Credo

I have read the "Everything You Need to Know" essay many times over the last several years and I have never taken the time to sit down and write my own Credo. Finally, I am going to give it a shot. I will keep it as honest as I can so that in a few years, I can look back and reflect on who I was at the time and see if my thoughts and beliefs evolve as much as I do. Here goes..

1. I believe that we don't even come close to reaching the potential that is within our grasp.

2. I believe that I can learn anything I choose to learn, as long as I set my mind to it and work at it when it does not come easy.

3. I believe bullying is not only a school years problem. Some people never outgrow it and they bring it with them to the work place.

4. I believe that children sometimes know better than adults. As they age, they forget what they knew as a kid and slip into bad habits.

5. I believe youth is a treasure we don't appreciate until it is long gone. How I would love to have fun like a kid again.

6. I believe laughter is a cure for many things (sadness, loneliness, even some physiological diseases).

7. I believe running is a good way to empty my heart of worries while I take care of my body.

8. I believe there is a lot more beauty surrounding me than I acknowledge. It's a little like the "Take the time to smell the roses idea". We need to really look at what is in front of our eyes in order to see the beauty there.

9. I believe there is nothing more comforting than a disgustingly thick peanut butter and jam sandwich for supper.

10. I believe a little piece of heaven seeps into my dreams when I nap in the sunbeam that floods my living room on a Sunday afternoon.

Would it Kill Us?

After Reading Robert Fulghum's Credo, I am moved to look around and think about the world we live in. I mean, it's a pretty good place overall, but how easy would it be to make it even better? His first list reminds us that living a good life and being a good person is really very simple. In his second list, he points out that sometimes this is beyond our control and that outside forces make us adapt in ways we may not have forseen in the simpler list. With this in mind, I ask, "Would it kill us to..."

1. Smile at least once every day - knowing that we have so much to smile about?

2. Go out of our way to give at least one compliment to someone we care about?

3. Approach one person we don't know so well and greet them somehow?

4. Be responsible for our own actions?

5. Give a little more than we do to those who have less?

6. Take the time to represent ourselves a little better? I mean, how do we want to be remembered?

7. Keep our area clean? Whether at home, school or at work?

8. Make en effort to do our best work always?

None of these seem so difficult yet they are things that are not automatic. I believe that making the world a better place is as simple as these actions suggest. The hard part is getting everyone to buy into it. Now THAT just might kill us!

Les réflexions de vidéo annotées en Sciences de la nature

Les liens suivants vous seront utiles pour écrire les réflexions les sciences de la nature.

La méthode à suivre

Les critères d'évaluation

Where the Red Fern Grows - by Wilson Rawls

I once knew a teacher who had a great answer for a student who asked her why on Earth she would read a book more than once. To this she answered, "Have you ever had pizza more than once?" The student told her he had, to which she replied, "But why would you eat pizza if you had already tasted it?" He had no answer.

I first read Where the Red Fern Grows in grade 5. I stayed up late, hidden under the covers with a flashlight and cried real tears as the touching events unfolded. (This does blur your vision and makes reading difficult, but it's a worthwhile cry.) It was the first time a book had had such an effect on me. I started to crave that kind of connection with my reading and my book choices became more and more discriminating. Over the years, I have found others, but it takes a great book to bring this kind of attachment to my reading out of hiding.

Every year, I share this novel with my students. I don't expect them all to react in the same way, but I do want them to learn to appreciate literature and to realize that books and writing can have that kind of an effect on you as a reader. It is the best I can do to convince them that reading is worth the investment of their time.

Click on the link below to read my responses as the book unfolds and feel free to leave some comments so that we can start a dialogue about our shared reading. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Values From a Book?

Violence Denied

This one gets to me everytime! The wish is that all people (regardless of age or sex or any other defining characteristic) would refuse to do what they know to be wrong... 

AWESOME!

