Teachers and Storytellers

“The purpose of a storyteller is not to tell you how to think, but to give you questions to think upon. Too often, we forget that.” ---Brandon Sanderson

This came from a book I have been reading entitled The Way of Kings. Obviously by Brandon Sanderson. It is a fantasy novel and I am on my second read for this book. It is pretty amazing what you find on the second read that you completely missed on the first read.

This quote is one of those little gems that presented itself. There have been others, but this one stood out and really got me thinking. What if we changed just one word?

What if we changed the word "storyteller" to "teacher"?

Being an educator, this really got me thinking about what we demand from our students. Do we want them to be able to think and feel and react to the world around them in positive and beneficial ways or do we want them to get high scores on their tests so that our school "looks" good?

I have found that those who do the latter are not preparing kids to be useful people and citizens of the World. Have I been guilty of this in my short time as a teacher? Probably yes. Is it all that I have done? Absolutely not. I try really hard to not fall into the trap of "getting high scores". High test scores cannot be the final goal of education. It doesn't help the kids and it doesn't help the World.

I want my kids to think and feel and react appropriately. I try to give them opportunities to do these things each day and I know that I am not successful every day with every kid. But I am trying. I can't open up a kids head and pour in the knowledge and experience my short 35 years have given me. I just can't. It's not fair to me as a teacher, but it's also not fair to them as my students. They need to do it themselves. They need to fail once in a while so that they know what success really feels like. They need to understand that they have within them the potential to do great things, AWESOME things, without having to be told what to do every step of the way. They CAN do it, if they BELIEVE that they can.

I have learned that telling them "how to think" doesn't work out the way we think it will. I hope that I can be that teacher/storyteller that gives them "questions to think upon" and I hope that they realize that I did them a favor by doing so.

Stay AWESOME everyone...

The Way Things Are Measured

Three day weekend got me thinking about some things...

First, I thought about how I have defined friends in my life. I have many, many, MANY awesome friends in my life. They are wonderful people and help me to overcome a lot of challenges. Some of them I see more often than others and some of them I only see on social media because they live so dang far away. Still, these people have been an integral part of my development as a person and I am truly grateful for what they do for me.

It occurred to me this weekend that the QUANTITY of time spent with my friends is not as important as the QUALITY of time we spend. I have always had this thought itching at the back of my mind that if I am not hanging out with my friends consistantly on a daily or weekly basis, then that means they are upset with me or that they don't want to be friends. I know that it sounds stupid, but it just nags at me for some reason. (I have to get out of my head sometimes. It's crazy in there.) I realized that even though we don't get to spend a lot of time together, that doesn't mean that we aren't close friends and that we aren't important to each other. It just means that we are busy with the everyday challenges of life that overwhelm us. When we do get together, it is truly AWESOME and we have so much fun.

Case in point... This very weekend, we were able to get together with a family that we consider our Best Friends. I will call them the "Besties". They are the same age as we are. (Literally... The wife is a few months older than me and the husband is a few months younger than The Pretty One...) They have 6 kids between them. It is a His, Hers, and Theirs kind of family. The two older kids don't live at home with them, and the four younger are around the ages of our kids, so everyone gets along and we have so much fun together. Anyways... We hadn't been able to hang out with each other for at least a month. (It might have been longer). We went over for a birthday party for the oldest child who was visiting from Seattle. We were only there for about an hour and a half, but it was AWESOME to be with our friends and just hang out and have fun.

So... QUALITY is much more important than QUANTITY... Remember that...

Second realization.... Just because someone doesn't want to spend time with me or get to know me doesn't mean that I am a bad person or not worth knowing.

There are people that I come into contact with on a regular basis that I respect and that I think are successful in some way. I would like to know these people a little better, but they don't have the same desire to know me. I often wonder if there is something wrong with me. I ask myself, "Why don't they like me?" or "What have I done to make them not want to be friends?" It is silly. It doesn't really matter what they think of me or why they think that. What matters is that I am comfortable with who I am and am capable of doing good things. I can still learn from these people, but it will always feel awkward to be with them.

So... I don't HAVE to be friends with EVERYBODY in order to learn from them.

Third realization... (Last one, I promise)... I can't measure the amount of success I have by the amount of success other people have.

I look around campus and see the teachers that the students really like or look up to. I see people that influence students so much that they get mentioned in graduation speeches. I see people that the administration asks to do things ALL the time while everyone else doesn't get the opportunity to participate. I see these people and wonder why I am not one of them. Why am I not popular and cool like they are?

And then I think, why do I need to be one of these people? Why is it important? It really isn't that important. I don't need to be popular and cool to be successful in my career. I have my own little sphere of influence on campus. I don't come out of my classroom much because I am needed there. There are kids that come to my room because they know it is a safe place to be themselves without the criticism and judgements of others. I do what I can to help those kids that want MY help. Maybe I am not graduation speech worthy, or in with the popular kids, or in the in-crowd with administration (sad that that even exists). But it doesn't matter. I am doing the very best that I know how and I have been successful with a LOT of kids in my short 7 year tenure as a teacher. They weren't necessarily the popular and cool kids, but they were AWESOME in their own ways and I am grateful for the opportunity to have helped them to overcome difficulties in their lives.

