January 2008
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"
January 16, 2007
(No. 5)
“What the teacher is is more important than what he teaches.”
-- Karl Menninger
Congratulations to the 80 colleagues who will receive the newly revised “2008 edition of the Character Rocks T-Shirt.” (These will be delivered in January.) Originally only 50 names were going to be drawn; however, we were able to provide 80, since there was a tremendous response. Wear them with pride!
WORDS OF WISDOM (Elaine Agather – edited by Duane Hodgin)
· Embrace new ideas, particularly when you don’t like them. You don’t like them because you don’t understand them. How you respond to change can make you or break you. Change is inevitable!
· Stay connected with colleagues and your students. Life is about relationships.
· Get over it! People don’t want to be around negative people or hear you complain. Life is about what we choose to make it, and how we take it.
· Develop your “funny bone.” People need to laugh with you, and you need to laugh with others. Tell your students the same, but not to laugh at others.
· Strengthen your backbone. You have to do the right thing even when it’s not easy or popular. Our strength of character must be our guiding value. We are nothing without it. Remember the kids are always watching us!
PUTTING A HUMAN FACE ON SCHOOL SAFETY - Dr. Steve Sroka
We need to put a “human face on school security.” More tasers and metal detectors won’t make schools safe. Better to win the loyalty and harness the collective power of students. Today we need to have a focus on student detectors, not metal detectors,
Schools are criticized despite offering many students the “safest place they will be all day,” but schools can’t avoid problems the kids bring in from outside. People call it “school violence.” There is no school violence. There is “community violence” that takes place in schools. And until we have safer communities, we won’t have safer schools.
When a 14-year-old suspended student this past fall walked into a Cleveland Alternative School and shot two teachers and two students, before killing himself, the question many people asked was, “How did this kid walk into school with two guns, three knives and a box of ammunition?” I ask you, “How the hell is this the school’s fault?” Schools are neither jails nor prisons.
Schools; however, can help by forging more personal connections with their students and helping them get help for their many problems. It is all about building relationships with kids. Even small gestures pay off.
Sroka had something to say about almost every educational issue:
· “Those of you that are judgmental have never been humbled.
· “Too many of our kids today don’t have a moral compass. So how do they make the right decision?”
· “No Child Left Behind is leaving most of our kids behind.”
· “The war isn’t just in Iraq. The war is right here in our own communities.”
· “We’re trying to teach hip-hop kids in old-school ways.”
· “You can’t teach them, if you first don’t reach them.”
In the end, only kindness and relationships matter. (This is true regarding our families, friends and our students.) The rest will take care of itself.
THE FACTS OF LIFE—WHAT WE LEARN (Anonymous)
· We learn that even one person that wasn’t supposed to ever let us down or disappoint us, probably will.
· We will have our hearts broken, probably more than once, and most likely it will be by a family member or a good friend.
· We will argue with our family members and friends.
· We will blame others, and others may blame us.
· We will cry because we lose someone we love.
· We will laugh at ourselves and laugh with others.
· We will share joys with others.
· We will someday realize that life is passing too fast.
· So… Like what you do.
Take a lot of pictures.
Laugh often.
Love and forgive (yes, even forget).
Realize that you determine your happiness. (Every minute you spend upset is one minute of happiness you will never get back.)
Love generously; care deeply; speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.
THE OBITUARY OF THE LATE MR. COMMON SENSE (Anonymous)
Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:
-- Common Sense realized that life isn’t always fair.
-- Common Sense realized that life isn’t always fair.
-- Common Sense realized that sometimes things were his fault because of his choices and decisions.
-- Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (Don't spend more than you can earn.) and reliable strategies (Adults, not children, are in charge.).
-- His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.
-- Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or a band-aid to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.
-- Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband; churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.
-- Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.
-- Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement. Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason.
-- He is survived by his 3 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, Someone Else Is To Blame, and I'm A Victim.
Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. Do you remember him?
-- Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (Don't spend more than you can earn.) and reliable strategies (Adults, not children, are in charge.).
-- His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.
-- Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or a band-aid to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.
-- Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband; churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.
-- Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.
-- Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement. Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason.
-- He is survived by his 3 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, Someone Else Is To Blame, and I'm A Victim.
Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. Do you remember him?
MORALS: A THING OF THE PAST (Anonymous)
Each day I read with horror of actions against each other.
No longer respect for life or others. Our morals lay in the gutter.
Parents killing their children, the elderly suffering abuse.
Doors locked against intruders, firearms ready for use.
Sports figures wearing earrings, tattoos covering their bodies.
Often not held accountable; their actions merely considered a novelty.
Respect is now in the past, values tossed far and wide.
Pride has been misplaced; doing the right thing thrown aside.
Where have all the heroes gone? Where are the role models children need?
Their character we must build, a responsibility we must heed.
What kind of legacy do we want to leave this generation?
It is teachers, such as you, who guide their path by caring and education.
TWENTY TEACHER SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE FOR THE
4TH ANNUAL MIDWEST HEALTHY CHOICES FOR KIDS CONFERENCE
(No registration fees)
· Where? Hyatt Regency Downtown
· When? Monday evening June 16 – Noon June 18
· What? Excellent breakout sessions and keynote speakers
· Who? Teachers, administrators, nurses, social workers, mental health professionals
· Why? The MSDLT is one of the conference co-sponsors
· How can I apply? Email Duane Hodgin that you would like to attend (Don’t respond unless you
can make a commitment to attend.) You will be notified of your scholarship by February 28th.
· Conference Strands:
-- Health and Wellness -- Character Education -- Kids in Crisis -- Families in Crisis
-- Classroom management and interventions -- Childhood Obesity
· 3-hours credit is available from Anderson University (You will be responsible for tuition costs.) Meet course expectations, which are considerably less than a regular 3-hour credit class, in addition
to attending the conference.
PLEASE RESPOND BY FEBRUARY 8, 2008
(Participants will be selected, if more than 20 apply)
“To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart.” --Anonymous