Make your own graphics?

I just discovered a new website while visiting another aol journaler. I found Gif's link at Scalzi's journal. Gif linked to this graphic website (dumpr.net) that does fun things to your photos. I played with it for 30 minutes or so, and here are a few samples of what you can do.     

                                                         

        First, I tried the pencil sketch feature from a photo of me in college, circa 1974. This is at dumpr.net/sketch.

                                     

Then I made an Easter Egg from a photo of a lotus flower I had on my computer. This was made at dumpr.net/easter-egg.

                                     

My favorite was the Amazing Circles. I made this one by downloadinga picture of fish I had saved to my computer from an email someone had sent me. Isn't it cool? This is at dumpr.net/amazing-circles.

When you have some time, check it out. Make your own fun graphics and post them in your journal. Come back and leave me a link so I can by and look at what you made.

Tags: Gif's Corner, dumpr.net, make your own graphics

Earning a desk in school

My friend Mark often sends me junk emails.... no, not often, nearly every day I get an email with a spiritual message, a joke, interesting pictures from off the internet. Sometimes I laugh, sometimes I get goosebumps. Sometimes I say "Oh, brother!"

You probably have someone who faithfully remembers to send you such email. You know, the kind that you rush to Scopes.com or Urbanlegends.com to check out the truth of it. I love Mark. He's my neighbor, but mostly, he's a good friend of ours. Thank you, Mark, for sending me this one!

Every once in awhile I get an email from him with something that not only rings true, but is worth sharing. I'm sharing this one today. Snopes.com verifies the truth of it. Please take the time to click on this link and read what snopes.com had to say about this story. You won't be disappointed.

This is the story of the teacher who removed all the desks from her classroom at the start of the school year.

Back in September of 2005, on the first day of school, Martha Cothren, a social studies school teacher at Robinson High School in Little Rock, did something not to be forgotten. On the first day of school, with the permission of the school superintendent, the principal and the building supervisor, she removed all of the desks out of her classroom.

When the first period kids entered the room they discovered that there were no desks. Looking around, confused, they asked, "Ms. Cothren, where's our desks?"

She replied, "You can't have a desk until you tell me what you have done to earn the right to sit at a desk."

They thought, "Well, maybe it's our grades."

No," she said.

"Maybe it's our behavior."

She told them, "No, it's not even your behavior."

And so, they came and went, the first period, second period, third period. Still no desks in the classroom. By early afternoon television news crews had started gathering in Ms. Cothren's classroom to report about this crazy teacher who had taken all the desks out of her room.

The final period of the day came and as the puzzled students found seats on the floor of the desk less classroom, Martha Cothren said, "Throughout the day no one has been able to tell me just what he/she has done to earn the right to sit at the desks that are ordinarily found in this classroom. Now I am going to tell you."

At this point, Martha Cothren went over to the door of her classroom and opened it. Twenty-seven (27) U.S. Veterans, all in uniforms, walked into that classroom, each one carrying a school desk.

The Vets began placing the school desks in rows, and then they would walk over and stand alongside the wall. By the time the last soldier had set the final desk in place those kids started to understand, perhaps for the first time in their lives, just how the right to sit at those desks had been earned.

Martha said, "You didn't earn the right to sit at these desks. These heroes did it for you. They placed the desks here for you. Now, it's up to you to sit in them. It is your responsibility to learn, to be good students, to be good citizens. They paid the price so that you could have the freedom to get an education. Don't ever forget it."

Tags: snopes.com, teacher, Veterans, imparting moral lessons, blogplug

Caregiving to be featured on TV

Patrick (Caregivingly Yours/Daddyleer) is going have a spot on ABC News!!

I want to plug his journal so that those who don't receive his alerts might want to check him out before the broadcast. Go by his journal for the details.

What a wonderful opportunity for Patrick to speak about caregiving... it's a timely topic, and if anyone has something to speak about the subject of being a caregiver or caregiving in general, he's the guy.

Patrick has been working so hard for all these years to bring attention to the trials and tribulations of the caregiver through his aol journal entries. He may even be writing a book on the subject, but this is only a guess on my part.

Congratulations, Patrick!

Tags: Caregiving, Daddyleer, Caregivingly Yours

Happy Anniversary a day late!

                                                                        

Yesterday was the day I was officially told that I had the new position as CSI instructor. It was also Flag Day in our country. In some years, Father's Day falls on the 14th of June.

For my husband and myself, June 14 marks our anniversary... we've been married 32 years. I made the above graphic at some website last year, but now cannot remember where it was. Here's a brief summary of our first meeting.

I was a senior art student in the the Graphic Design department at the University of Georgia and he was an Air Forceman stationed in Warner Robins, Georgia. My parents lived in WR, my dad was stationed there as well. I met Steve at the NCO's club when he came to our table and asked me to dance. It was the fall of 1974, so you can imagine the kind of music we listened to in those days.

