5-17-2019

Mary’s Minute

“Life is like playing a violin solo in public and learning the instrument as one goes on.”

                                                             ~ Samuel Butler

As the end of the school year closes in, and I reflect on the Class of 2019, I have been thinking about learning, specifically I am thinking about what I have learned from this class.  That makes me think about learning in general.  We certainly never stop learning, and I love the idea of Sam Butler that learning is like playing a violin solo in public.  It is true that the more we practice (or the older we get) the more experiences we have, but it doesn’t mean that we don’t hit some sour notes.  From the missed notes we learn just as much or more than the times we get it pitch perfect.

I appreciate the lessons I have learned from the Class of 2019.  For instance, several students have started a breakfast club on the school parking lot on Monday mornings.  Their goal is simply to start the week in a positive way.  Their example has helped me look at Mondays differently.  Now when I see them I call out, “Win Monday, win the week!”

I have learned from this class that we cannot underestimate the potential of anyone.  This class has students who have done and will continue to do amazing things. 

I have learned about acceptance and caring from them.  And the list goes on and on. 

The lessons are important, but most important is that I am learning and that I recognize that learning goes far beyond noted experts or published books.  I just need to be aware and open. I need to keep learning – keep practicing my violin for the world to see all the notes I miss.  To stop learning is to silence our violins, which would make for an eerily silent world. 

           

                                                              Have a great week!

                                                                                                Mary

5-10-2019

Mary’s Minute

“A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.”

                                                                                             ~ Henry Adams

We get up each morning and go about our normal business.  We interact with people on a daily basis.  Sometimes we see a reaction immediately and know that we have made a difference in some way.  Other times we just go about doing our thing not really knowing if it made a difference.  People who work with students – everyone who works at Perry Central, does not know where their influence stops.  All we can do is do our best to do the right things for our students, but the impact we have is not always immediate.

My cousin, Dan Thurmon, poses the question, “Who is in your audience?”  We never know who is paying attention to what we are doing.  People who work with students know who we have in our audience every single day – the future.  Our students are paying attention to what we do even when we do not realize that they are listening or watching.

It is motivating and also scary.  I am so proud to work with the great group of people at Perry Central (bus drivers, cooks, teachers, instructional assistants, office personnel, maintenance and custodians).  As these great people go about their day to day work students are watching and listening.  You make a difference!  During this “Appreciation Week” I am proud to think of the influence the people who work at Perry Central have on the future.  You never know where your influence stops.  What you do today may not be realized until tomorrow or even years from now, but you are truly affecting eternity.

                                                                                  Have a great week!

                                                                                                     Mary

5-3-2019

Mary’s Minute

“Appreciation is a wonderful thing: It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.”

                                                                              ~ Voltaire

I worry each year that during our annual “Appreciation Week” that there is no way to adequately show Perry Central staff members how much we appreciate them.  The truth is that a few meals and kind words one week of the year is not enough, but that doesn’t mean we should not set aside the week for appreciation.  Appreciation is a state of mind, and when we stop to appreciate the people around us we not only spread some joy to them, but equally importantly is that by embracing the excellence in others it becomes part of us.

We will spend the week focused on the practice of gratitude – letting our teachers, office staff, instructional assistants, nurses, social workers, bus drivers, cooks, custodians, and maintenance staff know how much what they do matters.

My hope is that the week of appreciation will be more than splurging on morning sweets, but a week where we practice appreciation of each other and ourselves.  By seeing the good in all those around us and taking time to appreciate yourself, the simple week of appreciation will go much farther. 

The act of appreciation is a gift in itself.  It feels good to be appreciated for things you do, and it feels even better to practice showing appreciation.  Please know you are appreciated and most of all take some time to reflect on what you appreciate about yourself and others.  That might taste as sweet as the cinnamon rolls on the menu!

                                                                                       Have a great week!

                                                                                                   Mary

4-26-2019

Mary’s Minute

“If you spend your whole life waiting for the storm, you'll never enjoy the sunshine.”                                                                                              ~ Morris West

It is that time of year when we have sunshine and storms, so this quote struck me as relevant.  Obviously the quote is metaphorical, but I am taking it literally for a minute.  This week we had both sunshine and rain.  The sunshine has been absolutely wonderful, beginning with a perfect day on Easter Sunday.  The sunshine is absolutely invigorating.  It is tough to be in a bad mood when you are outside on a beautiful spring day in Perry County.  As sure as the sunshine can put us in a great mood, equally indisputable is how rainy days can get us down.  Sure, we can work on strategies to fight the grumpies when the rain won’t stop, but I think this quote reminds us that the most important thing we can do is embrace the sunshine.  We need to live in the moment and enjoy the sunshine, not looking ahead to the next storm. 

