Sunny Side Up

From an email I’d saved:

Our attitudes determine our accomplishments. Recent emails about shared

studio spaces, male-female dynamics, creative progress etc., showed us those

who see the glass half empty and those who see it half full. Could it be, we

wondered, that the half-empty folks were destined to have emptier and

emptier glasses, while the half-full folks were bound to have fuller and

fuller ones?

Could there be truth in such a simple and timeworn concept?

Maybe it’s the time of year–dark days in the Northern Hemisphere (right now

our Down Under subscribers are generally upbeat). Anyway,  a lot of

negativity is out there. Okay, so maybe it’s tough being an artist, but

maybe we need to delude ourselves that it isn’t tough at all–like it’s a

joy, a privilege, an opportunity to enrich those around us, and a lot of fun

to boot.

Psychologists tell us we tend to believe what we say, especially when we

chant it over and over. It doesn’t seem to matter how unlikely the stuff is

either–actions following words is one of the hazards of speaking, writing

and thinking.

Here in the dark days of winter are a few words that might just keep your

sunny side up:

Have a decent ego; cultivate self-esteem and individualism.

Keep an open mind; there’s more than one way to do things.

Focus on your processes; that’s where the joy comes in.

Be kind; it never hurts to give to others, even praise.

Be innocent; have a childlike–not childish–approach.

Be thankful, even for the smallest of blessings.

Be a perpetual student–be curious and seeking.

Filter your priorities–and don’t suffer fools.

Be creative. It’s the highest form of life.

Honour and respect time; it’s the main gift.

Be optimistic; the opposite holds no charms.

Develop good habits–they will develop you.

Be thrifty–waste not, want not.

Work to please yourself.

Be hard to please.

PS:

“Keep your thoughts positive, because your thoughts become your words.

Keep your words positive, because your words become your behaviours. Keep

your behaviours positive, because your behaviours become your habits. Keep

your habits positive, because your habits become your values. Keep your

values positive, because your values become your destiny.”

– Mahatma Gandhi

Back after Winter Break

So, classes have started up again.  Theoretically I won’t have as much work to do, because I’m taking one less class this quarter, but because of our student teaching schedule I also essentially have only 8 weeks instead of 10 to cram in all the required work.  The classes this quarter are:

• Edu T&L 646: Teaching Literature in Secondary Schools
• Edu T&L 642: Reading Across the Curriculum
• Edu T&L 865: Reflective Inquiry on Pedagogy with Prospective Teachers
• Edu T&L 884: Field Experience

I took the PRAXIS PLT for grade 7-12 yesterday.  I felt fairly well prepared for the content, but the time management during the test was crazy.  It’s a two hour test during which you write 12, two-part, short essays, and answer 24 multiple choice questions.  I worked right down to the wire, and I am normally done taking tests at least an hour before everyone else.  All-in-all, I think I passed.  Mostly it’s just a matter of trusting that our program’s teachings are aligned with the desired responses for the essay questions.  I felt good about the practice test I took, and the actual test wasn’t all that much different, and I felt good about it when I got done too.

Wishlist to Reference for Holidays

Click down to see individual items…