Rainy Days--A Paragraph a Day

It's fascinating to me how many people call rainy days "bad weather."  I love rainy days--they invigorate me, and they help me to relax and to enjoy myself when I'm not planning on going outside and getting something done.  Listening to the rain is a very pleasant experience, and the dark days make the couch and the lamp much more cozy, much more intimate.  I guess people think it's bad because of the things they think that they can't do because it's raining--picnics, walks, and the like--but to me, being unable to do certain things doesn't make the weather bad, just different.  I don't know that I'd want every day to be cloudy and rainy because I love the sunshine, also, but when the rainy days do come, I try to enjoy them for what they're worth and what they give me.  And they give me a lot.

Another School Year Comes to an End--A Paragraph a Day

It's no wonder that there haven't been as many paragraphs a day for the last couple of weeks--after all, we've been in the last couple of weeks of our school year, and most of my focus has been on ending the year well.  For me, ending the year is different than it is for most high school teachers.  I try to end on an academic note, keeping students focused on the topic on hand until the very end, not worrying about having parties or showing movies or anything like that.  We spent the last couple of days reviewing for the final, then we had the final.  After all, my job isn't to be best buddies with my students--rather, my job is to help to prepare them for the future by exposing them to some academic rigor that actually demands something from them, including focus and work and effort.  I find that most of my students appreciate the fact that I'm one of the few teachers that actually demands some effort from them, for they find that they learn more when they're asked to push themselves.  They also find that they have abilities that they never dreamed they had when they're pushed to levels that they haven't been pushed to yet.  And don't worry--I'm not super strict on grading.  They get pretty generous grades from me, but only after they've pushed themselves and found themselves worrying about their grade.  After all, when we worry about something, we tend to be willing to push ourselves even harder to avoid negative outcomes--and I find my students pushing themselves constantly to improve themselves and their performance.  And that, of course, is what's going to help them more in the long run than anything else.

Not Happy with Me--A Paragraph a Day

I think my students aren't very happy with me right now.  We have two days left of class, and rather than giving up and showing movies and letting everyone relax, I'm pushing them through a review of everything that we've covered this semester, getting them ready for their final.  Many of their other teachers seem to have given up for the year and are content to ride things out the easy way.  I'm not.  It's more work for me and it's more stress for me, but I figure that I'm not in the classroom to entertain young people or to make life easy for them--rather, I'm there to help them to learn and to grow and even to learn how to learn.  One of the things that I hope they'll be learning over the next couple of days is the ability to review, as well as the importance of reviewing.  It's one thing to study something for a long time, but it's quite another to study it for a long time and then go over it again to make sure that you're not going to forget it.  They aren't mad at me or anything like that, and I think that there are a few of them who are actually glad that it's not all over and that we're continuing to learn as long as we're in the class.  No matter what they feel, though, I know that the best thing for them while they're in my classroom is to learn as long as they can and as much as they can, and I intend to help them to do just that.

'Tis the Season for Flowers--A Paragraph a Day

People from a planet without flowers would think
we must be mad with joy the whole time
to have such things about us.
-Iris Murdoch

There really are few things in this world that are more amazing and more beautiful than flowers.  Not that it's a competition--flowers don't care that they're more graceful and beautiful than other things--but when we think about things with which we can fill our lives that will make our lives richer, flowers have to be high on the list that we come up with.  Right now, it's spring up here in the northern hemisphere, so we're being treated to a steady feast--visual and olfactory--of the wonder of flowers.  They really do enrich our lives if we allow them to, for they give us something to marvel at and to appreciate; it's almost impossible to look closely at a flower without feeling a sense of wonder at just how it's put together, just how it's made to be such a remarkable thing.  And flowers, of course, have no ego that we know of.  They don't compare themselves to other flowers, and they don't feel themselves superior if they're bigger or more colorful or more fragrant than their neighbors.  They're a wonderful model of living for us--they just are, and they don't try to be anything else.  They are beautiful, and they share that beauty with the world, even with the pollen that the bees gather to make their honey.  This is the perfect time of year to appreciate the gift of flowers in our lives, the gift that so many people who tend to their gardens share with us all, year after year.

