There is AWESOME stuff on the Internet...

I recently found this AWESOME, AMAZING, WONDERFUL thing...

It's called the Math Twitter Blogosphere (MTBoS) and they are doing an AWESOME thing for math teachers that want to get connected. They have cool missions each week to help those of us that aren't connected to get connected. Teaching math is hard sometimes and can be overwhelming if you do it alone. Connecting with people that share your passion can make it so much easier.

I missed the first mission last week because I missed the tweet that announced it. Oh well... I just jumped in this week instead. (Kind if like D&D when someone is late to the group and the DM has to insert them into the game somehow...) It was AWESOME sauce...

This week's mission was all about using Twitter... If you don't know what Twitter is, look to the right and you will see my feed... It's fun, and really useful, and fun... I haven't used twitter to its full potential even though I have had it for over a year. This MTBoS has opened my eyes and helped a lot... Just after one night of working on a mission...

Part of my mission this week is to talk about something Twitter... So here goes...

I participated in my first ever Twitter chat tonight... It was AWESOME... It was an Algebra 2 chat. (So, boring for all you non-math people, but exciting for me.) A few things were talked about and I even added some comments here and there. I actually got a couple of amazing teaching strategies that I will actually be able to use and share at work... Seriously, my mind was blown... It was so cool... It was so neat to see how other people do things and how they teach different concepts. I think that this whole experience will help me to become a better teacher and I am so excited to do that. There is so much out there in the Twitterverse that I don't think I will ever get all the good stuff, but MTBoS has given me an opportunity to find some of it... Thanks guys...

Stay AWESOME sauce...

Building A Testimony

This week was Testimony meeting at church. I didn't go up and bear my testimony at all, but I did ponder a few things. I have been pondering these things for the last couple of months during testimony meeting, but have never felt the need to go up and share them. Not even today. For some reason I feel the need to put it out there now. Not sure why.

So here goes...

First and foremost, I asked myself what is (or what should be) the basis for a testimony. As I thought about it, I went back to the time that I was in my mission in Finland. That was back in the time before "Preach My Gospel" and we had the six discussions and "The Missionary Guide."

Well... In Finland, I gave A LOT of first discussions. Not many sixth discussions... (Actually... One sixth discussion). So, that information came flooding back to my mind and I determined that the principles in that discussion were a good starting point in building a testimony of the Gospel. Good thing they were the first things that we taught anyone, right?

Here they are..

1) God is our perfect Heavenly Father and He has a plan for us.

2) Jesus Christ is the Son of God and gave us a perfect example to follow.

3) Heavenly Father calls Prophets to reveal His plan to us.

4) Joseph Smith saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and was called as a prophet for our time.

5) The Book of Mormon is a second testament of Jesus Christ along side the Bible

6) The Holy Ghost will testify of the truth when we sincerely ask.

There is some pretty AWESOME stuff here and I honestly believe that if a person can accept these six principles fully, then they have a good basis to build the rest of their testimony on. The rest of the Gospel just flows from this and can change lives. It's amazing...

I can testify to you that I know that these things are true. All of them...I didn't realize it until today that my own testimony has developed from these things. I really didn't understand the Gospel until I was in that frozen northern country serving the people and teaching these things over and over again. Apparently I learned a few things for myself. Go me...

Have an AWESOME week...

A morning walk with John Bytheway...

As many of you know, I have started walking, jogging, running every morning. I keep track of my time and miles with my iPod. Today I decided to listen to a talk by John Bytheway entitled "Be Thou An Example of the Believers." I decided I would walk until he was done talking, so I took a different course than I usually do in order to make time for the 55 minute talk. It is a really good talk and I recommend it to everyone and I will let you borrow it if you want. (I have it on CD, too.)

Anyways... Here is what stood out to me...

He talks specifically about this scripture and goes into some deeper meanings...

Here is the scripture...

1st Timothy 4:12... "Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity."

When talking about the phrase "Let no man despise thy youth", he brings up a primary song that most of us should know, "Give", said the Little Stream"... He refers to a line in the first verse that says...

