
want to be in detention.

Twelve Rules for Raising Delinquent Children."

IN TEXAS, the police department has issued a leaflet entitled "Twelve Rules for Raising Delinquent Children." Here they are, as printed in the local Chamber of Commerce publication, "Business":

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. It will also encourage him to pick up "cuter phrases" that will blow off the top of your head later.
3. Never give him any spiritual training. Wait until he is 21, and then let him "decide for himself."
4. Avoid the use of the word "wrong." It may develop a guilt complex. This will condition him to believe later, when he is arrested for stealing a car, that society is against him and he is being persecuted.
5. Pick up everything he leaves lying around--books, shoes, or clothes. Do everything for him so that he will be experienced in throwing all responsibility on others.
6. Let him read any printed matter he can get his hands on. Be careful that the silverware and drinking glasses are sterilized, but don't worry about his mind feasting on garbage.
7. Quarrel frequently in the presence of your children. In this way they will not be too shocked when the home is broken up later.
8. Give the child all the spending money he wants. Never let him earn his. Why should he have things as tough as you did?
9. Satisfy his every craving for food, drink, and comfort. See that every sensual desire is gratified. Denial may lead to harmful frustration.
10. Take his part against neighbors, teachers, police men. They are all prejudiced against your child.
11. When he gets into real trouble, apologize to yourself by saying, "I never could do anything with him!"
12. Prepare yourself for a life of grief. You'll surely have it.

Random quotes

Learn to enjoy every minute of your life. Be happy now. Don't wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future. Think how really precious is the time you have to spend, whether it's at work or with your family. Every minute should be enjoyed and savoured. ~ Earl Nightingale ~

Random quotes

"Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mirror. But you are an eternity and you are the mirror." Gibran Kahlil

Checkout

We went towards the checkout line,
All were very long,
It didn’t matter which one we picked,
They all seemed equally wrong.
As we approached our chosen isle,
A man rushed in before us first,
He was keen to save himself some time,
And had an ego-driven thirst.
The aisle was 15 items or less,
He had 24 at my count,
He shouldn’t be in the aisle,
As his daughter pointed out.
He yelled abuse back at her,
And glared a challenge at me,
I pretended not to notice,
As there were other sights to see.
A lady lined up behind my spot,
Two tubes of toothpaste in her hand,
I invited her to go before us,
She didn’t understand.
I just said that it was silly,
For her to wait for me,
She thanked me quite fondly,
With compassionate sympathy.
The cranky man before her,
Refused to do the same,
People can be so sad and angry,
I think it is a shame.
Just as I was musing these impressions,
A worker came to me,
She invited us to come to the side,
She was opening a new isle, you see.
I asked the lady with the toothpaste,
To come over with us too,
She could go before us,
And then her job was through.
So, we both went through the checkout,
And looked for the angry man,
He was still five people from being served,
And at him I waved my hand.
I’m not a spiritual kind of person,
Such faith over before it begins,
But it’s nice to see that occasionally,
The good guy also wins.

Cheers

14 Ways to Build Self Esteem In Kids

1. Respond to each child individually-call him by name.
2. Take time to talk with the child about what's important to him/her.
3. Use positive guidance and suggestions whenever possible. Reinforce the behaviour you like.
4. Keep your expectations consistent with the child's stage of development and ability--be realistic
5. Give a child an opportunity to make choices and take responsibilities that fit his stage of development.
6. Provide opportunities for the child to succeed--challenge him/her when the chances of success are good.
7. Give a child quality time--it's more important than quantity
8. Compare a child's skills against his previous accomplishments--avoid comparing him to other children, especially brothers, sisters, and fellow classmates.
9. Avoid shaming or labelling a child.
10. Be a good model--children learn through watching adults.
11. React to the behaviour instead of the personality. ("I don't want the classroom cluttered with materials" instead of "You're a messy, bad boy.")
12. Give a child your recognition for his accomplishments
13. Accept the child's feelings--negative and positive--without judging him
14. Be your students’ mentor and cheerleader!

Photoshopped pumpkins!

http://www.worth1000.com/cache/contest/contestcache.asp?contest_id=7791&display=photoshop#entries

I'm not a gun fan, but I was more than a little impressed? disturbed? by the owrk of a person to develop a sentry gun, based around a gun and some old computer parts:

Find it at:

http://www.usmechatronics.com/old_page/turret.htm

Somebody said

Somebody said it takes about six weeks to get back to normal after you've had a baby . somebody doesn't know that once you're a mother, "Normal," is history.

Somebody said you learn how to be a mother by instinct . Somebody never took a three-year-old shopping.

Somebody said being a mother is boring ...... Somebody never rode in a car driven by a teenager with a driver's permit.

Somebody said if you're a "good" mother, your child will "turn out good." Somebody thinks a child comes with directions and a guarantee.

Somebody said "good" mothers never raise their voices ..... Somebody never came out the back door just in time to see her child hit a golf ball through the neighbour's kitchen window.

Somebody said you don't need an education to be a mother…...Somebody never helped a fourth grade child with her maths.

Somebody said you can't love the fifth child as much as you love the first…..Somebody doesn't have five children.

Somebody said a mother can find all the answers to her child-rearing questions in the books ...... Somebody never had a child stuff beans up his nose or in his ears.

Somebody said the hardest part of being a mother is labour and delivery .... Somebody never watched her "baby" get on the bus for the first day of kindergarten, or on a plane headed for military "boot camp."

Somebody said a mother can do her job with her eyes closed and one hand tied behind her back ..... somebody never organized four giggling Brownies to sell cookies.

Somebody said a mother can stop worrying after her child gets married….... Somebody doesn't know that marriage adds a new son or daughter-in- law to a mother's heartstrings.

Somebody said a mother's job is done when her last child leaves home .... Somebody never had grandchildren.

Somebody said your mother knows you love her, so you don't need to tell her . Somebody isn't a mother.

Internal Voices

A word of encouragement during a failure is worth more than an hour of success. Anon.

