Daily Inspiration

There are three ingredients in the good life: learning, earning and yearning.

- Christopher Morley

inspire daily calendar Sat/Sun 29/30 Dec 2012

Daily Inspiration

You've got to get up every morning with determination if you're going to go to bed with satisfaction.

- George Lorimer

inspire daily calendar Thu 27 Dec 2012

Never go backward. Attempt, and do it with all your might. Determination is power.

- Charles Simmons

inspire daily calendar Fri 28 Dec 2012

Daily Inspiration

Dream as if you'll live forever.

Live as if you'll die tomorrow.

- James Dean

inspire daily calendar Tue 25 Dec 2012

Most successful men have not achieved their distinction by having some new talent or opportunity presented to them. They have developed the opportunity that was at hand.

- Bruce Barton

inspire daily calendar Wed 26 Dec 2012

Daily Inspiration

Greatness lies not in being strong, but in the right use of strength.

- Henry Ward Beecher

inspire daily calendar Mon 24 Dec 2012

Daily Inspiration

Keep your mind on the things you want and off the things you don't want.

- Hannah Whitall Smith

inspire daily calendar Sat/Sun 22/23 Dec 2012

Daily Inspiration

The minute you settle for less than you deserve, you get even less than you settled for.

- Maureen Dowd

inspire daily calendar Thu 20 Dec 2012

To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream, not only plan, but also believe.

- Anatole France

inspire daily calendar Fri 21 Dec 2012

Daily Inspiration

Great works are performed not by strength but by perserverance.

- Samuel Johnson

inspire daily calendar Tue 18 Dec 2012

The will to persevere is often the difference between failure and success.

- David Sarnoff

inspire daily calendar Wed 19 Dec 2012

Daily Inspiration

 If you can think you can win, you can win. Faith is necessary to victory.

- William Hazlitt

inspire daily calendar Sat/Sun 15/16 Dec 2012

If we aren't willing to pay a price for our values, then we should ask ourselves whether we truly believe in them at all.

- Barack Obama

inspire daily calendar Mon 17 Dec 2012

Daily Inspiration

You already have every characteristic necessary for success if you recognize, claim, develop and use them.

- Zig Ziglar

inspire daily calendar Thu 13 Dec 2012

Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.

- Mother Teresa

inspire daily calendar Fri 14 Dec 2012

Daily Inspiration

Where there is no struggle, there is no strength.

- Oprah Winfrey

inspire daily calendar Wed 12 Dec 2012

Daily Inspiration

By nature we have no defect that could not become a strength, no strength that could not became a defect.

- Goethe

 inspire daily calendar Tue 11 Dec 2012

The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams.

- Oprah Winfrey

inspire daily calendar Mon 10 Dec 2012

Daily Inspiration

Word of the Day 

orgulous - \Or-gyuh-lus\ - adjective 

: proud 

Example sentence: Antoine usually worked with the boutique's most elite clientele and so tended to adopt an orgulous air toward more "ordinary" customers. 

Did you know? 

"In Troy, there lies the scene. From Isled of Greece / The princes orgulous, their high blood chaf'd. / Have to the port of Athens sent their ships." Thus Shakespeare began the Trojan War tale Troilus and Cressida, employing "orgulous," a colorful word first adopted in the thirteenth century from Anglo-French "orguillus." After the Bard's day, "orgulous" dropped from sight for two hundred years; there is no record of its use until it was rejuvenated by the pens of Robert Southey and Sir Walter Scott in the early 1800s. Twentieth-century writers (including James Joyce and W.H. Auden) continued its renaissance, and today "orgulous" is an elegant choice for proud writers everywhere. 

- www.merriam-webster.com 

Teachers daily calendar Fri 25 Dec 2009

Daily Inspiration

You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.

- Margaret Thatcher

inspire daily calendar Sat/Sun 8/9 Dec 2012

Daily Inspiration

Ability is what you're capable of doing.

Motivation determines what you do.

Attitude determines how well you do it.

- Lou Holtz

inspire daily calendar Fri 7 Dec 2012

Daily Inspiration

Happiness is more a state of health than of wealth.

- Frank Tyger

inspire daily calendar Thu 6 Dec 2012

Daily Inspiration

Insist on yourself; never imitate.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

inspire daily calendar Wed 5 Dec 2012

Daily Inspiration

He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life. 

- Muhammad Ali

inspire daily calendar Tue 4 Dec 2012

Daily Inspiration

Never let the competition define you. Instead, you have to define yourself based on a point of view you care deeply about.

- Tom Chappel

inspire daily calendar Mon 3 Dec 2012

Daily Inspiration

A scholar without practice is a tree without fruit.

- Sa'di

Teachers daily calendar Wed 30 Dec 2009

Nothing is worth more than this day

- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Teachers daily calendar Fri 31 Dec 2009

Daily Inspiration

When we are motivated by goals that have deep meaning, by dreams that need completion, by pure love that needs expressing, then we truly live life.

- Greg Anderson

inspire daily calendar Sat/Sun 1/2 Dec 2012

Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.

- Albert Einstein

Teachers daily calendar Mon 28 Dec 2009

Daily Inspiration

Fire is the test of gold; adversity, of strong men.