"I'm small, I know, but wherever I go the grass grows greener still."

He goes on to say that the stream shows a little humility by saying that it is small. (I also thought that maybe the stream may have been feeling a little inadequate. As many of us do from time to time.)

And then comes the "but".

And it's a really big "BUT" in my opinion... "Wherever I go the grass grows greener still."

So... The stream knows it is small, but it also knows that it can have a huge impact on the world that is travels through.

Now there was a lot more to the talk, but this really stuck with me the whole walk and I wanted to add my perspective...

Each of us (young, old, in-between) has things that we struggle with... that help us to be humble. Each of us KNOWS that we have these inadequacies within us that maybe no one else knows about. We are all like the Little Stream in one way or another. We are all "small" and we all "know"...

And then comes the "but"... That wonderfully, AWESOME "but"...

Wherever WE go "the grass grows greener still"... We have all been given something special from our Heavenly Father... A little piece of AWESOME... And we can take that AWESOME and use it to overcome our inadequacies for the betterment of the world around us. There is great potential in all of us. No matter how small or insignificant we may feel. Remember what Alma taught his son, Helaman... "By small and simple things are great things brought to pass." (Alma 37: 6)

So... Find and embrace your AWESOME (whatever it is) so that wherever you go "the grass grows greener still."

Have an AWESOME day...

Summer Fun

So... Summer vacation this year has been interesting in our house. We have had some theme weeks to keep the kids entertained. I think my wife and I should be up for Parents of the Year... Just sayin'...

 

 

 

So far it has been fun...

Have some AWESOME fun with your family this Summer...

 

Rules of Life... (For Me Anyways...)

Got this idea from another Blogger that I found while lost in the Twitterverse... In no particular order...

1) Be nice to everyone even if they aren't nice to you.

2) Love deeply... It's the only way to go...

3) Pray... Always...

4) Go to Church.

5) Read the scriptures... Daily... (It really helps)

6) Exercise... It's good for the soul...

7) Take your Wife out once in a while... (Or husband, or girlfriend, or boyfriend)

8) Continue learning after you are done with your "formal" education.

9) Read... A lot...

10) Go outside...

11) Love your job...

12) Cuddle with your kids....

13) Eat whatever you want once in a while... It is good to indulge sometimes, just not all the time.

14) Make a difference to someone else every day...

15) Eat Reese's Peanut Butter Cups because they are sooooooo good...

16) Spend time with family and friends. Doesn't matter what you do.

17) Follow your dreams wherever they take you...

18) Do something nice for someone else... Every day... Doesn't have to be a BIG thing...

19) Happiness is a journey. Not a destination.

20) Always be AWESOME sauce... Never Ketchup sweat... (Or Mustard pee)

A Few AWESOME Things From This School Year...

This school year brought some great things...

1) AVID... Not gonna lie... There were some ups and downs, but I think it all came out good in the end... It is helping me come out of my shell and into the world outside my classroom...

2) Twitter... Got into that whole craziness... It has been super helpful with finding out new things and checking up on kids that need the extra care. I am not the most interesting "tweeter", but it is fun to interact with everyone.

3) Discovering that I had an opinion on school policies even if no one important listened or did anything about it. I think that after 7 years I have finally begun to understand what education really is and what it needs to be. I have also come to understand that our campus needs some work and that I can't just sit back and "hope" someone will do something about it. If I think we need to change things, then maybe I should get out there and be a voice.

4) Discovering that others believed that I had something to offer. In the past, most people on campus never paid much attention to me. This year seems to have been the year when others have started to ask me for my opinion or advice on things. Not a lot of people, but the right people. It feels good to know that others recognize that I might have something good to offer.

5) My students... Both those that were actually in my class and those that I got to hang out with and get to know better... They are truly AWESOME and have been a positive influence on me this year...

It has been a good year of growth for me and I am looking forward to next year and the surprises that it will bring....

Stay AWESOME everyone...

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...