Tim Gallwey, college professor-turned tennis pro-turned corporate consultant, focuses his theory on the workplace. He says we have two internal voices:

Self 1 is the teacher voice: "Do this. Don’t do that. What a lousy shot!"
Self 2 is our human potential. We had it as children, learning to walk, for example, without any formal instruction. For most of us, our command-and-control Self 1 shouts down Self 2.

Gallwey proposes that our potential to learn and work productively, with enjoyment, comes only when we stop interfering with the process. To accomplish that, Gallwey offers three principles for learning and coaching: awareness, trust, and choice.

The Power of Nonjudgmental Awareness Rather than perceive an approaching ball—or work situation—as a threat, maintain a nonjudgmental focus on things as they are.

Trust in Self 2 Trust yourself and your natural capacity to learn. Let go of Self 1’s inferior control system. The heart of Gallwey’s process, this principle must be learned "over and over in each new situation."

Keep Choice with the Choice-maker As coach or principal, you realize that A) command-and-control will meet with resistance, and B) "when choices for learning and change are allowed to be self-initiated and self-regulated, they become more comprehensive as well as more enjoyable."

Always look on the bright side of life

Always look on the bright side of life (song from the movie 'Life of Brian')

In his book, Optimism: The Biology of Hope, Lionel Tiger (Tiger, 1995) argues cogently that optimism is not an optional characteristic in humans; it is as 'natural to man as his eyes that see, and as irreplaceable as hair.' Through evolution we have developed a species-wide tendency to overestimate moderately, the odds in our favour. In other words, optimism is a biological phenomenon. It seems that optimism has been central to the process of evolution. It has greatly influenced the way humans think, work, play and respond to fundamental issues such as birth and death. It is a force that has been used as a lever in the hand of politicians and a weapon in the hands of dictators. Both groups use optimism as a way of controlling people and harnessing them to a cause. If indeed, Tiger's belief that optimism is a biological phenomenon rooted in the genes is true, then it gives us another technique to use in people management processes.

Optimism appears to be socially desirable in all communities. Purveyors of optimism are generally accepted whereas those who spread doom and gloom, panic and hysteria, are treated with contempt. Many of the world's religions are adherents to the doctrine of optimism. The sufferings of this world, the vicissitudes of life, the pain of disease and death are all mitigated by the expectancy of some future favorable outcome, maybe not in this world but certainly in some other. Religions allow communities to organize their fears and their futures by establishing a set of rules and beliefs for everyone to follow. In this way earthly fears are relegated to the arena of trivia and society becomes more manageable.

Seligman (1991) has spent many years researching the concept of optimism and pessimism through his work on attributional styles. He has found that people with an optimistic attributional style will attribute negative events differently to those with a pessimistic explanatory style. When setbacks occur, pessimists blame themselves. 'I am just no good,' or 'Nobody wants me,' are phrases that soon flow from the lips of such people. They believe the cause of their misfortune lies within them rather than being due to external or extenuating circumstances. Pessimists also believe that misfortune is long lasting ('Things will never get better') or repetitive ('If I have failed once, it will happen again'). It is also global or 'pervasive', that is, 'If misfortune befalls me in one part of my life, then it will happen to my whole life.' These three characteristics of the pessimistic explanatory style for negative events are known as the three Ps – Personal, Permanent and Pervasive.
Positive Imaging
One of the most effective ways to prevent rumination is to replace it with positive self-talk, together with imaginal thinking or 'image-ination'. Imaginal thinking involves constructing a desired future model of a situation you would like to experience and then running that model several times over so that it is programmed into your mind. The 'movie' you create should also have a sound track containing the words you would like to hear yourself saying. The trick is to become your own 'Steven Spielberg' and create the blockbuster movie of all time, starring yourself! As well as vision and sound, your internal movie must also create a feeling for you. You need to decide how you would like to be feeling during the future event you are creating. Do you want to feel relaxed, confident, powerful, happy, forceful etc? If you want to be confident and relaxed throughout the 'movie' then you need to edit into your sound track a repetitive 'feelings' track where your movie-self repeats over and over again, "I am relaxed. I am confident…."

Random quotes

"What the mind can conceive and believe it can achieve."Napoleon Hill (Author of Think and Grow Rich)

Ass essment :)

Scriven in 1995 provides a sense of the different levels of student involvement in assessment. Starting with very superficial involvement, each level brings students further into the actual assessment equation. Students can do the following:
Take the test and receive the grade;

Be invited to offer the teacher comments on how to improve the test;
Suggest possible assessment exercises;
Actually develop assessment exercises;
Assist the teacher in devising the scoring criteria;
Create the scoring criteria on their own;
Apply scoring criteria to the evaluation of their own performance;
Come to understand how assessment and evaluation affect their own academic success;
Come and see how their own self-assessment relates to the teacher’s assessment and to their own academic success.

Random quotes

"Always forgive your enemies. Nothing annoys them so much."
--Oscar Wilde

Time warp

Once upon a time an unsuspecting person fell into a space-time warp and ended up in a place where complex jargon is used in place of everyday words, where huge concepts are meant to be communicated to unreceptive groups in exasperatingly short periods of time, and, most maddening, where the people expected to work under these conditions get no respect. In other words, the person fell right into the shoes of a modern teacher!

What is a leader?

In their landmark study of visionary companies, James Collins and Jerry Porras (1997) define leaders as individuals who "displayed high levels of persistence, overcame significant obstacles, attracted dedicated people, influenced groups of people toward the achievement of goals, and played key roles in guiding their companies through crucial episodes in their history."

Sand and Stone

Two friends were walking through the desert. At one point of the journey they had an argument, and one friend slapped the other one in the face.

The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, wrote in the sand: "TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE."

They kept on walking until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but his friend saved him. After the friend recovered from the near drowning, he carved into a stone: "TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SAVED MY LIFE."

The friend who had slapped and saved his best friend asked him, "After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now, you write on a stone, why?"

