Thank You for a Wonderful 2017-18 School Year!

The last article summary of this school year is 37 Wise Quotes That Will Inspire You to Succeed in Life.

I like to end the school year with something that we can all reflect on in the summer.

My entire career has been in education and consequently summer break has always been a part of my life.

If you’re like me, as I have aged summer seems much shorter. I guess as our responsibilities and duties grow, we have less time to laze idly.

Yet even as we all age, I hope summer continues to have a special pace and feel for you.

Our students literally do grow over the summer. With more time to sleep, their bodies have more time to grow in June, July, and early August than during the rest of the year.

I like to use the more relaxed pace of summer for both personal and professional reflection. I always make sure to capture times to think about what I’ve done over the past year, what went right, what went wrong, and what perhaps I can do differently to be better next year.

Sometimes a quote like the ones below can be the springboard for introspective thought.

We need summer as an opportunity to recharge our batteries and recommit to our profession. Yet we also need time to think and assess and to challenge ourselves to be even better next year than this year. As I discussed in our end-of-year faculty/staff meeting, a strength of Trinity is its commitment to continuous improvement.

While we all hope the next year is better, this year has been great! I thank each and every one of you for your creativity, dedication, and passion for making the 2017-18 school year so memorable and meaningful for your students.

Close your eyes and think about the teachers who made a difference in your life. I see Mrs. Scott in 4^th grade, Mr. Podmore in 6^th grade, Mr. Coe in 7^th grade, Mr. Barrett in 9^th grade, Mrs. Vuillet in 12^th grade, and Dr. Athey, my college advisor and history teacher. Each one had a slightly different style but all provided me what I needed (encouragement, inspiration, confidence,  etc.) when I needed it.

Our legacy as educators is in the memories of our students—and sometimes the ones we impact the most are the ones we doubted we were reaching.

Thank you again for all you have done and will continue to do for Trinity and for your students!

Joe

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In these crazy times, there's nothing we seek more than a bit of soothing wisdom in our lives. Words that inspire us to success—while still brimming with sage advice—are the best cure for any difficulties we may find ourselves in.

Let these 37 wise quotes fill you with new found encouragement and motivate you to achieving even greater things. 

1. In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on-- Robert Frost

2. Life is ten percent what happens to you and ninety percent how you respond to it--Lou Holtz

3. Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them--Dalai Lama

4. When life is too easy for us, we must beware or we may not be ready to meet the blows which sooner or later come to everyone, rich or poor--Eleanor Roosevelt

5. There is more to life than increasing its speed--Mahatma Gandhi

6. Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up--Thomas A. Edison

7. I've failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed--Michael Jordan

8. The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure, the process is its own reward--Amelia Earhart

9. Today is life--the only life you are sure of. Make the most of today. Get interested in something. Shake yourself awake. Develop a hobby. Let the winds of enthusiasm sweep through you. Live today with gusto--Dale Carnegie

10. Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced--Soren Kierkegaard

11. In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years--Abraham Lincoln

12. We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give--Winston Churchill

13. Remember your dreams and fight for them. You must know what you want from life. There is just one thing that makes your dream become impossible: the fear of failure--Paulo Coelho

14. My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style--Maya Angelou

15. Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future--John F. Kennedy

16. There is no passion to be found playing small--in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living-- Nelson Mandela

17. Our greatest happiness does not depend on the condition of life in which chance has placed us, but is always the result of a good conscience, good health, occupation, and freedom in all just pursuits--Thomas Jefferson

18. We have always held to the hope, the belief, the conviction that there is a better life, a better world, beyond the horizon--Franklin D. Roosevelt

19. Don't take life too seriously. You'll never get out of it alive--Elbert Hubbard

20. Each person must live their life as a model for others--Rosa Parks

21. Life is a daring adventure or nothing at all--Helen Keller

22. My philosophy of life is that if we make up our mind what we are going to make of our lives, then work hard toward that goal, we never lose--somehow we win out--Ronald Reagan

