Huli

Change. That word has been thrown around quite a lot lately. It can be good, even great, but one key factor is a willingness to participate in the change. Change is usually necessitated because something is wrong, broken, not working properly or as efficiently as possible. Einstein defined insanity as "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results", therefore change would be the obvious choice if sanity is the goal. However, we need to be willing to be a part of that change and initiate a change within ourselves if true change is to be achieved. Each person must play an active role in bringing change about. Sitting on the sidelines is simply not an option. Just like in physics, an object at rest will stay at rest, but for it to be move/move, energy (change) is required. If no energy is exerted, no change will occur. How much energy is each of us willing to exert to bring about the change that we want to see?

"="

At a math training session last week Thursday (right before the "big" wind storm that came through), we were reminded to teach our students that "=" isn't an indicator to perform a mathematical operation. It simply means "is the same as". "2 plus 2" is the same as "4". "9 x 2" is the same as "6 + 6 + 6" which is the same as "18". Mathematics is "the science and language of patterns and relationships and our job as teachers is to help students discover those patterns and relationships" (I'll insert the reference later - I forgot it at school). I'd never thought of math as a language, but when you think about it, it really is.

Many of us have a holiday today because of a man who believed that we should use that same symbol between two men (or women), regardless of race, color, creed, social status, education, etc. His work helped set the stage for the laws that were passed which made special education services possible in our public schools. Therefore, I owe my job to Dr. King, for which I am thankful. I can't think of another job that I would rather be doing right now. Because my school integrates the students receiving special education services in the general education setting, they each have the opportunity to succeed and receive the same education as their peers. While they may receive more help, an altered assignment or more/longer opportunities to complete something, they are given access to the same curriculum. By including them in the regular classroom, the other teachers and I work together to promote this equality. The idea is that if an outsider were to walk in to our classroom, they wouldn't be able to distinguish the students with identified special needs from those without.

While the whole idea of equality and receiving special education may seem paradoxical or polar opposites, isn't it the same with what Dr. King promoted?

Rollercoaster Beginnings

I found out a friend of mine was blogging here and thought I'd give it a shot. She's always been such a great encourager to everyone she meets and has the honor of calling her friend, so with that push, here goes! Thanks, "Grace"!

It's a relatively quiet Sunday afternoon, and the only thing keeping me from going outside is a nasty sinus headache and sore throat. The dogs have wandered in and out at their leisure and are finally sprawled about the couch and floor, doing what dogs do best. I hesitate to get up lest I disturb their peaceful slumber.

This head cold changed most of the plans for the day - no church, no meeting, leftovers for lunch. but I have been able to catch up on some reading and get a little ahead on work for both my job and for my classes (teaching and taking classes at Chaminade). I suppose this is a blessing in disguise. I've always taken notice about how people approach change. No matter how fast or slow it may come at us, each of us look at change differently. I'm reminded of a Steve Martin movie, "Parenthood," where Martin's character and his wife (played by Mary Steenburgen) are watching their young son in a Christmas play. The son is quite a terror and almost always gets into mischief and is effectively wreaking havoc on the production. Director Ron Howard shows likens their reactions to climbing up the first hill of a rollercoaster: Steenburgen is delighted and laughs at her son's antics, while Martin is mortified and in extreme terror. They ride the rollercoaster of their son's behavior until the final on-stage crash.

Today, I think I've had to adjust my attitude, which began like Martin's and is probably more like Steenburgen's now. Even though I didn't do all the things that I had anticipated for today, things such as starting this blog have been a pleasant and welcome surprise. Perhaps God knew that I needed to slow down a bit, even this early in the year, and take the time to do things that I want to do, not HAVE to do. This is definitely a WANT that I hadn't made the time for. Check that off my list.