Quotes and Inspiration

“If you are not willing to learn, no one can help you.
If you are determined to learn, no one can stop you.” ~ Zig Ziglar

Every person experiences fear, doubt, insecurity, and brokenness. When we acknowledge our vulnerabilities and discover in them new strengths, we find ourselves empowered to love and serve others. Community is where the integration of our strengths and weaknesses becomes a sign of hope to the world. - Henri Nouwen

“The aim of education is not to preserve the old unthinking 
(as though nothing warrants transformation), 
nor is it to value the new for its own sake 
(as though nothing that currently exists is worth preserving). “

- Natasha Levinson

We’re important, but not essential; valuable, but not indispensable. 

We have a part in the play, but we are not the main act. 

A song to sing, but we are not the featured voice. 

God is.

“Educating the mind, without educating the heart is no education at all” – Aristotle

“Ability is what you are capable of doing.  Motivation determines what you do. 

Attitude determines how well you do it.”

Robert Fried in his work, The passionate teacher, A practical guide (1995) cites two clear indicators of passionate teaching. The first indicator of passionate teaching is that passionate teachers share their attractions of beauty and power for their subjects with their students. They offer a depth of engagement in their subjects that serves as a basis for students to branch out to other interests and disciplines. The second indicator is that passionate teachers convey their passion to their students by acting as partners in learning, rather than “experts in the field”. As experts, they invite less-experienced learners to search for knowledge and insightful experiences. They build confidence and active competence in students who might otherwise sit back and watch the teacher do and say interesting things rather than themselves acting as participatory learners.  Source: https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/bitstream/handle/2142/31054/Roeger_Elizabeth.pdf?sequence=1

Remember when you were a new instructor and were ready to set the world on fire and change the future single-handedly!  That person is still inside of you.  That person is still you.  You still have the fire.

Rekindle that fire and remember:

o   You believed every student mattered and you acted on that belief.

o   You did not care what other people thought; you did what counted most for students.

o   You did not worry about ‘numbers’ because what really made the difference was your connection with students.

o   You focused on the teaching and learning process

o   You let love and care for each of your students drive your instruction and behavior.

o   You believed that what you did made a difference.

o   You were passionate and had confidence in yourself and in your gifts/skills as an instructor.

These things are still true.  They never stopped being true.  

The baggage of prior years and yesterdays’ disappointments can make us jaded, but we need to drive back to where we started.  That is where we live as instructors.  And that is what will get us back on our feet. 

Take My Desires Lord And Grant Me The Grace To Be Like Jesus

Philippians 2:5-7

"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the  form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant..."

Take My Desires, Lord

Take my desire to be loved and enable me to love others.

Take my desire to have friends and enable me to befriend others.

Take my desire to be understood and enable me to understand others.
Take my desire to be comforted and enable me to comfort others.
Take my desire to be forgiven and enable me to forgive others.
Take my desire to be accepted and enable me to accept others.
Take my desire to be happy and enable me to make others happy.
Take my desire for honor and recognition and enable me to honor others
Take my desire to be served and enable me to serve others.
Take my desire for praise and enable me to praise others.
Take my desire to be heard and enable me to listen to others.
Take my desire to be first and enable me to put others first and myself last.
Take my desire for revenge and enable me to show mercy to others.
Lord, take all of my desires, and in return,

              grant me the grace to be like Jesus,

              for in this alone shall I find true peace and happiness.

Robert L. Dickie July 23, 1996