He asked me out on a date after a few dances. Two days later he drove me back to college, an almost two hour drive. I found out a few crucial things about him, and knew that this guy had a significant place in my life. 1) He had six siblings; 2) he drove a 1973 Challenger (it was a beautiful metallic blue color); and 3) he was from North Carolina.

I've mentioned this in a previous entry I think, but here it is again. That he was from North Carolina is what sealed the deal. Ever since the 11th grade, I had wanted to live in North Carolina. In 1973, when Dodge advertised their newest model, I decided the plum colored Challenger was the car I wanted someday. In my own family, I had six siblings. My father was Air Force, this guy was Air Force. The signs were all there pointing at him, telling me that "He's the one!"

But I needed more time to get to know him. I was afraid to listen to my heart in those days... I didn't know to trust my own intuitions. I just needed a little time with him to be sure.

After we had gone out on a a date, I learned that he was receiving his discharge in a couple of weeks. Looking back, I see that there was a very brief window of time for us to meet and begin a serious relationship. Three weeks from the time I met him in Georgia, he had to move back to his home in NC.

Every two weeks, on his days off from work, he would drive to Athens to spend a few days with me. Eventually, he moved to Athens, then we got married in June, and by November of 1975, we had decided to move to NC where we could both look for a job... North Carolina was to be the location of the rest of my life.

Three years later, we had bought a house, our son was born, both of us were working, we had a dog (Irish Setter)... the song "Our House" by Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young described perfectly our happy life in that little 2-bedroom house on five acres of North Carolina land.     

                    

I cannot believe it has been  32 years... I still see him sometimes as that exciting Romeo, pursuing me, pleasing me, looking for times and places to be alone with each other. There was so much we wanted to know about this other person, me about him, and him about me. He protected me, cared for me, and taught me. What I know about fixing things I learned from him. What I know about relationships, I learned from him. What I know about support, trust, love, and forgiveness, I learned from my husband.    

                                      

Sometimes it's easier to joke about our spouses, and point out their flaws. Sometimes we even notice their flaws more than their consistent, undying strengths. Like their loyalty, their faith in us, their trust in us, and us in them. In any meaningful relationship, there has to be a balance of give and take (not always 50-50, mind you), there has to be trust, and there has to be hope for the future. All of these are blanketed with love, the greatest gift.

I believe that Divine Intervention brought us together during that three week window of opportunity. Yes, even in the NCO's club, dark, loud, and smoky though it was, God works miracles.

   Happy Anniversary to us!!!

         

This is not our car, but a picture I found on the internet. It looks like the one I fell in love with when I was 16 years old. Ours was metallic blue, not plum.

New Position Revealed

I hinted at change in the last entry... no, that wasn't a hint, that was a definite statement of fact... change was in the air for me, and now I can speak about it openly.

Today I had a formal job interview with my principal and assistant principal for a position I had applied for. The job is mine!

I will be the CSI instructor... but before you go asking how I could be a crime scene investigator at an elementary school, let me explain.

CSI stands for Creative Subject Integration. This is a position integrating math, science, social studies and literature with art. In other words, the CSI instructor finds out what each grade level is teaching each month, then creates art lessons that integrate a particular academic area in that grade level.

The former CSI instructor did a fine job creating lesson plans for each grade level from month to month. She is going to share them with me before she leaves. (I am so grateful! I'm going to pick up where she left off.) For example, fifth graders were learning about Native American Indian culture in one social studies unit. The CSI instructor taught the kids how to make tribal masks from masking tape and foil. And as the kids worked, she told them stories and historical facts, while in the background she played selected tribal drum music. She would bring the history of what they were learning in their social studies classroom into the art project. That's art integrated with social studies.

I am an EC teacher. I have taught reading-writing-math for the past eight years, and now I have an opportunity to teach 600 students art. Not just art for art's sake, but art for learning's sake.

I believe that most kids have some inherent creative talents from the time they are born. Some kids are better observers than others, which is why at some point some kids start to draw and doodle more often than others. They become good copiers, and they win the awe of their peers in elementary school.

Then, I've noticed, that the number of kids drawing and doodling dwindles between middle schooland high school, and by high school, you have a distinct population of kids who do art and kids who don't. My theory is that kids stop drawing somewhere in elementary school because they have heard comments like "What is that?" or "That doesn't look like a monkey, it looks like a horse." or "You can't draw like Mikey can." etc and etc.

Often, kids do find another area to express their creative talents, such as through sports, dance, music, or other clubs where their organizational talents are needed, or where they can apply their math talents. These are all good places for a kid to be.

