Thursday, August 8, 2013

Inspiring quotes, Inspiring students

17Fn recently posted a comment on a post on my other blog (Teach 'em How To Fish) that was Gandhi's quote, "Be the change you want to see in the world."

She said, "And recently, thinking backing on it Mr. Warkentin, I realize you were a big influence on my continued growth towards having a love of reading, writing, and environmental activism. Please keep doing what you did. You never know how many more you may unwittingly inspire by living as the change you wish to see."

Wow! 

Of course, this is a huge shot in the arm  as a teacher, since we all have seasons of our career that are more inspiring than others. The year I had 17FN in my class was one of the best years of my career, I would have to say. Since then, I have had a few very difficult years.

It was great to read the comment, but also great to browse over some of my thoughts from previous posts. The quotes that were important to me, and things I was learning at that time... Now at a season that is very stressful for a teacher-the beginning of the school year.

Some other powerful quotes from that blog:
“In times of change learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.“ – Eric Hoffer
This was a quote that I found 17 years ago, when I was student teaching. It is true now, more than ever, since I am now in the midst of very significant change:

  1. Shifting to Common Core Standards
  2. New principal & admin
  3. New grade level teaching partners
  4. New grade level (although I've taught 4th grade years ago)
  5. Some new technologies that I want to use in my classroom regularly
    1. my own teacher iPad
    2. class sets of iPod Touches to share
    3. class sets of iPads to share
    4. Edmodo


And, finally, a post about Digital Natives-Digital Immigrants had some good stuff in it.
"We need to educate our children for their future, not our past." - Arthur C. Clark

This was inspiring, given the list above! This gives me energy and more inspiration, especially when I would be tempted to enter into these things more slowly. While it's wise to not bite off more than I can chew, I shouldn't be more timid than I need to be.











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