She'll not be hit

With Cupid’s arrow. She hath Dian's wit,
And in strong proof of chastity well-armed,
From Love’s weak childish bow she lives uncharmed.
She will not stay the siege of loving terms,
Nor bide th’ encounter of assailing eyes,
Nor ope her lap to saint-seducing gold.
O, she is rich in beauty – only poor
That when she dies, with beauty dies her store.

I am probably in the minority

when I say I hold John Williams as high as Mozart, Bach, or Beethoven. I understand that Williams does not have the genius of Mozart, the prolificacy of Bach, or the mastery of Beethoven, but he is more than just a soundtrack for movies. Many of his scores are able to stand on their own, which not many can. Even though he does borrow from many other composers (like the ones mentioned above), he does freely admit this, and more importantly, he knows good music, so he knows when it is good to borrow and use it. Some of his works can send me to the same place where Chopin's nocturne can, where my dreams seem to melt away. Others can excite me as much as Beethoven's 9th Symphony. I do realize that his works are not technically as inspired as some of the greats, but at the end of the day, music should transport you to a different place. Sometimes it is peaceful, or frightening, or simply transcendental. Williams' music does this for me. That is enough for me.

Failure and Self-Worth

A girl in my class is struggling a bit with the class. She is actually not doing bad, but like many students, she gets frustrated when it takes a while to get something. She wrote one the class blog that she tries, but still doesn't get some things in class. Wrote her back that there is a very negative connotation with failing. Especially in schools. I can't tell you the number of times I have failed a math test, did bad on a homework assignment, or even bombed a lesson (yes I know when my teaching is bad, because I reflect daily on it). Yes, I am frustrated when this happens, but if I gave up, I certainly would not be where I am. The point is not how many times you fall of the horse; the point is how many times you get back on.
I also told her that how you do in school does not tell you your self-worth. Yes, school is important, and yes math is an important skill to have, because they will help you find something you like to do for a living. However, how you treat people, and your service to them, and to Him, shape the person you are. That is more important than any grade.

Keep on beginning and failing. Each time you fail, start all over again, and you will grow stronger until you have accomplished a purpose - not the one you began with perhaps, but one you'll be glad to remember.
Anne Sullivan

This got me thinking about my own perception of self-worth. I too focus on what defines me as a person on things that don't really matter. My salary, my clothes, my car, my other possessions, even my devotion to work do not give me my self worth. Sure, I take pride in my job, because I do feel like it's more than a job, but I can take too much pride in the amount of work I put into it. I am not special because I am a teacher. I am blessed to be a teacher. It is truly a privilege to do what I do, and I thank God everyday for it. But I still focus too much on trivial things. All of the seemingly "important" things in my life are meaningless. They are all vanities. I am reminded of Ecclesiastes that states all of this. The truly important things in my life are the ones I did not work for. I have loving parents, loving friends, and a loving God. It is all so simple and I make it so complicated. God's beautiful world is too big for us. We were made for eternity, so the things of this world cannot satisfy us. Thank you, Father, for sending questions for me to ponder that ultimately bring me closer to you.

Ecclesiastes 3:11
He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.

Obama's Education Speech

Last Tuesday Obama gave an educational speech directly to America's schoolchildren. What should have been a simple address about education turned out to be a very controversial and headache-inducing ordeal. My school for one would not even allow it to be shown without a parental signature. Since I teach in a very conservative, rural school, I figured there would be some parents calling in to complain. However, when I saw the stories of parents keeping their kids home from school, I was shocked. These were not the undereducated, deep-south parents you are used to seeing such extreme closed-mindedness from. These seemed to be highly educated, rational adults who still did not want their child to hear anything the president had to say. I could understand if this was a speech about how to pass the health reform bill thorough congress or any other item in his agenda. But this was about the importance of education and how students should continue some sort of higher education or training. This was hardly anything controversial. If people did disagree with the president's speech, they should pull their kids out and have them jump right into the workforce.
Perhaps the speech wasn't even the point. One mother interviewed said she did not have anything negative about the speech, but still pulled her kid out of school and instead spent the day discussing how Obama will ruin the health care system. What kind of message does this send to her child and all others? "Education isn't important, neither is figuring things out for yourself. Instead, believe whatever I tell you to believe because you can't possibly make up your mind on your own." I believe we should instill in our kids the values and principles that we want to pass on. However, it is an entirely different thing to not allow your child to experience what elected officials are saying. Whether they agree with it or not, it is important to know. We are afraid of indoctrination by our president, so we would rather indoctrinate ourselves with a more narrow-minded point of view. I think it is much more valuable to let them see the speech, and them DISCUSS it with them. What are these parents afraid of? Are they afraid the president will actually make a few points they can't argue against, or even worse, will he make a point that they agree with?
I am not saying that I agree with the president's policies. I think Obama's version of health care reform will drive us into more debt. I think his views of abortion are abhorrent. I think the reckless spending will hurt us more than any recession. But this does not mean any syllable that comes out of his mouth are evil and not to be listened to, especially on a subject like the importance of education. Let your kids watch the speech. Let them ask questions. Let them disagree, and make them know WHY they disagree. Do they not like his policies because mom and dad don't like them, or have they done the research and figured it out for themselves? What good is believing in something if you are unable to give intelligent responses? Let your kids watch, and ask them "What do you think?"