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Retirement,,,and my thoughts on Teaching

This is ME...September 14, 2014...Yes, and I am looking good at 64...LOL...with my dear daughter, Lara.

This is ME…September 14, 2014…Yes, and I am looking good at 64…LOL…with my dear daughter, Lara.

Okay…I am done…I am going to be perfectly honest with this posting. I do NOT like being retired. The first thing out of the mouth of one of my children, was: “You need to sell your house. You need to get an apartment. You need to downsize!”   What a joke! I already live in a house smaller than an apartment!   All of a sudden, I was suddenly on a downward spiral and ready to go to the funeral parlor for my casket size!

Seriously, I was a teacher for 36 Y E A R S…that is a L O N G time!!!  I still break out with a cold sweat on Sunday nights, thinking I have to go and face those children who think I have all of the answers! I have to be prepared!   My usual routine was that I would take Friday night off…and begin to plan my lessons on Saturday morning. I would see something that hour, and think, “Hmm, I can see how that would explain this point to the children…and I could use this…and I could use that…”  And so my weekend would proceed.  Anyone who thinks that teaching is a 9 to 5 job, is living an illusion!  When you are a teacher, you are thinking non-stop of how you can make the lesson more interesting and what important idea they need to know and understand…and most importantly, how to allow them to be KIDS!  Allow them to question! Allow them to BE!

All of these many years I tried to be”the guide on the side,” and not the “sage on the stage, ”  (Thank you to Dr. Robert Pavlik for that great phrase! and TRUTH!)  Truthfully, I did not begin my teaching career that way. I thought I had to have it all right…then as the years progressed, I began to see how important it was to LISTEN…to LISTEN to the children.  What it was they needed to express. What it was that they wanted to know. What is was that they needed so that they could become fully themselves!

Regardless of the crazy testing demands of today (that is another posting I am ready to blast!), the MOST important thing we can do as teachers, is to allow the children to BE!

My God, WHY are we stuffing facts down their tiny throats?  WHY are we comparing?  WHY are we telling them, “You need to do better!”  My God—let them be children and let them learn at their pace and allow them to lead you to help them discover who they are, and what they can contribute and why discovery is so vital to their own lives and to ours!

I guess retirement allows me to say things about teaching that in the last  seven years of my teaching career were “verboten!” (forbidden).

Well, I will say more about retirement in the next post. I just had to get this off of my chest!

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chocolate morning delight

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there was my grandson

standing by the cupboard

innocent witness to the chocolate mix coated countertop

with the milk gallon serendipitously teetering on its edge

and then the boy spoke,

“Nanny, Everybody knows you drink chocolate milk with a spoon!

It is the ONLY way it tastes any good…”

And with concentrated effort he continued to slurp the chocolate milk into his mouth!

 

 

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the quiet of the night

the quiet of the night

has come upon me

as I sit here in the silence

and listen to the absence

my heart tiptoes

across the syllables of mist

deep within the recesses of my heart

wondering where you are

when will I find you

what is this longing

I feel within

what is it that keeps me searching

why have you eluded me

I find YOU

Banff, Alberta, Canada, April, 2014..."The Night" Photo Credit: Jane H. Johann C. 2014

Banff, Alberta, Canada, April, 2014…”The Night” Photo Credit: Jane H. Johann C. 2014

in the children’s smiles

I find YOU in my friends

I find YOU in the SUN

I find YOU in the MOON

I find YOU in the Stars

yet…I am restless still…

and

still…

I seek you…

 

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Sports Hunting ….. as I see it!!

WHY is there such a need among humankind to destroy those who share Mother Earth with us? This is a very insightful post that raises new awareness and gives us pause to think about what our choices do the Animal Kingdom. Please direct your likes and comments to: http://hrexach.wordpress.com/2014/04/12/hunting-as-i-see-it/comment-page-1/#comment-19408

Dr. Rex's avatarIt Is What It Is

~~April 12, 2014~~ 

This is how I see “hunting for sport”. Obviously, I’m not a fan. If I had to kill a living being to eat, I would definitely be a vegetarian.

Keep in mind that I’m only expressing my feelings and my opinion. I understand that many won’t and that is OK. I think that animals are on this Earth with a purpose and humanity is forgetting what that purpose is. They aren’t here for human entertainment or profit. 

Again … my humble opinion. 

~~Why Sport Hunting Is Cruel and Unnecessary~~

Although it was a crucial part of humans’ survival 100,000 years ago, hunting is now nothing more than a violent form of recreation that the vast majority of hunters do not need for subsistence. Hunting has contributed to the extinction of animal species all over the world, including the Tasmanian tiger and the great auk.

Less than 5…

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My Daughter …Lara

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My daughter, Lara, has arrived home from Togo!  She will be here  for a three week visit and then will be returning to complete her second year  of teaching in Mango, Togo, West Africa, with the Peace Corps. I am so blessed with her in my life! The people of her village are so kind and wonderful to her. She is happy to be home and already gathering gifts and things for her new friends in Togo. She is so HAPPY and FULL of LIFE!  I find it wonderful to see her love and appreciation of another culture and her desire and ability to work with others. Her Togolese friends have been so supportive and welcoming and together they are working in the school community. It is wonderful to hear her speak of their triumphs and challenges and willingness to more forward in hope!  You can read a MESSAGE from Lara as you continue reading this post.

