"Careless words stab like a sword, but wise words bring healing." Proverbs 12:18
Words are important: they can hurt or heal. Words can uplift us or discourage us, and reckless words, spoken in haste, cannot be erased. Today seek to encourage all who cross your path. Measure your words carefully. Speak wisely, not impulsively. Use words of kindness and praise, not words of anger or derision. Remember that you have the power to heal other or to injure them, to lift others up or to hold them back. When you lift them up, your wisdom will bring healing and comfort to a world that needs both.
-Criswell Freeman's Purpose for Everyday Living
* thanks, reg, for the words of inspiration. miss you...
* to my friend across the miles, it was nice talking to you today. keep your head up and be proud of the beautiful person you are.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Monday, April 21, 2008
an early start...
to summer '08!
what's on the (tentative) itinerary for this weekend? well, let's see!
- thursday evening - drive down to southern california. one white truck. 5 squished passengers. 2 flying into lax. ETA: 2am.
- friday - disneyland, baby. haven't seen you for about 3 years...oh, how i've missed thee!
- saturday - visit mesa court and tour the area. drive around irvine and get my cousin acquainted with the usual eateries and hang-out spots.
- saturday afternoon/evening - sprit rally!
- saturday evening - *secret*
- sunday - mass at the 'faith. drive back up to northern california. ETA: 8pm.
in case you didn't know, my cousin, stephanie, got accepted into UCI! :) she's planning on entering the school of engineering as a civil engineer. last weekend she flew down with my sis and took a day trip to uci during wayzgoose. she loved it and came home very excited. i'm hoping to gently push her into liwanag and get her in early -- you know, before all the others. hey, she's free to make her own decisions, but it may help to steer her in the right direction. :D i'd feel so much better about her being so far away if she was in the right hands.
anyway, the plan is for her sib's to come along with us. my sister and her bf will meet us there since they have travel benefits and can basically fly wherever they want. should be a fun road trip if everything works out.
anyone else going to rally?
Thursday, April 17, 2008
oh, the joys (and tears) of television
as much as i hate to admit it, i love to watch tv when i have the time. i think at the end of a long day at work, it's my only stress reliever when i come home. besides the usual grey's anatomy (april 24th!!!) and desperate housewives, i have my regular dose of reality tv...the hills, the bachelor (this season sucks, though), american idol, and survivor: micronesia. which brings me to my next point...
goodbye, ozzy.
this guy is/was like the king of survivor. i think he was born in the jungle in another life. i sort of don't even want to watch anymore because he's gone. everyone else is so blah.
and wasn't the don't stop the music performance on idol the best or what? i loved it so much that i downloaded it on itunes. i know, what a loser-y move. i cannot wait for so you think you can dance! everytime i see dance numbers like that i get the urge to quit teaching and become a full-time dancer. haha! oh, pipe dreams...
oh, and what about the idols' rendition of shout to the lord?! it was a little weird at first but nice to see, really.
speaking of shouting to the lord, the pope is here! i've been following his journey somewhat on tv with my students. in order to be one with the festivities, i took out my vatican flag and waved it around as if i was watching him arrive at the airport. my students didn't even know what the flag was. =/ but it's ok -- i enlightened them.
wow. this post makes me sound like a tv fanatic.
goodbye, ozzy.
this guy is/was like the king of survivor. i think he was born in the jungle in another life. i sort of don't even want to watch anymore because he's gone. everyone else is so blah.
and wasn't the don't stop the music performance on idol the best or what? i loved it so much that i downloaded it on itunes. i know, what a loser-y move. i cannot wait for so you think you can dance! everytime i see dance numbers like that i get the urge to quit teaching and become a full-time dancer. haha! oh, pipe dreams...
oh, and what about the idols' rendition of shout to the lord?! it was a little weird at first but nice to see, really.
speaking of shouting to the lord, the pope is here! i've been following his journey somewhat on tv with my students. in order to be one with the festivities, i took out my vatican flag and waved it around as if i was watching him arrive at the airport. my students didn't even know what the flag was. =/ but it's ok -- i enlightened them.
wow. this post makes me sound like a tv fanatic.
