humansofnewyork
humansofnewyork: "His grandmother and I are raising him. I worry about putting him into the public school system. I was a teacher for many years. I’ve seen so much confidence destroyed by the standardized system. Every human is born with natural curiosity. I’ve never seen a child who wasn’t inspired. But once you force someone to do anything, the inspired person is killed. I dropped out of school myself in 7th grade. So I know. I taught a GED course for years, so I’ve seen the end results over and over. I’ve seen so many kids who have complexes and insecurities because they were forced to do something they weren’t ready to do, and then they were blamed when they weren’t able to do it. What we call ‘education’ today is not organic. You can’t take something as complex as the human mind, compartmentalize it, and regiment its development so strictly."

humansofnewyork:

"His grandmother and I are raising him. I worry about putting him into the public school system. I was a teacher for many years. I’ve seen so much confidence destroyed by the standardized system. Every human is born with natural curiosity. I’ve never seen a child who wasn’t inspired. But once you force someone to do anything, the inspired person is killed. I dropped out of school myself in 7th grade. So I know. I taught a GED course for years, so I’ve seen the end results over and over. I’ve seen so many kids who have complexes and insecurities because they were forced to do something they weren’t ready to do, and then they were blamed when they weren’t able to do it. What we call ‘education’ today is not organic. You can’t take something as complex as the human mind, compartmentalize it, and regiment its development so strictly."

humansofnewyork
humansofnewyork: "I’ve got a wife and three kids, and a job I’m trying to hold on to. It’s a lot of work and it’s a lot to worry about, so it’s easy to fall into a routine where all I’m doing is worrying about the next moment. In the midst of all this, sometimes I have to force myself to step back and appreciate the wonderful things that have already happened: one of my children is a budding artist, the other is beautifully kind, and the other is full of energy and potential. And they’re all happy. And they’re all healthy."

humansofnewyork:

"I’ve got a wife and three kids, and a job I’m trying to hold on to. It’s a lot of work and it’s a lot to worry about, so it’s easy to fall into a routine where all I’m doing is worrying about the next moment. In the midst of all this, sometimes I have to force myself to step back and appreciate the wonderful things that have already happened: one of my children is a budding artist, the other is beautifully kind, and the other is full of energy and potential. And they’re all happy. And they’re all healthy."

lazyyogi

isenpaikun asked:

What would you label yourself?

lazyyogi answered:

A label can be a useful thing. Between two bottles of clear liquid, we can distinguish water from poison. Or we can compare different kinds of equipment or vehicles or whatever. 

But for a living being, what use is a label? We are not reducible to components and definitions and identities. 

Sure, we can take any label we like. But, to me, that’s like painting a flower with nail polish. It’s already beautiful and vibrant without the words and concepts applied. 

For the sake of those who may be confused or lacking direct experience of this for themselves, I could say I am a meditator. My sister likes to call me a buddhist, since that’s also readily comprehendible. I have no problem with any of that. 

However, I don’t really see the need for any of it personally. God is God. There has never been anyone else. 

Namaste :)

weareteachers
weareteachers: Life is about relationships. Building a positive environment in individual classrooms and throughout your whole school is too. It takes commitment and consistency from the whole team—administrators, teachers and support staff. But you can make it happen, even in the most challenging school environments.Here are eight guidelines for improving your school culture based on the Boys Town educational model, which has helped hundreds of troubled schools turn their school culture around. 1.  Build Strong RelationshipsYour success at creating a well-managed school depends more than anything else on the quality of the relationships that teachers forge with students. Staff-student relationships influence everything—from the social climate to the individual performances of your students. The research on this is clear. When students feel liked and respected by their teachers, they find more success in school, academically and behaviorally (Lewis, Schaps & Watson, 1996).  Conversely, when interpersonal relationships are weak and trust is lacking, fear and failure will likely start to define school culture.Building strong relationships needs to be a whole school priority. How do you do it?  Teachers need to have time to talk to their students in and out of the classroom. The goal should be for every adult in the building to maintain a high rate of positive interactions with students and to show genuine interest in their lives, their activities, their goals and their struggles. 2.  Teach Essential Social SkillsHow to share, how to listen to others, how to disagree respectfully—these are the kind of essential social skills we expect our students to have. But the truth is they may not have learned them. Whether it’s first grade or 11th grade, we need to be prepared to teach appropriate social-emotional behaviors. "You can’t hold kids accountable for something you’ve never told them," says Erin Green, Director of National Training at Boys Town. "Behavior should be treated like academics, and students should be taught the skills they need to execute desired behaviors." These behaviors and values include honesty, sensitivity, concern and respect for others, a sense of humor, reliability, and so on. Together as a staff, you should identify the social skills you want your students to have and the step-by-step routines to teach them. Read the full article at http://owl.li/xwsWc 

weareteachers:

Life is about relationships. Building a positive environment in individual classrooms and throughout your whole school is too. It takes commitment and consistency from the whole team—administrators, teachers and support staff. But you can make it happen, even in the most challenging school environments.

Here are eight guidelines for improving your school culture based on the Boys Town educational model, which has helped hundreds of troubled schools turn their school culture around.

1.  Build Strong Relationships
Your success at creating a well-managed school depends more than anything else on the quality of the relationships that teachers forge with students. Staff-student relationships influence everything—from the social climate to the individual performances of your students. The research on this is clear. When students feel liked and respected by their teachers, they find more success in school, academically and behaviorally (Lewis, Schaps & Watson, 1996).  Conversely, when interpersonal relationships are weak and trust is lacking, fear and failure will likely start to define school culture.

Building strong relationships needs to be a whole school priority. How do you do it?  Teachers need to have time to talk to their students in and out of the classroom. The goal should be for every adult in the building to maintain a high rate of positive interactions with students and to show genuine interest in their lives, their activities, their goals and their struggles.

2.  Teach Essential Social Skills
How to share, how to listen to others, how to disagree respectfully—these are the kind of essential social skills we expect our students to have. But the truth is they may not have learned them. Whether it’s first grade or 11th grade, we need to be prepared to teach appropriate social-emotional behaviors. 

"You can’t hold kids accountable for something you’ve never told them," says Erin Green, Director of National Training at Boys Town. "Behavior should be treated like academics, and students should be taught the skills they need to execute desired behaviors." These behaviors and values include honesty, sensitivity, concern and respect for others, a sense of humor, reliability, and so on. Together as a staff, you should identify the social skills you want your students to have and the step-by-step routines to teach them.

Read the full article at http://owl.li/xwsWc