March 2007
March 2007
C.A.R.(2)E.S. NEWSLETTER
(Creating A Respectful and Responsive Educational System)
Dr. Duane Hodgin, Assistant Superintendent for Educational Support Services
Metropolitan School District of Lawrence Township
"National School District of Character"
March 16, 2007
(No. 7)
“Choose your friends by their character and your socks by their color. Choosing your socks by their character makes no sense, and choosing you friends by their color is unthinkable.”
· ANGEL KNOCKING AT THE DOOR (Perhaps you can find some “metaphors” and “meaning” as it relates to you as an adult who has an “influence”; on students’ lives.)
There came a frantic knock at the doctor’s office door.
A knock more urgent than he had ever heard before.
“Come in, come in,” the impatient doctor replied.
“Come in, come in,” as he saw the little girl cry.
In walked a frightened little girl, a child no more than nine.
It was plain for all to see, she had troubles on her mind.
“Oh doctor, I beg you, please come with me.
My mother is surely dying, she’s as sick as she can be.”
“I don’t make house calls, bring your mother here.”
“But she’s too sick, so you must come or she will die I fear.”
The doctor, touched by her devotion, decided he would go.
She said he would be blessed, more than he could know.
She led him to her house where her mother lay in bed.
Her mother was so very sick, she couldn’t raise her head.
But her eyes cried out for help and help her the doctor did.
She would have died that very night had it not been for her kid.
The doctor got her fever down and she lived through the night.
And morning brought the doctor signs that she would be all right.
The doctor said he had to leave but would return again by two.
And later he came back to check just like he said he’d do.
The mother praised the doctor for all the things he’d done.
He told her she would have died, were it not for your little one.
“How proud you must be of your wonderful little girl.
It was her pleading that made me come, she is really quite the pearl!
“But doctor, my daughter died over three years ago.
Is the picture on the wall of the little girl you know?
The doctor’s legs went limp for the picture on the wall
Was the same little girl for whom he’d made this call.
The doctor stood motionless, for quite a little while.
And then his solemn face was broken by his smile.
He was thinking of that frantic knock heard at his office door,
And of the beautiful little angel that had walked across his floor.
There are “angels among us!
-- Anonymous
· SURVIVOR IN THE REAL WORLD (Maybe we need to send this one to the legislators.)
Have you heard about the next planned "Survivor" show? Three businessmen and three businesswomen will be dropped in an elementary school classroom for 9 weeks. Each businessperson will be provided with a copy of his/her school district's curriculum, and a class of 28 students. Each class will have five learning-disabled children, three with A.D.D., one gifted child, and two who speak limited English. Three will be labeled with severe behavior problems.
Each businessperson must complete lesson plans for four core subject areas and modify and adapt these lesson plans according to the students’ learning and behavior needs. Oh, and they must review the eight IEPs, and be sure that they are implementing the appropriate modifications. They will be required to teach students, handle misconduct, implement technology, document attendance, write referrals, correct homework, make bulletin boards, compute grades, complete report cards, document benchmarks, communicate with parents, and arrange parent
conferences. They must also supervise recess, perhaps the cafeteria and monitor the hallways. In
addition, they will complete drills for fire, tornadoes, and a potential school crisis.
conferences. They must also supervise recess, perhaps the cafeteria and monitor the hallways. In
addition, they will complete drills for fire, tornadoes, and a potential school crisis.
They must attend workshops, faculty meetings, GEI meetings, case conferences and curriculum development meetings. And the #1 priority is that they must make sure that all children pass the ISTEP. After all, if you are truly a “dedicated master teacher, who meets all students’ needs,” shouldn’t they all pass?
If they are sick or having a bad day they must not let it show. They must maintain discipline and provide an educationally stimulating environment at all times. They must make calls to parents and email them at parents’ request. By the way, when they make calls or meet with some parents, they will be “blamed” or even “cussed out” with the main question being, “What did the other student do?”
The business people will only have access to the golf course on the weekends, but on their new salary they will not be able to afford it anyway. There will be no access to vendors who want to take them out to lunch, and lunch will be limited to 30 minutes. On days when they do not have recess duty, the business people will be permitted to use the staff restroom as long as another survival candidate is supervising their class.
They will be provided with a 40-minute planning period each day while their students are at specials. If the copier is operable, they may make copies of necessary materials at this time. The business people must continually advance their education on their own time and pay for this advanced training themselves. This can be accomplished by moonlighting at a second job or marrying someone with money. The winner will be allowed to return to his or her job.