Monday, April 07, 2008
Thursday, April 03, 2008
breakthrough
and here goes another teaching story...
student: if someone makes fun of me i'm just going to make fun of them back. i've tried everything to stop making fun of people and losing my temper. i tried hitting the wall, i've tried screaming into my pillow, i've tried ignoring the person, i've tried it all and nothing works.
teacher: have you tried prayer?
our principal gave my class a talk today about the bullying that has been going on among the students, especially this week since we've been back. i was totally fed up with what was going on, nothing was working, and things seemed to be getting worse. after the principal left the room, i shut the door to my classroom and opened the floor for students to make comments about the bullying -- no holds barred. i explained (demanded, rather) that all of us were going to lay it out on the table right then and there, addressing each other directly by name.
and, that they did. specific people were called out for being bullies, being pushovers, starting rumors, being mean, and everything else. the ones being bullied confessed their intimidation and fears of speaking up in class. the ones doing the bullying accused others of trying to be "perfect" and gave warnings that high school would be 10 times worse. we've all been bullied somehow. are we just supposed to take it? if we don't dish it out, someone else will just walk over us. why are some people such big babies about it? why don't you stop when you see it hurts me? why do you roll your eyes everytime i open my mouth in class? why did you start that rumor? why? soon thereafter, the tears started to flow from a couple people. then, the teacher aide in my classroom bravely told the class about her experience of actually being a bully in 8th grade. she shared a pretty deep story. by the end of it all, there was not a dry eye in my classroom, and i was biting my lip in order to hold my composure.
my kids continued to share stories like you wouldn't believe. everyone had a chance to speak, and they spoke from the heart. the comments that some of my students made allowed me to understand them so much better than i did before. i was literally shaking to my core the entire time -- that and praying that God would inspire me with words that would help my students deepen their faith and their relationship with others. we ended our conversation in prayer, and everyone went around and prayed for at least one other person in the class. most of my students issued their apologies to whom they have hurt.
when we broke off for recess, one of the yard duty people came to me and said, "what the heck did you do to those kids?" i looked at her, smiled, and asked, "why?" she the told me that all my students -- all 38 of them -- were playing in one big group, hugging each other and just hanging out. the boys weren't playing basketball, the girls weren't practicing their cheerleading, they were just hanging out as one.
i'm realistic enough to know that this euphoric sensation will probably wear off before we even get through our spelling test tomorrow morning. however, i think that more than a few of them are changed for good. and i think all of them now realize that they can change, that they have the power to stop the cycle, and that prayer really does work miracles.
i don't think their classroom behavior will get much better. they're still going to be talkative, they're still going to fool around and try to get away with anything they can. but their behavior towards each other had taken an upward turn. and i'll take that over anything else.
student: if someone makes fun of me i'm just going to make fun of them back. i've tried everything to stop making fun of people and losing my temper. i tried hitting the wall, i've tried screaming into my pillow, i've tried ignoring the person, i've tried it all and nothing works.
teacher: have you tried prayer?
our principal gave my class a talk today about the bullying that has been going on among the students, especially this week since we've been back. i was totally fed up with what was going on, nothing was working, and things seemed to be getting worse. after the principal left the room, i shut the door to my classroom and opened the floor for students to make comments about the bullying -- no holds barred. i explained (demanded, rather) that all of us were going to lay it out on the table right then and there, addressing each other directly by name.
and, that they did. specific people were called out for being bullies, being pushovers, starting rumors, being mean, and everything else. the ones being bullied confessed their intimidation and fears of speaking up in class. the ones doing the bullying accused others of trying to be "perfect" and gave warnings that high school would be 10 times worse. we've all been bullied somehow. are we just supposed to take it? if we don't dish it out, someone else will just walk over us. why are some people such big babies about it? why don't you stop when you see it hurts me? why do you roll your eyes everytime i open my mouth in class? why did you start that rumor? why? soon thereafter, the tears started to flow from a couple people. then, the teacher aide in my classroom bravely told the class about her experience of actually being a bully in 8th grade. she shared a pretty deep story. by the end of it all, there was not a dry eye in my classroom, and i was biting my lip in order to hold my composure.
my kids continued to share stories like you wouldn't believe. everyone had a chance to speak, and they spoke from the heart. the comments that some of my students made allowed me to understand them so much better than i did before. i was literally shaking to my core the entire time -- that and praying that God would inspire me with words that would help my students deepen their faith and their relationship with others. we ended our conversation in prayer, and everyone went around and prayed for at least one other person in the class. most of my students issued their apologies to whom they have hurt.
when we broke off for recess, one of the yard duty people came to me and said, "what the heck did you do to those kids?" i looked at her, smiled, and asked, "why?" she the told me that all my students -- all 38 of them -- were playing in one big group, hugging each other and just hanging out. the boys weren't playing basketball, the girls weren't practicing their cheerleading, they were just hanging out as one.
i'm realistic enough to know that this euphoric sensation will probably wear off before we even get through our spelling test tomorrow morning. however, i think that more than a few of them are changed for good. and i think all of them now realize that they can change, that they have the power to stop the cycle, and that prayer really does work miracles.
i don't think their classroom behavior will get much better. they're still going to be talkative, they're still going to fool around and try to get away with anything they can. but their behavior towards each other had taken an upward turn. and i'll take that over anything else.
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