- Seneca

inspire daily calendar Fri 30 Nov 2012

I wake up every morning determined both to change the world and have one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning the day a little difficult.

- E.B. White

Teachers daily calendar Sat/Sun 26/27 Dec 2009

Daily Inspiration

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.

- Oliver Wendell Holmes

inspire daily calendar Thu 29 Nov 2012

The purpose of life is to increase the warm heart. Think of other people. Serve other people sincerely. No cheating.

- The Dalai Lama

Teachers daily calendar Fri 25 Dec 2009

Daily Inspiration

Failing to plan is planning to fail.

- John Wooden

inspire daily calendar Wed 28 Nov 2012

A great artist can paint a great picture on a small canvas.

- Charles Dudley Warner

Teachers daily calendar Thu 24 Dec 2009

Daily Inspiration

If you believe you can, you probably can. If you believe you won't, you most assuredly won't. Belief is the ignition switch that gets you off the launching pad.

- Denis Waitley

inspire daily calendar Tue 27 Nov 2012

Schools are like jigsaw puzzles. Each morning, staff members join together to form edge pieces that interlock to create a safe environment and give support to each other an the whole. Then they provide just the right place for each of the students to fit safely and securely.

- Karen Hegeman, www.thecanadianteacher.com

Teachers daily calendar Wed 23 Dec 2009

Daily Inspiration

If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.

- Franklin D. Roosevelt

inspire daily calendar Mon 26 Nov 2012

The best kind of learning curve is an educated smile.

- Douglas Pagels

Teachers daily calendar Tue 22 Dec 2009

Daily Inspiration

Granddad was superstitious about books. He thought that if you had enough of them around, education leaked out like radioactivity.

- Terry Pratchett, Johnny and the Dead

Teachers daily calendar Sat/Sun 19/20 Dec 2009 

School Satire

The Occupational Safety And Health Administration released figures today indicating that record numbers of elementary-school art teachers are falling victim to pneumosparklyosis, commonly known as glitter lung.

Characterized by a lack of creative energy and shortness of breath, and accompanied by sneezing or coughing up flakes of twinkly, reflective matter, glitter lung typically strikes teachers who spend at least twenty hours per week in an art class setting during the school year.

Until heavier, less toxic forms of slitter are developed, physicians recommend using alternative media to enhance children's artwork. Cheerios, cotton balls, and popsicle sticks are considered very safe. Avoid colored string, however, because some studies show that it could be high in yarncinogens.

- www.theonion.com

Teachers daily calendar Mon 21 Dec 2009

Daily Inspiration

Nothing can resist the human will that will stake even its existence on its stated purpose. 

- Benjamin Disraeli

inspire daily calendar Sat/Sun 24/25 Nov 2012

I like a teacher who gives you something to take home to think about besides homework.

- Edith Ann, a.k.a. Lily Tomlin

Teachers daily calendar Fri 18 Dec 2009

Daily Inspiration

Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending. 

- Anonymous

inspire daily calendar Fri 23 Nov 2012

If you need a reason for having sweet dreams, think of your best student. If you need a reason to get out of bed in the morning, think of your worst student.

- Robert D. Ramsey, Inspirational Quotes, Notes, & Anecdotes That Honor Teachers and Teaching

Teachers daily calendar Thu 17 Dec 2009

Daily Inspiration

The real secret of success is enthusiasm.

- Walter Chrysler

inspire daily calendar Thu 22 Nov 2012

Silly School Staff Directory

Al Jebrah, Math Teacher

• Favorite teaching topic: Long division
• Extracurricular interests: Seeing if he can add his grocery bill faster than the cashier can
• How to become this teacher's pet: Bring your calculator to class every day.

Rita Mapp, Geography Teacher

• Favorite teaching topic: Why Greenland is covered with ice and Iceland is covered with grass
• Extracurricular interests: Going to the shopping mall and getting lost on purpose
• How to become this teacher's pet: Collect potato chips that happen to look like European countries. 

- www.timeforkids.com

Teachers daily calendar Wed 16 Dec 2009

Daily Inspiration

You can't make decisions based on fear and the possibility of what might happen. We just weren't raised that way.

- Michelle Obama

inspire daily calendar Wed 21 Nov 2012

The good school is that one in which in studying I also get the pleasure of playing.

- Paulo Freire

Teachers daily calendar Tue 15 Dec 2009

Daily Inspiration

Great souls have wills; feeble ones have only wishes.

- Chinese Proverb

inspire daily calendar Tue 20 Nov 2012

When you begin to touch your heart or to let your heart be touched, you begin to discover that it's bottomless, that it doesn't have any resolution, that this heart is huge, vast, and limitless. You begin to discover how much warmth and gentleness is there as well as how much space.

- Pema Chodron

Teachers daily calendar Mon 14 Dec 2009

Daily Inspiration

Most people have no idea of the giant capacity we can immediately command when we focus all of our resources on mastering a single area of our lives.

- Anthony Robbins

inspire daily calendar Mon 19 Nov 2012

Pretty Clever Palindrome Collection

Was it Elliot's toilet I saw?

A min , a plan, a canal -- Panama!

Anita got a toga, Tina.

Cigar? Toss it in a can. It is so tragic.

