Glennalicious

Funny story!

Concerning previous education related entries ...

Nine is Noble

One
March 30: "People will tell me that I have to look at the 'help just one' philosophy ..."

Well of course. Making a difference in one person's life is the philosophy of life.

"It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness."

By getting through to just one student, you are lighting one candle.

Two
"The 'help just one' philosophy" redux:

Remember the story about the starfish on the beach?

One by one, you are tossing starfish back into the ocean. Or less metaphorically, one by one you are reaching out to students.

Three
Remember "To Sir With Love"? Mark Thackeray went to a school where the teachers had given up. They hadn't given up on their students. They had given up on themselves. The teachers didn't expect their students to achieve because the teachers didn't believe they themselves could achieve.

You are like Mark Thackeray. You believe you can achieve. Thus, you expect your students will achieve. (Now let's sing Lulu's song: "A friend who taught me right from wrong. And weak from strong. That's a lot to learn.")

Four
March 30: "I'm a math teacher. Help 1, fail 89 doesn't add up."

Wrong! It does add up. You haven't failed any one. You sound like you have the mistaken impression you are only teaching math to your students. Perhaps you might help only one student master math skills, though the odds point your helping more. Nevertheless, through your daily example you are DEFINITELY helping all your students. You may teach one student how to be more responsible ... one how to interact better ... one how to be more attentive ... one how to be more confident ... one how to care more about others ... one how to be get along with others better ... and on and on and on till you've taught each one of your 90 students some valuable lesson whether it be large or small. You are not just teaching math. You are teaching life.

Five
People are planters or people are harvesters. Sometimes, not often, they're both.

You are a planter and not a harvester. Perhaps that contributes to your frustration because you don't get to see the fruit of your labors. You plant ideas and lessons and principles in your students. Others will harvest the seeds you plant: your students' families, friends, employers, and their communities. Without the planter, there will be nothing for all these other people to harvest.

Six
April 12: "I don't want to be noble. I HATE the word noble. I want to be effective..."

And ... the short guy wants to be tall. The skinny guy wants to be muscular. The geek wants to be a jock and on and on. Everyone wants to be something other than what he is.

Effective is defined as "producing an expected effect." Very, very few people ever get the results they expect in life. For example, we all grow up expecting life will treat us fairly and hard work and dedication will be recognized. That doesn't usually happen.

Noble defined is "an admirably high quality." That you have. It seems you were born with it. Your family nurtured it. And, you developed it. You do have admirably high personal qualities.

April 12: "I want to see my kids learn. That's not noble, that's finding the balance between caring for my kids and knowing I can't save every one."

You're job isn't to save any of them. Your job is to teach them. Your goal in life is to save yourself.

Seven
"A rose by any other name is still a rose."

You named your blog Galicious.Org.

Delete all the letters that are repeated: g l n i o

That leaves: e a c u s r

Rearrange those letters and it is a description of you: causer.

You are a person who causes things to happen ... a person who causes students to learn ... a man who causes change.

Rearrange those letters once more and it is the challenge others ask of you: race us. As a teacher, you are in charge of the helping your students race towards their goals.

Take the repeated letters -- g l n i o -- and rearrange them and it is a description of what you do as a causer:
   -- log in - you log in to the lives of your students
   -- lingo - you teach your students the lingo of math

Put it all together: you are a causer to whom others say "race us" because you log into their lives to teach the lingo they need to grow.

Eight
In David Auburn's "Proof" (most likely the only Pulitzer Prize award winning play about the lives of mathematicians), one mathematician asks another to go out to a club:

Hal: Some friends of mine are in this band ... They're all in the math department. They're really good. They have this great song -- you'd like it -- called "i" -- lower case "I." They just stand there and don't play anything for three minutes.

Catherine: Imaginary number.

Hal: It's a math joke.

What you do is not a joke. You are not contemplating the imaginary. You are actively doing real acts to change the world by changing the lives of your students.

Nine
The mathematical proof that G is noble.

There are 5 letters in your name.

There are 11 letters in mathematics.

Mathematically, you are represented by the product: 5 x 11 = 55.

As a teacher, you have 90 students: 55 x 90 = 4,950

Since you are only one teacher that these 90 students have, apply Single Digit Number Reduction Theory to the product of you and your students,: 4 + 9 + 5 + 0 = 18 which is then reduced to 1 + 8 = 9.

Therefore, G equals 9.

Nine is noble.

Therefore, G is noble.

Case closed.

with admiration ---

What did you think Missy Elliot was saying in "Work It" when she said this?

Not on the bed, lay me on your sofa
Phone before you come, I need to shave my chocha

Yeah, one of the spanish words I learned living out here in TooStoned all these years.

Speaking of wrestlers and costumes...I'll try to remember to send you a link to one that you might like! :-)

Here's that link!

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/other/2004-03-17-rowlands-wrestling_x.htm

One of my approaches is just to glare at the kids whenever they call anyone by a word I don't know. It seems to work sometimes to a limited extent. Although I try to keep them guessing as to how much Spanish I know, once they go beyond maricon, bendejo (sp?), and puta, I'm usually lost.

Yo no soy marinaro, yo soy un hombre sincero!