2-24-2017

Mary's Minute

“The opposite of love is not hate; it is indifference.”

                                                   ― Elie Wiesel

                       

     My children have endured me saying, “Hate is a strong word,” when they flippantly state the negative feeling toward a person, thing, or action.  I have the simplistic view of life that love, in the form of genuine kindness towards all people, really is the answer!  The wisdom of Holocaust survivor, Elie Wiesel, makes me think that how the words “I don’t care,” are actually more alarming than the word, “hate.”  With our students, in our professional lives, and in our personal lives, the most dangerous emotion is apathy.  It is great when we see our students light up with a love of school and learning.  When we see them struggle, and even hate the work, we feel defeated, but the ultimate defeat is when they quit caring.  As we work towards instilling a love of learning in our students, and we strive to love life, we need to not fear hate, but rather fear indifference.  In order to love, we must care.  When we stop caring -  about others, the world, our schoolwork, our jobs – that is when we are in trouble. 

     Teachers are keyed into student engagement, which makes sense. As we work towards love, we may have moments of dislike (I just can’t bring myself to say hate), but what we never want to do is become indifferent. 

     In my Pollyanna world, I still believe that love is the answer, and now I am convinced that part of the key to love is to care deeply by staying engaged.

                                           Have a great week!
                                                     Mary

2-17-2017

Mary’s Minute

“Don’t rely on someone else for your happiness and self-worth.  Only YOU can be responsible for it.  You have to invest in yourself, or no one else will.”

                                                                                             ~ Stacey Charter

I love the notion of being self-less and putting the needs of others in front of my own.  I am not there, but I sure do not want to be selfish!  When it comes to personal happiness, ultimately it is a selfish act because ultimately we must take responsibility for our own happiness.  We can do things for others out of love, but true happiness must come from within.  I think we spend a lot of time in life struggling to make other people happy.  It can be tough to accept that happiness cannot be transferred but must come from within.  It doesn’t mean that we stop caring for others.  I want to always strive to be kind and giving to others, but it is liberating to realize that others’ happiness is not our responsibility.  On the other hand, we are totally accountable for our personal happiness.  We cannot blame others or the world for our own attitude.  We need to make life choices that bring about positive feelings, as well as being determined to live with a happy heart.  No one can do it for us.  It is all on us.  There are many worries that we must carry in life, but I encourage you to shake off the burden of feeling responsible to make others happy.  Instead, look in the mirror and accept the responsibility of your own happiness.  (The cool thing is that your happiness will be contagious!)

                                                      Be happy!

                       

                                                                                  Mary 

2-10-2017

Mary’s Minute

“The path of least resistance and least trouble is a mental rut already made. It requires troublesome work to undertake the alternation of old beliefs.”

                                                               ~John Dewey

The term stuck in a rut is believed to come from the early 1800s when pioneers were traveling in the mud and their wagon wheels literally became lodged in a groove.  If you think of a rut as a well-worn track you can see that it is possible to keep moving in the same direction, but getting out of the track is when the trouble comes.  I think that in life this happens to us when we find ourselves going through the motions of life without really being happy or experiencing life to its fullest.  We can become like drones not capable of new thoughts, but just following the path of least resistance.  Because while we are in the rut we are still moving, we do not always realize that we are even stuck.  There is an element of comfort or more accurately, complacency that we feel.  The tough thing about a rut is that the longer we go without being pushed out, the deeper the rut becomes and the more difficult it is to get out.  Picture the wagon wheel getting deeper and deeper in the mud.  When the groove is shallow a gentle nudge can push the wagon to a smooth surface, but the deeper it gets the more force it requires to push or pull out of it.  The same is true in our lives.  John Dewey explains that it is work to get out, and work takes energy.  When we are in a rut, we need to make a conscious effort to get out.  The beauty of making the effort is that we can begin to experience life to its fullest.  We all have been in ruts personally or professionally, and the key is to push ourselves out in order to find joy in our work or life.  People of my generation remember the Dunkin' Donuts man commercials of “Gotta make the donuts.”  That is what life in a rut seems to me like – a life where we are just going through the motions without enjoying life to its fullest.  It does take effort to get out of a rut, but in the end it is worth it!
                                                                      Have a great week!

                                                                                    Mary 

2-3-2017

Mary’s Minute

“Today’s complexities demand greater simplicity.”