The other friend replied: "When someone hurts us, we should write it down in sand where winds of forgiveness can erase it. But, when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it."

LEARN TO WRITE YOUR HURTS IN THE SAND, AND TO CARVE YOUR BENEFITS IN STONE.

Jake Hammer by Eric Shackle

Today’s hammer was probably invented by a clever Barney Flintstone long before the year dot. The basic design remained unchanged for thousands of years. Then, 13 years ago, Jake Tyson, an 18-year-old apprentice carpenter in Sydney, Australia, found that his hammer didn’t hit nails very effectively (yet they say a good workman never blames his tools) and the reverberations sent uncomfortable shocks up his arm. So he set out to design a better hammer. For the next three years, working in his father’s shed, he tried out different designs. He decided not to change the metal head of the conventional hammer, but to give it a radically different handle, with an arc in the neck.

After much trial and error, he invented a tool he called the Maxistrike, and patented it worldwide. Then he offered his former boss a partnership, and they formed a company, Redback Tools, to manufacture the new hammer. “Due to the arc shaft it has transferred the energy, so instead of when you’re hitting the object the energy coming back up your arm, it’s transferred directly into the hammerhead through the balance of the arc shaft and into the object you’re hitting,” he told Rebecca Martin in an ABC Catapult interview early this year. In a later interview , he said “The design is innovative with the balance the hammer has, and the way it hits the object is about 50% harder than a standard hammer will.” Ten years after Jake first thought of the idea, he persuaded a few hardware stores to sell it.

The Maxistrike took off like a space rocket. Carpenters acclaimed it as the best hammer they had ever used. Its fame spread overseas. Last year Jake’s hammer gained the award for the best new item at the National Hardware Conference. “We’re the first non-US company ever to win this Dealers’ Pick award, and for the Americans to admit that anyone does something better than them you know it has to be innovative” said Jake when he returned to Sydney. “The design is innovative with the balance the hammer has and the way it hits the object is about 50% harder than a standard hammer will.”

Radio Australia’s science and technology specialist Desley Blanch asked him how multi-national tool manufacturers had reacted when he approached them. He replied “The big guys –basically these are multi-billion dollar companies — [first say] ‘Come see us, let’s have a look at your product.’ “[They try to] dishearten you because they know it’s going to cost a lot of money, so they’ll say ‘Move on’ or ‘We’ll give you x per cent for your idea’, so if nothing’s hurting them in their sales, they’ll just put it in a bottom drawer and they don’t have to worry about it.“So they’re in their cushy jobs making their hundred thousand dollars or whatever and they don’t want to put their necks on the line in case it fails, so that’s why you’ve really got to do it yourself.”

Inner Strength

If you can start the day without caffeine,
If you can get going without pep pills,
If you can always be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,
If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles, If you can eat the same food every day and be grateful for it,
If you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time,
If you can take criticism and blame without resentment,
If you can ignore a friend's limited education and never correct him, If you can resist treating a rich friend better than a poor friend, If you can conquer tension without medical help,
If you can relax without liquor,
If you can sleep without the aid of drugs,
...Then You Are Probably The Family Dog!

Less can mean more:

Don’t assume that putting in fewer hours will cause your work to suffer. In fact, time and energy spent off-the-job can enhance your productivity and your capacity to better deal with daily work challenges. If you are working 14 hours days, day in, day out, you are tricked into that your efficiency is being maximised by your intense work efforts. In fact, leaving early a few afternoons each week will be a better solution. By setting limits, you are better able to distinguish when you really do need to push hard and when to step back and regroup.

Smile. If we all had 96 hours in every day it would still not be enough time for us to do everything we want to. The most important thing we can do is smile and make each person think we have all the time in the world.

Check that you day’s schedule of activities is firmly in your mind when you arrive at work each day.

Define the responsibility: Helping others constitutes much of our role, but sometimes helping someone can transfer all the responsibility from them to you, and that is not what we intend to do at all.

Go ahead….. take that risk

Sometimes we really want to make a change in our schools or even our own personal lives, but we are afraid to take the next step because it feels too risky. Daring to change might involve the possible risks of:
Failing
Being rejected
Being laughed at
People not liking you any more

Ask yourself if these things really matter to you. If you never take a risk you will never achieve what you want to. Make something happen this week, however small….take the risk and feel your confidence soar.

The biggest risk in life is not taking any risks at all!!

Random quotes

No one has yet fully realized the wealth of sympathy, kindness, and generosity hidden in the soul of a child. The effort of every true education should be to unlock that treasure- Emma Goldman

A female kinda thing

(DON'T SKIP THE PRAYER AT THE END. )

A woman was leaving a convenience store with her morning coffee when she noticed a most unusual funeral procession approaching the nearby cemetery.

A long black hearse was followed by a second long black hearse about 50 feet behind the first one. Behind the second hearse was a solitary woman walking a pit bull on a leash. Behind her, a short distance back, were about 200 women walking single file.

The woman was so curious that she respectfully approached the woman walking the dog and said, "I am so sorry for your loss, and I know now is a bad time to disturb you, but I have never seen a funeral like this. Whose funeral is it?"

"My husband's."
"What happened to him?"
The woman replied, "My dog attacked and killed him."
She inquired further, "Well, who is in the second hearse?"
The woman answered, "My mother-in-law. She was trying to help my husband when the dog turned on her."
A poignant and thoughtful moment of silence passed between the two women.
"Can I borrow the dog?"
"Get in line."

Bill Gates High School Address

Love him or hate him, he sure hits the nail on the head with this! Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about 11 things they did not and will not learn in school. He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.

Rule 1: Life is not fair . . . get used to it!

Rule 2: The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping . . . they called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

How do you apologise?

As leaders, we need to be apologists in chief!

Don’t wait to be asked to apologise.
Make the apology unconditional- "I’m sorry" and not "I’m sorry, but….."
Don’t delay- apologise straight after the event.
Make your apology meaningful eg ‘I am sorry I rescheduled the staff meeting without consulting you. I will make sure I will not do it again."
Apologise once and leave it at that.

