Do you find joy in your job? Do you go home eager to share stories about your day? Can you identify others on staff who enjoy their jobs?

We spend most of our waking hours at work. Studies have shown that those people deemed happiest in our society are those who find purpose in their work.

I would expect that most of our students could identify the staff members who enjoy their jobs. They know whether or not we want to be at work each day. They know whether or not we find happiness in what we do. They know too, if we are stressed or frustrated.

No matter where we work, we will face difficult situations. That we cannot avoid. Sometimes we deal with difficult individuals. Sometimes we do not agree with the decisions that are made. Sometimes we feel like we are spinning our wheels.

Yet what we do each day within a school, whatever our job, is important. We are all pieces to a puzzle, not complete without each other. As we come together each day, why not make the overall picture a joyful one?

“Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day.” Henri Nouwen

Rewind to my first year of teaching. Grade one. I’m hanging my students’ artwork. As a newbie teacher I’d happily ‘borrowed’ the idea from my colleagues. Happily that is, until I am stapling the so-called artwork to the bulletin board. “This isn’t art,” I hear myself saying. All 24 are precisely the same. Okay, perhaps there is some variation distinguishable at close inspection. Virtually though, 24 carbon copies.

From that moment on, I vow not to lead my students through crafts: the copying of steps, ultimately creating the same product. I vow to teach my students art: to draw out their creativity and individuality, to introduce skills and techniques, to teach them to reflect, create, appreciate and interpret visual symbols.

Over the years, art became one of my favourite subjects to teach. I challenged myself to find ways to teach colour, line, texture, shape, design, proportion – still allowing my students to express themselves, valuing their inventiveness to create a product all their own.

Pablo Picasso once said, “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.” Let’s not squelch the artist within our students sooner than seems to happen naturally with age! Ensure that your students can identify their own work from the bulletin board because their choices within their composition are deliberate and purposeful. Capitalize on a child’s fearlessness, ingenuity and self-confidence while it still exists. Allow the instinct of a child to create, discover and explore to infiltrate your art lessons.

If you want 24 carbon copies, use the photocopier.

I was lucky enough to receive some gifts this Christmas. Some very thoughtful gifts, in fact. My favourite though was from one of my brothers. He donated, on behalf of our family, to a unicef project entitled K.I.N.D (Kids In Need of Desks).

I don’t know about you but I take our desks for granted each day. I’m sure most of our students do as well. Our desks have never been a cause for celebration or driven our students to burst into song. Besides the odd time I’ve ordered them, I have never really given them much thought. Never considered not being able to afford desks for our school. Never really thought about the alternative: sitting on a cement floor all day, every day. And then I watched the video and read the article at the following link:

http://www.unicefusa.org/news/news-from-the-field/kids-in-need-of-desks-malawi.html

Brother, thank you for reminding me how fortunate we are to live in Canada… how fortunate we are to have the resources we need in school each day… how fortunate we are to be able to meet not only our spiritual and academic needs but our basic physical needs as well.

According to the article, “four out of five students in Malawi are still without desks, and in all of sub-Saharan Africa there are 45 million children who are unable to go to school.”

Ultimately, my brother’s gift was a reminder: yes, I’d say we have it pretty good here.

I marvel at the spunk and energy of my 89 year old grandmother. She doesn’t look 89 years old. She doesn’t act 89 years old. Her positive attitude and life of hard work are certainly cause for pause. I wonder… What keeps her so young? What keeps her from complaining about her aches and pains?

She leads by example and lives in the moment. She is a well-read woman. She is quietly annoyed by others who complain about their lives. She has sympathy and empathy for those in need. She gives freely. She loves generously. She is the matriarch of our family. She has great wealth of spirit.

Whether she is watching the Oilers, listening to her beloved Daniel O’Donnell or retelling her favourite stories, she certainly has spunk.

Teachers come in many forms: mine takes the form of my 89 year old grandmother. I am one lucky student.

 

At the beginning of December, I heard Robin Sharma speak. One of his questions to us was this: What can you do to make 2012 the best year yet?

Most of us probably consider this question every year about this time. We generate a list of good intentions. We make grand plans for the coming year. And yet, if you’re like me, mid-January rolls around and I have forgotten some of those intentions and the grand plans are just that, plans. Life, fatigue and old habits get in the way of the changes we intend to make.

So the questions begs, how do we move from intention to action? For myself, when my intentions come to fruition it is because I have set daily manageable goals that I literally check off when I achieve them. I need a number to strive for or a checklist to complete. Whether it be increased exercise, healthy eating, staying in better touch with friends, paying down debt, weight loss or a weekly game night with family, we must believe that our goal is possible to achieve.

L. Ron Hubbard once said, “Dreams, goals, ambitions – these are the stuff man uses for fuel.”

Fire yourself up for the new year… begin with the end in mind… turn those intentions into action… put first things first… make 2012 your best year yet!

 

Many years ago as my niece was about to unwrap her gift, someone asked her what she thought it was. Her matter-of-fact response: “I always know it’s a book from Auntie Karen!” And she’s right, I suppose. When I consider all the shopping I’ve done during this Christmas season, I have to admit, most of my shopping was done (SPOILER ALERT) at a bookstore.

