Ode to Diane

ode

noun \ˈōd\

: a poem in which a person expresses

a strong feeling of love

or respect for someone

or something

(Merriam-Webster)

My dearest friend Diane was bestowed an amazing honor last evening. She was selected as the

Ponca City Public School's

2014-2015

Teacher of the Year!!

Dr. Pennington, Superintendent of PCPS; Diane Anderson TOY; Shelley Arrott, Assistant Supt. & Human Resources

 

 

 

Diane is a friend whom I greatly respect; therefore, this ode to Diane...

Diane was voted as TOY (teacher of year) by her East Middle School staff and then moved to one of the top three finalists across Ponca City in the selection process by virtue of her outstanding portfolio.

 

The three finalists were interviewed by a selection committee with the winner chosen by secret ballot. At the banquet, Dr. Pennington was handed a sealed envelope to add to the mystery before he made the announcement to a packed house of teachers and administrators from all over the district, board members, Friends of Education, and Education Foundation members as well as State Senator Eddie Fields.

 

I must admit, I did squeal when I heard the first syllables of her name as he announced the winner!! I was on my feet cheering in a nano second!

 

Here a few of the reasons I was so excited:

 

I have taught with Diane since 1995. Yes, that is NINETEEN years!!

 

First, we taught first grade together. First grade must have been the cement for our friendship which has endured all these years.

 

Walked countless miles together after school in our attempts to stay thin...thinner...and finally to just have an excuse to get together for a prolonged chat.

 

She taught my son for PreK and Kindergarten and deserves an extra gold star for those two years!

 

Then, in the payback of every teacher in the profession, I taught her son as a 5th grader. Nerve-racking but fun to have her as a support at home!

 

We have taught in two different schools together until the district realized they really should keep us separated. So, she teaches at East Middle School and I teach at Roosevelt.

 

I have sat in hospital rooms and waiting rooms with her through several scary moments as well as traveled with her to distant reading conferences.

 

Through it all, I must say that she is so deserving of the honor as she always seems to find the positive in people--even when she's been wrongly judged or treated. She always does what is right for the student, even if it's the hardest yet longest way for her. She is a forever student advocate! I love that about her!

 

Ponca City News, Friday, March 14, 2014

 

 

I have learned from Diane that a person can learn to laugh about just about anything. That's our normal pattern--fuss then laugh.

 

We've counseled each other through medical issues of all sorts, questioned the doctor's judgments and diagnosis and simply been there for each other.

 

We've shared many meals. We have developed a funny little pattern of always pretending it was "my turn" to buy since we really don't keep track of those petty little things.

 

We've loaned books back and forth...some just living in the wrong classroom for years on end.

 

We've sat at each other's dining room tables (not near enough I might add) and chatted some more in our ever-evolving attempt to keep up with each other.

 

We know each other's parents and she was a great support to me as my Dad breathed his last.

 

As a matter of fact, she's the kind of friend who took Blake for the weekend and for trick-or-treating...never knowing that night would be my last with my Dad. She cried when I called her with the news--like I knew she would.

 

Last night, when she started her speech. She cried...a little. I knew she would and I really wanted to help her with her glasses and her paper.

 

 

 

Here are few quotes from her students:

 

"She goes out of her way to help all students. I always learn something new in her class; recently, I learned during the evaporation lab that heat makes water evaporate."

 

"Mrs. Anderson is cool and funny. She always has a photo, and video or an illustration to help us learn a new concept."

 

"Mrs. Anderson does experiments with us. I love the egg drop."

 

"Mrs. Anderson is a wonderful teacher. She always makes sure to explain things that are on a level so that we can understand. She pushes us to our full potential and she can relate to us. I am so happy to have her for my teacher."

 

So, what does the TOY do the day after she's won it all?

Teach...of course!

Build authentic relationships with 8th graders who are tough to love...

Smile at the accolades but...

will realize there's another kid out there

who doesn't quite "get it" yet.

Yes, Diane, my friend, PCPS's Teacher of the Year,

taught today just like all the other days!

If you're interested, you can see her school web site here.

Thanks for reading about my friend! As her friend, I just wanted to make sure the world knew what a great teacher she represents to the community, her students and to her colleagues!


Kisses from Katie: a new discontent

Some books are good reads,

 

Some books teach me new information,

 

Some books are classic literature.

 

Then, there are some books that

 

simply mess up

 

BOTH my heart and my mind.

 

Kisses from Katie was exactly that type of book.




Katie Davis' organization is called Amazima

It happened so simply....my sister in law Janet gave me a copy of the book at Thanksgiving. I read a page here and there and laid it aside, planning to read it soon. That was three months ago.

Well, I finally read it on my Kindle/iPad mini this past month, finishing this week.

Welcome to my new state of discontent...

HOLY Discontent is defined by Bill Hybels as the following:

"What is the one aspect of this broken world that, when you see it, touch it, get near it, you just can’t stand? Very likely, that firestorm of frustration reflects your holy discontent, a reality so troubling that you are thrust off the couch and into the game. It’s during these defining times when your eyes open to the needs surrounding you and your heart hungers to respond that you hear God say, “I feel the same way about this problem. Now, let’s go solve it together!” As you live from the energy of your holy discontent, you’ll fulfill your role in setting what is wrong in this world right!"



The front gate at Katie's house is always open!

Bill Hybels coined the term holy discontent in his book by the same title. That is the only term I can think to explain how I have felt since I began to read about Katie Davis and her life in Uganda.

How can I possibly go on with my entitled life of obvious luxury when I read of someone like Katie living out Jesus to everyone she meets? Everything I do...every action....every "necessity" I think I "have-to" have to live....pales in comparison to Katie's everyday world with her girls in Uganda. Read more about Katie's story HERE.