By the time a kid is in middle school, he pretty much knows if he can draw or not, based on the words of encouragement he's received or the lack of them. When a kid gives up drawing, doodling, sketching, etc, he is giving up more than a chance to be an artist. He is giving up his sense of inner freedom, his confidence, and possibly some part of his innate desire to create.

I'm thinking that as the CSI instructor in my school, I can help reverse that thinking for these kids... as many of them as I can. I want to instill in them a desire to learn the academics through their desire to create with their hands. Using clay, watercolors, tempera, sculpture, paper mache, oil pastels, and various other media and materials, I hope to be a part of opening their eyes, their minds, and their hearts to the joys of discovery, creation, and learning.

I am now on the "Specials" team!!! Specials are classes like computer, library, music, PE, art, LightSpan, Read 180, and Guidance. Those are the ones we have in our school. But instead of art, we have CSI: integration of art with the core academics. For me, it is something new... very new, challenging, and I must say, very exciting!

This summer is going to be a busy one for me. I've got to move into the new classroom, inventory materials and supplies, and plan lessons for the year.

Thank you for your comments and giving your support, and sorry I had to play mysterious for awhile.

Now I'm off to school. I have one more car load to bring home.

 

Change: to be feared or to be embraced?

Change is in the air for many people this time of year. Ever since I became a teacher I have thought that August should mark the New Year simply because, in the community and culture of school, August begins the new year for teachers and students. A selfish thought, making me seem like one who is only aware of what goes on between the walls of the classroom. Which sometimes is true. But often not.

                                                          

I used to be afraid of change. Terrified is more like it. Several years ago I had a dream that changed my feelings toward change... actually, three dreams. They came to me in 1995/96, and each one carried me through a series of events that helped me understand the need for change in my life, not to fear it, and to trust the faith I have in God. They were all related. Too lengthy to describe the dreams, but I did write them down at the time, so I can read them to myself whenever I need a reminder of the message carried to me within those dreams.

                                                           

Many teachers are moved around this time of year. They may be told to move to another classroom, to another grade level, even to another school. The principal moves teachers where she needs them most. Teachers and administrators can be moved about within the school system as well, and placed where they are needed most. Moving is a lot of work. I don't like to move for that reason. There is no extra pay for the days we spend moving.

Other times, teachers make the request to move, as I did last year. I only knew I wanted to change something because I sensed that inside I was starting to feel bogged down. It turned out to be a good move because I was given a larger classroom, and I was able to continue working with my favorite grade level, fifth grade. I also had first and second grade students, and near the end of the year one fourth grade student. I was able to teach pull-out classes and do inclusion.  I had a little bit of everything, my days were full, and now looking back, I see that it was a good year to start in this school.

The winds of change are churning again, so soon. Things have taken place at school, and I don't want to go into details until I know for sure where I'll be, but just to let you know that something very big is brewing.

                                                        

Thanks to those dreams I had many years ago, I am not afraid of the unknown, I am not threatened by something changing my direction or my pace. I give in to it, I surrender to it, I will go with it, like when I lay back and float on an ocean wave. While I'm not looking, the waves will carry me away from the place where I set my towels and shoes. But I don't mind because being carried there by forces stronger than myself is a thrill. Besides, I can always walk back to my place of settling if I don't like where the waves are taking me.

When change faces you, don't fight it. Embrace it, accept the challenge. Especially if it is about making your life better, or the lives of others better. Sometimes sacrifices will be expected of you, and sometimes what you are familiar with will be pulled away from you. But trust in yourself, and if you are a person of Faith, trust in the Lord to take you where you will be made stronger.

Change gives you the opportunity to be what you want to be.

I hope my next entry will be more specific... perhaps tomorrow?

                                                                        

Tags: change, movement

Getting better!

Just a quick note to let those who get my alerts, and other friends, that I am recovering. From both the toenail-removal, and the pneumonia. I had the chest x-ray, and the doctor said it doesn't look like pneumonia after all, but bronchitis. Just the same, I am recovering, if a bit slowly. The antibiotics and sleeping every chance I could were the best remedies, I believe.

Feeling much better today than two days ago.

School dismisses 1/2 day this Friday. I have so much to do. Tonight I'm going to a surprise retirement dinner for our principal. It's being catered, and we're all dressing up. For teachers and staff and their spouses only. I'll have a band-aid on my toe, and I'll be wearing open-toed sandals, but otherwise, I plan to dress up for the occasion.

I don't have much time to ruminate tonight, but just wanted to give a big NC holler to everyone. "I'M OKAY... THANKS FOR YOUR THOUGHTFUL AND CARING COMMENTS!!"

BTW, River is back. I just got his alert today. He had been homeless for four months in Las Vegas, but is no longer. Can't wait to read what's been going on in his life. Here's his link. http://journals.aol.com/riversharki/JESUSLOVESYOU/