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Welcome! This is a free newsletter on becoming a Response-Able Educator and developing Response-Able students.
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My mission is to inspire, encourage and uplift the spirits of educators so they can in turn inspire, encourage, and uplift the spirits of their students.
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1. Quotes
3. Spirit Whisperer Contemplation
4. Teacher Talk
5. Upcoming Parent Talk System Training of Trainers
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"In any given school room, how many students know which direction is north? Where the food in the cafeteria comes from? Where the trash goes? What problems face the community? In a very real way we have enclosed our children in schools and, in doing so, have dulled their senses --- their openness, their sense of connection, and their sense of appreciation and respect for the world. To say nothing of their body-based wisdom, intuition, or spirit!"
--------------Steven Glazer-----------------
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Using masking tape, section off a wall into 30 one-foot squares. Each student chooses a space and puts his or her name on it. That space becomes the student's own private Best Board. Students use the spaces to display examples of their best work. Here are three helpful rules:
Don't forget to provide a space for yourself. (From "Our Classroom: We Can Learn Together," by Chick Moorman and Dee Dishon. Available at ipp57@aol.com or by calling (toll free) 877-360-1477.)
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Will you welcome challenges today? Know that they have arrived for everyone's benefit, yours and your students'. Remember, the real teaching is in how you face the challenge, not in what you do about it.
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Conversation recently overheard at a party:
"What do you do for a living?"
"I'm just a teacher."
"I'm just a teacher" is Teacher Talk that diminishes who and what you are as a professional educator. It is a self-put-down that announces to the world that you hold yourself and your entire profession in low esteem.
The Teacher Talk antidote for the "I'm just a teacher" response is the 20-Second Detriment/Benefit Introduction. It sounds like this:
"You know how some kids today don't seem as responsible and respectful as we'd like? That's what I do. I help them learn to be self-responsible and more respectful. I am a professional educator."
"You know how difficult it is to go through life without being able to read? My role is to help young people use the printed page to expand possibilities in their lives. I am a reading teacher."
"Have you noticed how many overweight kids there are walking around these days? My job is to help them become physically fit so they can enjoy a lifetime of appropriate physical activity. I am a physical education teacher."
To construct a 20-Second Detriment/Benefit Introduction for yourself, begin with a detriment -- a problem, a concern, or a frustration. Put it in the form of a question.
"You know how kids seem to have lost a love for great literature?"
"Have you ever heard of math anxiety?"
"You know how some kids who go off to college are academically or emotionally unprepared?"
Then add the benefit. This is the part that tells how you fix the problem, create the solution, or diminish the concern.
"I teach children how to appreciate the classics. I am a literature motivator."
"I help children stay calm and centered during math assignments and teach them how to love a challenge. I am a math teacher."
"I am a college prep person. I make sure children are emotionally, mentally, and spiritually ready for college. I am a high school teacher."
Take a few moments now to create your own personal introduction. Memorize it. Stand guard. Be ready. It won't be long before someone at a party, on a plane, in a store, or at a park walks up to you and asks, "What do you do for a living?"
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Announcing two winter trainings of trainers in the Parent Talk System:
Austin, Texas
January 9-11, 2003
Grand Rapids, Michigan
January 16-18, 2003
Email ipp57@aol.com for a full brochure and registration materials. Direct inquiries to (toll free) 877-360-1477.
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By Teri Goggin
On the morning of Tuesday, September 11th, Kate Cain-Bell was fully immersed in teaching "something important" to her first grade class at Richboro Elementary School, in Richboro, Pennsylvania.
Not long into the day, the principal asked her to step out of the classroom for a moment. There in the hallway, she heard about the devastation in New York and Washington, DC. It was difficult for her to grasp the news, let alone try to explain it to innocent minds, so she agreed with the school’s decision not to inform the children.
When Kate returned to her waiting charges, the class work seemed pale in comparison to the significance of the day’s events. As a deeply spiritual woman, she felt compelled to impact the world in a positive way during the time of such a crisis. An idea leapt to mind. She drew in a breath, walked to the front of the class and made a request.
"I want each of you to imagine the most beautiful thing you can think of. Hold that thought in your mind and then send it out to the world. Can you all do that?"
A sea of young faces nodded.
"Okay. Let’s do it."
An with that, a wave of beauty was sent out into a world of ugliness.
At the end of the day, Kate wanted her class to be prepared with some knowledge that they wouldn’t be walking into the same world they’d left that morning. Another idea blossomed. She stood in front of the class again.
"Remember when I asked you to send out your beautiful thought to the world?"
After pausing to accept their nods, Kate continued. "Well, while you were sending out your beauty, someone else sent something-not-so-beautiful into the world."
Kate paused again, to see if her young charges understood.
One little girl piped up, "Well, when I get home I’ll send them something beautiful right back."
In the midst of tragedy, triumph comes in many forms. This time, it came in the form of a young child who learned a lesson that was truly "something important."
Send beauty.
You may contact Kate Cain-Bell at kcain@home.com.
(To access similar articles check out www.chickmoorman.com.)
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Dear Newsletter Subscribers,
The "Send Beauty" article has been posted on my Website for several months now in the Spirit Whisperer collection. Recently Teri Goggin contacted me, requesting my support for the Send Beauty Project. Unequivocally, she has my support.
The Send Beauty Project celebrates the unstoppable power of beauty. The intent of this project is to promote the choice of beauty by sending a wave of beautifully hand-drawn pictures, created by children everywhere, to a place where beauty is needed right now - Afghanistan.
Teri is committed to generating over 10,000 drawings from children worldwide by the end of summer. To help make this happen, a Website about the Send Beauty Project has been created. Visit www.sendbeauty.org to learn more and see samples.
Here are some examples:
"I send you the beauty of a rose because I care." (Nicole, age 11) The card is illustrated with a brilliant red rose.
"I send you the beauty of world peace (no fighting) because I care." (Kathryn, age 11) The card depicts a serene countryside.
"I send you the beauty of a creative mind because I care." (Jessica, age 8). The card shows the smiling face of a young girl with a "thinking bubble" above her head filled with a rainbow.
Please help fill the world with beauty. Pass it on.
Warmly,
Chick Moorman Editor
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To find out more about workshops, seminars, and keynote addresses presented by Chick Moorman contact him at toll free, 877/360-1477 or email IPP57@aol.com
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Copyright 2002 Chick Moorman Seminars, all rights reserved. Share this with your circle.