• Picking the dishwasher rack to empty
• Backscratches
• TV marathon
• Paying less than you should at the store
• Free cookies at the store
• Drinks on the house
• Free food at Costco
• Fused candy
• Walking on an icy sidewalk without falling
• Landing a jump without getting hurt
• That awesome comeback
• Finishing homework early
• No homework
• Stealing a fish off my friend's line
• When you think of a song and it comes on the radio
• When your dog doesn't need to "go" during a walk. No poop to pick up.
• Getting a compliment
• Clean glasses
• Getting all the lyrics of a song right
• When younger siblings don't notice you leaving the house
• When your phone battery randomly increases its charge
• When friend gives you their lunch because they are not hungry
• Free Wifi
• When you are the first one to use the marker for the white board
• Finishing a rage game
• Acing a test you didn't study for
• First in line for a buffet
• First in line for the microwave in the caf
• Finding your Christmas present early
• When mom forgets to make you do your chores
• Finding a really good deal
• When someone shares their food
• Giving your friend "the look" when the teacher tells you to partner up
• Being home alone
• When you don't need to beg your parents for what you want
• The end of day school bell
• The lunch bell
• When you finish watching a scary movie
• Fun subs
• Winning an argument
• Funny T-shirts
• New shoes
• When apps actually work
• High end clothes for cheap at the thrift store
• Free massages
• Fridge is full
• When there is nutella in the house
• Memorising a favourite recipe
• When there is no dammage after dropping a phone
• Catching something before it hits the floor
• When you have the right guess
• Summer break
• Getting new tech
• Winning unexpectedly
• Dodging everything during dodgeball
• Friday nights
• Landing a flip for the first time
• Popping bubble wrap
• Finding the last item in your size at the store
• Photobombing
• Remembering something before it's too late
• Licking the batter off the beaters
• No school Mondays
• No school Fridays
• Hearing a stranger fart in public
• Perfectly roasted marshmallows
• Sleeping in
• Snow days
• Skipping steps without falling
• Wake up and realizing it's the weekend
• Getting a cast off
• Eating the extra fries at the bottom of the bag
• Realizing there's no school the next day
• Raedy-made breakfast
• Fixing electronics by smacking them
• Getting away with eating very late at night
• Double sleepovers
• Finding money in old clothes
• Finding money in the park
• Getting paid double for babysitting
• When parents say yes
• When you spill something and it doesn't leave a stain
• Getting asked to play a part (ballet, play, etc...)
• Being recruited for an older team
• When a friend goes along with your lie
• Near-misses
• Doing something awesome by accident
• Winning a competition
• Winning a bet
• Talking into a fan
• Couch cushion forts
• Knowing song lyrics before the songs are released
• Adult one: When kids think you're cool
• Candy store

PET PEEVES

To give you all a hand with the upcoming issue piece, here is a list of ideas that we have brainstormed to get you started. Have fun with this one. It's not every day you are ASKED to complain...

• When people do not clean up their toe nail clippings
• When there is hair in the sink
• When people do not flush
• When people do not wipe up the pee from the toilet seat
• Sharing a room with a sibling
• When someone tells you you are not old enough to do something
• Having a cramp at the worst possible moment
• When someone will not give up on an argument - even when they know they are wrong
• When adults say "I'm so old"
• Attention seekers
• No charger for a dead phone
• Bossy people
• Loud eaters
• Wrong lyric singers
• Too many brothers crying at the same time (Riley)
• Whiners
• Knuckle crackers
• Cupboard is bare /starving
• Disrespect for differences
• 
  

Got an Issue? Here's a Tissue.

If we take the words of Austin Powers' father at face value, no one really cares about our issues. Whatever it is that is bothering you is your problem. Go cry about it alone or do something about it. I agree to a certain degree because the world is full enough of belly-achers who do nothing but complain about the state of things, but there is a difference between whining for no purpose and venting to let the facts of the issue unfold before you.

In an issue piece, you are given the chance to rant on about the issue of your choice - and let's face it, we all have them. The difference between belly-aching and venting though is that venting is the first step in processing the problem at hand. With a vent, we are essentially saying these are the conditions that apply to my issue. We need to understand what we are dealing with before we can offer possible solutions to what we feel is the required change.

Once we have done this, an issue becomes less of a complaint and more of a call to attention to something that needs to be addressed. Often, this allows us to reassess our ways and the state of things that define the world we live in. Click on the link below to read about an issue that concerns me. I hope to get feedback from some of you on this subject.

Morals? Who Needs 'Em?