Did I draw Della too tall, Edward? I did?

Do not start at rats to nod.

Todd erases a red dot.

Teachers daily calendar Sat/Sun 12/13 Dec 2009

Daily Inspiration

Q: Why was the math book so sad?

A: It had too many problems.

Teachers daily calendar Thur 10 Dec 2009

After interviewing 1998 National Teacher of the Year Philip Bigler, David Letterman turned to band director Paul Shaffer and said, "Wouldn't it be nice to know that when you went to work every day, you were making a tangible difference in the future of the world?"

Teachers daily calendar Fri 11 Dec 2009

Daily Inspiration

Always look at what you have left. Never look at what you have lost.

- Robert H. Schuller

inspire daily calendar Sat/Sun 17/18 Nov 2012 

There is no point at which you can say, "Well, I'm successful now. I might as well take a nap."

- Carrie Fisher

Teachers daily calendar Wed 9 Dec 2009

Daily Inspiration

Where there is an open mind, there will always be a frontier. 

- Charles F. Kettering

 inspire daily calendar Fri 16 Nov 2012

How Teachers Grade Exams

• Statistics teachers: All grades are plotted along the normal bell curve.
• Psychology teachers: Students are asked to blot in in their exam books, close them and turn them in. The professor opens the books and assigns the first grade that comes to mind.
• Religion teachers: Grade is determined by God.

- www.aaaugh.com

Teachers daily calendar Tue 8 Dec 2009

Daily Inspiration

Our greatest battles are that with our own minds.

- Jameson Frank

inspire daily calendar Thu 15 Nov 2012

Fun Facts: Weather

On July 10, 2007, Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, witnessed its first snowfall in eighty-nine years. Citizens, many of whom were celebrating the country's Independence Day, streamed into the stree to experience snowflakes for the first time.

Nearly 1,800 thunderstorms are happening at any moment around the world. That's sixteen million storms per year.

The windiest place on Earth is considered to be Commonwealth Bay on the coast of Antarctica. Wind speeds here reach hurricane force (74 miles per hour) on average every three days and often exceed 200 miles per hour.

- www.factmonster.com

Teachers daily calendar Mon 7 Dec 2009

Daily Inspiration

We can do anything we want to do if we stick to it long enough.

- Helen Keller

inspire daily calendar Wed 14 Nov 2012 

Playground Poetry

Great green globs of greasy grimey gopher guts,

Mutilated monkey meat,

Itty bitty birdy feet!

Hot school lunches aren't fit for kids to eat

So pass the ketchup please!

Teachers daily calendar Sat/Sun 5/6 Dec 2009

Daily Inspiration

Everyone has his burden. What counts is how you carry it.

- Merle Miller

inspire daily calendar Tue 13 Nov 2012 

To the excitement of many youngsters, computer and video games have entered the educational playing field. Research increasingly supports the cognitive benefits of such games - not to mention the fact that most kids today are already playing  them and loving them - and now educators and game designers are finding new and exciting ways to embed curricular content into complex yet fascinating play environments. In an Edutopia online poll,cent of voters agreed that computer and video games engage, motivate, and inspire students.

On the other hand, critic charge that the games' educational benefits have not been clearly established. Furthermore, competitiveness and the use of hierarchical scoring systems can compromise engagement for some students, and video gaming at school reinforces the digitized and sedentary lifestyle many young people already experience at home. Twenty-two percent of voters agreed, and believe using electronic games in the classroom is not the best thing for students simple because games are part of the world they grow up in. The say educational video games should be judged, critiqued, and proven before they're used in class.

- www.edutopia.org

Teachers daily calendar Fri 4 Dec 2009

Daily Inspiration

Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall.

- Confuscious

inspire daily calendar Mon 12 Nov 2012 

Teacher Tip

As a way of keeping track of all the great teaching ideas I see and read about, I have a recipe box labeled with the different aspects of teaching. The labels include bulletin boards, management, organization, educational websites, etc. Whenever I notice a good idea, I write it on an index card and file it in the appropriate place. The possibilities are endless and I am accumulating quite a few great ideas.

- Tara Bigner, Beavis Elementary, Cincinnati, Ohio; Works4Me on www.nea.org

Teachers daily calendar Thu 3 Dec 2009

Daily Inspiration

There the teacher was teaching about punctuation, and I have my period. Do you have any idea how embarrassing that is?

- Rudy (Keish Knight Pulliam) in The Cosby Show

Teachers daily calendar Tue Dec 1 2009

Most Memorable Teachers

Ms. Fiero emphasized learning about other countries. I remember one assignment, which I especially enjoyed, required us to conduct research into other countries from around the world. I was fascinated by what I learned and this really sparked my interest in world affairs. I now serve on the House International Relations Committee, and I root my interest in world affairs in Ms. Fiero's lessons.

- Ohio Rep. Steve Chabot regarding Parma (Fiero) Samad, St. Catherine of Siena School, Cincinnati, Ohio on www.nea.org

Teachers daily calendar Wed 2 Dec 2009

Daily Inspiration

Do your duty in all things. 

You cannot do more. 

You should never wish to do less.