We literally and figuratively need to enjoy the sunshine.  We need to embrace the moment.  Yes, we need to prepare for the “storms” of life, but if we focus on them too much we forget to take in the happiness that is to be gained in enjoying the life in real time.

This is spring in Perry County; this is life.  We have sunny days, and we have storms.  We have great times, and we have worries.  Don’t look ahead to the storms and uncertainties so much that we fail to enjoy the sunshine.  The sunshine – the good times – are too wonderful to miss.  Sunshine is breathtaking, and life is truly good! 

           

                                                                          Have a great week!

                                                                                              Mary

4-12-2019

Mary’s Minute

“Caretakers of a legacy.”

                                                        ~ Stanford University Maintenance Truck

There is a parable that is told in slightly different ways, but the core of the story is that three different stonecutters are asked what they are doing.  The first replies that he is laboring to cut stone to make a living; the second responds that he is building a building; and the third responds enthusiastically that he is creating a great cathedral. 

I believe strongly in the need to find jobs that we love in order to be happy in life, but this story reminds us that it isn’t just the job, but our attitude/ perspective.  When we see that our job is valued and important, it is easier to find joy in it. 

I saw the quote, “Caretakers of a legacy,” on the back of a maintenance truck, and it reminded me how the perspective we take on the jobs we do make a difference.  Instead of thinking of our job as the menial tasks at hand, think of it in terms of what it contributes to the past, the future, or a mission.  Everyone who works at a school is building tomorrow’s future.  Our cooks do not simply cook meals, they provide nourishment for our students to learn and grow. 

The men and women at Stanford who cut the grass and pick up trash see their jobs as taking care of a great legacy that spans of a century. 

If you would take a minute to reflect on your job and consider how you can frame it, linking it to a legacy or the future.  Then the next time you are feeling discouraged, think of how important your role is.  What you do is part of something grander than we may imagine on a day to day basis.  You are part of a legacy – you are building the future.

                                                                    Have a great week!

                                                                                          Mary                                    

4-5-2019

Mary’s Minute

“Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.”    

                                                                 ~ Stephen Hawking

Since I am writing this thinking of the changes related to my son Bill, I think it is appropriate to use a quote from a theoretical physicist, Stephen Hawking. (Bill’s life goal is to become a theoretical physicist.)  I am a parent of a high school senior, and fellow parents and teachers can relate to that feeling of knowing we are sending our children/students off into the world to face much change.  We too are thinking of the changes in our lives that will come as our children leave the nest. 

There are a lot of types of change – taking a new job, moving into a new house, going off to college, changes in family makeup through births and deaths, illness, success.  Some change is perceived as good, and some as bad.  Another kind of change is not a reflection of a physical change, but one that occurs in our minds.  Whether are change is good, bad, physical, or emotional, the way we react to it is still the key to a successful transition into the new. 

We must learn to adapt, and maybe part of the ability to adapt comes in not seeing change as something abrupt, but part of the wonderful fluid nature of living.  Change represents the ebb and flow of life, which is a beautiful thing. 

We are intelligent creatures; we can adapt to change, seeing it not as something to endure, but as something beautiful.  Dealing with change may require the use of some strategies, from deep breathing to creating new routines.  It also requires us to relax and trust that change is part of the wonderful gift of living, and that our ability to adapt is one way to demonstrate our intelligence.

                                                                 Have a great week!

                                                                                  Mary                                    

3-29-2019

Mary’s Minute

“If you can’t change your mind, why have one?”

                                                                          ~ Edward de Bono

It is pretty neat that as humans we have the capacity to think for ourselves in a fluid way.  My son, Bill, recently shared a story that really made me think.  He was in a discussion about finding sources to support a thesis.  Someone posed the question, “What do you do if you can’t find data to support your thesis?”  Bill replied, “Change your mind.”  He said that his response was received with some blank stares.  Changing our mindset is not always easy, and as much as we are created as thinking beings, we are also creatures of habit.  It isn’t easy to change a long-held belief or practice. 

We are learning a lot about brain research, and how our actions as adults affect children.  We know that adverse conditions that we often refer to as trauma, physically change the wiring of children’s brains.  We also know through research that these changes can be reversed.  This all sounds great, and makes perfect sense, but the challenge comes when the strategies to help kids go against practices that we have long held.  We can think and learn, but at the end of the day we are still creatures of habit and tend to do things the way we always have. 

For Bill it is a simple matter of evidence.  He thinks scientifically, so if the evidence supports a belief change, he can change his mind.  Some of us are not as analytical in how we handle our lives, but I still think we can learn from him. The key is that we think after all, why have a mind if we can’t change it?

                                                                              Have a great week!

                                                                                               Mary