Benevolent Quotations

W e need a little bit of that  divergent information to cross the  borders within our minds from what we  know to what we haven't yet thought about.  from Giovanni Corazza - TEDx Roma - founder of the Marconi Institute of Creativity I teach two students about design.  They are both 9th graders and come from relatively privileged backgrounds.  They are both smart and clever, like design more than their other classes at school, and yet they are not moving forward with the speed I believe they have.  One of the students' issues is procrastination and I am not writing about his situation today. Creativity is the issue of the other student.  Simple questions, like "What would you change about your room?", seems to paralyze him.  And yet, he would like to create new products/furniture. Though talking with him, he does realize that he has an issue.  While he resists new things, he will try new things if he sees a need.  For example, he believed that

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

Every person needs to take one day away.  A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future.  Jobs, family, employers, and friends can exist one day without any one of us, and if our egos permit us to confess, they could exist eternally in our absence.  Each person deserves a day away in which no problems are confronted, no solutions searched for.  Each of us needs to withdraw from the cares which will not withdraw from us.  Maya Angelou from Wouldn't Take Nothing For My Journey Now Today is my one day off from work.  It has been so crazy there that I didn't do my normal practice and plan something to do on my "weekend," something to look forward to doing.  A reward is missing.  So I am puttering around the house.  Maybe make dinner - no, I'd need to go shopping.  Maybe start a new project - no, not enough energy.  Oh crap:  I need to iron.  Okay - at least that is productive.  I haven't made an entry on the blog - EUREKA, I can

You do not have to be good.  You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. Exert from Wild Geese, a poem by Mary Oliver . I am not a fan of poetry.  I understand that this is a section of literature that I have cut off. I read many other types of writing but, in general, not poetry.  Maybe it has to do with the ham-handed way I was taught ("Obviously the albatross is a symbol of guilt/bad luck/good luck/penance."  Argh - Just pick one.  Or better yet, why a rotting relative of a rooster?). Now, as a teacher, I know that I shouldn't just blame the teacher for my lack of appreciation.  I was that person who had to have explained to him the "glass half empty/glass half full" concept.  ( But Alison, both are 50%!) Back to the present task at hand. Mary Oliver died recently and the reporting came over my newsfeeds.  So I read a poem or two.  And maybe I'll read more.  I don't know.  We'll see.

I really enjoy the purposelessness of art and the playful aspect of it.  I would like to always make room in my life for that type of experimentation and purposelessness in creative expression. Quote from Kevin Greenberg, architect and podcast interviewee . I am not sure why is happening but I am in a more upbeat mood lately.  A lot of my writing has had an edge to it and the quotes I was picking were not from a Disney happy ending.  I was writing to vent to a certain extent. But lately, I am in a happier place.  Could it be the benefit of journaling every morning which I started doing after reading Julia Cameron's book The Artist's Way ? Is it listing the three gratitudes I have everyday (almost)?  Is it from a high-fiber oatmeal breakfast most mornings? Before, my morning routines consisted of reading the news for at least an hour over multiple cups of coffee.  That's always a ray of sunshine to start the day.  Next I'd journal and plan my day. Now,

The stupid neither forgive nor forget; the naive forgive and forget; the wise forgive but do not forget. Quote from  Thomas Szasz ,  Psychiatrist, Advocate for patients' rights, Manifesto creator   (Materials in this post reproduced with the permission of Jeffrey A. Schaler.  All rights reserved.). The other day I was talking to a student about how some people don't like that others remember things.  We both ended up laughing because I was trying to remember Szasz's quote and I couldn't.  Double funny in that the quote was about remembering and what wise people remember. Anyway, I do remember a coworker telling me that one of the bosses didn't like that I don't forget.   I do not think that this is the issue.  The boss was extremely intelligent and he also didn't forget.  I do think there are multiple other issues going on. The boss didn't like to be reminded of things he didn't like to remember.  Oiy, isn't that all of us!  The key