- Robert E. Lee

inspire daily calendar Sat/Sun 10/11 Nov 2012

You can never go home without a smile on your face when you teach kids. I was always beaming at the end of the day. And it was so inspirational each morning to see that the kids were excited to be back at school. I would meet their buses and they would be making happy faces to me against the bus windows. Their love is unconditional.

- Christopher D. Markofski as quoted in What to Expect Your First Year of Teaching

Teachers daily calendar Mon 30 Nov 2009

Daily Inspiration

The older I get, the greater power I seem to have to help the world; I am like a snowball - the further I am rooled the more I gain.

- Susan B. Anthony

inspire daily calendar Fri 9 Nov 2012

Teaching is an art in itself. Too many think that only those people who can't do a thing will bother to become teachers. Not true. Actually, effective teachers are those who are fluent at two crafts -- the subject itself and the craft of instructing others in its practice.

- Joy Jones

Teachers daily calendar Sat/Sun 28/29 Nov 2009

Mathmatical Fun?

My paid job is teaching Mathematics.
As I am drafting a quiz, to test factoring, exponents and radicals, I saw a question that I started to expand and play with and came up with what I think is a cool (in a nerdy sense) question. I am not using it on the quiz because I know the students already think my quizzes are too hard....

I will still give them the question to solve. And here it is:

Some rules to know to solve the equation:
1)  Negative Exponents:    


2) Adding Fractions:    


3) Perfect Square Binomials:     

4) Exponent and Root Relationship:    


5) Fractional Radicals:    

6) Rationalizing the Denominator:    


Applying all these to the original equation we get:

Cool? or what?! 

Daily Inspiration

I believe that every person is born with talent.

- Maya Angelou

inspire daily calendar Thu 8 Nov 2012

The beautiful thing about learning is nobody can take it away from you.

- B.B. King

Teachers daily calendar Fri 27 Nov 2009

Daily Inspiration

Nothing focuses the mind better than the constant sight of a competitor who wants to wipe you off the map.

- Wayne Calloway

inspire daily calendar Wed 7 Nov 2012

The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers.

- Thich Nhat Hanh

Teachers daily calendar Thu 26 Nov 2009

NaNoWriMo....

NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month.
It is a month during which participants attempt to write a 50,000 novel in 30 days.

There is no official entry nor prize, just the glory of having a novel written.

The only real official aspect is timing and length: Can not start before 0:00:00 November 1, and must finish by 23:59:59 November 30. With a word count no less than 50,000. Oh, and also that the novel has to be novel, as in new :) It can't be something being re-written. The only prep before November 1 is planning.

I had thought about this challenge for a few years, and started a little planning for this year, but as I am now almost a week behind, I doubt I'll make the quota, but still thinking of trying.

I will be posting more through my writing blog: http://hughkemeny.blogspot.ca/

So if you're interested in the progress, check out that blog. Though I will have updates here (which is what this post is).

Daily Inspiration

You never lose by loving. You always lose by holding back.

- Barbara De Angelis

inspire daily calendar Tue 6 Nov 2012

My teacher can make Hawaii into Bell Atlantic and the U.S. into AT&T and explain Hawaii's annex in two seconds flat. She snatches history from the past ant puts it in my backyard.

- Latia, a student quoted by Kathleen Cushman in Fires in the Bathroom

Teachers daily calendar Wed 25 Nov 2009

Daily Inspiration

A lot of people are afraid to say what they want. That's why they don't get what they want. 

- Madonna

inspire daily calendar Mon 5 Nov 2012

A miracle worker is not geared toward fighting the world that is, but toward creating the world that could be.

- Marianne Williamson

Teachers daily calendar Tue 24 Nov 2009

Daily Inspiration

At the beginning of nearly every episode of The Simpsons, Bart is punished by being made to write a sentence over and over on the school chalkboard. A few classics:

• Class clown is not a paid position.
• I have neither been there nor done that.
• I will not trade pants with others.

Teachers daily calendar Sat/Sun 21/22 Nov 2009

That is what learning is. You suddenly understand something you've understood all your life, but in a new way.

- Doris Lessing

Teachers daily calendar Mon 23 Nov 2009

Daily Inspiration

Courage is resistance to fear; mastery of fear - not oabsence of fear.

- Mark Twain

inspire daily calendar Sat/Sun 3/4 Nov 2012

The quality of a university is measured more by the kind of student it turns out than the kind it takes in.

- Robert J. Kibbee

Teachers daily calendar Fri 20 Nov 2009

Daily Inspiration

I discovered I always have choices and sometimes it's only a choice of attitude.

- Judith M. Knowlton

inspire daily calendar Fri 2 Nov 2012

Education is the drawing out of the Soul.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Teachers daily calendar Thu 19 Nov 2009

Daily Inspiration

I find that when you have a real interest in life and a curious life, that sleep is not the most important thing.

- Martha Stewart

inspire daily calendar Thu 1 Nov 2012

Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.

- Martin Luther King Jr.

Teachers daily calendar Wed 18 Nov 2009

Daily Inspiration

It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.

- Anonymous

inspire daily calendar Wed 31 Oct 2012

Writers begin as bewitched readers.

- Susan Sontag

Teachers daily calendar Tue 17 Nov 2009

Daily Inspiration

I know fear is an obstacle for some people, but it is an illusion to me. . . Failure always made me try harder next time.

