You are still Priceless

Many a times in your life, you might get belittled by people around you. You might get romped, squandered or feel being used and of No value. But they will never be able to make your worth small ..........because you are priceless....in the eyes of your loved ones and God

A well known speaker started off his seminar
by holding up a 500 Rs Note. In the room of 300,
he asked, Who would like this 500 Rs Note?

Hands started going up. He said, I am
going to give this Rs 500 to one of you but
first, let me do this. He proceeded to
crumple the Rupee Note up.

He then asked, Who still wants it?
Still the hands were up in the air.

Well, he replied, what if I do this?
And he dropped it on the ground and started
to grind it into the floor with his shoe.
He picked it up, now all crumpled and dirty.

Now who still wants it?
Still the hands went into the air.

My friends, you have all learned a very
valuable lesson. No matter what I did to
the money, you still wanted it because it did
not decrease in value. It was still worth Rs 500.

Many times in our lives, we are dropped,
crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the
decisions we make and the circumstances that
come our way. We feel as though we are worthless.

But no matter what has happened or what will
happen, you will never lose your value. Dirty
or clean, crumpled or finely creased,
You are still priceless
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Poem is written by Anonymous writer

Parents are teachers too

Parents are the first teacher that child has. There is so much that depend on them, if they are making a child more confident or boosting his self esteem or are they taking out his steam and making him unsure about himself . Keep in mind Parents are teachers too, what you teach is what you say so much depends on you.

So Much Depends On You

"I got two A's" the small boy said, his voice was filled with glee,
his father very bluntly said, "Why didn't you get three?"

"Mom, I've got the dishes done", the girl called from the door.
Her mother very calmly said, "Did you sweep the floor?"

"I mowed the grass" the tall boy said, "and put the mower away"
His father asked him with a shrug, "Did you clean off the clay?"

The Children in the house next door, seemed happy and content
The same thing happened over there, but this is how it went:

"I got two A's" the young boy said, his voice was filled with glee,
his father proudly said "that’s great, I'm glad you belong to me"

"Mom, I got the dishes done," the girl called from the door.
Her mother smiled and softly said, "Each day I love you more."

"I've mowed the grass," the tall boy said, "and put the mower away"
his father answered with much joy, "You've made my happy day"

Children deserve a little praise, for tasks they're asked to do,
if they're to lead a happy life, so much depends on you !

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Poem By Badger Leionnare

Your Positive remarks lit a child's life

Find something positive to say to the child and it will not only lit up his or her day but maybe whole life.

STORY
This happenned in the year of 1972. I was studying in fourth standard in St.Joseph's Girls' Hr Sec School, in Dindigul, Tamilnadu. I used to have inferiority complex because I am dark complexioned and everybody else at home is fair.I was all the time teased for my complexion, called darkie even by my family members.

My headmistress Sr. Jessie Redempta Mary used to come to our classes for cursive writing period, once in a week. That was her way of being in touch with her children. The previous week I had submitted my book for correction and incidentall the book was stained with coconut oil. When she was reading out our names and distributing our books, I was shivering with fear, as I knew that she will scold me for spoiling my boos and she had a reputation of being strict.

As she called out my name, with tears in my eyes I went near her. She looked at my book and the at me and said, "Mahalakshmi, though you are dark, what a beeutiful child you are with a million

dollar smile and why dont you keep your book also in the same condition", and I was shocked. "I am beautiful!" the words kept on reverbrating in my ears and thereafter if anyone teased me, I would hold my head straight and tell them that I am very beautiful and my Head Mistress told me so.

My self esteem and self confidence went up and I went ahead to achieve many things in my life. Today I am a personality development trainer, I teach people how to be confident and tough and all this I owe to her kind words. Every teacher's day I remember her with gratitude in my heart and send out a prayer "Ma'm wherever you are please take care of all those tender hearts with your love".

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Submitted by Mahalakshmi  on Teachers day

No award is small

You don't have to spend a lot of money on incentives; self-made certificates can be more effective than anything else for enthusing children into learning.

STORY

Twenty years ago, when I was an aide at the school I work at now, I used to manage the Writing

To Read Computer Lab. I was just 18-years-old and could not afford expensive and fancy incentives for the 130 students that came to my lab, therefore I made certificates on the computer. Every Friday I would give 5 certificates to those students who showed some growth or finished a specific journal. There was a special girl who came from a poor immigrant family who lived across from the school. She was in 1st grade when she came to my lab. Of course, she was one of the certificate receiver (they all were, sooner or later).

Seventeen years later, I was invited to her wedding ceremony, held at her small house. As I walked in the door, I was in awe to see her hall of fame. Between her high school and university degrees, in the biggest frame, was the faded, old Writing To Read certificate! I could not believe my eyes, seventeen years later and she still had the certificate I had given her. (Well, I shouldn't be shocked, I am currently 38 years old and still have my elementary school certificates.)

Her mother later told me that she treasured that certificate more than any other because that was the one that gave her the confidence and strength to continue with her studies.

At that time, I realized that candy, stickers, and other fancy incentives work well for the moment, but nothing like something written on paper to make a lifetime impact. Plus, let's face it, on a teacher's salary, I still can't afford the expensive, fancy incentives. Nonetheless, nothing could be more rewarding than knowing that you made a difference in at least one student's life. That is the best pay one could receive.
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By Maria Aceves, E-Mail Maria Aceves!

