Writing Prompt #4 - due Wednesday January 30

What is your personal credo (belief)?

I have several things that I feel very strongly about.  These have become part of my belief system as I've gotten older.

One of the things that is most important to me is that people respect each other and the differences everyone brings to the world.  I honestly do not understand people who judge others because of a difference in opinion, a difference in lifestyle, or even a perceived difference.  This would be an extremely boring world if we were all the same.  Our differences should be celebrated, not judged or ridiculed.

Another thing important to me is that I want my kids (and my students) to be proud of themselves.  To be proud of who they are and really see what they bring to the world.  Every one of us has certain strengths and weaknesses (which fits in with the differences I talked about above).  We're all important in various ways.  I want my kids to be happy, to be successful (by doing what makes them happy), and to be proud of who they are.  I see it in the classroom, at home, and with the speech kids.  The best feeling is seeing them (any of them) find themselves - find their niche - and realize "hey! I can do this!" It doesn't matter if it's Cate putting on her shoes by herself for the first time, Christian and Ethan realizing that it may not actually matter what someone thinks, a student who aces a test they didn't think they would pass, or speech kids who shine at Districts or State.  Those moments where a kid sees their potential and sees themselves as I have seen them all along is a moment that I wouldn't trade for the world.

** Now, for your assignment, make sure you copy and paste the prompt to the top of your post (NOT the title - put Writing Prompt #4 as your title). Your entry should be at LEAST 100 words (not counting the prompt).  It needs to be posted by 11:59 pm Wednesday.

Writing Prompt #3 - Due January 25

What characteristics do you value most in a friend? Explain why they are important.

To me the most important characteristics would be loyalty, honesty and a sense of humor.  Loyalty is important because a friend is supposed to always have your back.  They're the ones who are supposed to be on your side, even if no one else is, even if everything else is against you.  Honesty is important because you need to be able to trust what your friends say.  Why would you want to be friends with someone who would always lie to you?  To me honesty goes with loyalty because if they have your back, they will also be willing to always tell you the truth.  Even when it may hurt.  A good friend will be the one to tell you things you may not want to hear, but who will be there next to you through it all.  Finally, a sense of humor is important to me.  I'm not a comic or hysterical or anything, but I do have a sense of humor and I like someone who can make me laugh.  Along with the sense of humor, they would have to understand sarcasm.  That's just who I am - that's part of my sense of humor and if they don't understand sarcasm, we probably wouldn't be friends for very long because they would always get mad about something I said. 

** Now, for your assignment, make sure you copy and paste the prompt to the top of your post (NOT the title - put Writing Prompt #3 as your title). Your entry should be at LEAST 100 words (not counting the prompt).  It needs to be posted by 11:59 pm Friday.

Writing Prompt #2 - due Wed January 16

What does the following quote mean to you?  "You don’t get to pick where you’re from, but you always have control of where you’re going."

Obviously, no one gets to choose their parents.  Whether you are living with your biological parents, step parents, foster parents or adoptive parents, you are born or brought into that situation.  However, the family you have does not have to determine the life you lead.  One of my favorite quotes is from Shakespeare's play Hamlet. It states: "The choices we make dictate the life we lead. To thine own self be true."

We choose where we go in life.  It may be more difficult for some people to get to where they want to go because of obstacles in their way, but if they want it badly enough and are willing to fight for it, they can do it.  Your parents may not have graduated from college, but that doesn't mean you can't.  Your family might not have a lot of money, but that doesn't mean you can't get scholarships, federal aid money, grants and loans to finance an education.  It may not be easy, but if you want it badly enough, you can do it.

That being said, some people have so many obstacles to overcome that it's difficult to look past them.  And, no, life isn't always fair.  Bad things happen, opportunities are lost, and we all encounter disappointments of some kind.  In those cases, when a dream may be slightly out of reach at a certain point, the above quote still applies. How?  Because you control your attitude.  You control how you look at things and how you deal with disappointments and obstacles. And, even if a dream doesn't happen right now, doesn't mean it won't years down the road.

** Now, for your assignment, make sure you copy and paste the prompt to the top of your post (NOT the title - put Writing Prompt #2 as your title).  Your entry should be at LEAST 100 words (not counting the prompt).  To help you get an idea of how much 100 words is, my entry (not counting the prompt and not counting this explanation) was 273 words.

Writing Prompt #1 - due Wed January 9

If a handful of people can change the world for the worse, then I am certain that a handful of people can change the world for the better.

What will you do do to make this world of ours, which feels so broken right now, a better place?


This honestly is why I went into teaching.  If I can make a difference in just one life, then I feel I will have succeeded.  It's funny, I went into teaching thinking that I could change someone's life (or hoping I could, anyway), but what I didn't count on was that I would be changed so much more by those same students.

My wish, as an educator, as a parent, as a human being, is that people accept differences in one another.  We're all different.  It would be boring if we were all the same.  No one is better than another, just different.  Why people can't see that, why people judge others is beyond me.  If you don't like someone, fine.  Leave them alone.  That's what makes me so angry about bullying in schools.  If you haven't actually lived someone's life (and let's face it, how can we really know what someone else is going through), you can't judge them.  Just like they can't judge you.  Or shouldn't, anyway.

Every news story that includes a school shooting or an instance of bullying makes me sad.  I hurt for the parents who lose a child and I hurt for the students whose lives are changed in a split second.  I know everyone always laughs and makes fun of the beauty pageants where the contestants all answer "World peace" to what they wish most for the world, but honestly, if everyone would simply accept others for who they are - opinions, lifestyles, personalities, etc - we could all get along much better.  I'm not saying agree with everyone's decisions or opinions.  But everyone is entitled to their own beliefs.

With that in mind, I will continue to do what I've always done.  Speak up if I hear about bullying (I know I don't hear everything, but I won't let it go if I do hear it) and provide a safe haven for those who may have nowhere else to go.

** Now, for your assignment, make sure you copy and paste the prompt to the top of your post (NOT the title - put Writing Prompt #1 as your title).  Your entry should be at LEAST 100 words (not counting the prompt).  To help you get an idea of how much 100 words is, my entry (not counting the prompt and not counting this explanation) was 328 words.