DAY #18: If you could bring 10 people that inspire you to an island with you and spend one day with each of them, who would they be and why would you take them?

First off, let’s clarify what I’m envisioning with this particular prompt. Let’s start with the location. The particular island we’re talking about is something you might find at the Club Med of my dreams. It is beautiful and has all the amenities that I might want for whatever activity I wish to explore. Secondly, these inspirational people simply show up for their day and spend it with me, sharing their wisdom and insight. They don’t find it strange, they don’t want anything in return, and they don’t complain of jet lag or headaches or anything else that might interfere with our experience. When their day is up they head back to wherever they came from, and I carry on with my next companion. I also limited my selections to people who are currently alive. Just so it didn’t get creepy, you know? So now that we have THAT settled, here we go.

1. Chris Powell. Duh. If you’ve been reading the BulgingButtons for any length of time you know I’m a big fan of his. Chris and I would have a heart to heart, and he would help get me energized and focused to make the most impactful positive changes to my overall wellness. He would teach me the moves I need and set me up with a foolproof plan. At least in my dreams. Oh, and he’s written books. Bonus: he’s not too hard on the eyes either.

2. Rachael Ray. She can teach me to cook delicious food that’s good for me and that my whole family will eat with pleasure. She also seems incredibly personable, and she’s an author. She is another person who defined her dreams and went for them, and, I’m guessing, keeps doing just that.

3. Stacy London. The TLC What Not to Wear diva could help me dress this body of mine to best advantage, allowing me to strut my stuff and hold my head high, no matter what the scale might say. Feeling confident and sexy does make a difference, and dressing to advantage has a role in how you feel. And did I mention that she also writes?

4. The Dalai Lama. He’s just so doggone nice. And smart. And otherworldly. And hip. Really, I think he’s got it going on. Oh, and he also has written several books.

5. J.K. Rowling. I guess I don’t have to tell you what she’s best known for, do I? I would love to pick her brain. Where does she get it all?! Incredible.

6. Rafe Esquith, teacher and author extraordinaire. He is inspirational, not only to teachers, but far more importantly, to kids. I would love to have an in-depth conversation on the current state of education and the impact it has on kids. I envision a meeting of the minds that will spur me on to orchestrating ever greater opportunities for my students.

7. SARK. She has written and illustrated many inventive, honest, funny, and inspirational books. She definitely thinks in colors and dreams and swirls. I like her style!

8. Tula Pink. One of the modern quilt world’s stars, she’s a designer and author, as well as a quilt maker. I would love to talk inspiration with her.

9. My son. By day nine I will be missing him terribly. I would love to spend a day in paradise with him without the distractions of school and work and obligations and responsibilities. I would love to just relax and have fun with him, and to connect with him as we splash in the ocean and bite into juicy pineapple, our favorite.

10. Last, but certainly not least, my sweetheart. I would finish this incredibly transformative experience by sharing an uninterrupted day alone with him. Bonus: he would stay the night and we would go home together.

The bad news? This scenario is infinitely unlikely to happen. The good news? I have links to the wisdom of all of these inspirational people, except my family. I get to see my family in real life, though, so it’s not so bad. Thank goodness for the written word. Although it will never be a perfect substitute for being there, it can still convey a lifetime of learning.

September 27, 2013
by BulgingButtons 6 Comments

Daily Passion Prompt 20: What Legacy Will I Leave?

TODAY’S QUESTION

For some reason I frequently feel like I’m totally forgettable. People I’ve met several times don’t seem to recall who I am. Have I left no impression at all? Am I invisible? Sometimes I wonder. If I don’t seem to leave much impression in life, how am I to leave any type of legacy after I’m gone?

When it comes to the big picture, we are all just tiny blips on the radar screen of time. We are born, we live, we die. Most of us leave behind loved ones who will mourn and remember us, but over time they too will expire and along with them, the memory of us will die. It’s as though our lives are a flame, warm and bright but fleeting. Some of us are like tiny birthday candles, snuffed out quickly and soon forgotten. Others are a bonfire, or even a forest fire. Some lives reach millions, for better or worse, others hardly reach beyond their own front doors.

Of course I want my family to remember me with love and tenderness, and I’m sure they will, at least for a little while. I do wonder what will become of me and my memory after I’m gone, but deep down I think I know. I came from nowhere, and I will return there. I was adopted at birth, never allowed to know anything about the circumstances of my origin. I simply appeared. I believe that after I’m gone a while, I will simply disappear, forgotten from the family history, possibly relegated to a footnote, or an asterisk on a distant relative’s family tree. I was a give away for one family and an add-on for another, and as such, perhaps easily dismissed by both.

Outside of my family, I hope to leave a larger legacy. I hope that somewhere out in the world at least a few of my students look back fondly on their experiences in my classroom. I hope they remember that I taught them something, or tried to make some lesson memorable, or even that I was goofy and silly in class. I hope that at least one person took away something positive from their time under my care. Sadly, I feel like the odds are against me on this point too. People grow up and move on. Rarely do they remember their fourth or second grade teacher making a mark on their lives. It seems the only time they do recall these people, they do so in horror.

Maybe this is part of the reason I write and quilt and scrapbook. These are all ways for me to say, “I was here.” I may just be one of those little blips existing in a tiny space in the universe until my own flame is snuffed out, but my life is important. I live and love and dream. I can and will leave my mark on the world, and I will do my best to leave it better than it was when I arrived.

September 27, 2013
by BulgingButtons Leave a comment

Daily Passion Prompt 21: I’m Only the Teacher, You’re the Parent

Day #21
What pisses you off more than anything else?

I am a teacher. I teach. I plan, organize, assess, evaluate, modify, reevaluate, reassess, research, deliver, monitor, manage, entertain, and enlighten. I also pass out band-aids, tease out smiles, determine whether restroom requests truly are “urgent,” manage materials, distribute papers, correct assignments, enter grades, create report cards, make phone calls home, arrange and conduct parent-teacher conferences, motivate reluctant learners, create bulletin boards, manage schedules, run an after school club, supervise the playground, gather lunch money, arrange book orders, update a classroom website, mediate disputes, supervise clean up, monitor supply levels, analyze data, create multimedia presentations, gather appropriate online resources, evaluate potential special needs, adapt curriculum, differentiate instruction, and about a thousand other things. I care about my students and I care about my school community. I am fully involved in the goings on of my students. But here’s the thing: there are 31 of them, and one of me.

Now on to the part that irritates me, and trust me, it’s not the kids. What pisses me off more than anything is people who have a strong sense of entitlement. There, I said it. That, in general, is enough to get my goat, but when it applies to the school setting, it makes me crazy. Parents, please be aware that I am just as fond of little Eustace as I am of any other child I have taught in my career. Ok, maybe that’s not entirely true, but odds are he’s not my least favorite student of all time, and really, it doesn’t matter anyway, because in my classroom he’s going to get a fair shake no matter what.

Please don’t ask me to make him extra homework packets because you threw his out. Please don’t ask me to tutor him after school because you’re too busy to sit with him and help him learn his math facts. Please don’t tell me about how you’re going to make sure he does his homework, then the following day make excuses for him. He needs you a lot more than he needs me. Parents, please, I am doing the best I can. A five minute phone call isn’t a big deal, but several of them each day becomes extremely time consuming.

I’m not unwilling to work with you. I WANT to work with you. But please, be willing to do your part too. Get little Eustace to school on time each day, check over his work each evening, and look through his backpack. Talk to him about school, and life, and be there for him. He needs you. He really really does.