23. Life takes on meaning when you become motivated, set goals and charge after them in an unstoppable manner--Les Brown

24. Life is not about how fast you run or how high you climb, but how well you bounce--Vivian Komori

25. Each life is made up of mistakes and learning, waiting and growing, practicing patience and being persistent--Billy Graham

26. The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness and the power of contemplation rather than upon mere survival--Aristotle

27. Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young--Henry Ford

28. Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself--George Bernard Shaw

29. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better--Ralph Waldo Emerson

30. If you don't design your own life plan, chances are you'll fall into someone else's plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much--Jim Rohn

31. Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become--C. S. Lewis

32. The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor--Vince Lombardi

33. Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them--that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like--Lao Tzu

34. Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others--Martin Luther King, Jr.

35. People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built--Eleanor Roosevelt

36. The secret of success is learning how to use pain and pleasure instead of having pain and pleasure use you. If you do that, you're in control of your life. If you don't, life controls you--Tony Robbins

37. The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams--Oprah Winfrey

Media and Gender Stereotyping

This week’s article summary is What Media Teach Kids About Gender Can Have Lasting Effects.

When Rosetta Lee first came to Trinity two years ago, I recall her talked about how media geared for kids often employs extreme stereotypes in plot lines, and while the ultimate message in an episode might be about positive values like caring, sharing, friendship, etc., it’s the extreme stereotypes that most often get imprinted on kids.

In particular, gender stereotyping remains rampant in Hollywood.

There has been some progress in the past few years with more female leads, directors, and screenwriters (in 2010 Kathryn Bigelow was first female to win the Oscar for best director for The Hurt Locker and more recently Wonder Woman was an international blockbuster), yet we all need to be ever vigilant in helping our impressionable elementary kids avoid the pernicious effects of societal stereotyping too often reinforced in movies and TV shows.

Perhaps you observed our students a few months ago when Ainissa Ramirez spoke at Trinity and captivated our kids. Yes, they were inspired by her science message, but she also was a positive, strong role model for our female students and students of color.

While movies like Wonder Woman (female protagonist) and Black Panther (black protagonist) are a beginning, we have a ways to go before they are the norm rather than the exception from Hollywood.

Joe

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Gender stereotypes are messing with your kid.

It's not just one movie. It's not just one TV show. It's constant exposure to the same dated concepts in the media over and over, starting before preschool and lasting a lifetime -- concepts like: boys are smarter than girls, certain jobs are best for men and others for women, and even that girls are responsible for their own sexual assaults.

According to a recent report, gender stereotypes in movies and on TV shows are more than persistent: they're incredibly effective at teaching kids what the culture expects of boys and girls.

Think of preschoolers who are just beginning to identify as boys or girls. The characters they see on TV and in movies often have an obvious masculine or feminine appearance, such as a superhero's big muscles or a princess' long hair. These characteristics also are often associated with specific traits -- for example, being strong and brave or fearful and meek.

Fast-forward to the tween and teen years, when characters begin to wrestle with relationships, sex, and job prospects. That "strong and brave" superhero becomes aggressive and hostile. That "fearful and meek" princess become submissive and weak.

These oversimplified characterizations play out in many ways over and over. According to the report, a lifetime of viewing stereotypical media becomes so ingrained it can ultimately affect kids' career choices, self-worth, relationships, and ability to achieve their full potential.

While there are movies and TV shows that defy gender stereotypes -- and Hollywood is making some progress on this front -- you're not going to be able to prevent your kids from seeing everything that sends the wrong message. And your kids probably like a lot of media that reinforces stereotypes.

The most powerful messages kids absorb are from you—parents and teachers. When you actively role-model gender equality, speak out against stereotypes, and challenge outdated ideas, kids will hear that loud and clear.

Below are some age-based strategies -- from toddlerhood to the teen years -- to reach kids at the exact moment they need to hear them.