- Michael Jordan

inspire daily calendar Tue 30 Oct 2012

Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside a dog, it's too dark to read.

- Groucho Marx

Teachers daily calendar Mon 16 Nov 2009

Daily Inspiration

The only way to find the limits of the possible is by going beyond them to the impossible. 

- Arthur C. Clarke

inspire daily calendar Mon 29 Oct 2012

He started to sing as he tackled the thing that couldn't be done, and he did it.

- Edgar A. Guest, "It Couldn't Be Done"

Teachers daily calendar Sat/Sun 14/15 Nov 2009

Daily Inspiration

The world will tell you to play it safe, but I say play it all. The world will tell you to make money. I implore you to make friends and to make a difference.

- Former South Carolina Teacher of the Year Christa M. Compton

Teachers daily calendar Thu 12 Nov 2009

The human brain is unique in that it is the only container of which it can be said that the more you put into it, the more it will hold. 

- Glenn Doman

Teachers daily calendar Fri 13 Nov 2009

Daily Inspiration

To be a great champion you must believe you are the best. If you're not, pretend you are.

- Muhammad Ali

inspire daily calendar Sat/Sun 27/28 Oct 2012

The preschool teacher said, "And that's why we all love America. Everyone in our country is free."

"Not me," said one child. "I'm four!"

- Leo Rosten

Teachers daily calendar Wed 11 Nov 2009

Daily Inspiration

That some achieve great success, is proof to all that others can achieve it as well.

- Abraham Lincoln

inspire daily calendar Fri 26 Oct 2012

Q: Why do soccerplayers do well in school?

A: They use their heads.

Teachers daily calendar Tue 10 Nov 2009

Daily Inspiration

Where there's a will there's a way.

- English Proverb

inspire daily calendar Thu 25 Oct 2012

Bad spelling can be lethal. For example, the greedy Seriph of Al-Yabi was cursed by a badly educated deity and for some days everything he touched turned to Glod, which happened to be the name of a small dwarf from a mountain community hundreds of miles away who found himself magically dragged to the kingdom and relentlessly duplicated. Some two thousand Glods later the spell wore off. These days, the people of Al-Yabi are renowned for being remarkably short and bad-tempered.

- Terry Pratchett, Witches Abroad

Teachers daily calendar Mon 9 Nov 2009

Daily Inspiration

No one expects us to agree on everything. But we are expected to govern with integrity, good will, clear convictions, and ... a servant's heart.

- Sarah Palin

inspire daily calendar Wed 24 Oct 2012

Fun Facts: the Universe

The Sun is four hundred times larger than the moon, but the Moon is Moon is four hundred times closer to Earth, so they appear the same size.

Under perfect weather conditions, a person with good eyesight can detect about three thousand stars.

The universe is between thirteen and twenty billion years old.

- Kenneth C. Davis, Don't Know Much About the Universe

Teachers daily calendar Sat/Sun 7/8 Nov 2009

Daily Inspiration

The greatest results in life are usially attained by simple means and the exercise of ordinary qualities. These may for the most part be summed in these two: common-sense and perserverance.

- Owen Feltham

inspire daily calendar Tue 23 Oct 2012

"To learn more about her students, my son's teacher sent home a length questionnaire at the beginning of the school year. It asked about their likes and dislikes, and even included a question relating to their self-image: "When you look in a mirror, what do you see?" My literal ten-year-old son had no trouble with his answer: "Myself, and everything behind me."

- Phil Grosvenor in Reader's Digest

Teachers daily calendar Fri 6 Nov 2009

Daily Inspiration

Not to have control over the senses is like sailing in a rudderless ship, bound to break to pieces on coming in contact with the very first rock. 

- Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

inspire daily calendar Mon 22 Oct 2012

How to Be a Kid Again

• Make a smily face with your bacon and eggs.
• Wear your favorite shirt with your favorite pants, even if they don't match.
• Wave at the drivers in the cars behind you.

Teachers daily calendar Thu 5 Nov 2009

Daily Inspiration

Education is the mother of leadership.

- Wendell L. Willkie

Teachers daily calendar Tue 3 Nov 2009

Teacher Tip

I had business cards printed with my name, school address, phone and fax numbers, and e-mail address. I gave them out at meetings and conferences, and to my students as well. For the students, I laminated the card and glue a magnet strip on the back. Parents can put the card on their refrigerator for easy reference, and it's a reminder to my students that I want to be in touch with their families.

- Susan Randall, Lancaster High School, Lancaster, South Carolina; Works4Me on www.nea.org

Teachers daily calendar Wed 4 Nov 2009

Daily Inspiration

Time stays long enough for anyone who will use it.

- Leonardo Da Vinci

inspire daily calendar Sat/Sun 20/21 Oct 2012

Most Memorable Teachers

He cared for all of his students and spent time outside of school to help students in school and life. He stressed improvement as a grading priority and encouraged students to have fun. He was a passionate teacher as well as funny.

- Pro soccer player Michael Enfield regarding teacher Dennis Enfield, Ventura High School, Ventura, California, on www.nea.org

Teachers daily calendar Mon 2 Nov 2009

Daily Inspiration

You need to be aware of what others are doing, applaud their efforts, acknowledge their successes, and encourage them in their pursuits. When we all help one another, everyone wins.

