Yesterday as I was teaching my grade 2/3 class, I was having them do some journal writing. We talked about what kinds of things they might do during our week of spring break. (Yes, we only get one week in Mission, as compared to to Abby's two weeks!) I asked them where they might go, who they might see and what kind of imaginative games they might play. It was a fun discussion and then I had them get to work. I worked my way around the class checking on their progress. A few minutes into the exercise and one girl piped up and asked "Mrs. Brandt, why don't you write about what you will do?" I didn't have to be asked twice. She gave me a paper and a pencil and I started. In no time, I had half a page written...kids stopped their work to watch me scribble. And then I told them to get going, too. Hopefully I motivated them. Here's my entry:
"I love spring break! I am going to sleep in every day and wear my pajamas till noon. I am going to read books, play Candy Crush Saga and Scrabble. I am going to visit my great Aunt. I want to go out for coffee with friends. Micah and I will go out for lunch to A & W to use his gift card and then go to Walmart to buy a Lego set he's been saving up for. I will do our tax forms and catch up on our accounting. I will do some prep work for school. (I just found out yesterday afternoon that I will be teaching a new class after Easter, so I need to do some prep.) I will do some spring cleaning...which cupboards or drawers are the worst? I will work out at least 4 times at the gym. I will go to Victoria to see Sarina dance. I will go to Adriel's play at least once. I will do taxes for Gary, an older gentleman who asks me every year to do his returns and I can never say no."
So, first morning in, how am I doing? I woke up at 2:30 a.m. and couldn't sleep properly after that. I tried to use that time to go through my prayer list...but the headache wasn't letting my supplication take shape. So when the alarm went before 7, I just stayed in bed. Within half an hour, however, the killer headache forced me up to get my drugs of choice: one Tylenol, one Advil and one diet coke. Obviously they are working, because I'm here. Not great, but better than a few hours ago. I will be leaving shortly to pick up my daughter from the ferry so that we can go to the play together tonight. I've done some scrabble turns, as well as my candy game. (It's really addicting! I should probably stop.) I have my granola in the oven and will call my aunt after I have posted this.
I love spring break. Oh, and who wants to go out for coffee?
Friday, March 15, 2013
Sunday, March 10, 2013
March attempt at writing
What to write about? What do I have to say that is worth anyone reading? I honestly don't know.
Now I not only have an I-Pad, I also have a cell phone. I can text, call, check email, play games and scroll through Facebook with either of my new devices. In other words, they both have the potential for copious amounts of time wasted. They also both have the potential for greater communication and the ipad in particular has great potential in my classroom. We bought the phone primarily to be used with our daughter (she got a matching one on the same plan), so that we wouldn't worry about her. (Or at least we will know what to worry about!) I have downloaded a number of educational aps onto the ipad and the children in my class really enjoy it. I hope it is also helping them with their pre-reading skills.
Are either of these devices helping me with my goals? That remains to be seen.
Now I not only have an I-Pad, I also have a cell phone. I can text, call, check email, play games and scroll through Facebook with either of my new devices. In other words, they both have the potential for copious amounts of time wasted. They also both have the potential for greater communication and the ipad in particular has great potential in my classroom. We bought the phone primarily to be used with our daughter (she got a matching one on the same plan), so that we wouldn't worry about her. (Or at least we will know what to worry about!) I have downloaded a number of educational aps onto the ipad and the children in my class really enjoy it. I hope it is also helping them with their pre-reading skills.
Are either of these devices helping me with my goals? That remains to be seen.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Books I'm Reading
I have a new iPad. It should make it easier to write, don't you think? Well, let's see.
I read a couple of good books this week. I got a gift card for Black Bond Books for Christmas and went there a couple of weeks ago to spend it. It was fun. I bought the new Mitch Albom book Time Keeper. How do we view and/or use time? Like other Albom books, this one had a unique perspective on the subject. Then I read a new Jodi Picoult book entitled Keeping Faith. I found the story fascinating, partly because of the author's forward where she talks about how difficult it was to find people of religious conviction and training who were willing to imagine her plot without being threatened in their faith. She didn't want to fit into any person's preconceived notion of who God is or what God would act like. "And a little child shall lead them." That's the only spoiler you'll get from me. Next on my list to read is The Map of True Places by Brunia Barry. I really have no idea what this book will be like, but I liked the back cover's description which I felt would fit into my year's plan. "Overwhelmed by her new role, Zee must destroy the existing map of her life and chart a new course-one that will guide her not only into her future but into her past as well." Got you intrigued, too?
PS Writing on an ipad sucks,although I'm sure I'll get used to it. I blame any and all typos on the new keyboard and the iPad's propensity to assume it knows what I'm thinking and filling in words as I go.