Age 2-6

 

At this age, kids:

·         Learn their gender identities

·         Learn stereotypes about activities, traits, toys, and skills associated with each gender

·         Begin gender-typed play (girls "clean the kitchen," boys "mow the lawn")

·         Need to hear your input in specific, not abstract, terms

What you can do:

• Point out people from real life or TV that show there's more than one way to "do" gender. Try a show such as Doc McStuffins and say, "I notice that Doc's mom works full-time to support the family and that her dad stays home and takes care of the kids."
• Comment positively on shows that equally value boys and girls. Watch Odd Squad together and say, "Otto and Olive are equal partners and rely on each other to solve cases."
• Find shows that aren't hyperpink or super-blue. Or, at least, balance out your kid's preferences with shows such as Julie's Greenroom, which uses a variety of hues, both on the stage sets and in the characters. The show also exposes some of the technical aspects of stage production, which teaches kids that shows are created by people and are only limited by imagination.

Age 7-10

At this age, kids:

• Attribute certain qualities to men and women -- for example, that women are more emotional and affectionate and men are more ambitious and aggressive
• Associate specific occupations and academic subjects with each gender
• Self-segregate based on gender -- boys want to play with boys, and girls want to play with girls
• Want some choice over what they watch but still respect parents' input

What you can do:

• Recognize characters who defy gender stereotypes. Check out a movie such as Big Hero 6 and say, "It's OK to show when you're sad -- and boys shouldn't be embarrassed to cry."
• Praise characters who are instrumental to the storyline for what they do versus what they look like. Stream Project Mc2 on Netflix and say, "For the girls on Mc2, being good at math and science are more important than their appearance."
• Seek out movies and shows with non-stereotyped characters -- for example, female characters with realistic body types and non-aggressive male characters. Try a show such as Andi Mack where the characters wrestle with peer pressure to look and act a certain way to fit in.

Age 11-13:

At this age, kids:

• Feel self-conscious about physical changes and feel pressure to conform to cultural gender norms
• Are intolerant of cross-gender mannerisms and behaviors
• Are concerned about dating potential
• Want to pick their own shows -- and they're often shows intended for older kids
• Are more interested in peers than parents

What you can do:

• Emphasize that worth and happiness don't come from appearance (especially important for female characters) or from physical strength (especially important for male characters). Watch a movie such as Arrival and remark on the lead character being a female professor. Or try Billy Elliot, about an Irish boy who wants to be a dancer despite his father's objections. Ask: "How do these characters go against what society expects of them?"
• Comment positively on healthy, supportive, and fulfilling cross-gender friendships and relationships. Try a movie such as Bridge to Terabithia (or read the book), which features an equal friendship between the boy and girl main characters. Discuss what makes them such good friends and what each one teaches the other.
• Talk about how transgender characters in movies and on TV are often the target of bullying. Try a show such as I Am Jazz about a transgender teen. Ask: "How did you feel when Jazz was bullied. If you knew her, would you defend her?"

Age 14-17

At this age, kids:

• Mix with other genders and become more flexible about stereotypes
• Become preoccupied with their future careers, as well as appearance
• Want to learn gender-based expectations for how to behave in romantic and sexual situations
• Choose what they want to watch and are willing to discuss abstract ideas (and don't want to be lectured to)

What you can do:

• Look for shows that feature boys and men expressing their emotions in constructive ways, having diverse interests (other than only sex), and being kind or friendly to non-heterosexual characters.
• Check out This Is Us and point out how the fathers are shown as nurturing and thoughtful. Or watch The King's Speech, about King George the VI, who must reveal his biggest vulnerability. Ask, "Can a man, or a boy, be both strong and sensitive?"
• Point out when female characters voice their own needs. Watch an ensemble show such as Brooklyn Nine-Nine and note how the female characters don't defer to the men.
• Find characters who have non-gender-stereotypical professional aspirations (girls who want to be scientists and boys who want to be nurses). Consider a show like Bones, which features a strong female lead in a traditionally male-dominated profession.