End of another Year!

So begins my journey West.

I have spent the last 8 years in Alexandria, VA working 3 years for Alexandria City Public Schools and 5 years with SEED Public Charter School.

The lessons I have learned could fill the pages of Encyclopedia Britannica.
The first of those lessons...
 
-->

1.Average people think selfishness is a vice. Rich people think selfishness is a virtue.
2.Average people think MONEY is the root of all evil. Rich people believe POVERTY is the root of all evil.
3.Average people have a lottery mentality. Rich people have an action mentality.
4.Average people think the road to riches is paved with formal education. Rich people believe in acquiring specific knowledge.
5.Average people long for the good old days. Rich people dream of the future.
6.Average people see money through the eyes of emotion. Rich people think about money logically.
7.Average people earn money doing things they don't love. Rich people follow their passion.
8.Average people set low expectations so they're never disappointed. Rich people are up for the challenge.
9.Average people believe you have to DO something to get rich. Rich people believe you have to BE something to get rich.
10.Average people believe you need money to make money. Rich people use other people's money
11.Average people believe the markets are driven by logic and strategy. Rich people know they're driven by emotion and greed.
12.Average people live beyond their means. Rich people live below theirs.
13.Average people teach their children how to survive. Rich people teach their kids to get rich.
14.Average people let money stress them out. Rich people find peace of mind in wealth.
15.Average people would rather be entertained than educated. Rich people would rather be educated than entertained.
16.Average people think rich people are snobs. Rich people just want to surround themselves with like-minded people.
17.Average people focus on saving. Rich people focus on earning.
18.Average people play it safe with money. Rich people know when to take risks.
19.Average people love to be comfortable. Rich people find comfort in uncertainty.
20.Average people never make the connection between money and health. Rich people know money can save your life.
21.Average people believe they must choose between a great family and being rich. Rich people know you can have it all.
 
But, alas I digress. I want to leave the DMV knowing I made an impact in some young person's life, somewhere.

We are NOT AFRAID.....

I teach. At work we were recently provided the following excerpt:

"The workday for full-time licensed and professional staff will be seven and one quarter hours and will continue until professional responsibilities to the student and school are completed. Administrative meetings, curriculum development, pupil supervision, assigned duties, parent conferences, group or individual planning and extra curricular activities may require hours beyond the stated minimum."
Now, I stay late for work...EVERYDAY....and, now because many of my colleagues are sick and tired of attending meetings just to attend meetings, we are being "threatened" to get out to the meetings because "we are in a predicament where our unaccredited status puts us in the spotlight. As such, our failure to attend meetings, workshops, etc. is viewed by others as not having a sense of urgency to improve our student's academic standing."

IT'S 5AM.....what the HELL?!!

finished the lesson plans for the last week of school for 2009. Winter Break is coming fast and I feel as thought I still have so much MORE to teach before the end of the school year.

Is it me or are students becoming "less informed" as the years go by???

I find myself fighting the urge to just teach what they don't know and leave what I should teach by the side of the proverbial road.

I love my students, I just don't love the self-imposed ignorance in which they love to wallow.

So....here i sit at 530 in the morning not able to sleep. and WHY!?!?!?!??

I wrote 3 tests for this week. Hopefully, my students will appreciate the time and effort I put into creating instruments that measure their levels of understanding and knowledge retention. Maybe....Maybe??

Really want them to do well, start to find that INNER pride that comes from a job well-done. Too many of them are content with a job just started.