One of my favourite parts of the holiday break is curling up on the couch, with the fireplace on, cracking open a new book: nowhere to go except the depths of the pages within my hands. And nothing beats sharing a new book with a child. The quiet moment on the couch amid the mess of Christmas morning. The wide-eyed wonderment as you get to the end of the book and the immediate, “Read it again!” at its conclusion.

Fifth grade teacher Rafe Esquith has said: “This I believe: If young people develop a love of reading, they will have better lives.” Sean Covey has said, “I believe that the simple act of a parent reading to his or her child each day for fifteen minutes could change the world!”

Reading opens our minds to endless possibilities. Reading provides connection to others in our world. Reading is an escape. Reading empowers. Reading enlightens, delights and inspires.

Reading changes lives.

Get thee to a bookstore: give a book this Christmas.

 

This week it became clear just how much my faith is a part of me. I cannot separate my beliefs from my ‘being’ as a family member, teacher, friend or citizen. It is simply who I am. When I think, speak or act, my faith is my foundation.

Over 15 years ago, I spent a brief two months teaching in a public school district. Yet I always knew I wanted to teach within a Catholic school. I simply cannot imagine celebrating this time of year without faith as a foundation. I cannot imagine helping our students deal with the death of their mother or the injustices against them without prayer, without references to God. I cannot imagine celebrating the mysteries of life without my belief in their creation.

I am comforted by the knowledge that there is something bigger than myself, something unexplainable, yet something that connects me with my dad and grandparents gone before me. My faith provides my hope and strength. I cannot set it aside.

I am who I am.

 

Okay, perhaps I’m a sucker for happy endings, whether it be a good book, a movie or real life.  Reality is, chapters are often cut short and we can’t edit the tragedy out of real life.

And though there are disappointments in life, there is happiness too. Rediscovering a treasured ornament as you decorate the Christmas tree. The birth of a third son. A gentleman who unexpectedly gives up his parking stall when cars are circling the lot. The excitement of a gym full of students ready to inline-skate. A surprise visit from a friend carrying flowers. The generosity of colleagues when all are tired and taxed. The student who says to another, “Thank you for not going along with your classmates but standing up for what you think is right.” Curling with your mom. The comfort of a cuddle toy. Rekindling a love for the violin. The uninhibited giggles during a game of ‘Simon Says.’ The sweet taste of a persimmon. A car adorned with antlers and a red nose. The perfection of a single snowflake.

If we live our lives moment to moment we can find the happiness within. No editing required.

 

What can we provide for our students each day? Besides teaching the curriculum, we are the constancy in some of their lives. Many of our students have secure, safe and loving families. Others do not. Children in these circumstances often question their self-worth and exhibit symptoms of anxiety and depression. There is research to show that many of the children who overcome the odds stacked against them, had a significant positive adult in their lives. Those children who demonstrate resiliency in the face of adversity, tragedy or trauma typically had someone in the background providing a window into another way of living or support when all else seemed desolate.

If we truly believe words change worlds, why can’t daily interactions between a child-at-risk and a significant adult impact that child’s life? Lisa Bostock has said, “Positive relationships, at any age in the life span, can help improve poor self-image. People who take an interest, who listen, who care and love people, make others feel better. They bolster self-esteem.”

As you read this, I am sure you are thinking of a child-at-risk. Reach out to that individual tomorrow: say hello, ask about the weekend, show you care, value her presence. After all, “rain and sun are to the flower as praise and encouragement are to the human spirit.” Mario Fernandez.

The idea of teaching has certainly undergone transformation in the last few decades with the onslaught of technological advances. In the world of Google, our students have the ability to access information, facts and data within seconds from the comfort of their desk, their bedroom or their couch.

I have heard the questions raised, “Is it necessary to teach our students information that they can now so easily access? Why bother? Forget the content and teach them the skills they need to function and survive in our world.”

As I ponder these questions and comments, I imagine a school in which only skills are taught – not content knowledge. My question becomes, in what context would we teach these skills?

In Language Arts, we teach the skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening. What will we read, write and speak about if we take away the content? In Social Studies, we teach the skills of mapping, critical thinking, debate and active inquiry. What will we map, debate or inquire about if not the content information? In Science, we teach the skills of inquiry, research and investigation. It is difficult to inquire, research and investigate ‘nothing’.

So yes, perhaps our students could access information about Magnetism, Trees and Forests, The Cultural Revolution or Child Labour on their own. But would they? If we took away this content within the classroom, our students would not necessarily be exposed to a wide range of ideas and topics. They would not necessarily have the opportunity for rich dialogue and debate about these issues. They would not necessarily push themselves to access information about history: past human failure and success. They would not necessarily have the opportunity to join the culture of shared experience. Our students would not necessarily learn to discriminate and scrutinize the information they gather.

Teaching skills is certainly important. But, despite Google – I use it often, don’t get me wrong – it is still essential we teach content knowledge. The skills and knowledge of our curriculum connect and intertwine perhaps more than we realize. We may be able to ‘Google’ information, but we can’t replace the classroom setting for the opportunities to interact, dialogue and explore.