I read a couple of good books this week. I got a gift card for Black Bond Books for Christmas and went there a couple of weeks ago to spend it. It was fun. I bought the new Mitch Albom book Time Keeper. How do we view and/or use time? Like other Albom books, this one had a unique perspective on the subject. Then I read a new Jodi Picoult book entitled Keeping Faith. I found the story fascinating, partly because of the author's forward where she talks about how difficult it was to find people of religious conviction and training who were willing to imagine her plot without being threatened in their faith. She didn't want to fit into any person's preconceived notion of who God is or what God would act like. "And a little child shall lead them." That's the only spoiler you'll get from me. Next on my list to read is The Map of True Places by Brunia Barry. I really have no idea what this book will be like, but I liked the back cover's description which I felt would fit into my year's plan. "Overwhelmed by her new role, Zee must destroy the existing map of her life and chart a new course-one that will guide her not only into her future but into her past as well." Got you intrigued, too?
PS Writing on an ipad sucks,although I'm sure I'll get used to it. I blame any and all typos on the new keyboard and the iPad's propensity to assume it knows what I'm thinking and filling in words as I go.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
The harder I want it, the harder it is!
So...I'm trying to lose weight. The more I think about it, the more I want to eat. The more I say "I'm cutting back on sugar," the more I crave the cookies. The more depressed I get over what the scale says in the morning, the more I stuff my sorrows with carbs. Not good. What do I do?
I could get spiritual, but I won't. You know, quote Paul and stuff.
I'm beginning to think this is so that I will have more compassion for people who have addictions, but can't quit. I've always thought it was just a matter of "doing it", having the will-power, mind over matter, that kind of thing. But seriously, I'm struggling. I have a headache every day, my hip is aching constantly (having to bear all this weight, obviously), and my clothes are too tight.
So, off to the gym I go. Again.
I could get spiritual, but I won't. You know, quote Paul and stuff.
I'm beginning to think this is so that I will have more compassion for people who have addictions, but can't quit. I've always thought it was just a matter of "doing it", having the will-power, mind over matter, that kind of thing. But seriously, I'm struggling. I have a headache every day, my hip is aching constantly (having to bear all this weight, obviously), and my clothes are too tight.
So, off to the gym I go. Again.
Monday, December 31, 2012
Love what you do
Saw this quote in Curves this morning, "If you love what you do and believe that it matters; what could be more fun?" I would change the quote a bit and and end it with the phrase, "what could be better?" than fun, because I know that what I do and love is not always fun, but really, I couldn't ask for a better job.
Yep, I love my job. Teaching 5 and 6 year olds is a real joy. Watching their eyes light up when they figure out the number pattern, when they can build a high wall of cardboard bricks, when they tell me they know what letter a word starts with because of the sound it makes, or when they show me a picture they have coloured with their best colouring...there is no greater reward for teaching!
But yes, sometimes my students drive me nutty! Like really, we've gone over the same lesson so many times and they still don't get it? Why don't they get it today when yesterday it wasn't a problem? Or how about the kid who just can't keep her mouth shut at any time...even when she's had innumerable time-outs from our carpet time because of it and always says she knows what to do and will do better. Or the boy that keeps hurting other kids? He's used to wrestling and "fighting" with his large "wrestling-sized" father and doesn't realize that other kids aren't quite as pain tolerant or that fighting is not the way we solve problems in the classroom. Or the boy who is so angry over situations in his life way beyond his control that he takes out the anger in class when he doesn't get his way and beware the adult who is within his kicking range! Or how about the little girl who doesn't have a clue about letters or print because her parents have never read to her? Just breaks my heart.
The Newtown massacre of kindergarten and grade 1 students just before Christmas really hit home for me. That could have been me and my class. In fact, at the beginning of this year, I was given a photo of a dad who has been threatening to come and get his girl from my class, even though he is not to have any contact with his children. I'm supposed to be aware of all strangers in our playground. This man is a police officer, so has access to weaponry that could do a lot of damage. And so, I ask myself, "Would I stand in front of my class and be shot first? Where would I hide the students? Where would we go?" I, along with all other teachers and admin at my school, reviewed our own lock down policies and practices. We talked about these questions. I tried to reassure parents in my class, without drawing undue attention and worry, that I would do my absolute best to keep my students, their children, safe. I do hope I would be a teacher who would lay down my life for my students.
I love my job, but never thought it would be dangerous. I love my job; the rewards are innumerable. I love my job and I'm not about to trade it for anything else.
Yep, I love my job. Teaching 5 and 6 year olds is a real joy. Watching their eyes light up when they figure out the number pattern, when they can build a high wall of cardboard bricks, when they tell me they know what letter a word starts with because of the sound it makes, or when they show me a picture they have coloured with their best colouring...there is no greater reward for teaching!
