Mission Statement:
My website / blogs will be education / family-centered. I will do my best to not be too political. However, through your eyes / experiences, you will form your OPINION which way I lean. All I would ask is that when one reads my blogs that one forms an opinion that these are words only. I stand by what I write. But, I am beginning to understand that no matter what I write, the reader labels it. I write from a loving heart. I do my best to embrace what I say is an opinion and therefore, it is not “absolute.” To me, what you write / say is an OPINION and not absolute. Here is my example for absolute vs. opinion. Diana is my wife – absolute. Diana is the best wife in the world – opinion. (By the way, an opinion I strongly agree with based on Diana’s actions). In the end, as strong as I believe “Diana is the best wife in the world” I would have to bow down to the, “in the end, it is an OPINION.” Okay. So, here comes my opinion and you all make that opinion right or wrong; good or evil.
One of my favorite authors is Steve Farrar. Towards the end of one of my long walks (you will see that I love to walk), I was listening to him. In his book, GETTIN’ THERE, he does a beautiful job working us through the psalms. I love how he interprets PSALM 23 – which is featured in that book and was what I was listening to. I enjoy his interpretation why the “author” of The Bible refers to people as sheep. There are basically three reasons how people and sheep are alike:
Sheep are stupid. When going to a circus, do you ever see trained sheep? We see lions, tigers, bears, elephants – no sheep! Why? Because sheep are stupid. SO AM I! I am stupid. I don’t know everything and in some cases me knowing that I don’t know everything makes me smarter than many others. I can learn so much from my high school students: computers; Instagram; today’s music; what are teens facing. I am stupid to all that. Now, the “sad” thing… many of my students cannot say, “I (high school student) am stupid.” This worries me. Instead of being stupid, our students make poor choices. No, they were stupid and it is okay to be stupid when you have the will to be smart!! Drinking and driving – stupid. Unprotected sex – stupid. How are these now labeled poor choices? A “poor choice” really sanitizes their SUPIDITY! No one wants to be called stupid. So, I really believe students would avoid “poor choices” if they were told, “what you did was stupid and you are not stupid, so stop doing stupid things.”
Sheep are dirty. Sheep are so dirty they don’t recognize there are maggots in their fur. People are dirty. We hear dirty language. We have dirty thoughts. We wear “dirty” clothes. We are dirty. My students? They are not dirty. They are cool. Dirty language is cool. They act on their dirty thoughts. Shame? What shame? My high school students are not dirty. They are teenagers and teenagers are young. They will grow out of it. Difficult to grow when we send them mixed messages. We tell them, “It’s okay. Your a kid.” What worries me is at seventeen years-old, they are closer to being an adult (legally) than they are first graders!
Sheep are defenseless. Sheep don’t know how to defend themselves against predators. Sheep need shepherds. My high school students don’t know they are defenseless because they are not recognizing their parents are defending them. When their parents defend them, they see their parents just doing their job. Instead of parents working with the teachers to better their child in academics / behavior, more parents than ever are – defending their children’s work. We are seeing stories of COLLEGE-AGED students who parents are still defending them!
So, what do you do with this information? Realize our children / students would be better off knowing all people are STUPID, DIRTY, and DEFENSELESS. Are you (the adult) ready to stand in front of your child and admit you are STUPID, DIRTY, and DEFENSELESS? If you are not ready, how will your child / student be ready to get smart; avoid being dirty; and, defend themselves? I know I actually feel liberated admitting my shortcomings and willing to work on those short comings. Can you imagine how your child/student would feel if he / she knew they aren’t perfect? How they would feel to know they are amongst MILLIONS AND MILLIONS of stupid, dirty, and defenseless people? Don’t settle for being those three things, but admit to being those three things from time-to-time and work to improve. Improvement needs to be THE goal!