So... Don't measure your success by someone else's scale.... Make your own scale...

Have an AWESOME day...

Happy Valentine's Day

To The Pretty One... She will probably kill me for posting these.... Lol...

Best day..... EVER....

We are so cute...

Still cute....

Getting older.... But still cute...

 

12 years later... Still cute...

It's been an AWESOME ride.... I love her with all that I am...

 

10 Quotes That Made Me Think

So... I was reading my friend's blog.... **cough, Stacy, cough**... She reminded me of that TED Talk that I had mentioned in a previous blog and talked about how she had made her students do the "10 Things that I know are true" list as an assignment in her English class... I thought that was really cool and it got me thinking about blogging again... So, I decided to do another list for you all... It took me all afternoon to decide what my list would be, but I finally settled on this topic...

So.... Here they are... In no particular order... 10 quotes that really got me thinking...

• "When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, until it seems as though you could not hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the time and place that the tide will turn." ---Harriet Beecher Stowe
• "So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable." ---Christopher Reeve
• "Being challenged in life is inevitable, being defeated is optional." ---Anonymous
• "You must learn to walk to the edge of the light, and then a few steps into the darkness; then the light will appear and show the way before you." ---Harold B. Lee
• "Things should be as simple as possible but not simpler." ---Albert Einstein
• "Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new." ---Albert Einstein
• "If you cant explain it simply you don't understand it well enough." ---Albert Einstein
• "Life will knock us down, but we can choose to get back up." ---Jackie Chan (Karate Kid)
• "I believe that everyone else my age is an adult whereas I am merely in disguise." ---Margaret Atwood
• "If your day didn't include making someone smile, you're doing it wrong." ---Anonymous

 

That last one has become my favorite.... I like to think of it more as my main goal each day....

 

Oh... One last quote...

 

"Anybody can be cool, but AWESOME takes practice." ---Lorraine Peterson

So... Keep practicing all you AWESOME peeps... Remember to always be AWESOME Sauce... (Never Ketchup Sweat)...

It's the End of the World as We Know It...

So... It is almost 2013... Another apocalypse avoided... AWESOME!!!

But anyways... This holiday season has been filled with so many blessings that I can't even count. I don't even know where to start.

The studio is FINALLY open... The Pretty One is desperately trying to get people to come in so that she can get this business going. Bills don't pay themselves. Gotta have money. So... If you want some pictures done, come on down. The name of the shop is Yellow Canary Photography... It's in Hesperia, CA... Come see us.

With the shop open, we were hoping that the bank would finally help us with some start up money. (They said they would back in July/August). What ACTUALLY happened was we were told that we needed to be in business for at least 2 years before they would even consider helping us... LAME SAUCE TO THE MAX... So, that translated into no money for Christmas. Not something we were looking forward to telling the kids... Fortunately, there are some very generous and wonderful people in our ward... We don't know who they are, but we are extremely grateful for their help. The Pretty One's grandma was also very generous. The kids got some wonderful presents for Christmas and we got a few small things for us with grandma's money. I have been truly humbled and my faith has been strengthened because of the AWESOME blessings that we received this Christmas season. Thank you to everyone that made it AWESOME!!

The next thing is that I turned 35... I don't feel 35... There is a quote by Margaret Atwood that perfectly describes me. It says, "I believe that everyone else my age is an adult whereas I am merely in disguise." I don't think that I will ever really think of myself as an adult. There is too much kid in me.

This birthday was especially AWESOME because we went to the temple and did some work for my Dad's parents. They both passed away many years ago and we finally went and did the work for them. They have been sealed together for time and eternity and my Dad was sealed to his parents. That is pretty AWESOME!!!

The rest of the day was spent with family and friends, cake and presents... Good stuff... Good times... AWESOMENESS!!!

(I still don't feel 35). :)

Now we wait to roll in the new year. Playing games and spending time as a family. Can't complain too much about that.

I am looking forward to what this new year will bring. 2012 had its ups and downs, but I learned a lot. I am hoping that 2013 is more AWESOME and I will be able to learn a great many more wonderful things.

I will leave you all with this quote from Christopher Reeve...

"So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable."

Happy new year to all you AWESOME people...

 

The Thanksgiving Post (You knew it was coming...)

So, today is Thanksgiving and I have so much to be thankful for... So, here are my 10 things for this year...

1) The Pretty One.... She is amazing.

2) Kid #1, Kid #2, And Kid #3... They are so smart, and funny, and bring such joy to my life.

3) Family that lives close. Both mine and The Pretty One's... It is good to know that we have someone close that we can share an evening with or leave the kids with on short notice if we need to.

