Skip to main content

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.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Constant Growth - Jack Kornfield - Shedding Old Skin

Just as a snake sheds its skin, we must shed our past over and over again. from:   Buddha’s Little Instruction Book I got this one from Good Reads website: And again I doubled search the source and found out that even though it is attributed to Gautama Buddha, it is really from Jack Kornfield.  Hats off to  Fake Buddha Quotes  “I Can't Believe It's Not Buddha!" website. I was pulled to this quote because what I am trying to do is start a new phase in my life.  I have done this before, as we all have.  Sometimes with more success than others.  But when I am getting discouraged, I think "How many rabbits can I pull out of my hat." The past for me, at this point, is to get rid of bad habits and substitute in better ones.  Unlike the snake, which has only one skin to shed, we have many "skins."  Laziness, Ennui, Memories, Weight, Sedentary days and nights, Wasting time, TV, Facebook, Instagram, Video games, Youtube, "What if's...
Post a Comment
Read more

Reaching Beyond - Martin Seligman - The Thankless Job of Being an Example

Reaching beyond where you are is really important. attributed to: Martin Seligman Dr. Seligman is the Professor of Happiness.  And I need a dose of that right now. I tell my students: "If it was easy for you to do, you'd have already done it."  I do a lot of work with under-performing students.  Each of them has a personal reason for underperforming, but normally it comes down to fear.   However, while they have been living in the fear, certain behaviors have become habitualized.  Watching Netflix, Facebooking, getting sucked into click-bait.   Unfortunately, the students behavior also trains those around them.  Yes, parents should not bend to the ineffectual and, perhaps, harmful actions and desires.  But they often do.  Parents look at is a 'picking battles,' which only cements the behaviors on both sides. I am in that position myself right now.  My partner and I were complacent with our careers.  It would...
Post a Comment
Read more

Change - Issac Azimov - Even the smallest amount can make a difference

"The point is that any change greater than the minimal is chaotic." from: Dors the Robot,     Issac Azimov,    Forward the Foundation   Disruptors.  Change Agents.  Change Makers.  Those are some of the (dated) buzz words of business right now to describe things that profoundly affect society.  They can be people, organizations, companies, or ideas that make a difference. We think, many people think, that a big difference has to come from a big change.  This is not the case.  There is the reference to the 'butterfly effect' which is explained as a single wing beat of a single butterfly in China can cause catastrophic weather conditions on the other side of the world. Not only is only small change necessary to make a big difference, there needs to be " luck ."  From the Scientific American article " The Role of Luck in Success is Far Greater Than We Realized ": "People with  easy to pronounce names  are ...
Post a Comment
Read more