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Greetings from Togo! My name is Lara Johann-Reichart and I am a Peace Corps Volunteer in a small village in northern Togo. As an education volunteer I spend most of my days in the classroom and, along side my community, work towards projects that will improve the school experience for our students.

Unfortunately, our Primary School is faced with some of the worst problems. With over 1,300 students and only 9 classrooms, classes are over-packed and even overflow outside of the building.

Our goal is to build a 3 classroom school to alleviate the problems of this overpopulated school. Additionally, once the school is constructed there will be a training with teachers to show the benefits of small classes and how to use student-centered teaching techniques. Our hope is to turn the new 3 rooms into a model school – with limited class sizes and well-trained teachers.

The community is very excited for this project and are contributing over 30% to the overall cost. The community will be purchasing the land, transporting materials, and assisting in the construction.
On behalf of my village, thank you for your support!

You can find more information about my project at the Peace Corps site: https://donate.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=14-693-017Peace Corps Donation Page

OR

http://www.gofundme.com/e36o1w

Their goal is to raise $9,781.25……….they have met $500 of the goal today…September 14, 2014.  GREAT NEWS!!!!!!!!

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Starting Over…

7:13 AM
       This is MY mantra! Thank you, Rebecca Budd from http://chasingart.com/author/clanmother/ for posting this inspiring quote on your Google wall today! It gave me a boost!
        I have started over so many times…and NOW–It is EVERYDAY! In the past, when I was younger, I set different personal goals for myself somewhere in my brain and met many of them—but then, the dream would end, and the castle came down—so, I would select a new way of being…now I have been using the word, “retired”–and have come to hate it–because it sounds like a final burrito wrap before I am placed in the microwave!
        Now I am NO LONGER retired—I am an artist and a writer!
        I have declared it and I am starting over! And I an NO LONGER RETIRED!  Do NOT even say the word to me! I refuse to be defined by it! It stirs up such wrath in me, it is unbelievable.  For me, the word is a death sentence! A finality, a giving-up to life and awareness and NEW ideas and ways of being!
        I hope I grow until my last breath!
        And I know I will get  a barrage of people who say I am over-reacting or overly sensitive.  Yes, I am! That is who I am.  And I will NOT be limited by such a word. And I am NEVER going to retire!
       If others want to retire and use that WORD, that is their business.
       I am going to LIVE to the fullest each moment!  I will discover new secrets of the universe!  I will read and grow each day from this moment on!
       It has been raining all week in Wisconsin and winter temperatures can be a challenge, but the cold weather also brings with it the idea of a warm fireplace, snuggling with a good read, a settling down and taking an easy breath in of the activities of the summer, the charm of the falling leaves, the clearing out of the foggy mind with the brisk Autumn air, the chance for renewal and awe at what life is going to bring–and, last but not least, the biting into one of those crisp McIntosh apples!
       Onward and forward into the ripples of LIFE! I am renewed!  YAY!
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The Longing of Elizabeth Martin part 1

An intriguing characterization of dear Elizabeth Martin…delightful writing and creates the desire to read on and on…Please direct your likes and comments to: http://johnpoetflanagan.com/2014/08/21/the-longing-of-elizabeth-martin-part-1/

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worry

“Do not let the birds of worry build a nest in your hair” …Lao Tzu

Spring Lake, Alberta, Canada, August 2013; Photo Credit: Jane H Johann

Spring Lake, Alberta, Canada, August 2013; Photo Credit: Jane H Johann

In other words, don’t let the opinions of others–

stop you from hearing your own inner voice!

Those crazy opinions

will be flying all around you…

sometimes engulfing you…

but do not let them land on you!

–and build a nest in your hair!

Worry…wears a person down

Dispel the worries!

Let LOVE  thoughts invade you

Be a blessing to others…

we are interconnected–

Light beings of love!

Let us pray for each other!

and

Be a Blessing to each other!

 

“Worrying does not empty tomorrow of its troubles…it empties today of its strength. …

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The Red String of Fate …. a legend or truth!!

A beautiful love story to brighten your day and fill it with hope! Please direct your likes and comments to: http://hrexach.wordpress.com/2014/06/05/the-red-string-of-fate-a-legend-or-truth/comment-page-1/#comment-19176

Dr. Rex's avatarIt Is What It Is

~~June 4, 2014~~

The red string of fate, also referred to as the red thread of destiny, red thread of fate, and other variants, is an East Asian belief originating from Chinese legend and is also used in Japanese legend.

According to this myth, the gods tie a red cord around the ankles of those that are to meet one another in a certain situation or help each other in a certain way. Often, in Japanese culture, it is thought to be tied around the little finger. According to Chinese legend, the deity in charge of “the red thread” is believed to be Yuè Xià Lǎo, the old lunar matchmaker god who is also in charge of marriages.

The two people connected by the red thread are destined lovers, regardless of time, place, or circumstances. This magical cord may stretch or tangle, but never break.

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