4) My job... Teaching is such an AWESOME experience... There are so many students that have touched my life and brought great joy to me... Some have moved on to do great things and some are still with me learning how to bring AWESOMENESS to the world.... They are all AWESOME sauce....

5) All of my AWESOME Friends... I have so many that I couldn't possibly name you all separately.... You have let me into your lives and your families. You have given me great advice, good times, and AWESOME experiences... You have helped shape and mold me into what I need to be.

6) My Heavenly Father and my Savior, Jesus Christ...

7) My membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Church brings so much peace and direction to my life that I wouldn't be who I am without its teachings.

8) My calling in the Church. I get to work closely with wonderfully spiritual men and women. They give me the chance to serve and teach me many great truths as we sit in council together each Sunday. I also get to serve each member of the ward and I hope that they know that I love each of them as my brothers and sisters.

9) The chance to live and learn each day... I know that I am NOT perfect, but I also know that this life is the place where we learn to become like our Heavenly Father. There is still so much that I still need to learn and I am grateful for the opportunity each day.

10) The little joys of life... A kiss from the wife, a hug from the kids, a smile from the world...

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone... Have an AWESOME sauce kind of day...

 

"Are you ready for this?"

So...  It has been a while since I last posted anything.  Sorry to all those avid followers of my AWESOME life.  It has been pretty busy and I haven't really felt inspired to do any writing.

For the last couple of weeks I have been (with the help of a good friend) installing a wood-burning stove in my house.  This has been an AWESOME learning experience for me.  I got to learn how to lay tile, we cut a hole in my roof for the chimney, we cut a hole in the floor for an air vent because I live in a manufactured home.  It has been fun.  My friend kept asking me, "Are you ready for this?" whenever we had to do something that there was no turning back from.  (Like cutting holes in my floor and ceiling...).  It was really funny.  He would tell me what we were going to do, look at me kind of sideways, and then ask me that question.  As soon as I would say "Yes", he would begin the process.  Now I wasn't ALWAYS ready when I said yes, but sometimes you have to take a little risk to get a big reward.  It has been a good time and we are almost done.  Here is what we have so far...

Hopefully, we will have it done today.  We just need one more part to put the pipe onto the stove...

You know...  The funny thing is that I really didn't know what I was going to talk about today, but recounting this experience has gotten me thinking.

How often do we wait until we are really ready before we do something?

How often do we wait until someone asks us, "Are you ready for this?"

I don't know how many people I know give me the excuse that they are waiting until they are "ready" to...

• get married
• go to college
• buy a home
• have children
• (insert big life event here)

Whatever it is....  You are NEVER going to be completely ready for those decisions.  You just aren't.  But does that mean that you will NEVER get to do them....  Nope.  Sometimes you just jump in with both feet and either be sink or swim....  It is a matter of faith, or trust, or whatever you personally believe.  Sometimes you just do it and see what happens.

The Pretty One is an expert at jumping in with both feet.  Years ago she said to me that we needed to buy a house.  I looked at our finances at the time and wondered how we would ever afford that.  She persisted and, though I wasn't completely convinced, we went for it.  We started looking and saw a LOT of really weird places that scared both of us.  When we finally found our first home, we just knew that it was the place for us.  The AWESOME thing was that it fit into our budget.  Coincidence???  I think not.  We were just supposed to be there at that time of our life.

Fast forward to a couple of years ago.  The Pretty One wanted to become a photographer...  I was like...  Okay...  In my mind I went back to our wedding day when the man who sealed us together for time and eternity in the Los Angeles Temple gave me this advice.  This is not an exact quote...  Your wife has many hidden talents and you need to let her develop those talents.

So I bought her a Nikon D5000 to start with...  She is really good...  An I am NOT just saying that.

Fast Forward to this year...  She says that she needs to open a Photography studio.  I am thinking to myself...  She's crazy....  But then I think back to that blessed day 12 years ago and say OK.  It has been a long road, but she should be opening soon.

I really don't know HOW we have survived financially through this whole process, but we have made it...  Barely...  LOL!!!

My point is... If we had waited until we were READY, we would never have had these wonderful, faith building experiences.  We would never be living our dreams like we are.

If somebody asks us, "Are you ready for this?", we say yes, even if the answer is really no...  We just do it because we know that if we wait, whatever we feel we need to do would never ACTUALLY happen.

Has it been hard?  Yes...   Is it worth the debt, the worry, the tears, the craziness?  Absolutely...  Have there been a lot of struggles along the way?  Most definitely....  But nothing worth having is ever easy to get.

The Lord doesn't require us to be "ready"...  He only asks us to be willing...  If we are willing to do what the Lord would have us do, and have the faith necessary to accomplish His will, HE will take care of the rest and our life will be AWESOME.

So... Go for your dreams...  Don't wait until you are "ready"...  If someone asks' "Are you ready for this?", say YES...  Then do it and see what happens...  If the Lord wills it, then it will be AWESOME Sauce...