But yes, sometimes my students drive me nutty! Like really, we've gone over the same lesson so many times and they still don't get it? Why don't they get it today when yesterday it wasn't a problem? Or how about the kid who just can't keep her mouth shut at any time...even when she's had innumerable time-outs from our carpet time because of it and always says she knows what to do and will do better. Or the boy that keeps hurting other kids? He's used to wrestling and "fighting" with his large "wrestling-sized" father and doesn't realize that other kids aren't quite as pain tolerant or that fighting is not the way we solve problems in the classroom. Or the boy who is so angry over situations in his life way beyond his control that he takes out the anger in class when he doesn't get his way and beware the adult who is within his kicking range! Or how about the little girl who doesn't have a clue about letters or print because her parents have never read to her? Just breaks my heart.
The Newtown massacre of kindergarten and grade 1 students just before Christmas really hit home for me. That could have been me and my class. In fact, at the beginning of this year, I was given a photo of a dad who has been threatening to come and get his girl from my class, even though he is not to have any contact with his children. I'm supposed to be aware of all strangers in our playground. This man is a police officer, so has access to weaponry that could do a lot of damage. And so, I ask myself, "Would I stand in front of my class and be shot first? Where would I hide the students? Where would we go?" I, along with all other teachers and admin at my school, reviewed our own lock down policies and practices. We talked about these questions. I tried to reassure parents in my class, without drawing undue attention and worry, that I would do my absolute best to keep my students, their children, safe. I do hope I would be a teacher who would lay down my life for my students.
I love my job, but never thought it would be dangerous. I love my job; the rewards are innumerable. I love my job and I'm not about to trade it for anything else.
new year's resolutions
I am so glad there's always a new day, a new week, a new month and most fun...a new year. These are all possibilities to start afresh. Just as God's mercies are new every morning, I think I give myself a break every new day, too. Today will be better; this week I will be good; this month I will be gentle and kind; this year I will be self-disciplined. ;)
So today as I look back, I could get all depressed about how I didn't follow through on everything I'd like to do in my year of living deliberately, but I'd rather look ahead and plan to do better. The biggest challenge is definitely in living a self-disciplined life. It has not been hard to invest in relationships. I'm absolutely loving my job again this year, even with the challenging students I have, and God keeps teaching me in different ways and places...but that part about self-discipline. That one's tough. I'm not doing well. I eat too much of not the greatest stuff (and Christmas is the absolutely worst time of it!), I waste time, I don't stay as active as I'd like, and I don't like what happens as a result. I gain weight, inches and feel unhealthy. Guess there's only one way to change that! And so I start again. Wish me luck!
So today as I look back, I could get all depressed about how I didn't follow through on everything I'd like to do in my year of living deliberately, but I'd rather look ahead and plan to do better. The biggest challenge is definitely in living a self-disciplined life. It has not been hard to invest in relationships. I'm absolutely loving my job again this year, even with the challenging students I have, and God keeps teaching me in different ways and places...but that part about self-discipline. That one's tough. I'm not doing well. I eat too much of not the greatest stuff (and Christmas is the absolutely worst time of it!), I waste time, I don't stay as active as I'd like, and I don't like what happens as a result. I gain weight, inches and feel unhealthy. Guess there's only one way to change that! And so I start again. Wish me luck!
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Orthodoxy and/or Orthopraxy?
Words are powerful things. Words can hurt, can heal, can bring laughter, and can bring extreme pain. I have realized this truth more so as I have written in this blog and as I go on with my year of living deliberately it is becoming more and more difficult to write, not easier as I thought it might. I think that words read devoid of the writer's intention of inflection, pauses, etc (ie voice) can mean different things to different people and be interpreted in as many ways as the people reading it. And so I write with trembling the following thoughts.
What is more important: orthodoxy or orthopraxy, that being right beliefs or right practice? This conundrum has come from a few different sources in my life lately. I have heard a few times recently that some people/churches are very concerned about our young adults because they are unable to "articulate the gospel" using the correct terminology. I also have this issue as I watch three of my own children at this stage of life begin to question, challenge and articulate their faith in God using some different words (beliefs?) than I use. I have also had some questions directed to me about some of the things I have said in this blog because of the orthodoxy of some of the writers I have quoted. Words are powerful and I am choosing mine very carefully today.