Strength in vulnerability:

Recognise that you can’t do everything and learn to ask for help. Leaders who successfully balance competing demands in all aspects of their lives freely admit their vulnerabilities and frequently are admired and respected for doing so. It makes them more human and more approachable.

Excuses

The following is a collection of 'actual excuse notes from parents (including spelling)' from the Office of Educational Assessment at the University of Washington.

My son is under a doctor's care and should not take P.E. today. Please execute him.
Please excuse Lisa for being absent. She was sick and I had her shot.
Dear School: Please ekscuse John being absent on Jan. 28.29,30,31,32, and also 33.
Please excuse Gloria from Jim today. She is administrating.
Please excuse Roland from P.E. for a few days. Yesterday he fell out of a tree and misplaced his hip.
John has been absent because he had two teeth taken out of his face.
Carlos was absent yesterday because he was playing football. He was hurt in the growing part.
Megan could not come to school today because she has been bothered by very close veins
Please excuse Ray Friday from school. He has very loose vowels.
Please excuse Tommy for being absent yesterday. He had diarrhea and his boots leak.
Irving was absent yesterday because he missed his bust
Please excuse Jimmy for being. It was his father's fault.
Please excuse Jennifer for missing school yesterday. We forgot to get the Sunday paper off the porch, and when we found it Monday, we thought it was Sunday.
Sally won't we in school for a week from Friday. He have to attend to her funeral.
My daughter was absent yesterday because she was tired. She spent a weekend with the Marines.
Please excuse Jason for being absent yesterday. He had a cold and could not breed well.
Please excuse Mary for being absent yesterday. She was in bed with gramps.
Please excuse Burma, she has been sick and under the doctor.
Maryann was absent December 11-16, because she had a fever, sore throat, headache and upset stomach. Her sister was also sick, fever and sore throat, her brother had a low grade fever and ached all over. I wasn't the best either, sore throat and fever. There must be something going around, her father even got hot last night.

Paper

We all know that paper mismanagement can cripple our ability to function effectively as school leaders. We all know we should not handle a piece of paper twice, but we do.

So, do you need every piece of paper on your desk?
Do you have trouble finding a particular item you frequently need?
Do you feel you could be more organized if you had more space?
Are there papers on your desk that have been there for more than a week?
Do you read every piece of junk mail that crosses your desk?

Maybe try one or two of these-
Setting a quiet time every afternoon of about 30 minutes often assists in preventing that in tray from overflowing.
Use the phone or email- it is faster and cheaper
Request teachers who might be preparing a report to include a summary page on the front- for you and for other staff
Don’t put that piece of paper down- put it away

Learn the art of wastepaper-basketry- every day!

MAKE THE MOST OF TODAY

Imagine there is a bank that credits your account each morning with $86,400. It carries over no balance from day to day. Every evening deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day. What would you do?

Draw out every cent, of course!!!!

Each of us has such a bank. Its name is TIME.

Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose. It carries over no balance. It allows no overdraft.

Each day it opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the remains of the day. If you fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is yours.

There is no going back. There is no drawing against the "tomorrow".

You must live in the present on today's deposits. Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness, and success! The clock is running. Make the most of today. As time waits for no one. .

TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR REDUCED STRESS

THOU SHALT LEARN TO SAY NO.
THOU SHALT NOT EVEN FEEL GUILTY
THOU SHALT NOT BE PERFECT OR TRY TO BE.
THOU SHALT NOT SPREAD THYSELF TOO THIN.
THOU SHALT SWITCH OFF AND DO NOTHING REGULARLY.
THOU SHALL NOT TRY TO BE ALL THINGS TO ALL PEOPLE.
THOU SHALT LEAVE THINGS UNDONE THAT OUGHT TO BE DONE.
THOU SHALT BE BORING, UNTIDY, INELEGANT AND UNATTRACTIVE AT TIMES.
THOU SHALT SCHEDULE TIME FOR THYSELF AND FOR THY SUPPORTIVE NETWORK.
ESPECIALLY THOU SHALT NOT BE THINE OWN WORST ENEMY, BUT BE THINE BEST FRIEND.

Rules for a Happy Life

Life is not about how fast you run, or how high you climb, but how well you bounce.

Life is simpler when you plough around the stumps.

The trouble with a milk cow is she won't stay milked.

Forgive your enemies. It messes with their heads. (This is a modern adaptation of the original quote by Oscar Wilde: "Always forgive your enemies. Nothing annoys them more."

Don't corner something meaner than you.

Don't wrestle with pigs: you'll get all muddy and the pigs will love it.

Most of the stuff people worry about never happens. (Probably based on an original quote attributed to Leo Buscaglia: Ninety per-cent of what we worry about never happens, yet we worry and worry). What a horrible way to go through life! What a horrible thing to do to your colon!"

Grammar

Just thought I'd share an incident that occurred in my SEU group last year when the children (two of my better spellers) were leaning about past tense.

The activity required the children to write the word for if something happened 'yesterday'. One student worked very capably until the third example. Today I bring. Yesterday I brought. Today I think. Yesterday I thought. Today I blink. Yesterday I blought. I sat down to explain to him that our words can be funny things and the same spelling pattern doesn't hold true for every example. I then told him that 'blought' wasn't a real word. The boy at the next desk spoke up very proudly and said, "I got it right. I wrote blunk."