                                                ~ Elder L. Tom Perry

When our students pass through our doors they carry a lot of metaphorical baggage.  Bus drivers see the complexity of students’ lives when they step on the bus early in the morning.  Teachers see how issues in students’ lives complicate learning.  Life by nature can be complicated, but in today’s society these complexities are magnified.  We feel it in our own personal lives.  Technology is a wonderful tool, but we find ourselves tied to our electronic communication devices.  Life is fast paced, and every day we hear of new inventions and new challenge.  Today’s information age is complex!  We all feel it, and we especially see how complicated life can be for many of our students.

What is the answer for managing the challenges of our multifaceted world?  To balance our complex world, we need to stay rooted in the simplicity of life.  Because as complicated as the world can be, at the core level it is really simple.  Our Perry Central staff understands that with our students.  Despite all the baggage our students bring to school, what they simply need is kindness and respect.  It cannot take away their problems, but it can help keep them stay grounded enough to learn despite their many obstacles. 

The same principles are true for us.  When life feels overly complex, it is good to stay grounded in simplicity.  Nature’s beauty, family, friends, and treating all people with kindness are elements that can help keep us grounded when it feels like the complex world is taking over.

                                                                                Have a great week!

                                                                                                Mary

1-27-2017

Mary’s Minute

"The beauty of life is, while we cannot undo what is done, we can see it, understand it, learn from it and change so that every new moment is spent not in regret, guilt, fear, or anger but in wisdom, understanding and love."

                                                             - Jennifer Edwards

Despite advancements in science, we do not have the ability to travel back in time to undo our past.  There is no need to lament what has already occurred, yet we also know that all that has happened in our past influences where we are today.  We cannot control what has already happened, but what are do control is what we do with our past. Regret, guilt, fear, and anger are useless, even harmful reactions.  Using the past as a way to learn gives value to things that we might wish would have been different.  There are instances in life that we might like to “do over.”  Maybe it is something as simple as a lesson that went wrong that we wish we could teach again more successfully.  Maybe there is something that we wish we would have said or that we said that we wished we could take back.  Maybe we would love the chance to take that game-winning shot again with better precision.  We can’t go back, but the beauty of life is that we can use every experience as an opportunity to grow in love and understanding.  I admit I would love a few “do-overs” but I am thankful for the wisdom that comes from reflection, and I refuse to live with regret, guilt, fear, or anger.

                                               

                                                                  Have a great week!

                                                                        Mary

1-20-2017

Mary’s Minute

“If you want to find happiness, find gratitude.”

                                                              ~ Steve Maraboli

I have always been a big proponent of the notion that happiness in life is a choice.  I also know that it just is not always that simple, and that simply willing something to be does not always make it so.  This led me to think about specific strategies to make our goal (being happy) a reality.  Spending time in nature or being with optimistic people are a couple of recommendations, but what I have found most helpful to live with a happy heart is to find gratitude.  One very specific strategy that I have learned is to start my day by reflecting upon the blessings in my life.  I try to make a mental list of things for which I am grateful before my feet hit the floor each morning.  This week I have taken it a step further and started a Gratitude Journal where I jot down a list each morning before I get up.  This type of gratitude is not proclaimed to the world; it is something we do privately just for ourselves.  So why bother?  The answer is simple, when we are grateful, we are happy!  Expressing gratitude to others is a gift of kindness that I strongly encourage, but feeling gratitude in our hearts is a gift to ourselves.  Happiness can be an elusive thing no matter how much we long for it.  It is exciting that we really do have power to make it possible:  1. by making a conscious choice to be happy; and 2. by consciously being grateful for the good in our lives.

By the way, my Perry Central family is on my list!

                                                                                Have a great week!

                                                                                  Mary

1-13-2017

Mary’s Minute

“We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future.”

                                                           ~ George Bernard Shaw

This is the 50^th year for Perry Central on this campus.  (Perry Central Community School Corporation was formed in 1963, but originally housed at the old Oil Township High School building.)  I often think about the diligence that made Perry Central a reality and feel an intense obligation to promote the high standards envisioned by this pioneering group.  I also feel an obligation to the Perry Central of the future.  What will the students, parents, staff, and community of Perry Central of the future think of the work we are doing today?  I am driven by an intense need to make our work an honor to those who came before us and a legacy for those who will come later.  This week an exciting announcement seems a fitting part of that puzzle.  Perry Central High School was recognized as an Early College High School.  Perry Central students have the opportunity to be earn their first year of college credit (at no cost) at the same time they complete their high school diploma.  Fifty years ago, our “founding fathers” would likely not have envisioned the majority of PC students graduating with over 15 college credits.  Likewise, we cannot predict the kind of world that PC students fifty years from now will be preparing for.  What we do know is that when we put students’ needs first and work tirelessly for creative and caring solutions we pay respect to our past and the future.

                                                                                 Have a great week!

                                                                                         Mary