I heard a good sermon on Sunday on a passage I have heard and read many, many times. It was from Luke 10:25-37; the parable of the Good Samaritan. In summary, an expert in the Jewish law asked Jesus what was required to inherit eternal life. Jesus turned the question back to him and said what does the Law say? And, according to Jesus, the man answered correctly: "Love God and love your neighbour." This man's beliefs were right, according to Jesus...but, Jesus didn't let him stay with his belief. He told him to "DO" this belief to get life. As the saying goes, "therein lies the rub." The expert then asked Jesus, in hopes of getting himself justified, "Who is my neighbour?" Rather than answering the question directly, Jesus tells a parable where a man gets into a bad state and the only person who helps him out is a person that the hearer of this parable, the expert in the law, would have considered as being totally without "right belief." And Jesus turns the original question of "who is my neighbour?" into "who was the neighbour?" Jesus, in essence, told this expert in the law, this man who knew all the right answers, to behave like the despised, mocked, frowned upon Samaritan, because the Samaritan had the right actions.
As I have thought about this during the week, I was also drawn to the parable Jesus told which is recorded in Matthew 21:28-32. This parable talks about two brothers, one who says the right thing, but doesn't do anything about it, and the other brother who says the wrong thing, but who changes his mind and does the right thing. Jesus then tells his listeners, which I think are still the Jewish religious leaders addressed in the earlier verses, that people are entering the kingdom of God who were condemned by the religous, but because they repent (change action) they are getting in ahead of those with the "right" answers.
And then I found myself singing the little song "The wise man built his house upon the rock..." I looked up the passage where that song came from and it's from Luke 6:46-49. Who does Jesus say is wise? The one who does what Jesus said.
Maybe my question isn't the right one. Maybe it's not a case of which is more important, orthopraxy or orthodoxy. I think it's you can't really have one without the other, or at least you can't have orthodoxy without orthopraxy. (Maybe you can have orthopraxy without orthodoxy...hmmm, have to think about that.) The Samaritan did not have the right "belief" according to the religous of the day, but he did the right thing. The one son said he wasn't going to do what his father asked, but then did and he was commended. The one who just spouts off right answers and knows all the orthodox beliefs, but does nothing, will have his house washed away in the flood.
And by the way, the sermon was by my son and I'm so very proud of him and humbled as it made me dig deeper. Thanks Joel!
What is more important: orthodoxy or orthopraxy, that being right beliefs or right practice? This conundrum has come from a few different sources in my life lately. I have heard a few times recently that some people/churches are very concerned about our young adults because they are unable to "articulate the gospel" using the correct terminology. I also have this issue as I watch three of my own children at this stage of life begin to question, challenge and articulate their faith in God using some different words (beliefs?) than I use. I have also had some questions directed to me about some of the things I have said in this blog because of the orthodoxy of some of the writers I have quoted. Words are powerful and I am choosing mine very carefully today.
I heard a good sermon on Sunday on a passage I have heard and read many, many times. It was from Luke 10:25-37; the parable of the Good Samaritan. In summary, an expert in the Jewish law asked Jesus what was required to inherit eternal life. Jesus turned the question back to him and said what does the Law say? And, according to Jesus, the man answered correctly: "Love God and love your neighbour." This man's beliefs were right, according to Jesus...but, Jesus didn't let him stay with his belief. He told him to "DO" this belief to get life. As the saying goes, "therein lies the rub." The expert then asked Jesus, in hopes of getting himself justified, "Who is my neighbour?" Rather than answering the question directly, Jesus tells a parable where a man gets into a bad state and the only person who helps him out is a person that the hearer of this parable, the expert in the law, would have considered as being totally without "right belief." And Jesus turns the original question of "who is my neighbour?" into "who was the neighbour?" Jesus, in essence, told this expert in the law, this man who knew all the right answers, to behave like the despised, mocked, frowned upon Samaritan, because the Samaritan had the right actions.
As I have thought about this during the week, I was also drawn to the parable Jesus told which is recorded in Matthew 21:28-32. This parable talks about two brothers, one who says the right thing, but doesn't do anything about it, and the other brother who says the wrong thing, but who changes his mind and does the right thing. Jesus then tells his listeners, which I think are still the Jewish religious leaders addressed in the earlier verses, that people are entering the kingdom of God who were condemned by the religous, but because they repent (change action) they are getting in ahead of those with the "right" answers.
And then I found myself singing the little song "The wise man built his house upon the rock..." I looked up the passage where that song came from and it's from Luke 6:46-49. Who does Jesus say is wise? The one who does what Jesus said.
Maybe my question isn't the right one. Maybe it's not a case of which is more important, orthopraxy or orthodoxy. I think it's you can't really have one without the other, or at least you can't have orthodoxy without orthopraxy. (Maybe you can have orthopraxy without orthodoxy...hmmm, have to think about that.) The Samaritan did not have the right "belief" according to the religous of the day, but he did the right thing. The one son said he wasn't going to do what his father asked, but then did and he was commended. The one who just spouts off right answers and knows all the orthodox beliefs, but does nothing, will have his house washed away in the flood.
And by the way, the sermon was by my son and I'm so very proud of him and humbled as it made me dig deeper. Thanks Joel!
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