They will be provided with a 40-minute planning period each day while their students are at specials. If the copier is operable, they may make copies of necessary materials at this time. The business people must continually advance their education on their own time and pay for this advanced training themselves. This can be accomplished by moonlighting at a second job or marrying someone with money. The winner will be allowed to return to his or her job.
You tell me…Who are the “Real Survivors?” -- Anonymous
(And remember…many secondary teachers have 170 students and 2-3 different preparations.)
· A “Heart Check” For People Who Want To Maintain Positive Personal And Professional Relationships. (Distribute to your students. Have them develop their own “Heart Checks.”) Grades 5-12
1. Think before you speak. (Words can hurt, harass, embarrass or heal.)
2. Mean what you say. (Do not mislead others in order to avoid conflict or gain a particular result.)
3. Be kind. (Everyone is fighting some personal battle.)
4. Focus on a “win-win.” (Nothing demonstrates sincerity as clearly as acting in a way intended to benefit another, particularly when you have nothing to gain by the situation.)
5. Above all, “Do the right thing.” (It may not always be popular, but it is still right.)
6. Keep your promises and commitments. (Do what you’ve promised, even when subsequent conditions make it more difficult.)
7. Correct past failures or errors in judgment. (When you do fail or error in judgment, admit mistakes, and make things right with those you offend.)
-- Larry Rhoads (Modified by Duane Hodgin)
Fifty responders will receive either “Caring About Character Notepads,” “Caring About Character Things To Do List,” 10 “Character Rocks” to give to your students as you determine, new “Caring About Character” ballpoint pens (nice!) or one of my character books, The Best of Character, The Best of Character II, Character Lessons That Rock: Over 150 Easy to Use Character Activities (co-author Gina Apple, Indian Creek) for students in grades 4-8. (Many of these activities can be adapted to grades 3-9 as well.) If interested, email me directly (do not hit “Reply”) and type “Character Rocks” and your 1-2-3 preference of the above. If 50 or less reply, everyone gets something! If more than 50 reply, names will be drawn. If you have never won a “character reward,” put a ** by your name.
· WE ARE RESPONSIBLE (Edited version)
We are responsible for children
Who are born in places we wouldn’t be caught dead,
Who never go to the circus,
Who live in an x-rated world.
We are responsible for children
Who give us sticky kisses and hugs, and fistfuls of dandelions,
Who sleep with the dog and bury goldfish,
Who forget their lunch money,
Who cover themselves with Band-aids and sing off-key, and
Who slurp their soup.
And we are responsible for those who never get dessert,
Who have no safe blanket to drag behind them, Who watch their parents watch them die,
Who don’t have any rooms to clean up,
Whose pictures aren’t on anybody’s dresser,
Whose monsters are real and would rather be at school until 7:00 p.m.
Than go to their homes or neighborhoods.
We are responsible for children
Who throw tantrums in the grocery store (and even in our classrooms)
Whose tears we sometimes laugh at and whose smiles can make us cry.
And we are responsible for those
Whose nightmares come in the daytime,
Who will eat anything,
Who have never seen a dentist,
Who aren’t spoiled by anybody,
Who go to bed hungry and cry themselves to sleep,
Who live and move, but have no being.
And appear to have no meaningful relationships.
We are responsible for children
Who want to be carried,
And for those who must;
For those who are angry and for those we never give up on, yet others may have,
And for those who don’t get a second chance;
For those we like and for those we dislike.
And for those who will grab the hand or attention of anybody kind enough to offer it.
These are many of the children
Who come into your classroom each day
Whether they be 5 or 18.
-- Ina Hughes (Edited by Duane Hodgin)
· FTTLA (Funny Things to Laugh About) – Comments made in 1957. (I was 13. How old were you…or were you even born yet?)
“Kids today are impossible. Boys wear those greased down ducktail haircuts that are just poor grooming. Next thing you know, boys will be wearing long hair and earrings.”
“Gas has risen to 30 cents a gallon. Can you believe it?”
“I question whether to send my kids to the movies anymore. Ever since that ‘Gone With The Wind’ movie, it seems almost every movie has the words damn or hell in it.”
“Did you hear they just gave a contract to a baseball player for $75,000 a year? It won’t be long until they all make over $100,000. That’s more than the president makes.”
“I can’t believe the economy now. I know of a few married women who even have to work outside the home to make ends meet.”
“I’m afraid the VW is going to open the door to a whole lot of foreign businesses.”
“If you want to know about how to live your life, think about what you want people to say about you after you die, and live it backwards.” -- Anonymous