- Jim Stovall

inspire daily calendar Fri 19 Oct 2012

The first educational question will not be "what knowledge is of the most worth?" but "what kind of human beings do we want to produce?"

- John Goodlad

Teachers daily calendar Sat 31 Oct/Sun 1 Nov 2009

Daily Inspiration

Turn your wounds into wisdom.

- Oprah Winfrey

inspire daily calendar Thu 18 Oct 2012

Q: Why did the skeleton flunk out of school?

A: His heart wasn't in it.

Teachers daily calendar Fri 30 Oct 2009

Daily Inspiration

We must not allow other people's limited perceptions to define us.

- Virgina Satir

inspire daily calendar Wed 17 Oct 2012

The direction in which education starts a man will determine his future life.

- Plato

Teachers daily calendar Thu 29 Oct 2009

Daily Inspiration

What you have to do and the way you have to do it is incredibly simple. Whether you are willing to do it, that's another matter.

- Peter F. Drucker

inspire daily calendar Tue 16 Oct 2012

Nothing is predestined: The obstacles of the past can become gateways that lead to new beginnings.

- Ralph Blum

Teachers daily calendar Wed 28 Oct 2009

Daily Inspiration

The most serious mistakes are not being made as a result of wrong answers. The truly dangerous thing is asking the wrong question.

- Drucker

inspire daily calendar Mon 15 Oct 2012

I must apply mad props to[Harry Potter's teacher] Severus Snape, who is a far snappier dresser than your average professor. I don't know what Dumbledore was paying Severus, but it was apparently enough to keep him in the latest offerings of the Johnny Cash Collection. I myself often fling open the classroom door looking like a person who just fell out of an episode of Little House on the Prairie or a Cyndi Lauper video or both. But Snape, here's a man who dressed for occult success; you can't swing an appointment as an instructor in Defense Against the Dark Arts when you're rolling the halls in a teal cardigan and loafers. It's all black, all the time, which must have made laundry day a simple affair. ("I'm ding another load of darks -- anybody want to throw in a cape? No? Turtleneck?")

- Mary Beth Ellis, "Severus Smape: One Teacher's Hero," www.msnbc.com

Teachers daily calendar Tue 27 Oct 2009

Daily Inspiration

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.

- Margaret Mead

Teachers daily calendar Sat/Sun 24/25 Oct 2009 

Home computers are being called upon to perform new functions, including the consumption of homework formerly eaten by the dog.

- Doug Larson

Teachers daily calendar Mon 26 Oct 2009

Daily Inspiration

If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.

- Henry David Thoreau

inspire daily calendar Sat/Sun 13/14 Oct 2012

If you want to build a ship, don't herd people together to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless ummensity of the sea.

- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Teachers daily calendar Fri 23 Oct 2009

Daily Inspiration

There is a giant asleep within every man. When the giant awakes, miracles happen.

- Frederick Faust

inspire daily calendar Fri 12 Oct 2012

I was teaching an ESL class a few years ago in London. They were a marvelous group apart from one thing: almost all of them said. "What means . . . ?" instead of "What does . . . mean?" Nothing I said seemed to correct them.

One day, after hearing the mistake again I said in desperation, "If I hear 'What means . . . ?' again, I really will have to punish you all!"

A voice poped up, "What means will you use to punish us?"

- Lynne Pereira on www.onestopenglish.com

Teachers daily calendar Thu 22 Oct 2009

Daily Inspiration

It's not what happens to you that determines how far you will go in life; it is how you hadnle what happens to you.

- Zig Ziglar

inspire daily calendar Thu 11 Oct 2012

I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. I will not refuse to do the something I can do.

- Helen Keller

Teachers daily calendar Wed 21 Oct 2009

Daily Inspiration

The greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change his future by merely changing his attitude.

- Oprah Winfrey

inspire daily calendar Wed 10 Oct 2012

Word of the Day

imbricate : \IM-brih-kut\ : adjective

: lying lapped over each other in regular order

Example sentence: The antique mirror had tiny imbricate gold squared around its edge.

Did you know?

The ancient Romans knew how to keep the interior of their villas dry when it rained. They covered their roofs with overlapping curved tiles so the "imber" (Latin for "pelting rain" or "rain shower") couldn't seep in. The tiles were, in effect, "rain tiles," so the Romans called them "imbrices" (singular "imbrex"). The verb for installing the tiles was "imbricare," and English speakers used its past participle -- "imbricatus" -- to create "imbricate," which was first used as adjective meaning "overlapping (like roof tiles)" and later became a verb meaning "to overlap."

- www.merriam-webster.com

Teachers daily calendar Tue 20 Oct 2009

Daily Inspiration

The individual who know the score about life sees difficulties as opportunities.

- Norman Vincent Peale

inspire daily calendar Tue 9 Oct 2012

Delicious ways to enjoy that apple brought to the teacher:

• Dice or shred and mix into green salad or slaw.
• Core, slice, and microwave with a bit of butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
• Combine thin slices with cheddar for a tangy grilled cheese sandwich.

