Recent Favorite Quotes

After reading a series of books filled with wonderful quotes from various sources, I determined to put together a few of my favorites.



If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.



Love is not affectionate feeling, but a steady wish for the loved person's ultimate good as far as it can be obtained.



God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.



Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: "What! You, too? Thought I was the only one."



Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil.



The above are from C.S. Lewis.



You're confusing what is important with what is impressive.- L.M. Montgomery



The world is a book, and those who do not travel, read only a page.- St. Augustine



When I get a little money, I buy books; and if any is left, I buy food and clothes.- Erasmus



Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.- Mark Twain

Religion in America

As I was searching for something worthwhile to spend my evening watching, I came across a PBS special. God in America. Interesting. So as I was checking out the website, I discovered a quiz on religion. I took it, and the results deeply bother me. On a basic quiz of knowledge of the major religions in the US, the average American missed HALF! And the worst part, Atheists and Agnostics scored the best, barely beating Jewish and Mormon respondents.

The biggest problem I saw was not that Evangelical Protestants,which includes a wide variety of people with varying levels of commitment to said religion, know the most about Christianity (but still got the pants beat off them by the Mormons). My biggest problem is that only 23% of all Americans, regardless of religious affiliation, know that a public school teacher can have the Bible read in class as literature. Well for heaven's sake why not! We can, and usually do, bring in examples from the Qu'ran and other religious texts! If we are to have true religious freedom, we must allow it. To allow the others and NOT the Bible is religious discrimination. Equal time is not required, as different classes may have different foci.

I did look further at the group's work and some of the questions could lead to errors in the response. Some were a bit too vague or leading. And then on a few questions, you would certainly run the risk of the respondent not wanting to sound "bigoted." Since we bandy that word around so much.


To check the percent per group answering correctly: http://features.pewforum.org/quiz/us-religious-knowledge/?q=16

For the Official summary:http://pewforum.org/Other-Beliefs-and-Practices/U-S-Religious-Knowledge-Survey.aspx?src=rkq-sidebar-b

Recent Thoughts on Education

I've just finished a book with a highly convincing argument on how to fix the ills of the American educational system. And it is not to throw more money at the schools, which is in direct opposition to many politicians today, including the gubernatorial candidate endorsed by the teachers' union. The answer has been staring us in the face for years. It is the idea of year-round school.



Now, as a teacher, I must admit, that idea is less than thrilling, but then a longer year means more hours... But the research presented looked at the gains per economic strata on reading tests given at the end of the school year and then again after the summer break. Those whose parents can afford the tools to keep children learning in the summer, do better. Is that such a revolutionary idea? I think not.



This book also analyzed how diligent effort is required for excellence in anything, from music to computers. The author's claim is that 10,000 hours of practice are required before one can be truly great a task. Even a moderately talented musician who practices that much will be supremely talented by the end of that time. His example? Bill Gates had a very unique opportunity to put in probably that much time on computers as a junior high student. He was an expert by the time he graduated high school.



So really, all any of us need to be a "Great" at something, is a concerted effort at it. If I tried to be good at math, I would be. It is not just IQ that determines success. It is your own personal determination to be great.



In another, unrelated topic, I finished my three week sub position as a teacher's aide today. For the most part it was bittersweet. Some of the kids are so sweet. But then there was one who was percocious enough to ask, "When are we getting our real teacher?" For all he knew, I was the real teacher. At lunch, some of the teachers were commenting on students saying rude things to them. They all really liked mine.