                                               Hear Katie speak of her burden for Uganda

Every moment since I finished the book three days ago has been spent with this agonizing thought:

What on earth am I doing to show the love of Jesus Christ in my everyday life? 



Katie and her girls' precious feet

I'll be completely honest here....I do NOT have an answer to that question. As much as I try to show kindness and love to people on my job, at the store, etc. it somehow just pales in comparison to what Katie has done....is doing. I have never sat with anyone dying of AIDS, picked "jiggers" out of anyone's toes, cooked beans for 200, 300, 600 kids over an open fire, brought sick people into my home to care for them just because no one else will.....the list is endless!

 

My friend Kelley, over at Kelley Highway, asked me the question,

"So what did you learn from Katie?"

Here are a few of the lessons I learned from Katie:

• love everyone in your path
• feed the hungry people in your view
• make sure that kids are getting an education
• do something about what you see
• don't worry about the rules of what's expected--just love people
• don't be afraid to bring people into your home and care for them
• realize that God's your source of strength
• go after what your heart tells you--no matter how crazy
• love unconditionally
• leave the front gate open--you never know who might need a place
• carry first-aid supplies in your car to bandage people up wherever and whenever
• notice poor, shivering little children in the rain--get them supper
• be willing to live with rats and roaches to love orphans
• how to have a heart big enough for 600+ children--everyday
• not to worry about how everything will unfold--just focus on the one face in front of you

                                                 watch to find out more about Amazima

To sum up my experience with Kisses from Katie, here is a quote from Katie, mother of 13 Ugandan daughters:

“People tell me I am brave. People tell me I am strong. People tell me good job. Well here is the truth of it. I am really not that brave, I am not really that strong, and I am not doing anything spectacular. I am just doing what God called me to do as a follower of Him. Feed His sheep, do unto the least of His people.”

My question to myself is...
 

Am I feeding His sheep

and

doing it unto the

least of His people?

 

Am I doing what God has called me to do as His follower?

 

 

 

Feel free to comment as I'd love to hear what you have to say about Katie and her work in Uganda.

Please comment and let me know if you've also read the book.

 

 

Reflection on "There are No Shortcuts"

Legendary football coach Vince Lombardi said this,

“The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion

to their commitment to excellence,

regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.”

An educator that I have a great deal of respect for is Rafe Esquith. He is a winner of the American Teacher Award in addition to other various awards. He teaches in Los Angeles, where he refers to his school as, 'The Jungle' simply due to the fact that the majority of his students are not from English-speaking homes and many are from poor or troubled families.

I have read three of his books entitled: Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire, There are No Molasses Classes and There are No Shortcuts. The second mile is no stranger to Rafe as he chronicles what he accomplishes with a group of 5th graders each day. Those activities include 6:30 am problem-solving lessons, guitar lessons at lunch and Shakespeare productions after school, in addition to many other herculean feats each day. Oh, and did I mention that he takes his classes each year on multiple field trips to places such as Disney Land, Washington DC, etc.

Since I entered my chosen field of education in 1995, I have been privileged to meet many amazing and not-so-amazing educators. Many exemplary educators that I have been so privileged to teach alongside for these years truly exemplify excellence and traveling the little-known second mile. This book has made me realize all over again, that excellence and hard work go hand in hand in the teaching profession.

While many teachers just show up every day and don't seem to give an ounce of care about motivating their students or even caring enough to provide safe environments, free of ridicule and sarcasm, there are so many more across the world that model the very essence of sold-out determination to reach each kid in the class.

This poem is such a great example of the mindless "yammer" that many educators, school boards, state education departments and on down the list of our massive educational wasteland seem to think, if they could even manage that fatigue-inducing process! 

If every educator would stand up and demand excellence from themselves and their colleagues as well as maintaining high expectations for their students amazing things would happen across this great nation, in every classroom.

Rafe states that Charles Osgood of CBS News gave him this poem.

There once was a pretty good student,
Who sat in a pretty good class;
And was taught by a pretty good teacher,
Who always let pretty good pass--

He wasn't terrific at reading;
He wasn't a whizbang at math;
But for him education was leading
Straight down a pretty good path.

He didn't find school too exciting,
But he wanted to do pretty well;
And he did have some trouble with writing,
And nobody had taught him to spell.

When doing arithmetic problems,
Pretty good was regarded as fine--
5 and 5 needn't always add up to be 10,
A pretty good answer was 9.

The pretty good class that he sat in

Was part of a pretty good school;

And the student was not the exception,

On the contrary, he was the rule.

The pretty good class that he sat in
Was part of a pretty good school,

And the student was not an exception;
On the contrary, he was the rule.

The pretty good school that he went to
Was right there in a pretty good town.
And nobody there ever noticed
He could not tell a verb from a noun.

The pretty good student, in fact,
was part of a pretty good mob,
And the first time he knew what he lacked was
When he looked for a pretty good job.

It was then, when he sought a position,
He discovered that a life can be tough--
And he soon had a sneaky suspicion
Pretty good might not be good enough.

The pretty good town in our story
Was part of a pretty good state
Which had pretty good aspirations
And prayed for a pretty good fate.

There was once a pretty good nation,
Pretty proud of the greatness it had,
But which learned much too late,

If you want to be great,
Pretty good is, in fact, pretty bad.

As my friend Jennifer says,

"That's all I have to say about that!"

You may find more information about Rafe Esquith at: http://www.hobartshakespeareans.org/

Find a good GREAT teacher and

take him/her a LATTE of thanks...

Tell them thanks for modeling excellence and

working diligently to educate the next generation.