At school, Kevin, Carlos, and Minji greeted each other in their usual way.
“Hi guys,” Carlos said.
“Good morning,” Minji smiled.
“If you say so,” Kevin moaned.
Carlos and Minji rolled their eyes.
<<From Kevin the Complainer, my work-in-progress>>
Personal Success
Love
Love is love is love…
it takes many different forms in the physical world
and should never be judged, condemned or denied
Another Page
“Harvey woke up and complained to his mom that he felt a headache coming on.
His breakfast was overdone.
He couldn’t find his favorite gloves.
He heard something outside: Thunder rolled and cracked.
Oh no! There’s a storm! Now we won’t be able to play Kick and Cover! He muttered to himself.
He did not like the way his day was starting.”
From Kevin the Complainer
Tired of Starting Over?
Today’s motto (for me) is “just do it.”
I’m in the middle of the National Board of Certification process and one requirement is to take two 15-minute videos of myself teaching and to analyze them. In order to do this, I must view the videos. Repeatedly.
Ugh.
I do not like to hear myself – alone see myself – on screen.
At last, I did it. And you know what? It wasn’t terrible.
So, today, I encourage you to “just do it.” If it needs to be done, but you dread it, know that it’s OK.
If you need a more aggressive motivational message, watch Shia below:
Person, Place or Thing?
I showed my husband this illustration for my next book, Kevin the Complainer. This is Ms. Meretta, Kevin’s teacher. (My favorite teacher of all time was Ms. Meretta and she’s becoming a mainstay in all my books!)
Husband – sans glasses – squints. Awkward wait time follows.
At last he says, “Oh! I thought that was a chestnut!”
Antidote to Complaining
I do like Under Armour’s motto.
One of the First Pages
It’s Coming Together
(For Kevin the Complainer – my next book. Kevin is a chameleon)
What is School for?
I’m a teacher and I’m usually loathe to listen to any non-teacher who criticizes education. However, Seth Godin is a teacher in his own right and what he has to say makes perfect sense.
Godin published an education manifesto and I think everyone should read it. It’s made a deep impression on me and I’ve made immediate changes to my teaching. Rote memory is ridiculous. Deducting points off for trivial things is dumb. Let’s teach students how to learn and then CREATE things and take ACTION!
Please, read some of his manifesto or watch his podcast (Stop Stealing Dreams) if you care about education.
Just because it’s hard to make change doesn’t mean we should give up.
Even Brahms Did it…
We attended our daughter’s concert tonight. She’s a member of the Youth Symphony of the Southwest (members are aged 15-20). They played Brahms: Symphony No. 1 in C minor and it was 45 minutes of absolute bliss.
I learned something new: Brahms so admired Beethoven and wanted so badly to create something in the same caliber that it took him fourteen years to complete this concerto. Fourteen years.
He toiled and created on one project for fourteen years. That’s some serious perseverance.
So if you’re working on a masterpiece of any kind and you’re stressed about how long it’s taking you to create it, don’t sweat it. Just keep at it and pay no mind to time.
Kismet 