Teachers daily calendar Mon 19 Oct 2009

Daily Inspiration

He knows not his own strength that hath not met adversity.

- Ben Jonson

inspire daily calendar Mon 8 Oct 2012 

At math time, I told my students that we were going to talk about even and odd. One boy yelled out, "I know that story. It's in the Bible!"

- Chris Minch on www.yesiteach.org

Teachers daily calendar Sat/Sun 17/18 Oct 2009

Tumblr Question - about Nude Modelling

Some of my readers know I have a NSFW tumblr site: http://nudecanadianboy.tumblr.com/
Most of the stuff I post there are nude photos of guys, with occasional photos of me.
I try and keep the photos there in the 'artistic' realm, to try and not to have it too overly sexual. I do occasionally get questions there, which I try and reply to when I can.

One such question, which I am replying to at the moment is:

Anonymous asked you:

im a canadian living in boston your really hot i enjoyed your photo. you should take a molding shot you would make it thanks scott

 My reply is:

Thanks :)
I have considered nude modelling, but a couple things have 'stopped' me (more obstructions than outright stops).
First, I'm not sure where to start in terms of modelling (nude or otherwise). I once applied to a place in the UK when I lived there, but never heard back (which I think has lead to me not being as actively looking for places to model).
Second, my professional career(s).... I'm not sure how well my nudism would be taken if known to my employer(s). One of the reasons why I try and keep the photos of me to more naturalism / nudism (vs 'sexual'), because then I can say they are 'art'

I created this blog post to add a couple more comments; comments I don't particularly want on my tumblr site, but don't mind saying here (and referring to this site on tumblr).

These comments are related to my professional career(s), and why I am a bit leery about nude modelling.
Currently I work for a post secondary educational school (a technical school). If I stay on with them, I'm not overly concerned about my nudism, still, not sure how the 'school' would look upon me if they found out.
I was looking at jobs with elementary and secondary school boards. If I end up working for one of them I am more concerned about my nudism being known to the students and parents. Which is why I try and keep my nudism photos to the more artistic side.
My previous career was in engineering. I am not certain if I will (or will not) return to that. Just as with my current job, I'm not as concerned, about my nudism, just about the 'boss' finding out and if it would affect my job.
But heck, that could go for almost anything one does in personal life.... that it could affect one's work life (I have a friend who was working for a non-government organization, and was heavily volunteering for a political party at the same time. When he was laid off from his job, he told me he thought it might have been because of all the political stuff he put on twitter).

Inspirational Updates

Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love.

- Mother Teresa

inspire daily calendar Thu 4 Oct 2012 

Silly School Staff Directory

Carrie Okey, Music Teacher

• Favorite teaching topic: Teaching the difference between Oprah and Opera
• Extracurricular interests: Practicing her karaoke skills
• How to become this teacher's pet: Adapt the latest Top Forty hit for the recorder

Paige Turner, English Teacher

• Favorite teaching topic: Wht the book is always better than the movie
• Extracurricular interests: Organizing her personal library by title, author, and main idea
• How to become this teacher's pet: Start a haiku-of-the-month club

- www.timeforkids.com

Teachers daily calendar Wed 14 Oct 2009

A man without a smiling face must not open a shop.

- Chinese Proverb

inspire daily calendar Fri 5 Oct 2012

I am not young enough to know everything.

- Sir James M. Barrie

Teachers daily calendar Thu 15 Oct 2009

Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs.

- Henry Ford

inspire daily calendar Sat/Sun 6/7 Oct 2012 

I'm a teacher. All I need are mids for molding.

- Dewey Finn (Jack Black) in School of Rock

Teachers daily calendar Fri 16 Oct 2009

Daily Inspiration

It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which, more than anything else, will affect it's successful outcome.

- William James

inspire daily calendar Wed 3 Oct 2012 

Quick Reference Temperature Conversions

(Fahrenheit - 32) x (5 / 9) = Celsius

(Celsius x 1.8) + 32 = Fahrenheit

Teachers daily calendar Tue 13 Oct 2009

Daily Inspiration

I believe people are in our lives for a reason. We're here to learn from each other.

- Gillian Anderson

inspire daily calendar Tue 2 Oct 2012 

Teaching is an art, a science, and a passion. It is the noblest profession in the world because teachers provide hope for our future. That's why I was drawn to teaching and that is why I stay. I can't imagine a better way to spend my life. I love the excitement of knowing that if I do my job well I will change people's lives for the better. I love the pride in knowing that a student has pursued a career in science or a career in teaching because of me. I love the sound of unfettered laughter in the classroom. I love the thrill of helping a special-needs student achieve beyond his wildest dreams. The greatest reward, however, is my extended family of former students scattered across the globe; they are a source of joy and inspiration. When a former student beams with happiness at memories for out class, I know that in the mosaic of that person's life a few of the brightest tiles belong to me. What other profession can compete with that?

- Former New York Teacher of the Year Richard T. Ognibene Jr.

Teachers daily calendar Mon 12 Oct 2009

Daily Inspiration

You never find yourself until you face the truth.

- Pearl Bailey

inspire daily calendar Mon 1 Oct 2012 

Q: How can you tell if a school is haunted?

A: If it has school spirit.

