February 2007
February 2007
C.A.R.(2)E.S. NEWSLETTER
(Creating A Respectful and Responsive Educational System)
Dr. Duane Hodgin, Assistant Superintendent for Educational Support Services
Metropolitan School District of Lawrence Township
"National School District of Character"
February 19, 2006
(No. 6)
“Everyone has an opportunity to be great because
everyone has an opportunity to serve others.” -- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
· MORE THINGS THAT I HAVE LEARNED IN LIFE (Grades 9-12)
Make a copy for your students. Ask them to select 3-5 statements and write what it means to them.
Ask them “What they have learned in life.”
- Sometimes all a person needs is a hand to hold, an ear to listen and a heart that understands. (Kids and
Adults)
- Advice should be given in only two circumstances—when it is requested and when you’ve taken your
own advice.
- Bad things do happen to good people.
- Being kind is more important than being right.
- There is power in prayer.
- The Lord didn’t do it all in one day. What makes me think I can?
- It’s ok to show vulnerability in front of your students.
- Everyone needs someone (and most of us need “someones”).
- The easiest way I can grow is to learn from experience and example.
- One of the best ways I can help my children, students and colleagues grow is by my examples.
- I can’t change my past, but I can improve my future.
- Kind words are short and easy to speak, but their echoes are endless.” -- Mother Teresa
- Stuff happens. Deal with it!
- Be able to laugh at yourself—not at others.
- From the heart, our mouth speaks.
- “Prejudice” is the child of “Mr. & Mrs. Ignorant.”
- It’s ok to say “no.”
- It takes a long time to make a good friendship, but it can take a fraction of a second to destroy it.”
- Not everything in life is fair.
- The wrong words hurt people.
- When you come to a fork in the road, be wiling to ask for help.
-- Michael Josephson, Duane Hodgin and Others
· GOOD READING…
Living a Life That Matters by Harold Kushner – It is a book about striving to live a life that matters. Our souls are hungry for meaning, for the sense that we have figured out how to live our lives so that our lives make a difference for others. When this happens the world will be a little better because of our presence.
The Cab Ride (Grades 6-12) – A story to read to your students or copy it for them to read. Ask them what “messages” are included—kindness, compassion, patience, memories, empathy, opportunities, etc.
Twenty years ago, I drove a cab for a living. When I arrived 2:30 a.m., the building was dark except for a single light in a ground floor window. Under these circumstances, many drivers would just honk once or twice, wait a minute, then drive away.
But, I had seen too many impoverished people who depended on taxis as their only means of transportation. Unless a situation smelled of danger, I always went to the door. This passenger might be someone who needed my assistance, I reasoned to myself. So I walked to the door and knocked. “Just a minute,” answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor. After a long pause, the door opened.
A small woman in her 80’s stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940s movie. By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets. There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and glassware.
“Would you carry my bag out to the car?’ she asked. I took the suitcase to the cab, then
returned to assist the woman. She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb. She kept thanking me for my kindness. “It’s nothing,” I told her. “I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated.”
“Oh, you’re such a good boy,” she said. When we got in the cab, she gave me an address, and then asked, “Could you drive through downtown?’ “It’s not the shortest way,” I
answered quickly. “Oh, I don’t mind,” she said. “I am in no hurry. I’m on my way to a
hospice.”
I locked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. “I don’t have any family left,”
she continued. “The doctor says I don’t have very long to live.” I quietly reached over and
shut off the meter. “What route would you like me to take?” I asked. For the next two
hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked
as an elevator operator. We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband
had lived when they were newlyweds. She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse
that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl. Sometimes she’d ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.
As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, “I am tired. Let’s go
now.” We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low building like a
small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico. Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move. They must have been expecting her. I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.
“How much do I owe you?” she asked; reaching into her purse. “Nothing,” I said “You
have to make a living,” she answered. “There are other passengers,” I responded. Almost
without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly. “You gave an old
woman a little moment of joy,” she said: “Thank you.” I squeezed her hand; and then
walked into the dim morning light.
Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life. I didn’t pick up any
more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly lost in thought. For the rest of that day, I
could hardly talk.
What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift? What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away? On a quick review, I don’t think that I have done anything more important in my life. We’re conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments. But great moments often catch us unaware, beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.
People may not remember exactly what you did, or what you said, but they will always remember how you made them feel.
-- Anonymous
A General Talks of Moral Courage
Almost a decade ago, General Charles C. Krulak, Commandant of the Marine Corps, spoke of character and courage in a speech at Pepperdine University. His insights were timeless and profound. “Success has always demanded…character,” he said. “Those who can reach…within themselves and draw upon an inner strength, fortified by strong values, always carry the day against those of lesser character. Moral cowards never win.”
He wasn’t talking about only battlefield courage but the kind needed by all of us as we face ethical challenges in our daily lives. He urged his audience to make moral courage a habit so they’ll “be ready for the greater tests of character.”
His conclusion was especially eloquent: “when the test of your character and moral courage comes—regardless of the noise and confusion around you—there will be a moment of inner silence in which you must decide what to do. Your character will be defined by your decision...and it is yours and yours alone to make. When that moment comes, think of his poem called ‘The Eagle and the Wolf’.”
There is a great battle that rages inside me.
One side is a soaring eagle. Everything the eagle stands for is good, true and beautiful.
It soars above the clouds. Even though it dips down into the valleys, it lays its eggs on mountaintops.
The other side of me is a howling wolf. And that raging, howling wolf represents the worst in me.
He eats upon my downfalls and justifies himself by his presence in the pack.
Who wins this great battle?
The one I feed.
-- Michael Josephson
· MORE FTTLA (Funny Things To Laugh About)
- Always read stuff that will make you look good in case you die in the middle of it.
- Drive carefully. It’s not only cars that can be recalled by their maker.
- According to a recent study, 5 out of 4 people have trouble with fractions.
- If you can’t be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.
- Be nice to your kids. They may be choosing your nursing home some day.
- If ignorance is bliss, why ain’t more people happy?
- Do you have the feeling that nostalgia isn’t what it used to be?
- Did you ever notice that no one ever says, “It’s only a game,” when their team is winning?
- If it’s true that we are here to help others, then what exactly are OTHERS here for?
- Ever wonder what the speed of lightening would be if it didn’t ziz-zag?
“Good intentions are not enough. Our character is defined, and our lives are determined
not only by what we want, say or think, but especially by what we do.” -- Michael Josephson