Most Remarkable People

Have you ever considered who is a remarkable person?  One interesting way to think about “remarkable” people is to consider who you would most want to have dinner with, or share a cab ride with, or simply interview.  Some folks have picked J. K. Rowling author of the Harry Potter series.  Others have selected one…

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United In Favor of Expanded Learning

In 1979 (before many of you were even born) Barry Manilow wrote and performed a song entitled One Voice.  The lyrics speak to the importance of one voice standing up and sharing with the world what they believe is important, and what begins with just one voice will be joined by other voices, and soon…

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The Power of Doubling Your Efforts

If math isn’t your strongest subject, the whole notion of effects of doubling may not mean too much to you.  Here is a simple exercise.  Which would you rather have, $5,000,000 or a penny a day doubled for a month?  You may be thinking to yourself, is this a trick question—I think I could take…

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Everybody Can Make A Difference

Have you ever heard of these people:  Jonas Corona, Alanna Wall, and Tim Tyrrell?  They are amazing for several reasons.  First, they are all children.  If you would like to read more about them you can find information about them in Reading A-Z’s Close Reading Packs.  Jonas lives in Long Beach, California and at 10…

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One Random Act of Kindness

Did you see the news about the college folks in Marion, Indiana?  What a wonderful tribute to the human spirit.  At the behest of one of the professors, the students were asked to think about the importance of “paying it forward.”  They were challenged to “do for one what they would do for everyone”, of…

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You Matter #1

If you are like a lot of people it is a lot easier to give a compliment than it is to receive one.  When people express gratitude for a “job well done”, do you tend to deflect with an acknowledgement of the role the other person played or make a comment like “it was nothing? …

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Learn

Children have learned to get your attention and their needs met.  Over the next 18 months they will learn how to communicate in actions and words as well as transform from sitting, to crawling, to walking and finally running.  All of this occurs before they ever participate in formal learning.  Einstein had an interesting take…

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Laugh

“Laugh and the world laughs with you, cry and you cry alone.”  While this sentiment expressed by Ella Wheeler Wilcox can certainly be accurate to a point, it is absolutely likely that when we cry, people who care about us will help us to deal with the tears we are experiencing.  I think the kind…

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Live

Mother Teresa said, “Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.”  What a wonderful call to action for all of us.  While we may plan for the future and regret or cherish the past, what we have right now is today, and today requires living.  So what will…

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Leaving a Legacy–Why Is It Important?

When you are young one of the last things you are thinking about is leaving a legacy.  Your focus is on the here and now—the living you are trying to make and the lifestyle you are eager to create.  What if there was a way to also create a legacy that you probably wouldn’t even…

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