Teaching at the crossroads

I was standing at the crossroads when I heard a familiar sound.
The drumming of a heart beat, the chanting of a crowd.
Enter in and be amazed or stand back and drift away.
Find your passion- is it real?
Test your strength; is it something you can feel?
Say words that make little sense, cry for thoughts that are nonsense.
Love someone who has not been taught how to love back.
Only to learn his love is the best you have ever known.
Pure and easy it flows from within- it matches the love you have inside.
Sit and wonder what makes you try so hard.
Never give up, don't give in- over and over love that child again.
Everyday the sun comes up and shines on that crossroads in my mind.
I choose to enter and silence the crowd.
He drowns out the shouts with every hug he gives; he beats the drum louder with every success he finds.
When the sun goes back down and its dark in my soul, I think of the one left at the crossroads.
Will there be another to take my place?
To enter into such a strange place.
Where love is tested, trust is denied?
A little boy who can convince himself with one simple lie.
Who will stand at the crossroads when I am gone.
Who will teach him that he is that strong?
Who will ignore the chants of the crowd, chanting he can't, he will fail.
Who will listen closely as he calls?
Who will protect this poor boy from his falls?
Soon my turn to be there will be over.
Maybe I did enough in the time I had, to protect him from a future that could be bad.
I will hear in every child's sigh- his lonesome and desperate cry.
Will he hear me in his teacher's sigh- chanting above the crowd "you can do it, if you only try."
Anonymous

Stephen shares a very special email from his very impressive 26 year old son, of whom he should be very proud.

Subject: The Emperor's Club

Dad I saw a movie that I thought you might like to see..... It’s very good, and the end is just beautiful. It’s called the Emperor's Club.....it’s a weekly so it won't be much to hire. I wrote down a speech that was said that I thought was great.

A GREAT TEACHER HAS LITTLE EXTERNAL HISTORY TO RECORD
HIS LIFE GOES OVER INTO OTHER LIVES
THESE MEN ARE PILLARS IN THE INTIMATE STRUCTURE OF OUR SCHOOLS
THEY ARE MORE ESSENTIAL THAN ITS STONES OR BEAMS AND THEY WILL CONTINUE TO BE A KINDLING FORCE AND A REVEALING POWER IN OUR LIVES.

(I don't agree with the little external history part)
Check it out next time u wanna watch something.
Talk soon..............oh but hey its all good.
luv u dad
Jami

The Four Agreements - Don Miguel Ruiz's Code for Life

agreement 1
Be impeccable with your word - Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and honesty.

agreement 2
Don’t take anything personally - Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.

agreement 3
Don’t make assumptions - Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.

agreement 4
Always do your best - Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret.

Initiation

Al Kelly in "What to do and what not to do to make life easier for yourself at work:" Initiate something every day. What else are you there for? By initiate, I mean start something which will result in improvement and work it out to a useful stage. No management job should contain less than 25% initiation and instigation – and the more senior the post, the higher should be the percentage."

Try to look critically at everything you do for a week through the eye of an initiator- you will discover some small improvements to your old routines- how you run your meetings, how you organise your day, how our schools are organised.

Random quotes

Nothing is so powerful as an idea whose time has come, and the notion that the public schools in our democracy should be redesigned to assure learning for all, is such an idea. (Lezette 1994)

Two angels

Two traveling angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family. The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the mansion's guest room. Instead the angels were given a small space in the cold basement. As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it.

When the younger angel asked why, the older angel replied, "Things aren't always what they seem."

The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor, but very hospitable farmer and his wife. After sharing what little food they had the couple let the angels sleep in their bed where they could have a good night's rest. When the sun came up the next morning the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears.

Their only cow, whose milk had been their sole income, lay dead in the field. The younger angel was infuriated and asked the older angel how could you have let this happen? The first man had everything, yet you helped him, she accused. The second family had little but was willing to share everything, and you let the cow die. "Things aren't always what they seem," the older angel replied.

"When we stayed in the basement of the mansion, I noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the wall. Since the owner was so obsessed with greed and unwilling to share his good fortune, I sealed the wall so he wouldn't find it. Then last night as we slept in the farmer’s bed, the angel of death came for his wife. I gave him the cow instead. Things aren't always what they seem."

Sometimes that is exactly what happens when things don't turn out the way they should. If you have faith, you just need to trust that every outcome is always to your advantage. You just might not know it until some time later.

Developing leadership communities

Leadership communities are groups of practitioners who support and encourage one another to expand their individual and joint leadership capacity. The rationale is that:

Developing leadership throughout an organisation is about fostering new ways of thinking, relating and acting in the context of focusing on actual and emerging issues for the organisation;

Leadership is best developed by managers (and others) practising it together, over an extended period, in a context in which they are supported and encouraged to stretch themselves.

In any group of managers, there is likely to be a diversity of experience, and perspectives, which if better tapped, can be a powerful source of learning for individuals and the group (this is so even where top management regard middle and front-line managers as largely homogenous groups, perhaps too technically-focused); and

When managers, through their participation in the community, undertake joint leadership-related work, they not only contribute to the organisation but they discover new ways of working. The result is improved individual and collective self-confidence in their leadership abilities – and more positive perceptions among top executives.

The potential payoffs of a community-based approach are huge, including:
Greater utilisation of talent and development of potential;
Increased individual and organisational capacity to deal with difficult and emerging issues;
Ripple effects, with leadership-mode behaviour fostered beyond the community;
Innovative work and new solutions for the organisation as a result of community projects; and
Improvement in the organisation’s ability to ‘live’ the values it espouses (since leadership includes focusing on the emotional realities of the organisation).
Organisations can foster a leadership community approach by:
Offering at least introductory training about contemporary concepts of leadership and communities of practice;
Encouraging managers to think about the meaning of community for them;
Assisting them to contribute on higher-level organisational issues;
Encouraging community self-organisation, for example, by the group nominating a convenor; and
Making available resources (time, funding, expertise) to support community initiated projects and activities, within agreed parameters.

Let go of the past

Often in institutions we have "the way we’ve always done it".

I don’t like hearing it, but I assume people who use the age-old chestnut don’t like hearing "let’s do something different".
I think that one of the most passively-aggressive response to doing something a different way is to be involved in the new model, but then change one thing at a time so it overcomes all of the advantages of the new model, which serves to make it a shiny new version of the old model.

Then, you can proclaim proudly, "See, I told you it didn’t work." Then, you can go back to doing it the old way.

Winners and losers

In every country there is sport at elite levels and where there is sport there is competition, winners and losers.

