Tag Archives: life

Learning, Maine Life, Personal Growth, Teaching

What Would Happen If…

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Our local elementary school has a seasonal “giving tree” in the hall where students can leave donations for the local food cupboard. A second grader and I were walking past it when my young friend asked, “Mr. Boomsma, what do you suppose would happen if every kid brought something for the tree every day from now until Christmas?”

Many will recognize this as a “teachable moment.” My adult brain considered whether we might explore the concept of sharing or take advantage of the opportunity to do some math. Her young brain didn’t wait. She asked a follow-up question.

“Do you think the school would explode?”

In a paranoid universe, we’d consider that language destructive–I’m quite sure if she and I had this conversation walking through an airport, we’d have found ourselves detained by airport security. And now, several weeks later, most of us are hurt, angry, and frustrated over a tragedy that reminds us–confronts us–with the reality that our imperfect world is a dangerous place that doesn’t always function in ways that make sense or suit us. Sometimes evil appears to triumph and it is easy to feel powerless in this world of uncertainty.

She might not know it, but I think my young friend understands power in ways that adults sometimes forget. She reminds us of the positive possibilities, even in the face of pain and sorrow. Let’s think about it. What would happen if each student brought one food item to school every day? I still haven’t done the math, but I do know that one can per student per day would mean a pretty big pile.  And with what I know about kids, I’d be willing to bet that it would become competitive–some kids would bring two cans and challenge their friends. Hopefully, the school wouldn’t explode, literally. But it might be in danger of collapse under the weight of that generosity and sharing.  All things considered, I’m not sure that would be destructive.

So in this time of sorrow and this season of giving, my friend has given us something to consider:

What would happen if everyone did one conscious, simple act of kindness and generosity every day?

Learning, Personal Growth, Teaching

Resource Recommendation

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Strange coincidences… I actually lived in Coventry RI for one month (thirty six years ago!). Today one of my very best friends (and high school English teacher) lives there! And now, I’ve discovered a great resource there! The Coventry School District has developed a series of “tips for parents” that are awesome! I would deem them not just for parents, but for anyone who “works” with kids… the article on “Motivating Learning in Young Children” is a must read! I’ve added this link to the site permanently:

http://www.coventryschools.net/tipsforparents.htm

so you can always come back and find it! (For those seeking more indepth resources, many of these tips are based on information available at the National Association of School Psychologists website.)

Learning, Personal Growth

What’s On Your Bookshelf…?

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Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.

~Charles W. Eliot

One book I consider a quiet and constant friend is a dictionary. There are several scattered throughout the house. When I recently acquired a tablet, a dictionary was the first “ap” I downloaded. I’m also quite enamored of my thesaurus. But dictionaries are important to me for another reason. For some years now I’ve coordinated Valley Grange’s “Words for Thirds” Program–part of a global effort (The Dictionary Project) with the objective of putting a dictionary into the hands of every third grader. We’re just finishing up this year’s distribution and the kids from one school sent thank you notes included in a folder with my caricature drawn on the outside. (Thanks to  Piscataquis Community Elementary School third grade teacher Mr. Arthers for sharing his skill–and for making me look younger!)

These notes are both rewarding and entertaining. I recall a thank you note from one third grader a few years ago explaining that her father had built her a bookshelf in her bedroom to hold her new dictionary. (Most people would be surprised at how excited kids are when they receive their dictionaries. Competing with technology is not as difficult as one might expect. One of the frequent questions we are asked when handing out the books is “How many words are in here?” The students are quite entranced over the possibility of learning over 30,000 words and we try to explain that the book is not only theirs, the words in it can be as well.)

One of the “misfortunes” of electronic publishing and is that in time we’ll probably see fewer actual libraries in homes and books will be hidden in e-readers. Historically, these home libraries have ranged from entire rooms to a bookshelf above a child’s bed. And those shelves can be telling for we are displaying our best friends, counselors, and teachers.

Obviously, our bookshelf changes as we change. I recall struggling with this in a very practical way when we moved to Maine. “Weeding out” the library was one of the more difficult tasks. Parting with a book is never easy for me, even when it has served its purpose.

A recent article in Brain Pickings included a review of the book My Ideal Bookshelf based on interviews with  dozens of leading cultural figures who share the titles of books that matter to them most. The books we decide to read and keep are certainly a good representation of who we are, how we think, and what we value. Reading this review caused me to reflect on how different my shelves have looked over the years and I’m intrigued at which books have made it through several purges.

Were I as artistic as Mr. Arthers, I might consider drawing a bookshelf with eight to ten books on it to represent my profile picture. I suspect such an image would be much more telling than the mug shot I currently use.

Learning, Personal Growth

There’s Still Time!

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The instructor stood before his time management class with some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

So the instructor picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The instructor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up even more space. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous “yes.”

The instructor then produced two cans of beer from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

“Now,” said the instructor as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things–your family, your children, your health, your friends, your favorite passions–things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

“The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else; the small stuff. If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house, and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the beer represented.

The instructor smiled. “I’m glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of beers.”

Note: I think I first heard this story nearly 20 years ago–unfortunately, the original author’s identity has been long lost… it’s making the rounds on the Internet and definitely is worthy of consideration!