Engraving Character

What is character?  The word character comes from the Greek, meaning an engraved mark, as in describing the process of minting coins or stamping.  An engraver makes the same motion again and again, each stroke digging a bit deeper into the stone or metal.  If weather, everyday use, or natural disaster attacks the stone, it will still stand.  The top layers may begin to erode away, but the integrity of the etching is left intact due to the layers and layers of copied motions.

During the 1600's in France, character became associated with one's most defining qualities or nature.  Today, this is the most commonly used definition of character.  However the two are still related.  When you hear on the news about a man saving an elderly person from a burning building, or a woman diving into an icy lake for a drowning child, the response is often the same.  He or she was just a regular guy who happened to be in the right place at the right time.  When that opportunity arose, the person acted instinctively, out of habit.  While we may not regularly play hero, our everyday actions are quietly defining our character.  The small choices we make each day add one more layer of etching into our character.  Only when tested by fire do we recognize the layers underneath.

Sometimes I think I will arrive at age 40, 50, or 60 and magically be a wise and Godly woman.  But it is my practice now in the small things which defines who I will be both today and in forty years.

If I make a habit to take an interest in the grocery clerk even if I am tired and cranky, I will be more likely to be hospitable to all strangers around me.  If I pick up trash when I see it, even when it's not my own, I will cultivate a greater appreciation for creation and my responsibility to steward it.  If I spend a few minutes each day to pray for others, I will develop a habit of intercession.


What are some small actions you do each day to define your character?  Are there things you brush aside out of inconvenience or annoyance that are in actuality worthwhile to the engraving your character?

History FAIL

In elementary school, we teach our students how to make text to world connections. Ex/ We read a book about Henry Ford and then talk about cars affect our lives today.

"In 1968 Martin Luther King Jr. moved to Memphis, TN."

"THAT'S WHERE HANNAH MONTANA LIVES!!!!!!!!!!"


Well, yes.




And later, same kid, in reference to TN, "Isn't that short for Texas?"


Oh, we have a big job to do.

Ways to beat a rainy Wednesday

1.  Have your awesome sauce co-worker greet you with a surprise hot Peppermint Mocha on your desk.  YESSSS.
2.  Parent/teacher conferences mean students go home at 12:35.  All of your class schedules are re-worked, so you get an unexpected 30 minute block free.
3.  Take your department head to the airport for a conference and pick up Chick-Fil-A on the way back.
4.  Speak some Spanish at conferences.
5.  Eat a handful of Dark Chocolate Pomegranate bites.
6.  Eat dinner with your favorite peeps at LA Bar and Grill.
7.  Go play a very soggy soccer game.  Try not to get scored on too much.  Bieber Fever is a tough team.

No word on numbers 6 & 7, but I'll do my best!!

4th Grade Bank Geek

4th grade just completed their first essay unit.  It was like pulling teeth.  I don't know who was more excited to be finished.  One of the students in my class grasped the concept of essays fully.  He was the ONLY one.  He not only understood the format (intro, three reasons w/ supporting details, conclusion), but he had so much fun writing his essay, and I am very amused while grading it!

In comparison, other essay topics included the ever ubiquitous: "Why Kids Need Laptops," "Being the Youngest Child is Hard," "Messi is the Best Soccer Player," "Ronaldo is the Best Soccer Player," and "Kids Should Not Have Homework."

And without further ado, "Trombones are Heavy."

It's never too early to become a band geek!

Jamestown

In 4th grade Virginia History, we are studying the Jamestown settlement.  I showed my students this photo and said, "This is the Jamestown fort.  What is a fort?"  To which one of my students from Guatemala enthusiastically announced, "TENEDOR!"

We then had a quick lesson on final consonants "k" and "t."

(For you non-Spanish speakers, tenedor=fork.  Final consonants in English are generally very difficult to hear for Spanish speakers, so fork/fort sound almost the same.)