One such sport in Oz is rugby league. Teams do battle for 26 weeks, gaining points for wins and draws. The top eight at the end of the regular season then progress into the finals and over the course of the next four weeks end up in the Grand Final – the last two teams.

The first and second placed teams at the end of the regular season did not make the last game – they had been eliminated. So, it was Cinderella vs Cinderella.

Both teams could be proud of what they had done. They were not rated as chances to be in the Grand Final. They knocked off more fancied teams. They had self-belief and seemed to bring a spark and enjoyment to their games, entertaining all those who watched them.

But there could only be one winner – and the other team looked gutted at the end of the game. No amount of "you’ve done so well to get this far" could lift them from their current disappointed state of being. I’m sure they will be able to rationalize their season at a later date, but being rational is impossible when in such a turmoil of emotions.

Thanks to both teams for their entertainment and for their reinforcement of the belief that anything is possible.

Take time out…

To smell the koalas
.
Getting ready in the morning with a young family can seem like an exercise in reconciling a number of neighbouring nations. Everything is a flurry of activity and there seems to be no end to the desperate solutions needed to last-minute problems.
This morning was no exception, until a koalas was spotted in the back yard. Another koala (I don’t know whether the male or the female makes the noise) was calling and we think that the one that we saw was responding to the call of the first one. When we went out to have a look it retreated to the safety of a tree.

The one it selected was not a large one, so we were treated to a great view of the koala. Suddenly, the noise and commotion of a few minutes ago were replaced with "ooohs’ and "aaahs" as we stood there together enjoying our brush with one of our non-human neighbours.

It’s food for the soul.

Failure

I have something puzzling -

1. Go to www.google.com.au
2. In the box, type in the word "failure".
3. Click on the "I am feeling lucky" button.

Official Euro language

The European Commission has just announced an agreement whereby English will be the official language of the European Union rather than German, which was the other possibility.

As part of the negotiations, the British Government conceded the English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a 5-year phase-in plan that would become known as "Euro-English".

In the first year, "s" will replace the soft "c". Sertainly, this will make the sivil servants jump with joy. The hard "c" will be dropped in favour of "k". This should klear up konfusion, and keyboards kan have one less letter.

There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year when the troublesome "ph" will be replaced with "f" This will make words like fotograf 20% shorter.

In the 3rd year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible. Governments will enkourage the removal of double letters which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling. Also, al wil agre that the horibl mes of the silent "e" in the languag is disgrasful and it should go away.

By the 4th yer people wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing "th" with "z" and "w" with "v".

During ze fifz yer, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from vords kontaining "ou" and after ziz fifz yer, ve vil hav a reil sensibl riten styl. Zer vil be no mor trubl or difikultis and evrivun vil find it ezi tu understand ech oza. Ze drem of a united urop vil finali kum tru.

Und efter ze fifz yer, ve vil al be speking German like zey vunted in ze forst plas.

Why did the chicken cross the road?

SAEED AL SAHAF - Iraqi Head of Information: The chicken did not cross the road. This is a complete fabrication. In fact, we do not even have a chicken.

HANS BLIX: We have reason to believe there may be potential for this chicken's capability, but we have not yet been allowed to have access to the other side of the road.

COLIN POWELL Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the road.

GEORGE W BUSH We don't care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road or not. The chicken is either for us or against us. There is no middle ground.

TONY BLAIR I agree with George.

JOHN HOWARD I agree with George and Tony.


KIM BEAZLEY There is no challenge to the chicken at this stage, but if I were crossing the road ....

SIMON CREAN @#@#!!@ Chicken. No one crosses the @#@#!!@ road without my @#@#!!@ say so. It's time for the chicken to put up or shut up.

PETER HOLLINGWORTH (Governor-General) I am not aware of any impropriety in the chicken crossing the road. In fact I am led to believe that it was the other way around and the chicken asked for it

DR SEUSS Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad?
Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I've not been told.

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR I envision a world where all chickens will be free to cross roads without having their motives called into question.

GRANDPA In my day, we didn't ask why the chicken crossed the road. Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough.

OPRAH Isn't that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heart-warming story of how it felt accomplishing its lifelong dream of crossing the road.
JOHN LENNON Imagine all the chickens, crossing all the roads.
You may say I'm a dreamer - but its not the only hen.

MICHAEL JACKSON There's nothing more wonderful than sharing your life with a chicken.

ARISTOTLE It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.

KARL MARX It was an historic inevitability.

BILL GATES eChicken2003 version 1.0 will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your cheque book - and internet explorer is an integral part of eChicken.

ALBERT EINSTEIN Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?

THE BIBLE And God came down from heaven, and he said unto the chicken THOU SHALT CROSS THE ROAD. And the chicken didst cross the road, and there was much rejoicing.

COLONEL SANDERS Did I miss one?

HOMER SIMPSON Mmmmmmmmm . . . . c h i c k e n

Definitions

1. ARBITRATOR: A cook that leaves Arby's to work at McDonalds.
2. AVOIDABLE: What a bullfighter tried to do.
3. BERNADETTE: The act of torching a mortgage.
4. BURGLARIZE: What a crook sees with.
5. CONTROL: A short, ugly inmate.
6. COUNTERFEITERS: Workers who put together kitchen cabinets.
7. ECLIPSE: What an English barber does for a living.
8. EYEDROPPER: A clumsy ophthalmologist.
9. HEROES: What a guy in a boat does.
10. LEFTBANK: What the robber did when his bag was full of money.
11. MISTY: How golfers create divots.
12. PARADOX: Two physicians.
13. PARASITES: What you see from the top of the Eiffel Tower.
14. PHARMACIST: A helper on the farm.
15. POLARIZE: What penguins see with.
16. PRIMATE: Removing your spouse from in front of the TV.
17. RELIEF: What trees do in the Spring.
18. RUBBERNECK: What you do to relax your wife.
19. SELFISH: What the owner of a seafood store does.20. SUDAFED: Brought litigation against a government official.