Reflection--A Paragraph a Day

We must, like a painter, take time to stand back from our work,
to be still, and thus see what's what. . . True repose is standing
back to survey the activities that fill our days.
-William McNamara

I don't reflect enough, I feel.  I try to, but I have one of those minds that likes to run around all by itself without letting me control it.  This isn't necessarily a bad thing because I get many good ideas by letting my mind do its own thing, but it often doesn't allow me to relax and focus on reflecting about my life.  I do wish I could do so more, and I often promise myself that I will.  But this leads to that, and before I know it, it's time to go to bed or to work.  Most of my most important reflection comes when I'm running or biking, for then I'm out on my own for an hour or two or three, and I get a chance to think of all sorts of things.  I'm not sure if true reflection demands that I stay focused on one thing until I understand it, but my instinct tells me that it's not necessary to do so.  While I'm running I'm watching the road or path in front of me so that I don't trip or turn an ankle, and I'm thinking of anything and everything.  It's a nice way to reflect, and when I wasn't a runner, my reflection came during long walks, which I took regularly, sometimes for hours at a time depending on where I lived.  I think that all in all, these walks and runs are one of the parts of my life that have allowed me to get through difficult times and challenges, and if I could change anything in my life, I'd seriously consider taking more walks and spending more time running, riding, and reflecting.

Politics or Life?--A Paragraph a Day

It's been astonishing to me to see how many people are willing to turn their homes into political posters, and not just during election time.  It's very hard for me to understand how a political belief can be so important that one would turn their home--the place where they eat and sleep and live family lives--into an advertisement for some person that they don't even know, just because they seem to have the same political beliefs as the homeowner.  I understand feeling that a certain politician espouses one's ideals and beliefs, but I also understand that the political realm isn't the same as the rest of life, that it's something that exists on its own terms and that isn't always what it claims to be.  There are certain situations in which I think I'd feel pretty uncomfortable going to a home that has a particular candidate's poster or flag displayed prominently, especially if that person is one whose actions are harmful to other human beings.  Personally, I try to stay as apolitical as I can because I'm not too fond of either of our major parties and I don't like the idea of passing legislation for political reasons rather than representing constituents, so having someone else's political ideas and ideals pretty much crammed down my throat just doesn't appeal to me.  I couldn't even imagine making my political beliefs such a dominant aspect of my life that I'd try to push them on others, and I certainly wouldn't want to make someone feel like they can't relate to me unless they approve of the same candidates that I approve of.  I'd like to keep some balance in my life, and turning my home into a political advertisement certainly isn't a sign of balance.

Sunshine and Rain: They Are What They Are--A Paragraph a Day

As I've grown older (and older and older), I've come to realize just how important the weather is to us if we want to develop our ability to accept things as they are and to live with them without complaining or stressing out about them.  Today was a perfect example of the weather doing what it wants to do--a cloudy and rainy Saturday when many people would have loved to experience "better" weather for their weekend.  But the weather is what it is, and there's absolutely nothing that we can do about it.  And that's for the better.  Realizing that we can't change it helps us to accept it, and then to adapt to it as it is.  No, we can't go for a nice long walk in t-shirts and shorts, but we can get out the umbrella and go for a nice shorter walk.  We probably aren't going to go to the pool or the lake to go swimming, but it can be a nice day for sitting inside and reading a good book.  There's a lot that we can do on such a day, and it makes for a very good metaphor for the rest of life, too--there's plenty that we can do nothing about, but once we accept things for what they are, we can deal with them for exactly what they are and not wish that they were different.  I've spent much time in my life wishing things were different, and it's been time not very well used, perhaps even wasted.  So I've come to love the weather and whatever it brings me, and not expect it to be anything other than what it is.  And when I do accept it, who knows?  I may even come to love it for just what it is.