Keep at it - JK Rowlings - Listen to your teachers

You've got to work. It's about structure. It's about discipline, It's about these deadly things that your teacher told you you needed.

JK Rowlings: Author , Teacher, and Scribe Fighting Evil.

So today I have a choice. It is my one day off during the week from my day job. Do I work on my book ideas or do I relax. I've printed out my schedule for the week and I do see at the day job I have massive amounts of time during the day as I don't work until 3pm.

Or do I read.

Argh. Some people say that being being is hard - long hours, stress, crazy parents and students. But then, anyone who deals with the public has learned most people are reasonable and nice. Sales clerks, apartment supers, restaurant workers, hotel staff, and health-care providers can tell you tales. There are always a few who are bonkers or have agendas that include diminishing, demeaning, or degrading someone else or the establishment to get something for nothing (rat in restaurant).

Teachers have it worse. Well, maybe not worse that health-care providers because that is also a very personal area. But, taking care of someone's off-spring is just a witch's brew of emotion and redirecting blame. Oh the stories I could tell, except for the defamation lawsuits and the legal standards that are prevalent in my country.

And here is another way teachers (and maybe health-care providers) have it the worst: Teachers live with hypocrisy. We know how to get things done. We now how to achieve results. We tell students they have to learn. And yet, many of us in our daily lives do not follow our own advice. And when we don't, we face a cognitive dissonance that causes our critical thinking to scream.

Maybe the key is to follow our own advice. Start small. Get a win. Keep moving.

Resolved: the plan for today is two hours on the extra-hard SAT math problems for my book.

I feel better already.

Gratitudes: paper, clean water from the tap, being able to see art.

Comments

Don't trust a skinny cook - Vinne Vrotny - Teacher Hypocrisy

Adults want comfort, but expect students to go into [the] discomfort zone. Are we hypocrites? from Vinnie Vrotny - Blog post Multi-faceted Refractions I live with the thought that I am a hypocrite. I am a teacher almost every day I implore, cajole, push, and pull students to learn more about the immediate subject and themselves. And yet I feel guilty when I don't do the same thing. To find today's quote, I Googled "quotes teacher hypocrisy" and got no love. I got quotes from Don King, Malcom X, Alan Dershowitz (black pot) and others. But no listed, no famous quotes about teachers and hypocrisy. Then I Googled "teacher hypocrisy" and oh boy, were there hits!. Grass roots education ; Condor Voice ; I, Hypocrite Teache r; and today's quote were just a start. I realized that I am not alone. I must admit I also hate lazy teachers. They are robbing students' time. Teaching is a hard job, both emotionally and phy

We shape our buildings - Winston Churchill - Be in action

We shape our buildings, and afterwards our buildings shape us. from: Winston Churchill, Painter , Political Survivor, Orator , and Nobel Prize for Literature Winner So much negativity in the world and in my thoughts. Originally, I was looking for a quote about the benefits of having positive thoughts. Sigh. There are many quotes like that out there, but the ones I found where either by celebrities or self-help gurus. Not that what they are saying is not useful, it is just I wanted elegant, powerful bon mots from a profound source. So, Churchill. I'd written down in my notes about this quote. It was made in a speech to rebuild the House of Commons after a bombing raid. I noted the quote because it agrees with my belief that architecture influences those who encounter it, whether for good or bad. But in this case, I am presenting it to my gentle readers as a metaphor. Like: "You reap what you sow," or "You've made your bed, so go lay in it."

Anger and Work - Toni Morrison - Tired of being angry

I get angry at things, then go on and work. from: Toni Morrison Author and Teacher Disclosure: I know little about Toni Morrison. Yes, I should read her writings. But I have my own writings to get out of my head. I found this quote because I have become tired of being angry. Maybe I should just scream myself into a coma, but I think I would still wake up anger. Screw the Serenity Prayer. Stuff admonitions of how anger is caused by fear. Stifle thoughts of turning the other cheek. Suffocate ideas of rising above. Smother the idea that this is not productive. But then, a sliver of sanity and the simplicity of Morrison's quote. As I have written before, I like to find the origin of quotes I use, and this one I found (unless this is photoshopped ) So, my two options are to keep my hand in the fire or to move into action. Since I am writing this, I have chosen movement. This entry can be considered the equivalent of picking myself up and brushing myself off.

Benevolent Quotations

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