Cold iron

" A teacher who is attempting to teach, without inspiring the pupil with a desire to learn, is hammering on a cold iron." - Horace Mann (1796-1859)

Generous

"Real generosity is doing something nice for someone who will never find it out."

the wrod as a wlohe

"Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Txes M&A Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a total mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe." (Anonymous)

'if' by rudyard kipling

Kipling is said to have written the poem 'If' with Dr Leander Starr Jameson in mind, who led about five-hundred of his countrymen in a failed raid against the Boers, in southern Africa. The 'Jameson Raid' was later considered a major factor in starting the Boer War (1899-1902).

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master,
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

Multitasking

Sometimes we can do two things at once. Like read a report, while waiting for an appointment. Sign letters during a meeting. Exercise while watching the news on TV at night. Listen to a tape on leadership while driving. Do knee bends while brushing your teeth. Plan weekly staff notices or that difficult parent interview in the shower. Be a little creative with your time. Remember that any activity you can double up on saves you time.

" TENJEWBERRYMUDS "

To get the full effect, this should be read aloud. You will understand what 'tenjewberrymuds' means by the end of the conversation. This has been nominated for the best email of 2005. The following is a telephone exchange between a hotel guest and room-service, at a hotel in Asia, which was recorded and published in the Far East Economic Review:

Room Service (RS): "Morrin. Roon sirbees."

Guest (G): "Sorry, I thought I dialed room-service."

RS: "Rye..Roon sirbees..morrin! Jewish to oddor sunteen??"
G: "Uh..yes..I'd like some bacon and eggs."

RS: "Ow July den?"
G: "What??"
RS: "Ow July den?...pryed, boyud, poochd?"
G : "Oh, the eggs! How do I like them? Sorry, scrambled please."
RS: "Ow July dee baykem? Crease?"
G: "Crisp will be fine."
RS : "Hokay. An Sahn toes?"
G: "What?"
RS:"An toes. July Sahn toes?"
G: "I don't think so."
RS: "No? Judo wan sahn toes??"
G: "I feel really bad about this, but I don't know what 'judo wan sahn toes' means."
RS: "Toes! toes!...Why jew don juan toes? Ow bow Anglish moppin we bodder?"
G: "English muffin!! I've got it! You were saying 'Toast.' Fine. Yes, an English muffin will be fine."
RS: "We bodder?"
G: "No...just put the bodder on the side."
RS: "Wad?"
G: "I mean butter...just put it on the side."
RS: "Copy?"
G: "Excuse me?"
RS: "Copy...tea...meel?"
G: "Yes. Coffee, please, and that's all."
RS: "One Minnie. Scramah egg, crease baykem, Anglish moppin we bodder on sigh and copy....rye??"
G: "Whatever you say."
RS: "Tenjewberrymuds."G : "You're very welcome."

Winston

A Melbourne doctor in the 1950s was chatting to a telegram boy.

‘What’s your name?" the doctor asked.
"Winston Churchill" the boy replied, with his chest proudly out and his chin up.
The doctor said, with a twinkle in his eye, "Well now, is that so? That’s a pretty famous name"
"Sure," said the telegram boy. "It ought to be. After all I have been delivering telegrams around this suburb for nearly three years now."

Receiving feedback

Do we ever tell our staff how to give us feedback when they think something might be improved?

These guidelines may be a starting point for us:
. Report the problem immediately. Tell me right away will often assist us in solving a problem before it becomes any worse.
. Give me only the necessary facts. Overstating the problem could make it look worse than it is. Think it through before you report and be ready to explain exactly and objectively what happened.
. Use tact. Don’t say "We’ve got a terrible problem in our school." Say something like "Here’s something I thought you should know about."
. Offer a solution. Don’t just tell me we have a problem. Think of possible solutions. Recommend a way to correct a mistake or an error and provide solutions on how you think it might be prevented from happening again.
. Don’t deliver only bad news. Pass along the good news that happens in our schools every day.

One hundred years from now

One hundred years from now,
It will not matter what kind of car I drove,
What kind of house I lived in
Or how much money I had in the bank,
But the world may be a better place
Because I made a difference in a child's life."

I cannot give you the formula for success, but

I can give you the formula for failure –

Which is: try to please everybody

How do we learn to say "No" better?

How many of us every week or even every day as we are driving home think "Why didn’t I just say NO." It is certainly not because we like the accompanying awkward and probably uncomfortable feelings of obligation, confrontation, threat, guilt, disappointment, embarrassment or even lack of confidence.

Maybe we need to practice responses like "I know you might be disappointed but I can’t do this before next Tuesday because I have ---- and ---- deadlines to meet before then. I know this is important and it needs time; I would not like to compromise the quality of the work by giving it insufficient time."

Yes, it does mean a little bravery, but you will feel better about your self, staff or parents will understand your work more and the fear will be gone.

And as Eleanor Roosevelt said:

"Friendship with oneself is all important because without it one cannot be friends with anyone else in the world."

People you Meet

Many people walk in and out of your life,
But only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.
To handle yourself, use your head;
To handle others, use your heart.
Anger is only one letter short of danger.
Great minds discuss ideas;
Average minds discuss events;
Small minds discuss people.
God gives every bird its food,
But He does not throw it into its nest.
He who loses money, loses much;
He who loses a friend loses more;
He who loses faith, loses all.
Beautiful young people are acts of nature,
But beautiful old people are works of art.
Learn form the mistakes of others.
You cannot live long enough to make them all yourself.
The tongue weighs practically nothing,
But few people can hold it.
Friends, you and me……….

Friends

Once upon a time there was a little boy with a very difficult character. His father gave him a bag full of nails and told him to drive one nail into the garden fence every time he loses his patience and/or has an argument with someone.

The first day the boy drove 37 nails into the fence. In the following weeks, the boy learns to control himself and the number of nails driven into the fence gets lower every day. The boy discovers it is easier to learn to control himself than to hammer nails in the fence.