You can Inspire them to learn

An Inspirational Story from Jackie Carter Breeden :

I am presently teaching 8th grade English at Albritton JHS on Fort Bragg in North Carolina. I started teaching in my own classroom in 1979, at Welch JHS in Welch, WV. The three years I spent there will remain in my memory forever.

I taught 7-9th grade Remedial reading in a school with no textbooks - just supplementary materials. This was my first full-time teaching experience. The students in my class had reading levels from Pre-Primer stage to 6th grade. I had my work cut out for me.

There is one student who stands out more than most. His name was "John." "John" was the best checker player I had ever encountered. He could barely read on that Pre-Primer level at age 14, but he could play a mean game of checkers. He absolutely hated to be beaten - especially by me. I realized I could use this to my advantage.

I made up some checkerboards that had reading skills on each square. I put things like; "Give me a word with a short a sound", Which word has a long e sound - bet, beet, bat", and so on. The rule was - before "John" could make a move, he had to perform the task. He had problems at first, and I would beat him every time. Eventually, "John" got to where he could perform the tasks, and was back to winning. I would let him keep those tasks he mastered on the boards for a while so he could beat me. Then I would replace those with harder skills.

I am proud to say that after two years with me, "John" was able to read on a third grade level. We played checkers like this at least twice a week. I don't know if he ever got any better with his reading as I have lost contact with him since I moved away. I will always remember the checker king, and I hope that he has continued to be a successful reader.
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E-Mail Jackie Carter Breeden!

Teacher a Second Mom

STORY by Sandra Stiles

Recently I had the privilege of meeting a former student, "Jeanie," for lunch. She had been one of my sixth grade students. She was preparing for a career as a pediatric oncologist. I was very pleased to accept her offer to meet for lunch while she was in town for the summer before the start of her senior year. Before she had moved away.

I had been asked to speak at her batmitzpah as someone who had been a motivator. I spoke telling the crowd gathered that she was a constant blessing and encouragement to me. I shared my experiences with her each of the following years with my new sixth grade students.

She was an awesome example of a motivated child that had come from a family with some problems. When we finally met, she told me that the thing that made the biggest difference in her life and made me her favorite teacher was the speech I gave every year.

I tell my students that when they wake each morning and come to school, they spend six to seven hours with me, which is usually more time than they spend with their parents. They may be in the same house with them, but that does not mean that they spend time with them. After all, they are busy with homework, outdoor time, TV time, phone time, etc. I told them that they should therefore think of me as their mom away from home.

My job was to teach them, comfort them, encourage them, and yes discipline them as needed. However, my most important job was to love them so that they could put away all other thoughts and prepare to learn. I have no losers in my class. They should therefore consider me their mom away from home. Over the years many of my students slip up and call me mom in the classroom. I tell them that is alright because they I love them all as if they are my own and consider it an honor.

Over lunch, "Jeanie" asked if she could have the honor of calling me "Mom", because over the years I have always been a second mom to her. She said she has heard from many friends and this is what they all remember about me: that I was not only their teacher, but their mom; someone to comfort them, guide them and teach them.

We as teachers must remember our jobs do not stop when we have taught the required curriculum, but that is where it begins. I switched jobs this year and my students made a banner that said, "Mrs. Stiles - Our Mom". They have called me, emailed me and written me all summer. I feel blessed to have such an extended family.

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Story picked from http://www.lessonplanspage.com Authored by Sandra Stiles,  E-Mail Sandra Stiles!

Good Day or Bad Day its your Choice

At the beginning of my 8:00 a.m. class one Monday at UNLV, I cheerfully asked my students how their weekend had been. One young man said that his weekend had not been very good. He'd had his wisdom teeth extracted. The young man then proceeded to ask me why I always seemed to be so cheerful.

His question reminded me of something I'd read somewhere before: "Every morning when you get up, you have a choice about how you want to approach life that day," I said to the young man. "I choose to be cheerful.

"Let me give you an example," I continued. The other sixty students in the class ceased their chatter and began to listen to our conversation. "In addition to teaching here at UNLV, I also teach out at the community college in Henderson, about seventeen miles down the freeway from where I live. One

day a few weeks ago I drove those seventeen miles to Henderson. I exited the freeway and turned onto College Drive. I only had to drive another quarter-mile down the road to the college. But just then my car died. I tried to start it again, but the engine wouldn't turn over. So I put my flashers on, grabbed my books, and marched down the road to the college.

"As soon as I got there I called AAA and asked them to send a tow truck. The secretary in the Provost's office asked me what had happened. 'This is my lucky day,' I replied, smiling.

"'Your car breaks down and today is your lucky day?' She was puzzled. 'What do you mean?'

"'I live seventeen miles from here.' I replied. 'My car could have broken down anywhere along the freeway. It didn't. Instead, it broke down in the perfect place: off the freeway, within walking distance of here. I'm still able to teach my class, and I've been able to arrange for the tow truck to meet me after class. If my car was meant to break down today, it couldn't have been arranged in a more convenient fashion.'

"The secretary's eyes opened wide, and then she smiled. I smiled back and headed for class." So ended my story to the students in my economics class at UNLV.

I scanned the sixty faces in the lecture hall. Despite the early hour, no one seemed to be asleep. Somehow, my story had touched them. Or maybe it wasn't the story at all. In fact, it had all started with a student's observation that I was cheerful.

A wise man once said, "Who you are speaks louder to me than anything you can say." I suppose it must be so.
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This story appears in Lee Ryan Miller's book, Teaching Amidst the Neon Palm Trees. You may contact the author through his website, www.LeeRyanMiller.com.