Teachers daily calendar Sat/Sun 10/11 Oct 2009

(personal) News of the week

The biggest news from this past week of teaching was a reduction in my course load.

On Tuesday I had a meeting with my supervisor and chair of the department about how there have been a few complaints about my teaching to the chairs of other departments.

(Side note: I teach mathematics, it is a service division. So the students are actually in other programs and were commenting about me to the chairs of their departments.)

In the meeting I admitted that the course load felt too much, and by cutting my work load from 4 courses to 3 would help. The course I wanted removed was only 3 hours of teaching a week (and by Tuesday afternoon all 3 hours last week were taught!). The reason I wanted that course taken off my shoulders was:
- It was my only second year course I was teaching
- It was almost a pure calculus course, and I have not done calculus for a few years
- The other 3 courses have a fair amount of overlap in material being taught, where was this course does not

Needless to say it was a relief on Wednesday when I found out that they had already found another instructor to take over that course - someone who had taught it before.

The rest of my week felt a lot lighter after that.... however I still wasted half my weekend, and am not as prepared for all of this coming week as I had hoped.... but I have a good long break tomorrow to do all that - during the 2 hours of the class I no longer teach. (For good or bad, I still teach a class after that now vacant time.... my Mondays are: teaching at 10am (1 hr) and 3 pm (1 hr), so a good 4 hours of mid day prep for the rest of the week!)

Inspirational Updates

You must either modify your dreams or magnify your skills.
- Jim Rohn
inspire daily calendar Thu 27 Sep 2012


All our dreams can come tur - if we have the courage to pursue them.
- Walt Disney
inspire daily calendar Fri 28 Sep 2012


The nice thing about teamwork is that you always have other on your side.
- Margaret Carty
inspire daily calendar Sat/Sun 29/30 Sep 2012


School Satire
Citing the threat posed to their children`s safety, a Grand Rapids-area parents group is calling for the removal of arsenic from the periodic table of elements. "Our schoolchildren, some as young as the fourth grade, are being exposed to this deadly element in their science classes," said Tricia Montcalm, president of the Grand Rapids Parents Association. "We insist that this poison be removed from the periodic table and replaced with a safe, nontoxic element." To date, the group has raised over $4,500 for the development of a replecement element, "Nickelodeum," a springy, child-safe play foam with an atomic number of 33.
- www.theonion.com
Teachers daily calendar Wed 7 Oct 2009


Fun Facts: Sports
Up to twenty thousand pounds of pressure per square inch may be absorbed by a pole vaulter on the joints of his tubular thigh bones when he lands.
In speed skating, competitors wear colored armbands to indicate their starting lanes. White is worn by the skater starting in the inner lane; red by the skater starting in the outer lane. The skaters change lanes after each circuit of the track.
The huddle formation used by football teams originated at Gallaudet University, a liberal arts college for deaf people in Washington, D.C., to prevent other schools from reading their sign language.
- www.coolquiz.com
Teachers daily calendar Thu 8 Oct 2009


Teaching is not for sensitive souls. While reviewing future, past, and present tenses with my ninth-grade English class, I posed the question, "'I am beautiful' is what tense?"
One student raised her hand. "Past tense."
- Reema Rahatt in Reader's Digest
Teachers daily calendar Fri 9 Oct 2009

Daily Inspiration

The man who does not work for the love of work but only for money is not likely to neither make money nor find much fun in life.

- Charles M. Schwab

inspire daily calendar Wed 26 Sep 2012

Teachers who address controversial topics in the classroom - evolution or anything else that touches religion or politics - may find it pays to keep their mouths shut. In Arizona, Senate Bill 1542 aims to forbid educators from advocating for one side of any social or political issue, claiming that students are impressionable and this sort of thing may encroach on parental territory. Must teacher, by the very nature of their profession, place stricter limits on their ability to express opinions in the workplace? Or are the kinds of free speech struggles that teachers face unwarranted and undeserved?

In an Edutopia online poll, 35 percent of voters said there should be limits on teachers' freedom of speech, because educators have the power to influence students. They assert that to promote neutrality and equity in the classroom, it's important for educators to keep strong political, religious, or otherwise controversial opinions to themselves. But the majority of voters - 53 percent - said the First Amendment should be applied to all equally. The stating of controversial opinions - as long as it is presented as opinion - is a good lesson for students in democracy, critical thinking, and tolerance. The remaining 12 percent of voters were undecided.

- www.edutopia.org

Teachers daily calendar Mon 5 Oct 2009

Daily Inspiration

Leadership is practiced not so much in words as in attitude and in actions.

- Harold S. Geneen

inspire daily calendar Tue 25 Sep 2012 

Failure is success, if we lean from it. 

- Malcolm S. Forbes

Teachers daily calendar Mon 5 Oct 2009

Daily Inspiration

I do not believe in failure. It is not failure if you enjoyed the process.

- Oprah Winfrey

inspire daily calendar Mon 24 Sep 2012 

For me, teaching is about making surprises and moments for kids that they will never forget. I think it would be much more fun to live in a world where everyone thought that way.

- Ron Clark, The Essential 55: An award-Winning Educator's Rules for Discovering the Successful Student in Every Child

Teachers daily calendar Sat/Sun 3/4 Oct 2009