At last, the day comes when the boy does not drive any nails into the garden fence. Then he goes to his father and tells him that today he did not need to hammer any nails. His father then tells the boy to take one nail out from the fence for every day he succeeds in controlling his temper and not losing his patience. Many days pass and finally the boy can tell his father that he has taken all the nails out of the fence.

The father talks to his son in front of the fence and tells him ‘My son, you have behaved well, but look how many holes you have left in the fence."

It will never be the same. When you have an argument with someone and abuse them, you leave them the wounds like these ones in the fence. You can stab a man and then take the knife out, but you will always leave a wound. It does not matter how many times you say sorry, the scars will stay. A wound caused by words hurts just as bad as a physical wound.

Friends are rare jewels; they make you smile and support you. They are ready to listen to you whenever you need it; they support you and they open their heart to you. Show to your friends how much you love them.

A thought for all those meetings we attend each week:

UCLA’s Albert Mehrabian has studied the impact of speakers on audiences, finding that a speaker’s impact – favourable or not- is determined by three factors:

Verbal impressions (the words spoken) account for only 7% of the impact.
Vocal impressions (tone, range, appeal and "credibility" of the voice) account for 38% of impact
Visual impressions (our physical appearance, clothing, gestures, stance, eye contact etc) account for a huge 55% of impact.

Time

As School Leaders we spend so much time taking care of others that we sometimes forget to take care of ourselves.

As successful individuals we need to:
Make time for ourselves and time to exercise every day, and keep this going for the whole year;
Feel we are doing our very best every day
Eat right – being busy is no excuse
Turn our daily routines into healthy habits

Our challenge is in determining how we devote more time to those pursuits that hold value for us and less time and energy to those that might be less important. This does not mean doing less work, but it may mean enhancing our goal setting and time management skills. How also do we find support for making this deliberate choice from our families, friends and colleagues.

The choice is always ours to make – what are we going to do with our own precious resources- our time, money, energy and passion. What do we have to do to ensure our own health in our creative, relational and physical worlds. How do we re-energise and inspire ourselves? How do we identify what is important each day and do our actions and decisions regarding how we spend our time, reflect this? How do we model this at our schools to our staff, students and parents?

Give yourself a gift of time – to do that exercise, read to your children, take up that hobby, talk with that colleague.

Be careful

Be careful of your thoughts
For your thoughts become your words.

Be careful of your words
For your words become your actions.

Be careful of your actions
For your actions become your habits.
Be careful of your habits

For your habits become your character.
Be careful of your character

For your character becomes your destiny.

Dealing with our daily "busyness."

Reducing interruptions is a very productive means of creating a team environment that is efficient, effective and productive for all.
As S
chool Leaders we find our days invaded, seemingly irresistibly by telephones, interruptions of staff, faxes, PDAs, laptops and of course the very demanding emergency of emails. We even bluff ourselves by thinking we are so efficient with our time and energy, that our "to do" list is being achieved each day. However, when we are so busy being busy we are often missing and not responding to moments of excitement, delights and play that happen every hour in our schools. Our challenge is then ensuring how we become more "present" spontaneous, relaxed and receptive in our schools?

Did you know that 80% of our interruptions will be generated repetitively from only 20% of the people we work with. Become consciously aware of those who do not continually come to your door.

A definite possibility: Intervene for a fellow staff member who may need some "quiet time." Take their calls and messages for one hour to avoid interruptions for them. Reciprocate for each other on an "as needed" basis.

The decisive element

"I've come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element in the classroom. It's my personal approach that creates the climate. It's my daily
mood that makes the weather. As a teacher, I possess a tremendous power to make a child's life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or humour, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated
or de-escalated and a child humanised or dehumanised."

Haim Ginott

Very interesting.......

Year 1981
1. Prince Charles got married
2. Liverpool crowned Champions of Europe
3. Australia lost the Ashes
4. Pope Died

Year 2005
1. Prince Charles got married (again)
2. Liverpool crowned Champions of Europe (again)
3. Australia lost the Ashes
4. Pope Died

In future, if Prince Charles decides to re-marry and Liverpool wins another European crown.... please warn the Pope :-) ...

The real experts on children

It's readily apparent who the real experts are. Listen to this wisdom…… Children will tell us how to raise them well. If only we'd listen….

Children want and need to know about your childhood: Tell me a story about when you were a child. –Stephanie Take me to where you grew up. –Rob Tell me stories about my ancestors. --Bobby

Quality time is a myth. Kids need you to spend different kinds of time with them: Talk to me about your day. –Alison Eat dinner with me. –Walter Take me somewhere special once in a while, by myself, without my sister. –Vivi Sometimes can you play with me instead of saying no? –Fran Read to me (even though I can read). --Amanda

Parents need to model the family's values: If you get mad at me remember to forgive me. –Suzanne Treat me like you treat your customers. --Karen Respect my stuff. –Elyse

Encourage your child's spontaneity and your own: Let me get wet in the rain. –Jessica I love it when you give me presents that are not expected. –Michael Let me go on the escalator that goes up when I'm going down. --Eric

Don't 'over plan' your kid's childhood: More FREE TIME!!! Don't fill up every minute of the day. –Christine I like piano, but I would like to stop, life is good when you're a kid so you should have some fun. (accompanied by a drawing of a kid diving into the water) –Alex Let me get into the sports I want to get into. --Ben

Help a child find her own voice: Let me make a mess when I'm doing art. –Addison Raise me right because I want to be someone in life. --Renadeau

Appreciate your child's efforts rather than focusing on his accomplishments: Be proud of my best. –Jessica Be proud of me even if I didn't get all the answers right. –Sach Tell me what I did right. --Amanda

Kids need to have a say in the family: Let me have a vote in the things we do together. –Kate If you have a problem, listen to me. Maybe I can help. –Dylan Let me make decisions that I think would be good and maybe they would be as good as the decisions you made for me. --Caleb

Kids need to hear the words "I love you" often. They also need love shown: Say "I love you," once in a while, not just when I'm leaving for school. –Amber Write notes to me on my lunch box napkin. – Jenny When I'm down, raise me up. –Eric